Shoot the Duck

Most of my childhood was spent on roller skates, so when I found out that my friend, Heather, also loved to roller skate and presently still does, I just had to get back into it. When I was home last I made sure I packed my old roller skates to come back with me to Virginia. Then we pressured our friend, Christin, into getting a pair so she could join us as well. The three of us along with our friend, Emily, who didn't have skates but instead had a really cool long skateboard met at the park after dropping off our kids at school, with the exception of Emily's son who joined us on his bike. It was a super fun morning and I so can't wait to get my skates on again!!!

Tae Kwon Do

Tyler is now taking Tae Kwon Do lessons. A friend of ours gave us a gift certificate for 8 free classes, a free private introductory class as well as a free uniform. At first, he wasn't very interested in attending and during the private lesson he was extremely shy, but they asked if he wanted to join the class that was about to start right after the private class and his reply was yes. When he got into the class with the other boys, his shyness soon disappeared. Tae Kwon Do is now all that he talks about. LOL This morning as he was leaving the apartment he even bowed as they are required to do before and after each practice. He is ecstatic about going to his next class. Steve and I are so happy he loves it so much. Tae Kwon Do not only teaches how to defend yourself, but is also about learning to focus, respecting others, and encourages better behavior. He will greatly benefit from these classes.

More Photos from our MINI Road Trip

Sunday Drive

Sunday morning we hit the road yet again for some more fun "motoring" in the MINI. Steve found a scenic drive recommended on the MINI app we have. We had some time to spare before the Transportation Museum opened, so we decided to check it out. The scenery did not let us down, it was incredible driving up in the mountains. We drove through Jefferson National Forest and into West Virginia. Of course, we stopped along the way to snap a dozen or so photos. It was an absolutely perfect day for a beautiful Sunday drive out in the country, however before long we had to start heading back to Roanoke for some lunch and to see the museum. We ate at a cool burger place called Beamers which was right next door to the museum.
If you ever get the chance to visit Roanoke and especially if you have a child, the Virginia Transportation should be on your must-see list. The museum is well worth the admission. It is filled with all kinds of vehicles, even an impression collection of Hotwheels and Matchbox. There are buses and airplanes. And the most exciting for Tyler was the trains, both real and toy. We had a blast viewing and going inside some of them.

Once we were done with our tour of the museum, Steve checked to see if there was a cache nearby. Low and behold not only was there a cache, but it located at the rocket just outside of the museum that Tyler wanted so desperately wanted to see. Turns out the rocket was an actual rocket called Jupiter and contained two astronaut monkeys up into space!

Just across the street was the Rail Trail which we walked along. It was super awesome! Along the trail, there were little exhibits of various train equipment, most of them had buttons you can push to make them work. We had a blast testing them out. Among the ones they had was an actual train crossing barrier, a whistle, and lights. Even the benches were made of old train wheels and the path was a painted track. After our fun on the trail, we walked over to the market and walked up some streets before returning back to the car. By this time, we really needed to start our journey back home. Steve decided instead of driving back on the Interstate to take a more scenic way home so we could enjoy the drive more. We stopped at Lynchburg for dinner and found yet another cool place. The building was an old train depot. The seats we sat in were actual old church pews and even the Bible/Hymn book holders that we once on the pews was now to hold the condiments. The kitchen was in two train cars that were attached to the back of the building. Even the food was awesome! LOL
By the time we ate, it was definitely time to get serious about making our way back home. We had a fantastic time though on our very first MINI road trip, and you know us, there will be plenty more to look forward to in the future.

Our First MINI Roadtrip

We were eager to tryout our MINI on a road trip, so we decided to head to the Appalachian Mountains in western Virginia where there is some fun roads for us to drive on. However, when we first arrived at the main entrances of the George Washington National Forest and Shenandoah National Park both were closed due to the snow. At first, we thought we were going to have a repeat of last weekend with the misfortune of having bad luck with closed parks, but Steve came to the rescue and found us another way into part of the park. Yay!!!

Once in the park, we stopped at the Augusta Springs Wetlands. We explored two different trails. One was a wetland trail that went through a beaver pond where we could see some cool beaver dams, foundations of an area they used to do bottling, and other evidence of stone foundations. As well as the wetlands trail, we also explored another which we though led to the springs. We got so far and noticed an old car in the woods. Of course, we had to go and check it out. LOL

 After we left the Augusta Springs, we took another detour off the beaten path and ended up driving forever on a snow covered dirt road. It was about 12 miles long, though it seemed like it took forever. By the time we got back to the main road, it was starting to get dark and so we decided to go and find our hotel for the night. We dropped off our stuff and then got dinner at a restaurant called The Roanoker which is a local favorite and their biscuits were even featured on NBC's The Today Show. On the way back to the hotel, we passed by the Virginia Transportation Museum. It looked like an awesome place to take Tyler, however it was already closed for the night. Returning back to the hotel, we pretty much called it a night as we were exhausted. Here are some more photos of our adventures from that day.

In-Service Day

So, as mentioned in yesterday's post there was no school today. Tyler and I had the whole day to ourselves. The first thing on our agenda was to go see the movie 'Wreck It Ralph'. What a great movie. Both Tyler and I really enjoyed it. After the movie, we came home and made a pizza for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing various things as you will see from the photos, but the best part of all was that it started snowing outside. Steve, Tyler and I joined our neighbor and her daughter outside and we made a small snowman. We had so much fun that we so did not want to go back inside. It will probably be all melted tomorrow morning by the time we wake up. Boo :(

Let the Weekend Fun Begin

Not only was it Early Release Day and the last day before a 4 day weekend, but it was also Pajama Day at Tyler's school. The PTA's Read-A-Thon was also taking place today. What a great ending to our school week!

Up, Up, And Away

Our original plans of going for a hike at the MacKay Island National Wildlife Refuge were canceled due to the park being closed for the holiday, however Steve managed to snap a few incredible photos just outside the closed off area. They say capturing photos of birds in flight is one of the most difficult to get; today, however, Steve made it look easy. Again, he amazes us with his talent.

MINI Photo Shoot

This afternoon our MINI was busy at a photo shoot. Steve took some pretty impressive shots as you will see below.