Virginia Beach June 2010

Day 1, We greet long lost cousins and we Rutherford girls get back in the swing of being together, all is calm, everyone is peaceful.

Day 2  out to the sweltering beach we treck, baby in backpack, over the tall sand dunes with Grandma, Hunter, and Rose. We all sit in a row where the surf foam lines the sand, laughing as it chills us.  Jonathan is a scared little clinging koala , Dorathea is apprehensive, "Don't go out too far" she tells us. Our feet burn on the sand on the way back.
Day 3 Spend the day around the pool.  Jonathan and Harper coo and splash at one another.  Jonathan decides the water is ok since Harper likes it.  He consents to letting me swim around with him on a float.  Ahhh floating with a baby, bliss.   Later alone I watch the twilight colors from the lovely pool.
Day 4 Everyone goes to the beach.  All the children dig in the sand.  Dorathea helps fly kites and Jonathan chases them pointing up with a chubby finger. He is mesmerized by the boats and jets his finger pointing again and again.  Chubby baby falls asleep leaning back on my chest.  I place him on a towel under the umbrella, and he sleeps soundly the ocean breeze tickling his face. We play ocean surf jumping games. I take a walk on the beach with Dorathea and search for shells.  When our hands are full we head back.
     In the afternoon the Gantt clan, Elizabeth and Evangeline and my little family go out to sample the local seafood.  My family eats crab cakes happily then we go with Elizabeth and Harper to scope out the graveyard across the street.  The names are great,
Ernestine Waterfield
Atla Watters
Cora Virginia Bonney
Tulley C. and Ruby Lane
Ollie Land
Rev. William Strawhead
Lucy Lee Land
Iris Gutheridge
Beulah Airey
Day 6 another day lounging at the pool.  Rose creates a fenced in area for baby to end the endless activity of chasing Jonathan around the pool.

Day 5 Wed Cloudy restful day, in the afternoon Hunter, Elizabeth and Evangeline

1 Timothy 6:18

Dorathea and I are learning 1 Timothy 6:18 "Be full of good works and ready to share".  This morning as we said it together and afterward she said, "Mom, I think it should be, and ready to play"

Dorathea's latest Joke

At dinner Dorathea- "I have a joke!"  Ted and Allison reply glancing at each other "Oh, ok, what is it?".  "What does the Teddy Bear say after dinner?....."   "I'm stuffed!", she laughs at her own joke and we laugh along.  :)

Mother's day trip

Ok, so we missed the train in Lynchburg that we were going to take to D.C. to see my folks.  I drove instead and new I needed something fun to do so that I wouldn't be so sulky about missing my beloved train.  Luckily there was a pick your own stawberry farm on the way.  Here is Dorathea trying to catch J and feed him a strawberry.  Notice the Blue Ridge Mountsins in the background.  The farm was beautiful and it was a lovely warm spring day.

Jonathan eating his third stawberry.  They are so warm and juicy right off the vine.

The day after we arrived Grandpa took Dorathea fishing.  This is them digging for worms.  My girl was not squimish about picking them up.

As Dorathea excitedly told me later they caught seven fish with her little Dora fishing rod.  Grandpa used them to fertilize the tomato plants. Dorathea later played princesses with her cousin Abigail.  Abagail called for her prince to save her while Dorathea called for her Grandpa and her Mommy to save her.  Grandpa later said he loved hearing Dorathea talk about him.

We went on to Grandma's (D and J's great grandmother) house the next day.  We ate an amazing though hectic Mother's Day Brunch at the Dining Hall along with my mom and sister Elizabeth.  After a much needed nap we all feasted again on Chinese Food (a family favorite) admired Mother's day cards and photos of children, then said goodnight to Elizabeth, Mom and her sweet dog Sebastian.

 The next day on my way out of town I stopped at the natural history museum in DC to see the Dinosaur bones. Dorathea had a blast telling me which dinosaur was which and we toured the animals all over the first floor.  She asked to see "two more museums" so we went to the sculpture garden next door.  I let the kids run around the fountian.  Dorathea here is leading Jonathan by the hand to the ducks.  Jonathan spent his time chasing sparrows.  It was such a beautiful day to be in the garden.
We stopped by the art museum next and saw some amazing Rodin scupltures including some little girl ballerinas with pink tutus.  We could have stayed longer, D was having a great time, but it was naptime and I wanted to get home to see some friends, so we headed back to the car.  Dorathea got an ice cream come to sweeten our departure and we were off for home and Daddy!

Too Much Sugar

While reading the newspaper at our dining room table, Dorathea handed me a toy teacup and saucer. She then poured me imaginary milk from a toy cream pitcher. Then she held up a toy sugar bowl and asked if I would like some sugar. I said, "Yes, thank you," and dipped a tiny toy spoon in the bowl, scooping a couple of times and inserting into my teacup. Dorathea chastised me with a serious face: "That's enough sugar, Daddy."

Monkey & Dixie's Luau

Dorathea asked me to join her in a game of make-believe using a basket of random small toy trinkets. She named a tiny wooden doll "Dixie" and a plastic monkey (appropriately) "Monkey". She erected a tiny plastic tree and parked a small wooden boat next to it. She announced that Dixie had arrived by boat to visit Monkey at his beach, and he would need to cook something for her to eat. I told her we could have a luau - and then explained what a luau was. Dorathea then erected a mock stove out of a wooden plank laid across two blocks, atop which she placed a miniature copper pot.
When I asked her what Monkey was making for dinner, she took a little white boardgame dice from the basket, placed it in the pot, and said "Monkey's making diced chicken." Naturally.

"When I grow up to be a teacher, will you still be my mommy and daddy?"- Dorathea