Where should we go today? The Weekend Edition!

Saturday, June 20th:

Well, we didn't go anywhere (unless you count the trip to Valvoline to get the oil changed -- a few thousand miles late, but better late than never, yes?; a trip to Lowes for moving boxes and shrink wrap on a roll -- I love that stuff; and 45min waiting in line at the bank to deposit checks that we had to make sure went in on time ... dh did all that while I lolled on the couch and the kids "free explored" on the computer!). Once dh got home, Saturday was spent in a whirlwind of packing books (who bought all these anyway!), dishes and other parts of the kitchen we won't need for the next week, and taking apart beds to get them ready to be moved. Dh declard "Sunday" at 4p.m. and we rested the rest of the weekend -- ya gotta love this guy, eh?

Sunday, June 21st -- the longest day of the year!

On Sunday dh did get us up bright and early so he could open his Father's Day gift ... no, he actually got us up early (6:00 a.m. for me and 6:30 for the kiddoes) to head to the 7:30 a.m. Mass so we could get a jump on the day. At 9 a.m. a starving crew in a silver minivan barely made it to Panera to consume mass quantities of bagels and cream cheese before heading south on a trip of exploration: destination ... Lake Anna State Park.

Wow, this place is gorgeous ...

with a lovely beach ...

warm lake water ...

concession stand ...

and a place for dh and I to relax as we watched the kids frolic and called FIL to wish him a happy Father's Day! And we've decided we're going to try out as many Virginia State Parks as we can over the next few years or so ... the couple we've been to so far are AMAZING!

Home by 3:30 (VERY little traffic both ways which was a gift from God for dh) and peaceful dinner, a few episodes of the old Waltons ... and voila ... Father's Day 2009 was a success!

Happy Father's Day to my dear husband who makes me so much more than I was before ... I love you, handsome!

Where should we go today?

Well, yesterday, really!

It was one of those gorgeous late-Spring days here in Virginia ... beautiful sunny skies, low humidity and a full day of relaxation (the benefit of going to 8:30 a.m. Mass!) spread before us. Since it was the Feast of Corpus Christi, we really wanted to do it right.

We decided to stop by Wegmans (our very FAVORITE grocery/cafe place in all of NoVA) to pick up lunch and then head out to Fountainhead Regional Park to revel in God's creation and the beauty of the day. We played multiple rounds of putt-putt golf (with all three littles and Kotch scoring at least one hole in one!) and then walked about down by the Marina and dreamed of the day when we'll have a boat on a lovely lake, too!

After a few hours at Fountainhead we headed toward Dulles to hook up with Kotch's grandma, aunt and cousin ... the four of them are heading to Ireland (as a graduation present from said grandma) today and we all went out to dinner to celebrate the reunion, graduations and birthdays (Kotch will actually turn 18 while touring the Emerald Isle). A great time was had by all (especially the waiter who got a kick out of the littles -- hmmm, imagine that!) and we headed home after wishing the travelers a safe and joy-filled trip.

What a day it was! We even had NO TRAFFIC coming home on toll road 267 and interstates 495 and 95 -- a minor miracle in itself.

How was your weekend?

Where should we go today? The Weekend Edition!

How 'bout Craig Springs, in the Virginia Highlands?


What, you've never heard of this humble spot? Back in 2004 I wrote an article for the NCRegister about our annual pilgrimage to the Virginia Highlands ... we came when we lived in NC, we came when we lived in SC, we came when we lived in Austria, we came when we lived in CO. And, now that we're only 5 hours away ... we can come EVERY year!

We, a large group of Catholics, have come for the last 33 years to this Christian Camp in the itty-bitty mountain town of Craig Springs. Traditionally, this pilgrimage is held on Father's Day weekend as we embraced the family ... that's the point, to build the family up, to pray for all families, and to help all families.

Fr. John, the "mastermind" behind the pilgrimage, read out the purpose of the pilgrimage (quoted from the 30th section of the historic Human Vitae):

To Bishops
30. And now as We come to the end of this encyclical letter, We turn Our mind to you, reverently and lovingly, beloved and venerable brothers in the episcopate, with whom We share more closely the care of the spiritual good of the People of God. For We invite all of you, We implore you, to give a lead to your priests who assist you in the sacred ministry, and to the faithful of your dioceses, and to devote yourselves with all zeal and without delay to safeguarding the holiness of marriage, in order to guide married life to its full human and Christian perfection. Consider this mission as one of your most urgent responsibilities at the present time. As you well know, it calls for concerted pastoral action in every field of human diligence, economic, cultural and social. If simultaneous progress is made in these various fields, then the intimate life of parents and children in the family will be rendered not only more tolerable, but easier and more joyful. And life together in human society will be enriched with fraternal charity and made more stable with true peace when God's design which He conceived for the world is faithfully followed.

The purpose in a nutshell: to build up the family ... which builds up the Church ... which makes the world better for one and all.

The accommodations are not luxurious (after all, this is a pilgrimage!) ... but are always memorable.The time is well-spent with family and new and old friends.

We come to play -- playing a BIG multi-generational/gender softball game

... or swimming in the REALLY cold pool (filled from the run-off of the mountain spring)

... to rest and nurture each other and our families

... and throughout it all, we celebrate our faith and our Church by receiving the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation and the gift of prayer and meditation ... We just got back ... there's tons of laundry ... but the work getting ready, getting there and coming back are so well-worth it! The weekend is a blessing and a grace-filled time for us all ... we can't wait to go back next year .... wanna come?

End of the year activities: field trip

We are winding down our "formal" home-schooling this week -- with Kotch done (graduation on June 1st), dh almost done, the weather turning hot and the pool opening, summer is upon us with a vengeance! Add to these influences, the need to sort/toss/pack/move before the end of June ... well, formal schooling needs to slow up (altho we NEVER stop living, loving and learning).

So, whenever we're nearing the "end" , I try to plan fun things that mark the end, giving a bit of "closure" ...

For instance, yesterday we went on a field trip to see the movie, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. We loved it! We love the first one and watch it often; that said, I think this sequel is even better in most ways. Ben Stiller's character, Larry Dailey, is not quite so pitiful and shows great loyalty and love for others (this was missing a bit in the original). There is none of the first-movie's family issues that try to seem so politically-correct and just end up looking sad from all sides. Robin Williams returns as two different Teddy Roosevelts -- but thankfully has a smaller role than in the first as a little bit of RW goes a long way. Jedediah and Octavius are back and just as well-done as in the original movie while Capuchin monkey, Dexter, has great competition from space-monkey Able!

Amy Adams is great as a young Amelia Earhart -- very moxie-filled -- altho as String Bean (an Earhart afficianado) pointed out: AE was in her 30s when she really started flying and disappeared at the age of 40, so Adams' portrayal is a bit young for the gutsy aviatrix.

Of course the plot is hokey ... and far-fetched ... and absolutely unbelievable ... but that's the fun! Having been to all the places shown in the movie -- Air & Space, Castle, even the Lincoln Memorial -- made the movie even more fun for the kids and I. We've seen those paintings and sculptures that come alive ... we've stood in front of Abe and looked down the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument (and he is BIGGGGGG!) ... the kids have even been on the South Lawn of the White House (altho Octavius' venture was a slightly different experience than their own).

The bad guys are led by Akmunrah's evil, older brother Kahmunrah (played really well by Hank Azaria) and include Napoleon, Ivan the Terrible (or rather, Ivan the Awesome!), and Al Capone. There is a great scene when bad-boy muppet Oscar the Grouch and Darth Vader try to join the bad guys but are summarily dismissed. The final battle scence -- good vs bad, Custer vs Napoleon -- is great fun (but a bit over the top destructive). Some of the gags the kids didn't get -- like the Archie Bunker "throne" comment (yes, I remember that show!).

The Smithsonian -- comprised of 19 museums around the Mall (and outlying areas) -- holds such wonderful delights and this movie points out many of them. The Air&Space sequences -- with the Tuskegee Airmen and bobble-headed Einsteins -- remind the kids just how much we love that particular museum. The pictures coming alive in the National Gallery of Art (not a Smithsonian museum but located right in the midst of them) remind the kids of the great art available seven days a week in the Nation's Capital.

The ending is a great twist (maybe a bit predictable but still good) and makes me wish we lived closer to the NY Natural History museum (especially if this movie was real instead of just escapist fantasy)!

This field trip was a memory-making, reminiscence-remembering, family outing that we'll chuckle over for a long time. And reminded us all that we've haven't been to the DC museums in a while -- sounds like another field trip is in store for this weekend so dh can join in our ramblings round the Mall!

Where should we go today?

hmmm ... it's a warm Spring-y day (70s but cloudy) and we don't have rain in the forecast ... what about heading to Belvedere Plantation? Hmmmm ... a 645-acre farm, on the banks of the Rappahannock, with a plantation house from the 1760s (!) and fresh, ready to pick, strawberries! Sounds perfect.

Two hours and almost 30 pounds of berries later, we headed home to prep them and revel in the stupendously sensual smell of strawberries! It did rain on us ... but a gentle, Spring shower that cooled the pickers as we bent and found the ripening redness hidden in the green rainforest of the raised beds. We have another flat of berries in addition to the ones shown here. We had berries and vanilla icecream for dessert tonight ... we're dehydrating some for snacks ... freezing some for post-season treats. If we can keep the kids from eating 'em all!

We'll be hunting up some strawberry recipes for the next month or so ... so if you have some, please share!

And just so you know ... we finished up the night with the perfect family movie for such a day -- State Fair -- the one with Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews and Vivian Blaine ... a perfect ending to a perfect day here in the Old Dominion.

Hope your day went as well ....

Field Trip: Bluebells in Virginia!

Well, we've finally seen them .... after years of reading on the 4real forum about Virginia's bluebells and the families' annual outings to spot, draw and play amidst and among this humble but GORGEOUS flowering plant ... we've finally seen them. Bull Run Regional Park was rife with fields like these, spotted through the trees, amidst the marshy conditions throughout this natural setting. Bluebells, a perennial, herald spring around here like the Cherry Blossoms showering down pink blossoms on our windy days.So, admist the muddy conditions and the slight chill in the air, we (the littles and me and four other families) did some nature studying:
deer track spotted by the bank of the creek (also saw raccoon tracks, but those were obliterated pretty quickly by the little ones being so excited about knowing the tracks!)frog caught by the bank (sorry for the blurriness -- we were all moving at once!)
and lots of playing on, in and around this lovely spot!

Yep, it was muddy ... yep it was cold ... yep it was messy ... but we all had a great time ... chatting ... posing posing some more ...
eating
smiling ...
smiling some more ...and smiling more...
and STILL smiling towards the end of our stay!

we came home exhausted but exhiliarated and just a little awed at God's creative gifts given freely to us all.

For those who don't have these lovely, delicate blue and purple and periwinkle colored flowers in their area ... here's an image from the USDA plant site that you can print out and color ....

Feast Day: Divine Mercy Sunday

Today, Easter Sunday is done for this year. For Catholics, Easter Sunday is such an important day in the liturgical calendar that it actually breaks the world's schedule and extends for an eight-day period! Honestly! (Also, the "Easter Season" goes on thru Acension and on to Pentecost -- 50 days AFTER Easter Sunday -- so we've got quite a few "partying" days left).

I thought this was an appropriate day to post a bit about our Lenten practices this year and our Easter Sunday (that lasted 8 days!):

Here is the calendar I posted so the family could focus on different events, readings and schedule of Lent. I marked all the feast days (that interrupt the fasting of Lent) -- such as St. Patrick's or St. Joseph's days -- and the fasting times. On each day, I put the appropriate liturgical readings and any other pertinent information. There is a little picture of two boys walking that we moved each day to mark our Lenten journey. This seemed to help the kids remember that although Lent is LONG, it is not endless and that there is a "happy" ending -- the happiest ending for all mankind!
Here is our Lenten table. The alms box (for Catholic Relief Services) was center-stage the whole Lent -- we all added to the box when we could (in secret) and dad would take the offerings to school each week. The red hexagonal box holds the kids' rosaries for evening prayer. The flowers remind us that Easter (and Spring) are coming ... we tried to keep fresh ones there throughout Lent. The purple cloth is for the penitence and sorrow of what lies ahead for Jesus during Holy Week.

Here is a close-up of the knitted "nest" I designed. Based on a smaller design from Hannah Fettig's Closely Knit (a great book with sensational ideas), I knit from the center out and made a family-sized version so we could ...use it on Easter Sunday for our family basket. Here it's filled with goodies -- peeps (for the annual peep wars!), jelly-beans, chocolate eggs, DVDs, games and even a drawing book, and of course "custom-designed" hardboiled eggs surrounding the whole. The cloth is one I embroidered back in 2001 for a special Easter Basket that was blessed at Church the year we did the Byzantine "Great Lent". (BTW, for my knitted nest directions, check out my knitting blog, By Hand, With Heart for a free Easter gift to you ....)

0-dark-30 Easter Monday (or 3:45 a.m.!) we headed out to visit relatives down in South Carolina -- and the 8.5 hour drive was so worth it as we so LOVE these folks down there. The kids have fun, dh and I are surrounded by those who love and respect us, and it is just a wonderful time. BamBam finally ventured out on his 2-wheeler (without training wheels) and felt the sense of freedom only learning to ride a bike can give! A few days of R&R was just what we need ... and we hit the road back here on Thursday, just in time to check out potential houses (God willing, the house in Colorado closes on May 11th!) on Friday.

We finished up the week with a spectacular Easter Saturday: a day of fun-in-the-sun with our favorite Chaplain at the Nationals game against the Marlins. Unfortunately, they lost (9-6 in the 11th inning) but the day (and company) were so fabulous, we didn't mind too much ...

Here are some photos of the big day (the first time for us at the Nationals Stadium):Sipping on cokes ...munching on hotdogs and chips ....and stuffing our faces with cotton candy (and yes, those two ate the whole bucket -- while the rest of us ate ice cream!)A great time was definitely had by all!Divine Mercy Sunday (today) found us down at St. Patrick's in Spotsylvania for Divine Mercy Sunday Mass ... and a wonderful reminder from the parochial vicar there to NEVER forget that God's mercy is bigger than ANY sin (or sins) we can commit. All we need do is ask for His forgiveness and follow the right path ... and we will live with Him and the Saints for eternity!

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday to you and yours ... and enjoy the next 42 days of the Easter Season!