Anyway, the trip down, for once, was absolutely uneventful. There was no traffic in the Northern Virginia mixing bowl, so we made excellent time. We left home at 8:45am, and arrived at the rental property by 6:30pm. Since it was still early, the kids could see things on the way in, like the paper factory and the various marshes and bridges. Although making it down in 10 hours was a huge win for us, the biggest win was the fact that we traveled without:
1. diapers
2. a pack-n-play
3. the rooftop car carrier
We also had to make one pit stop at Eleanor's for a particular princess crown that was mistakenly left there the day before...
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| La Princesa Elektra |
We arrived, we unpacked, got carryout dinner from Longhorn Steakhouse, and put the kids to bed. Elektra slept in our room on the toddler air mattress (which we put on top of the futon). DJ slept in a twin bed with Leo. The boys did AWESOME together the whole week. Plus, it proved to us a couple things about DJ's sleeping habits.
1. DJ really just wants the company
2. DJ wants to be able to come in and snuggle with us in the morning and/or play with someone's iPad.
This also means that I got to sleep ALL NIGHT without a little boy waking me up at some random hour to climb in. WIN!! But the double bed (wow, what a change from a king...) was kind of uncomfortable, so I didn't sleep that great. But that's ok. When morning came, DJ would wake up around 7:30, go potty, and then come into our room. That's when Elektra, who was awake but just hanging out in her bed, would get up, too, and both kids would crawl into the bed and play with iPads while Steve and I *tried* to get a few more winks. Honestly, it was rather fun snuggling with the pile of kids on the bed.
We did a variety of things but this first day after our arrival, we decided to take the kids to the really nice playground on the Isle of Palms and let them blow off some steam. Damian and Andy went to Target and bought a few balls and an Aerobe to throw around. This is when we discovered the bird-sized mosquitoes....
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| Leo and DJ |
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| Leo and DJ |
We went to Target afterwards (to get bug spray and sunblock!) and by the time we got home, it was too late to put Elektra down for a nap. This was, apparently, the wrong answer. Elektra fell asleep watching the iPad.
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| Elektra fell asleep watching iPad... |
On Monday, we went to the USS Yorktown. This year, the kids went on the flight simulator, and did almost all of the climbing up and down the stairs themselves. We visited the gift shop, too... it's like an annual pilgrimage. :-)
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| DJ with his new planes from the USS Yorktown giftshop |
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| DJ in the cockpit of a plan |
We took a tour of the working and living quarters of the ship and saw a few interesting things, like this sign in the Machine Shop.
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| This was on the tour of the USS Yorktown. |
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| Another attachment for the mixer in the galley. |
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| The spatula part of the mixer in the galley. |
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| The Mixer.... in the galley. |
And we had to get a picture on the flight deck of the USS Yorktown. In the background is the Cooper River Bridge.
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| Steve, Elektra and DJ on the flight deck of the USS Yorktown |
On Tuesday, we went to the Children's Museum of the Low Country. This is a favorite locale of ours as it has a metric ton to do, and the kids LOVE it. Between the enormous water table, the fully stocked grocery store with working scanner and registers and flower mart, an arts and crafts room, and a room where you can play with physics (with golf balls), the kids play for hours. We also have to bring a full change of clothes for DJ and Elektra who are usually SOAKED after playing in the water table.
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| DJ playing with the dam part of the water table. |
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| Elektra playing in the water table. |
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| Elektra with some flowers from the flower mart in the grocery store |
On Wednesday, we went to the South Carolina Aquarium. The bald eagle is an amazing attraction, but so is the albino alligator. This year, Mr. Alligator was absolutely as still as a statue. The kids didn't think he was real.
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| Albino alligator |
We got to watch the otters play in the water, and like last year we had the awesome luck to arrive at feeding time for the water fowl (pelicans, great blue heron, etc) , horseshoe crabs, and stingrays. If you can't see the video, click this link: http://youtu.be/VQdZtTFtjR4
Here is a closeup of the Great Blue Heron the Aquarium staff was feeding in the above video.
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| The Great Blue Heron |
Some more pictures of the kids at the SC Aquarium.
Also on Wednesday, Damian and I decided to go run the Cooper River Bridge. The bridge itself is a 6 lane bridge that also has a dedicated bike and walking path. According to my GPS running app on my phone, it is a 1.1 mile uphill one direction, and a 1.6 mile uphill the opposite direction. Needless to say, those of us who are not in shape anymore had some pretty upset calves after the 1.1 mile one way uphill start!! But it was well worth it, and I look forward to running it again next year.
That night, we also went to a Japanese Steak House for dinner. The kids got a huge kick out of watching the hibachi chefs fire up their grills across the restaurant. However, when it came time for our grill to be lit, they had no idea what they were in for.... the grill was lit, a HUGE ball of flame (and subsequently, heat) erupted from the grill, and the kids screamed in terror. Elektra waaaaaaaaaailed, screamed to go back to the car, and eventually compromised by being willing to sit in Daddy's lap. The hibachi chef made our dinner to perfection, cleaned his hibachi, and left while we finished our meals. Elektra then said, "That was fun!" It was all we could do to not laugh. Steve and I made sure to tell the hibachi chef before we left.
On Thursday, we went to the playground again, and then we went 10-pin bowling. Usually, this would be just a footnote in the week's events, except DJ wanted to 10-pin bowl, too. So we got him his own lane, his own shoes, put up the bumpers, and found him a 7 pound ball.
He played full 2 games, and he nearly beat my score both games he played. The guys never would have let me hear the end of it if my nearly 5 year old had beaten my score!! My score is on the left screen, at the bottom (84). DJ's score is on the right (81).
But he was so excited to play, and had such a good time! If you can't see the video, here is the link: http://youtu.be/PvoezsFebMg.
On Friday, we went to play mini golf and go karting. DJ and Elektra seemed to have fun mini golfing, though they didn't quite get the hang of it entirely. Elektra LOVED go karting, and DJ could take it or leave it. I guess we know who is going to be the autocrosser of the family...
Once again, we got home too late to take naps. I, clearly, learned nothing a few days previously.
Saturday, March 24, was DJ's 5th birthday and unfortunately for him, he got to spend it in the car as we drove home. Again, we made it home in record time due to no traffic in the mixing bowl. It was a really nice time, and it was awesome that we got to spend quality time with Andy, Damian, Jenn, and Leo!
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| DJ! |
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| Elektra with schools of fish! |
Also on Wednesday, Damian and I decided to go run the Cooper River Bridge. The bridge itself is a 6 lane bridge that also has a dedicated bike and walking path. According to my GPS running app on my phone, it is a 1.1 mile uphill one direction, and a 1.6 mile uphill the opposite direction. Needless to say, those of us who are not in shape anymore had some pretty upset calves after the 1.1 mile one way uphill start!! But it was well worth it, and I look forward to running it again next year.
That night, we also went to a Japanese Steak House for dinner. The kids got a huge kick out of watching the hibachi chefs fire up their grills across the restaurant. However, when it came time for our grill to be lit, they had no idea what they were in for.... the grill was lit, a HUGE ball of flame (and subsequently, heat) erupted from the grill, and the kids screamed in terror. Elektra waaaaaaaaaailed, screamed to go back to the car, and eventually compromised by being willing to sit in Daddy's lap. The hibachi chef made our dinner to perfection, cleaned his hibachi, and left while we finished our meals. Elektra then said, "That was fun!" It was all we could do to not laugh. Steve and I made sure to tell the hibachi chef before we left.
On Thursday, we went to the playground again, and then we went 10-pin bowling. Usually, this would be just a footnote in the week's events, except DJ wanted to 10-pin bowl, too. So we got him his own lane, his own shoes, put up the bumpers, and found him a 7 pound ball.
He played full 2 games, and he nearly beat my score both games he played. The guys never would have let me hear the end of it if my nearly 5 year old had beaten my score!! My score is on the left screen, at the bottom (84). DJ's score is on the right (81).
But he was so excited to play, and had such a good time! If you can't see the video, here is the link: http://youtu.be/PvoezsFebMg.
On Friday, we went to play mini golf and go karting. DJ and Elektra seemed to have fun mini golfing, though they didn't quite get the hang of it entirely. Elektra LOVED go karting, and DJ could take it or leave it. I guess we know who is going to be the autocrosser of the family...
Once again, we got home too late to take naps. I, clearly, learned nothing a few days previously.
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| Elektra... DONE. |
Saturday, March 24, was DJ's 5th birthday and unfortunately for him, he got to spend it in the car as we drove home. Again, we made it home in record time due to no traffic in the mixing bowl. It was a really nice time, and it was awesome that we got to spend quality time with Andy, Damian, Jenn, and Leo!
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