Sunset Kayak

Back mid summer my friend Holly asked if I wanted to sign up for a sunset kayak tour at the botanical gardens.  We signed up and then a hurricane passed through so they cancelled it and rescheduled us for a few weeks later (which the day of our scheduled kayak trip was sunny and perfect weather) 

But then Holly couldn't do the night they rescheduled us. We tried to reschedule again but couldn't so Colin got to go with me instead.  He lucked out on this night!  We loved it.  It was so much fun.

It wasn't as fast as Colin would've liked to go because they kept stopping us to show us different wildlife and talk about the gardens.But he said he really enjoyed it and liked seeing the gardens from a different view.  It was fun to kayak and see trails we've been walking around. 

This part was fun to learn. Its a little cove off of the lake that they dug out in case a plane needed to make an emergency landing.

This blue heron must know the route they took because we saw him at the beginning and then he would fly a little further and stop.  We saw him the entire time. 

 It was a really fun night! Holly and I will get to do it together at some point but I'm glad it worked out that Colin could go with me.  I just went to the high school to pick up his chrome book. Time is fleeting with that boy so any alone time I can get with him right now I cherish.  

Flammable

Joel has always had sensitive skin. We are always getting him out of that water to put more sunscreen on because he burns so easily. This summer he has started calling himself flammable.  “You know mom I have to sit in the shade because I’m so flammable”

Flammable. Guess that’s a good way of describing it.

 

Claytor Lake

We spent last week in Blacksburg. Sarah took the week off and the kids don’t have any activities planned this summer so we went up too.

One day we took the paddle board and kayaks to Claytor Lake. 

The kids loved it.

Norah called the beach “the little bay” because it was similar to the sandbars at the bay when we go.

Norah and Colin jumped off this dock. Because of Covid they took away the ladder but that didn’t stop people from climbing up and jumping off of it.

Chloe came with us. She loved being outside on the porch. I tried to convince Mama-Ma to keep her but she didn’t go for that.

Ant Ant taught Joel and Norah to knit. Norah is working on a scarf for Chloe and Joel is knitting a blanket for his piggie.

We went over to campus one day. It was so strange to be so empty. We are hoping we can come up for a football game this fall but it’s not looking good for people to be in the stands.

Ant Ant went to sit in her season seats. Let’s hope that’s not the only time she gets to sit there this year! 

We came back for Colins flag football tournament that Brent failed to mention was cancelled otherwise we would’ve stayed longer. It’s always good to getaway to Blacksburg.

Blueberry picking

This spring when everything was being cancelled we found out that our beloved blueberry picking farm was closing. The owners were retiring. We were all so sad. The first time we went blueberry picking was the first outing I took alone with a 2 week old baby Joel and little Colin. We have gone faithfully every summer since. 

So when someone posted about another blueberry farm we were excited to go. 

This was Norahs face the entire time. It was such a let down. We had to buy the baskets upfront. Because of Covid they were not weighing them after you picked. Then we had a long walk out to the field and they said to look for the cone and that’s where the best picking was. 

They were wrong. We maybe got two blueberries off each bush. We would’ve left but I had paid for 3 buckets and wanted to fill them. 

Finally after hours we got them filled. They even closed while we were picking but let us keep going because we went where they told us and they hadn’t moved the cone. It was just a frustrating experience for the kids so I told them maybe our blueberry picking days were over.

But then I saw that our beloved Pungo Blueberry farm decided to open for a final summer.. of course we had to go.

Within minutes the kids were overjoyed. Bushes were overflowing overflowing. We picked 3 HUGE baskets in 30 minutes.

One last picture in front of the sign.

There really isn’t a comparison between farms. The difference in Norahs face says it all!

They wanted a sad picture because we are sad that our blueberry tradition here has come to an end. Thanks for all the memories Pungo Blueberries!