Spring Break Audrey&Henry

Sunday, March 18th

Audrey and Henry are on spring break so they are coming to Lynchburg for a week with Grandma and Grandpa.  Grandma met Katie in Danville this afternoon and the crew arrived in the Burg by 4:30 p.m.

Monday

We went to the Safari Park in Natural Bridge and the animals still like to stick their heads in the car for a treat!

Henry liked to feed the animals and he was strong enough this year to hold the bucket!

Audrey was quite thrilled to see kangaroos, even a baby one!

The park seems to be doing well and they have added several new exhibits since I was there with Henry 4 years ago.  Did you ever think you could ride a turtle Audrey?

On the way home we stopped and walked on the Appalachian Trail Foot Bridge across the James River.

Tuesday

It was a cool and cloudy day.  In the morning Grandma and Audrey ran errands and stopped by Randolph College to see folks in the Health Center. Grandpa and Henry went grocery shopping. In the afternoon, we went to see Paddington 2 and everyone loved that movie.  Spring arrived today!

Wednesday

It is spring....and it is snowing in Lynchburg!

The kids did not have snow shoes so we spent the day inside playing games and watching movies!

Thursday

In the morning we went over to see the Clarks and their Easter decorations; and the kids got an Easter package!

In the afternoon, Audrey and Grandma went to All Fired Up.  Audrey chose a cupcake jewelry box to paint! Grandma painted a puppy for Henry.

Meanwhile, Henry and Grandpa went to Rise Up, a climbing gym with 40 foot walls!  After an hour or so, Henry got his climbing moves down and went up one of the routes to the top.  

After several more complete climbs, he saw there were signs on the routes with names on them.  The guide told him he could get his name on one route if he could climb straight up without resting.  Well, he did and his name is now on the wall!

Friday

We got up really early (6 a.m.) so Audrey and Grandma could ride the train to Charlottesville where Henry and I will pick them up.

I believe they had a great ride!

 We stopped at Wegmans on the way home and arrived by lunch. After lunch we packed up and headed to Mebane to drop the kids off at their Daddy's house!  Grandma and Grandpa  had a really fun week with you two.  Love you much!!

Seventy Years Old

Wednesday February 21st

To celebrate Gretchen's seventieth birthday, I planned a short getaway.  We went to Waynesboro for a few days and stayed at the Iris Inn.  On Wednesday, we traveled to Staunton and spent a few hours exploring the downtown.  It has a much more funky vibe than we expected!  With no research, we chose the Farmhouse Kitchen and Wares for lunch, and it was excellent!  After checking into the Inn, we discovered they have an excellent happy hour which we enjoyed nightly with some neat folks from Maryland, and Virginia.

Thursday

Today, we had reservations for lunch at Barboursville Vineyards.  It was a cloudy but rainless day so we were able to walk around the vineyard and ruins.  

Lunch at the Palladio Restaurant was gourmet as usual....always a treat!  We  bought a bottle of their Octagon which we will save for our 50th anniversary since it is a young wine just released.  We also found their Barbera Reserve is excellent....so we bought a bottle of that as well...not to save!

I ponder the numbers in this blog, and I realize that life with you Gretchen has been long and wonderful!  Plus, it appears we have many adventures yet to come.  Love you lots!

Family Weekend

Friday, February  16

Katie, Audrey and Henry arrived in time for dinner with Sally coming shortly thereafter.  It was great to see Sally and catch up with what she has been doing.

Saturday

It was quite a rainy day so outside activities were not in the offering.  Indoor games were the norm for the day!  Henry could not get enough Parchesi and Audrey spent a lot of time building a fort to sleep in! Sally brought Christmas presents and Henry’s chemistry lab was a big hit!

We made snow flakes that were warm, not cold!

In the afternoon, Sally, Katie and Audrey went to Apocalypse Brewery to get some local beers to take to N.C. for Katie’s Monday happy hour. The rest of us played more Parchesi while Gretchen made chicken pot pie for dinner. It was wonderful!

Sunday

It was a beautiful morning so we walked to the playground.  Sally captured her first Pokémon, a cute little thing. What is it Henry?

The kids played and the family posed for a photo on the rope bars.

Thanks everyone for coming to Lynchburg. We had a great time.  Sally, we were really worried about you so it is so great to know you are doing well!  Please stay in touch.

Love to all.