First Fish

What a fine day it was to take my honeybunnies fishing at the Hopewell Optimist Fishing Tournament for  kids on May 19th. I dont know much about fishing and the thoughts of worms ugh or taking a fish off the hook doesnt do it for me but when it comes to children well the heart overrules the head thoughts and off you go.. We had to make a stop at the bait shop to pick up hooks, sinkers and bait before arriving on the banks of the Appomatox River in Hopewell to register our place there. Upon arriving they gave us gift certificates for McDs and a nice green Tshirt for each of the kids, told us where to go fish and what time to be back for other festivities. So off we went early on that Saturday morning, thru the dew on the grass which made for soggy shoes and down the big hill to the rivah. Perrin was so excited that he was going to do some fishing and he knew he was gonna catch his first fish on this day.
I am so thankful that we met up with Mr Rodney and his daughter Madison cuz I like I said know nothing about fishing. He helped the kids get their poles straight and gave us the correct size hooks, and sinkers and fixed the line correctly. It was soon apparent that I was not the only one who thought fishing was a great idea for the kids and knew nothing as Mr Rodney was busy with many kids fixing their poles etc . 
We shared our snacks and drinks with everyone and enjoyed making new friends on a nice day at the river, watching birds and seeing other kids catch fish and eels ewwww. I would have died on the spot if we had one of them on the end of the pole !!!
It was time to get ready to go up the hill for lunch but Perrin asked to throw his line in one more time please Nana please. So I told him he could while I gathered up the equipment and things we had brought along. 
Suddenly I hear him shout I got one Nana I got one !!! and he is reeling in his line like a pro with the pole bent and lo there is his first fish and a proud excited little boy showing everyone his first fish..
It was a 5 inch Perch with spiky fins and had a golden look, but it was honeybunnys best day ever he said. He carried that fish on its hook all the way up the hill and across the lot til he seen our neighbor and running to him to show him his first fish with his little eyes twinkling and his chest thrown out like he had grown up in just a few minutes. 
We took the fish off the hook and placed him in our bag in the car. Off to eat our lunch on the grass of the National Park there that the Optimist had bbqd for us, then came the prize moments !

Perrin won a skateboard, Hallie and Alyssa won basketballs but some boy asked to trade Alyssa her basketball for a fishing pole so they were happy. Perrin though really wanted a fishing pole so that was a heartbreaking moment for him. But it was ok after awhile and he really had a great time and now wants to fish forever..   

Pirate Day at the Library

I love our new library here in Prince George and all the librarians. They are doing so many fun things for the kids. This day was for International Talk Like a Pirate Day and the librarians were all dressed like pirates. One of them, in the photos, showed Perrin his booty and loot and his swords he had in his car. we had arrived late after the event as honeybunny was in school but they still did what they could to make it fun for us.
Another event there was with the Canine Therapy Dogs and Perrin fell in love with the Great Dane. The kids read to the dogs and can pet them and learn how they help people with all sorts of things even anxiety in children.
Things sure have changed since I was a kid and went to the library. Now they have so many fun things to do and see and learn. I hope Perrin always remembers these days and will always have a love for books like we do.

Publix Days at Henricus Park

Off we went to the free Publix Days at Henricus Park this Septmeber weekend. I have always wanted to see what was behind those wooden fences and this was a special weekend to go . I was sorry Perrin couldnt come with us but he was away for the weekend so he missed getting on board the ship Godspeed.
I picked Alyssa and Hallie up that morning and off we went. We learned a lot how Henricus was settled and how they had a community set up behind this fence to protect them from the mm savage Indians . they grow a nice garden there, had a church and a hospital. The reenactors were very nice and explained the story to us as we moved along thru the area. But the first thing we wanted to see was the ship Godspeed that had sailed from Jamestown up the river and docked at Henricus. We walked the plank aboard the ship and were allowed to wander around and touch the ropes and wheel and someone would tell us about how they lived on the ship and life aboard it.
There were Indians inside the fort and they also told us about their life. They had their long houses set up and we were amazed at what was inside. I cannot wait to go back on the next Publix Days in September and hope honeybunny will be here so he can see the ship too !

Taking that first step into the World

Irene postponed the first day of school for Perrin for two weeks due to damage to the schools and also with the power outages. But the little man was ready when the time came. The day before school started was the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and I wanted to take him and Hallie to see something of 9/11 so that we would remember. Ft Lee had just what I wanted them to see with their display of a piece of the Pentagon that was part of where one of the planes that hit on that day. We learned a lot of history and things we didnt know. And we also went on to a part of the base that we had not seen before.
The next day was September 12th, the first day of school and for Perrin to ride on that long anticipated yellow school bus he has been waiting his whole 5 years for. Up early and dressed in his new clothes and book bag he was over the top excited. Grandma Sherry, Grannette, Nana were there to see him off on his first adventure on his own along with mom and dad. He had a great day and had a nice teacher Ms Moon, but his best was riding that yellow school bus with Ms Kay every day !

Irene

I find myself excited and scared when a hurricane comes thru and this week we met Irene in our own backyard ! How lucky we were though that the trees that blew down fell away from the house and we were only inconvienced by no power for a week. We were also lucky that our friends Tim and Danielle offered us their home for showers and to cool off from Irenes humidity when their power came back on.
Irene left us with a lot of downed trees, high winds and teaching Perrin to play board games during that time. She also left us with some beautiful mushrooms that grew in our yard after she left.

Summertime Fun

There are lots of fun things to do with my honeybunny that are free and the kids enjoy them so much. Swaders had a fun birthday event just a few days after Perrins birthday. We really enjoyed the face painting and the balloon animals by Cuddles the Clown. Spongebob and Dora also made an appearance there along with PG Fire Dept with games for the kids and Perrin loved getting to sit in the fire truck with a real fireman hat on. Lots of games for kids this day and a most delicious cake that the girls made sure Perrin got the big red flower to eat LOL

Here we go go go on an adventure