Onward and Upward - Spring Break Day 2

Day 2 of Spring Break started off with banana pancakes. Shane and I would need the energy for the adventure ahead!

Stocked with library books and CDs, we said good-bye to Mommy and headed north to Northern Virginia.

I planned a couple stops to break up the two-hour journey. Our first stop was at Yoder's: A Mennonite Grocery store with all-natural butterscotch peanut butter, the cleanest bathrooms around, and a petting zoo.

An odd combination, I know, but it works. Don't knock it until you try it. I bought a few natural nut-butters for gifts and got change for feed.

Unfortunately, it was 30-some-odd degrees outside. The wind stripped more body heat as it whipped by. Shane was fascinated by the goat skywalk, but the goats were more concerned with sleeping and laying low.

There weren't any other kids on the playground, either. We didn't stay for long. I had Shane take a picture or two to extend the break with mixed results.

Our next stop was a detour through Culpepper. We've driven by many, many times, but never detoured through main street. Today, we fixed that. We stopped at a thrift store to spend the leftover feed change. There was a panaderia down the way where we grabbed a road snack, too.

An hour later, we arrived at our first stop: Daniel's house! The boys recognized each other straight away. Jessica said Daniel had been asking about Shane lately. Shane asked about Daniel himself when he heard we were going north.

Meanwhile, I recognized moving boxes. Daniel's family is going to move to Austin, Texas!

We don't live in NOVA anymore, but that's still a bummer. I mean, look at these kids.

We'd been away too long, but the boys went back to playing like no time had passed. Jessica and I talked while they played in the living room or ran outside.

I went out back to check on them once and got a quick video.

Later, I looked out a window and saw them going wild on the hammock.

Wait, has it really been almost a year? I thought we'd visited in August or September. Geez. Daniel's grown into the biggest four year old, I've ever seen.

And Eleanor, Daniel's little sister, has gotten mobile!

I enjoyed catching up with Jessica while she packed and everyone played. Mike was in Austin, so I missed out on seeing him. I found out that Leo, our old Muay Thai coach, moved into the neighborhood and led a small group through our church! Small world! It made me nostalgic.

I snapped a quick picture of our old house to show Carrie. Ben, the new owner, used to work construction and made several additions Carrie would have approved of.

After getting used to Charlottesville, all the roads and houses in Northern Virginia seemed more spaced out than necessary. Bigger, but colder. All the yards looked perfect and empty, because everyone has to work to afford the place (their spring break was last week). Maybe that's how Carrie saw it from the start. I adapt quickly to wherever I am, so I never really noticed.

But, I digress. Our next stop was to surprise Jama. I told Jessica I was coming to make sure we could catch them. Jama had no clue.

She was happy to see us, though!

Shane was pumped. He loves family AND Jama gave him candy. He jumped and rolled all over. I'm sure Jama's neighbor below started to write a formal complaint about the noise (mwa ha ha!).

After a while, we let Shane turn on the TV so we could talk. Jama told me about her dinner reservation with a Harvard PhD.

Meanwhile, Shane transformed into a drooling zombie.

We left when Jama went down for dinner. Our next stop was at John's library. "Daddy, I don't want any more books! We have a lot!"

"We're not here for the books," I replied.

"Then why?!?"

"Think about libraries and who we may know in Northern Virginia that works at libraries."

".....JOHN!"

Side note: It's not a trip to a library if I don't randomly find some odd book. Maybe I'll check it out six years from now...

At that moment, Shane was only interested in tornadoes.

John got off at 6:00 PM, and we rendezvoused at Matt and Renee's. Any doubts about whether or not Shane remembered their laundry chute were put to rest immediately. The stink charged up while the adults greeted each other. He would have gotten John's shoes if John hadn't stopped him (Of course, John then volunteered mine).

We ordered "It's-cheaper-and-tastier-than-a-cheap-hotel-room" Chinese to thank Matt and Renee for putting us up for the night and sat around.

Shane played with some Highlights magazines Daniel's mom gave us.

Unless someone laughed.

Then Shane wanted in on it.

I brought a whole stack of board games with us. I had hoped we could all play one, but everyone else was too brain-dead from work. After I put Shane to bed, Matt and Renee tried to sell John and I on The Office instead.

In the end, John left and I went to bed earlier than usual. Shane and I had to share a bed, so I had a hunch I wouldn't get to sleep in...

Boys and Board Game Night

Last Thursday, while Carrie was at work, Shane and I invited Daniel over to play. Our doorbell rang a few minutes later. Jessica and Daniel strode in! Michael came shortly thereafter.

Shane and Daniel played while the adults watched and talked. They played so well together the one black mark on the evening came as a shock: Shane bit Daniel. 

I was very firm. I stuck Shane in his room, said "We don't bite," and left him in time-out to check on Daniel. Daniel's parents vetted him, but didn't see any bite marks (they wouldn't until the next bath).

Shane served his time-out. We talked before he came out and I made him apologize to Daniel. It was a little bit of a mystery then. I was worried that A) my son was biting and B) he just bit his best little friend.

More on that later. The rest of the night of the first bite was incident free. 

Daniel's mom left and only the dads and boys remained. Shane and Daniel began running around again as if nothing had happened. Michael and I watched, talked, and occasionally threw a stuffed animal or assisted with sharing.

After a while, I pulled out my new board game, Ticket to Ride. To my pleasant surprise, Michael suggested we should play while the boys watched TV.

I took him up on the offer.

The boys plopped on the couch and the adults sat on the floor. Ironic, I know. I felt a little guilty about plugging the boys in, but they snuggled in and shared a blanket well.

It wasn't all TV time, though. My conscience was assuaged when Michael had to make a business call. I took the boys upstairs and mayhem erupted. Whatever energy they saved on the couch burst forth in little boys running, jumping, and climbing all over!

Daniel and Shane started leaping off the back of Shane's bed together.

I only felt comfortable taking a short video. It was hilarious, but the boys kept jumping further and further. I swear a caught a foot once or twice to keep someone from running and rocketing off the other end of the bed!

By the time Michael's work call was done, I was tired and ready for the boys to watch another episode of something. They plopped back down on the couch together. Our board game resumed!

The boys did not stay on the couch (being little boys). Eventually they became fascinated with our game and we had to wrangle, entertain, and maintain simultaneously. 

We did finish and I hope we can do it again sometime. Eventually, I want Shane playing, too!

They See Me Rolling...

Monday, Carrie and I messaged Daniel's parents across the street. We decided to meet for dinner. Carrie cooked (always nice!). 

The boys had a lot of fun before dinner, though...

Jessica's aunt is a Craigslist queen. She found a pair of motorized scooters for $25. Daniel got first pick since they were his. Thankfully, Shane wasn't picky.

Daniel had a lead thumb. Shane was a little more hesitant at first, but they both got the hang of it ludicrously quick. You would have thought potty training would be simple compared to learning how to drive.

The learning process was neat to watch (and not on film). Jessica pointed out that both boys started with both legs splayed out wide for balance. It was like they were afraid to put them down on the foot rests lest they not be ready if needed. That changed as they gained confidence.

The boys also reacted to turning around different. When stuck, Shane planted his feet, stood up, and heaved the toy car over. Daniel remained seated to do a more gradual kick turn. He also tried to steer and give a little gas towards the end.

It was a lot of fun before a fun dinner and little boy playtime. Roxy came, too, but she and Manga (Daniel's golden retriever) wouldn't settle. They had to take turns in the crate or outside.

Toward the end, Jessica's aunt dropped by with her youngest.

TV is a wonderful thing for allowing adults to eat and talk (when used sparingly).

It was a fun way to spend Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Daniel's Birthday Party

Saturday was Daniel's birthday party! There was a big cake with a layer shaped like the number two and lots of kids running around.

Shane ran around and played his heart out. I had a small-world moment by bumping into a teacher from my HS/MS who used to work at my current school. She even talked about how she wanted her 7th grad daughter to go there! Too funny.

But the funniest moments of the night came from Shane.

He ran under Daniel's play-set and planted not one, but two brown bombs in the first 40 minutes of the party. Shane's 4 for 5 on playground visits this week. He dropped a deuce under Daniel's play-set on Friday night and another at Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday. The only place he didn't poop was the church playground (hallowed ground?)

Michael joked that he should put up a "Shane's Port-a-potty sign" and maybe charge per drop.

Thankfully, we're right across the street. It was easy to take Shane home to change him without a horde of children running amok. I took Shane home when I wanted to do my business in peace, as well.

Later, I pulled him aside. "I think your backyard has a special effect on us McRuari boys. Shane went twice tonight and I had to go home to take care of my business."

Michael laughed. "Well, you know how to get in our backyard. Just clean up if you make a mess!"