Two and a half years ago, Sam started going to daycare around the corner from my office.
Since then, we’ve traveled many, many miles together. 42,000 of them, according to my rough estimation.
Tomorrow is our last commute. He’ll be home for the summer with Andy and then he’ll start kindergarten in the fall.
I am heartbroken.
Having him around the corner meant I could stop and check on him after a rough drop-off in the morning, eat lunch prepared by a hoard of three year olds, and watch him ice skate for the first time.
It meant that I was the one he ran to at the end of the day. It meant he and I had an hour and a half of uninterrupted one-on-one time every day.
I guess I could call this post What I did on my summer vacation (last year). I’m writing it now because I’m not quite sure what we should do this year! Joshua’s last day of school is Friday, Sophie’s already out, and vacation time fast approacheth. Every year, we pretty much go on vacation to the same place: my parents’ house in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Because it’s free, my mom cooks, and they offer Grandma & Grandpa child care! Plus, there’s tons to do around there, and it’s gorgeous. Pictured above is Natural Bridge, which is…a natural bridge. (Which was once owned by Thomas Jefferson!) An amazing stone bridge that just naturally occurred. And, is actually used as a real bridge as well. I’ve been there twice as an adult, and once or twice as a child, and it never fails to absolutely bowl me over. My kids loved it, too. It’s somewhere you REALLY need to see in your lifetime. Put it on your bucket list!
There’s quite a lot to see at Natural Bridge and a nice long trail to follow. My kids were OBSESSED with the map.
There’s also a creek that runs right alongside the trail at Natural Bridge, and the trail leads to a waterfall. When we were almost to the falls, we saw an honest-to-goodness REAL live baby otter! It was sooo awesome! We were seriously giddy over it. We love watching the otters at our local children’s museum, and to see a real one was just amazing!
There are also a few other attractions at Natural Bridge. The folks at the Lexington & Rockbridge County Visitors Center gave me two free tickets because I am a super famous blogger (seriously, tweet about where you are going on vacation and see what happens!), and we paid for the kids’ admission. We loved the butterfly house they have there, and they also have a fun toy museum, which was really more fun for Bobby and I than for the kids because it had all sorts of toys we had when we were young. (I wouldn’t pay for the toy museum on its own, but as part of the package deal it was cool.) There are also some caverns nearby you can take a tour in, and it’s pretty fantastic. It’s the second time I’ve taken the tour through there, and the first time was pre-claustrophobia so I did enjoy it more the first time. But it was still neat and I am glad we took the kids! They really liked it a lot. I couldn’t get any decent photos inside the caverns with my phone camera, but here is an awesome one another visitor took on Flickr.
Finally, we had one more local adventure in Rockbridge County. The Virginia Safari Park!! This is a park where you drive through and buy buckets of food and wild, exotic animals come up to you car window and eat from your bucket or hand. WHAT?? I was skeptical, nervous, and OK – scared. But we ended up LOVING it! Adults and kids alike – we thought it was the coolest thing we’d ever done!
Joshua feeding a….something. A llama, I think!Sophie feeding a flippin’ ZEBRA!!
The camels totally stole our feed buckets. But it was still REALLY cool. Also, one of the camels ate the ENTIRE bucket. Like, the food inside and then the actual BUCKET! Dag, yo!
So, that’s the fun we had on our vacation LAST year. But unlike Emily, I don’t enjoy planning vacations, so I am not sure what side adventures we will take on our mountain vacation THIS year. But I know whatever we do, it will be fun! How could you not have fun with this crew?
Where are YOU vacationing with the family this summer? I could use some ideas!
When I was at Mom 2.0 a few weeks ago, one of my very favorite experiences there was having my hair done in the salon Dove, the presenting sponsor of the conference, had set up for us. It was SO nice. (They had manicures, too!) As I sat down in the stylist’s chair, she asked me if she could tell me about the Dove products she had at her station.
“I already use most of them!” I replied, so I made her job a little bit easier. But it’s true. And that comment inspired me to write a post about some of my current favorite drugstore beauty items. The Dove products are a really big favorite. I absolutely adore their Style +Care dry shampoo, hairspray, nourishing whipped cream mousse, frizz-free shine cream-serum, and thermal replenishing spray. The mousse provides hold for my wavy hair but also moisture, which is great because my hair is dry and most mousses are just more drying. Not the case here! The cream-serum I always put in my hair before I straighten it, to eliminate frizz. It just makes it soft and smooth and easier to straighten. I also use the thermal replenishing spray before I flatiron it to protect it as I heat style. I really love all these products! So I clip my coupons and stock up when they are on a great sale at the drugstores, because these products really are worth it.
Dove’s cousin, Suave, also makes a few of my favorites – love their dry shampoo as well, and their deodorant. It’s often on sale for just $1 and it’s a great bargain. I buy the powder scent for my hairy brother and the Everlasting Sunshine for me!
Another Dove cousin, Vaseline, also has a new product I luuurve. Spray ‘n Go moisturizer. I was quite skeptical about it, but not only do I love it for me, it makes moisturizing one’s six-year-old after bath SO MUCH FASTER. Score! I hope to see some good sales & coupons attached to it soon.
After the Mom 2.0 Summit, CVS Minute Clinic, another sponsor (you guys know I loves me some CVS!), sent us a big ol’ bag of products to our homes. It was full of full-size products and I got took the opportunity to try some new things. (And can I just say as a side note how glad I am that we have two Minute Clinics in our area now!! Haven’t had to use them yet but I am so glad to have an alternative to urgent care.) I’ve been using Mary Kay for five years but I have been cheating on it with the RoC Max resurfacing cleanser that came in the CVS Minute Clinic swag bag and I really like it! It’s really exfoliating which I love. If you have really sensitive skin it might not be for you, but I rather enjoy it! I’ve also been trying out their MAX wrinkle resurfacing system on my forehead because baby, I’ve got some serious expression lines forming. But I’ve only been using it for two weeks so I can’t really say if it’s working yet. I DO like the way it feels, however, and I’m not having any negative reactions to it, so that’s so far so good.
Another product that I really like that was in that bag is Aveeno BB cream. Yep, I’m cheating on my Mary Kay again! I really think it covers well and it gives my skin a really nice shimmer. Plus, it’s SPF 30 which is always important! I really did not expect to like this product and I really, really do. Yay for pleasant surprises!
Well, those are my favorite products these days! What beauty & hygiene products do you like to pick up at the drug?
P.S. this post was not sponsored at all whatsoever. Just wanted to tell you what I’m diggin’!
