Spring Break 2009- Chapter 2

Spring Break 2009- Chapter 2

We woke up Sunday morning to the sounds of Piper and Dax happily watching Disney in the sitting room of their Great-Grandparents house and we decided it was time to get up and join the family. We were treated to a huge breakfa6st of eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit salad and toast with ample amounts of West Virginia apple butter. Piper told us it felt like Christmas morning and I agreed that it was pretty close to perfect.

Once we were full we set outside to see what we could find. The air had a briskness to it, but we were fine with our jackets on and happy to be able to run and stretch out after a long day in the van the day before. Matt and his Dad set to straightening up the yard a bit and started out by shoveling the gravel driveway and filling the areas that had holes. This task included using the wheelbarrow to transport loads of rocks and the kids were only to happy to jump in after the load had been dropped. Matt raced them all over the place in that wheelbarrow over the course of the day. Great-Grandma told us that the wheelbarrow had belonged to her mother! They just don't make things they way they used to. As the kids played and Matt and his Dad worked I laid my blanket out in the front yard and read my book until I fell asleep. I woke up to the sun beating down on the backs of my legs and headed to the back of the house to see where everyone was. Did I mention that Matt's grandparents live on the side of a mountain? Their property is beautiful and often visited by deer, rabbits, an assortment of birds and other critters. The kids bounded up and down the rolling slopes and before too long it seemed that they had lived there their whole lives.

The sun heated up quite a bit by this time and the kids went inside to shed their jeans and trade them in for the pair of shorts that I had packed and then raced back. The day was beautiful with a high of 77 degrees and we all spent the day outside. Matt went on a treasure hunt and was rewarded with some old glass bottles for his growing collection. We had thought to bring the kids Razors (scooters) with us and they had a great time riding them on the walkway by the side of the house and giving all of us a few heart attacks as they went right to the edge before stopping. After a while Matt went down to the garage and opened up the trunk that held all kinds of fun things- wiffle balls, baseball bats, old skateboards, frisbees, footballs and more. Dax and Grandad decided to play some baseball with the plastic bat and ball and had a great time. Dax hit the first ball that was pitched to him and they happily played for about 45 minutes. While they were playing I sat on the porch with Great-Grandad, great-Grandma and Kelly and watched everyone and tried to capture everything with the camera.





Grandad's old skateboard


Grandma, Great-Grandma and Great-Grandad hanging out on the porch


Matt's treasures


The day was beautiful and we were outside all day enjoying the fresh mountain air. It was wonderful to be able to let the kids have freedom without worrying about cars zipping up and down the street or the fear that the kids would be taken. We were completely relaxed and enjoyed the day outside with our kids- no worries!

After a while we decided to head out for a bit and have Dad give us a tour of his hometown. He expertly drove around the sharp mountain curves and showed us the house his Dad was born in , where his paper route was, the hill he sled on during the winter months, etc. After our driving tour we headed to the state Capitol. It is a beautiful building and surrounded by the newly bloomed tulips it was a great spot for photos. After walking around for a bit we headed to the grocery store to get the necessary ingredients for dinner.

Kids at the Capitol


Me and my girl


Dax and Daddy


Abe


The State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia


Matt made ham and cheese crepes for dinner and I made a fresh salad to go along with it. We finished it off with cake and Matt's famous icing. The kids were exhausted after a full day of playing and I settled down with them to watch a movie in hopes of helping them drift off to sleep with ease and next thing I knew Matt's taking my glasses off and gently helping me into our bed. I guess the kids weren't the only ones tired!