NOVA Day 2

I would have preferred a cheap hotel like last time, but alas. Vacancy was limited and prices were up. There was some sort of event/protest/march in town for the weekend. Shane and I found ourselves sharing a bedroom in an older couple's house in South Riding.

I heard Shane moving around at 6 AM. The kid went to bed an hour late and woke up an hour early! I ignored it and prayed he'd go back to sleep. At 6:10 AM I rolled over and saw him peeking at me over the edge of the bed.

"Go back to sleep."

"I can't!"

"Try!"

I gave up at 6:45 AM. 

Shane spent the night in a sleeping bag. He'd been really excited about it. He even chose it over the bed!

Shane went to playing with his new Transformers toys once the lights went on.

I read and planned our next move. The early wake-up call hadn't been part of the formula.

We left the airbnb around 7:30 AM. Our hosts were still sleeping. I didn't know if there would be breakfast or not, but I didn't know how long I could keep Shane contained in our room. I didn't want to roam in a stranger's house.

I also wanted coffee.

Churches have coffee. I wanted to visit our old church anyway, so Shane and I left to go to the 8 AM service at New Life.

We were running early, so I asked Shane if he wanted to see our old house. 

We drove by his preschool, the playground, and our old street. I don't know how familiar everything looked to Shane. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane, though.

It looks like the family who moved in to our house chose to attend New Life!

I doubt they were at the 8 AM service. It was spring break week for Fairfax County. Attendance was light. I wouldn't have recognized them anyway.

We left in a rush to meet Matt, Renee, and Aiden at their church. Matt texted me a warning I had the time wrong. There was an hour to spare!

I took Shane to grab a breakfast burrito at a NOVA staple.

Shane only wanted to whine and complain, though. I eventually forced him to try a bite. When he didn't like it, I audibled and went to pick up bagels (twist my arm!). 

We beat Matt and Renee to their church. Aiden had a surprise poop they changed before going out the door.

Shane was eager to meet his newest cousin.

This was our first chance to see the youngest addition to the family.

Matt and Renee stay very busy.

It was a long church service. Shane joined us for the music, but then left with the other kid's for Sunday school.

I pulled out my phone to amuse Aiden and grab a few selfies.

You'd think he'd never seen a smart phone before!

We got to talk for a little bit afterwards,...

...but then it was time for Aiden's nap.

We met up with the gang at Uncle Julio's for a birthday lunch.

Shane didn't get the Final Fantasy reference, but he knew a Charizard when he saw one!

There was a lot of talking. Sitting, talking, and eating is not really Shane's thing.

He did really well all things considered. We played some more "I Spy" and he burned the little battery I had on my phone.

I took him for leg stretch interlude after he ate. We were sad the giant chess pieces weren't out.

We hopped from wall to wall. I encouraged him to climb up the sign.

Then I encouraged him to have his fun and get out before we got in trouble.

We rejoined the group, said our farewells, and then headed out. Only then, Shane needed to poop. We said our true, final goodbyes after he made his deposit.

Jama's was next.

She wasn't home, though.

There was a USMC band performance many of the residents had gone to. Shane and I left a note at the front desk for her.

Which was not long after Carrie started calling us and saying, "When are you going to be home?" Carrie had spent the weekend working at Grandma and Grandpa's while we were out. She missed us!

We made time to stop by a certain Korean bakery on our way out of town.

Shane crashed.

He started to open-mouthed drool.

I let him nap for half an hour. Then I put all the windows down and woke him up. It took a while for the noise and cold to do it's job, but rouse he did. Monday was a school day, so screwing up the sleep schedule was a no-no.

We made it home before 6 PM. That gave us some time to rest and unwind before bed. For Shane, that meant a video game on the computer (Transformers: Devastation). For me, a recliner.

My Kind of Saturday

It was a beautiful Saturday morning. The kind of morning Shane wants to go outside and kill some bamboo.

It sings to my soul.

Just like garage sales sing to Nana's. We did those, too! Carrie bought some pink lemonade from a little girl that was more sugar than liquid.

Thank God, no one's cat was for sale.

We spent the whole morning out. There was a farmer's/business market set up downtown. One stall advertised a roller derby match that evening.

We ate well, and then checked out the renovated Discovery Museum.

Shane approved.

Carrie approved.

I approved.

We used up as much of our free parking time as we could!

Our morning would have been adventure enough. However, Igor posted that he and Casey stumbled across a certain roller derby match! Carrie got on the horn immediately. We'd already eaten, but we arranged to meet up at the walking mall!

We haven't seen Iggs and Case in years. Carrie and I were thrilled. They'd gotten tired of the grind and spontaneously hopped out of NOVA for the long weekend. Charlottesville was a convenient stop after they'd cruised Skyline drive.

Shane took a shine to Igor....and his phone. He wasn't as interested in how I mispronounced "debris" as a teen. Igor was happy to enlighten him on how to play Boom Beach, though.

They started shoulder to shoulder, but it didn't take Shane long to worm his way onto Igor's lap. They talked tornadoes in between levels.

All the while, a busker alternated between banjo, spoons, and a violin. He belted out numerous tunes, but I appreciated the Great Big Sea ones the most. I sent Shane over with a donation. My son dropped it off, trotted back, turned back around and hollared at the top of his lungs "YOU'RE WELCOME FOR THE MONEY!"