Riverdance, Finally

We had an evening four years in the making on Saturday.  Four years ago we had tickets to go see Riverdance, something I've wanted to go to for years.  Heber's Grandma unexpectedly passed away and we had to travel out to California and missed the show.  Heber tried to get tickets in another city but they stopped touring.  It was literally the last show in North America ever.

Last year they rebooted the show again and started touring.  I was so excited to see that they were coming to Virginia but never expected to be able to go.   Heber surprised me with tickets for Mother's Day to see it at Wolf Trap.

It was such a good show.  They've added some other genres of dance to it, flamenco dancing, traditional tap.  It made me all nostalgic for my Logan dancing days.  How many hours did I spend dancing in the Wittier Center with Inishfre?  So many good memories. 

Sandy Beaches and Messes

I do not like to be messy.  This should not come as a huge shock to anyone.  I've never really been very outdoorsy either.  I think it's that I don't really like bugs, wild animals, dirt....I could go on.  Heber claims it's because I never found an outdoor activity that I really loved.  He swears that if I got to really like skiing that I'd love winter and snow.  I'm not so sure.

Last week, the kids and I met some friends at Mason Neck State Park.  They have a great playground and kid friendly walking trails.  What more could a mother of toddlers want?

Just off the path, there was a trail that led to a beach and right out onto the water.  I had packed everything we would need for such an event, but had left it all in the car.  Great.  I still let the kids wade into the water and play.  The funniest was watching Amy in the water, she is quite the little fish.  I better get that girl into some swimming lessons.

 

There was sand everywhere but we made it work.  It's not worth passing up these sweet memories to contain the mess.  This is a metaphor for parenthood, I think, to surrender to the mess and enjoy the exploring.   You should have seen the utter joy on their faces.  What's a little sand or a messy face?


It reminded me of a time that we went to Bear Lake a couple of years ago.  Leo was about Amy's age now.  We went with a whole group of friends and watched the little ones toddle around in the sand.  So many good memories.  

The Fourth

Another fourth of July has come and passed.  It was a drizzly and dreary affair this year but we made up for it with a visit from my parents for the weekend.  I think I'm going to like them living in Chicago, especially when they can visit a little more often. 

To start the holiday out, I drug the box of decorations up from the basement.  We did this weeks ago and we've been enjoying the novelty of red white and blue around the house.  That morning we had a joyful morning exploring all of the decorations to a soundtrack of Sousa Marches.  They paraded around the house with flags and shakers to the sounds of trumpets and trombones.  Decorating for holidays is one of my most favorite things to do with the kids, followed closely by baking cookies together.  For days afterward, Amy would point to them and say, "stars! I wub it!"

On Friday, we drove over to Harper's Ferry (of course).  It is such a pretty spot and filled with so much history.  I was sure they would love it.  We filled the rest of the weekend with two firework shows, shopping with my mom (something I really miss with us living so far apart), a trip to the movies to see Finding Dory and good food.  The highlight for the whole thing was having time to talk to my mom and dad.  They have embarked on such a big adventure in their lives and it was nice to get the update.  We talked about all the fourths from the past and talked about the infamous Miss Grantsville pageant. 

We decorated the kids bikes which is a tradition of mine since childhood.  We did finally get some nice weather in and pulled out the slip and slide.

 

 On the fourth, we braved the rain and 70 degree temperatures to go to the Dale City Parade.  It's the one we went to last year and I liked it just as much.  The highlight would be all the candy they throw out.  Amy spent most of the parade eating her candy.  My dad wore his traditional flag shirt (it just isn't the fourth without it) and was filmed by a photographer for a local magazine. 

 

 

With rain falling nearly all day (boo), we opted to try out the fireworks at Manassas.  Last year we drove into the city to see the fireworks in similar weather and weren't able to see hardly any fireworks with all the smoke hanging in the air.  We had a pretty nice view, although Amy decided that she wasn't a fan of fireworks this year. 

It was a fourth to remember, even with fussy kids from long days of fun.  Toddlers are such temperamental creatures.  Luckily, I prepared myself mentally for it all and expected it so it wasn't too bad.