Disney fun for Daddy!

Mark is, sadly, home in Virginia at work. He just couldn't take any leave right now while working on his masters, so these pictures are for him! We miss you Daddy!!!

We hit the Thunder Mountain Railroad first thing, and it was lots of fun! Then we did Pirates and the Jungle Cruise and Haunted House, and headed to Splash Mountain. Rowan wanted no part of Splash Mountain's big drop, so she stayed below with Grandpa. She also opted out of the Matterhorn, so Gryphon and I did that by ourselves.

We saw an Alladin and Jasmine show and got their autographs, and also ran into the Mad Hatter at his store with Alice. The girls are enjoying collecting autograph's in their books. They also got some Mickey ears-Gryphon has pirate ears and Rowan has princess ears. I have "year of a million dreams" ears, which were *free*-yeah me!!

Right now we are eating Wienershnitzel hot dogs in our hotel room and relaxing before we head back to the park tonight. Its not too terribly crowded, or too terribly hot, so thats good.

More pictures coming tomorrow! We love you Daddy!

Wedding bells...

Cara and Jack were married at the Golden Nugget (where they met!) on Monday. I took some pictures of the happy couple around Las Vegas, but I'm keeping them under wraps until I can get home and look at them. They are very happy, and I'm so thrilled my little sister is married to such a neat guy. Congratulations Cara and Jack!

Viva Las Vegas!!

We are in Las Vegas!! My little sister Cara is getting married (actually, as of this writing, already has!) and we flew out for the wedding.

Rowan hasn't been on a plane since she was a baby, and while she looks happy in the obligatory airplane shot- she wasn't once it took off! Turns out, she's scared of flying, and spent most of the flights avoiding glimpses out the window and grasping the armrests with white knuckles.

We stayed at the Flamingo with Grandma and Grandpa, and thoroughly enjoyed the *fabulous* pool. It was 110+, and the cool water slides felt great! Grandpa is lots of fun in the pool, too!

We also went to the Mirage for a dolphin habitat visit, and saw the white tigers. The girls liked the talking fountains/statues at Cesar's Palace, and the fountains at the Bellagio. Vegas isn't really a "kid place" though, and they are anxiously awaiting the next leg of the trip to...Disneyland! Pictures coming soon from the Happiest Place on Earth!

Well, it had to happen sometime...

... we have our first broken bone. Naturally, it was Rowan! She broke her pointer finger on her right hand at the McDonald's playland. Of course she says it doesn't hurt.

Guess we'll taking a break from gymnastic's for a while, but it should be better in 3 weeks, provided she wears the splint.

And stops banging the splint on everything because it makes a neat tapping sound.
And stops doing cartwheels.
And pretty much stops doing all those crazy things you would think she'd stop doing onher OWN, since her finger is, after all, BROKEN!

Wish us luck...

Cousins and fun!

Mark's sister Joy and her three darling girls-Haley, Abby and Emma-are visiting us this week from St. Louis. The girls have enjoyed hanging out with their cousins, and visiting the sights of Washington. (Ok, to be honest, I think Gryphon and Rowan are about D.C.'ed out!) To celebrate Emma and Abby's birthdays (1 and 3!) we went to the Baltimore Aquarium, and saw a dolphin show.

Pony Penning 2007

Well, I got to mark something off my life's "to do" list-we spent the last week camping on beautiful Chincoteague Island for Pony Penning! It very much like the book, Misty of Chincoteague, we even stayed at Tom's Cove campground, off of Beebe road.

The campground was beautiful (but crowded!) and overlooked the channel where the ponies swim across.

For those who have not read the book, their are wild (feral, really) ponies off the coast of Virginia on an island called Assateague. In order to control the population, the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Department rounds up the herd every year, swims them across the channel to Chincoteague, walks them through the tiny town to the fairground, and auctions the foals and yearlings off. Marguerite Henry famously described the island life and ponies in her book, Misty of Chincoteague, and its been a world famous event ever since. The round up has been going on for 82 years now!

The day of the actual swim is SO crowded with boats its nearly impossible to see the ponies swim across, so we headed to Beebe road to watch the herd come down to the fairgrounds after their swim. First the "Saltwater Cowboys" ride up in a line, then down the street comes the herd! The ponies are muddy from their climb out of the marshy channel, and some of the foals are a bit frightened, but the cowboys drive them calmly up the road,and the older ponies are all familiar with the routine. it was amazing to see them go by!

The next stop for the ponies is the corral at the fairgrounds, where they stand in little groups, one stallion and several mares and foals. It is a little sad to see the foals snuggling up to their mothers, knowing they will be sold the next day! The fair is so quaint and old-fashioned-the rides are straight out of the 50's. We went to the Ladies Auxiliary lunch (its in the book, too) and had lots of good fair food. Gryphon got a darling little cowgirl hat, too.

Thursday is the auction, where the foals and yearlings are taken into the arena and auctioned off. There is a buy-back committee who buy a good chink of the available ponies and send them back to the island, and they purchased the most expensive foal this year (or ever!) for $17,500! While it is admirable to have the ponies forever free through the buy-back, it struck me as unfair to those who come to buy a pony they have their heart set on, and are outbid by a group of people with much more available money than most.

We liked this little guy with the white star, and though I have no idea how much he went for at the auction, I'll bet whoever got him is very happy! (We were unable to talk Mark into pony, I'm sad to report. I even called my Dad- no dice. Apparently "Daddy, will you buy me a pony doesn't work in your 30's, either!)

We also hit the beautiful white sand beaches of Assateague, and visited the Assateague lighthouse. The weather was just perfect-not hot or cold- and the surf was wonderful.

Our last day was the day the ponies swim back to freedom, and much less crowded, so we got front row seats on shore! It was just amazing to watch them plunge into the channel, with the cowboys in boats urging them on. Everyone cheered when they made it to the far shore of Assateague and ran onto the beach-simply amazing. It really was a dream come true for me, and for the girls too!

Start spreadin' the news....

...New York, New York! Jackie, Rachel, the girls and I all spent a weekend in NYC doing the touristy things. Gryphon and Rowan got to see their number one most wanted New York place: the statue of Balto the sled dog in Central Park. We took some canvas and acrylic paints and spent an hour or so painting pictures of the statue and soaking up Central Park's atmosphere.

The next day we went to the Museum of Natural History...which is not at all like the "Night at the Museum" movie, by the way. We never did find Sacajawea! It's an incredible museum though, and the girls enjoyed it.

Sunday we took the ferry to Liberty Island to see the statue, and the girls enjoyed the boat ride. Then we went by New York taxi to Times Square and rode the ferris wheel in the Toys r Us there. That evening we got some yummy Indian food for adults, and the kids had candy and brownies for dinner (really!) while we played at the water fountain in Central Park.

New York is one of those "must see" cities, but I must say-its dirty crowded and NOISY. I don't see me ever wanting to live there! Still, it was a great weekend and fun to visit!

4th of July fun!

Jackie, Rachel and the girls and I headed to D.C. for the 4th of July fireworks and Folklife festival. Unfortunately it started to rain as we neared the Irish food tent (rats!), but we made a quick detour to Tony Roma's at the Pentagon City Mall instead and it turned out fine. After the rain ended, we went to Arlington Cemetery, where some of the best views of the fireworks can be found at the Iwo Jima memorial. It was spectacular! The girls caught fireflies and cartwheeled until the show started, and the weather worked in our favor since it was remarkably uncrowded. Mark had to work (last night at the Pentagon!) but was able to step outside the building and see the show, too.

First Swim Meet!

Gryphon's swim team-The Lake Ridge Lancers-had their first swim meet today against the Ben Lomond Flying Ducks. The meet started at the ungodly hour of 6 am, but the Lancer's were bright eyed and bushy tailed, and ready to swim. (Lancer Mommas and siblings-not so much!) Gryphon swam in 5 races, including some relays, and she won her heat for breaststroke! Her friends April and Kaycee are on the team, too, and that makes it even more fun.

Go Lancers!

Birthday Bash 2007

The girls had a together party at a local pool. We set up the Hawaiian Luau stuff and the kids went on the waterslides and generally had a blast getting wet!

Gymnastics Season end party

Rowan's gymnastics gym had an end-of-season party last Saturday, and her team, The Shooting Stars, did a little program. They showed off their skills, and received trophies, and then played games and ate junk food.

(Rowan is the upside down one with the shiny blue leotard)

Here is her whole team doing splits.

The best part-cupcakes!!

School is out!

We had a promotion-to-the-next-grade ceremony with the home school group last night, and it coincided nicely with our last day of school today! The girls got certificates for completing the 3rd grade and Kindergarten, and we had some cake and punch. Especially touching were the 2 home school group graduates- I can't imagine the girls ever being that old!

And, it's birthday time here! Rowan turned 6 last week, and Gry turned 9 today. We will celebrating with a Luau themed pool party on Saturday. It goes without saying that I can't believe how BIG they are!

Gryphon, 9 today and looking gorgeous in her pink braces.

Rowan, 6 last week, and sporting the new permanent teeth on the bottom (still none appearing on top though!)

Rescue Railroad

The girls and I have recently gotten involved in a neat cross-country effort to move homeless dogs (and cats) from high-kill shelters (pounds, etc) to no-kill shelters, rescues and foster homes. Sometimes the dogs are being moved from a rescue to a "forever home". Just in case you didn't know, if you are looking for a specific breed/color/size, and there aren't any in your immediate area, I can guarantee you there is one SOMEWHERE, and these transports make it possible to find that perfect dog and get him to you!

How it works is this: you join an email list for the major highway you live near (in my case, I-95). Then you take legs of the transport-in our case, usually the Fredricksburg-Alexandria leg. They are normally no more than 1 hours driving time. Split up this way, a dog (or dogs) can travel from one end of the country to the other, with no one person having to drive too long or too far. All it takes is a vehicle, and some time. That's it!

Today I drove the Fredricksburg-Alexandria leg with 9 dogs! Yes, 9!! I didn't take the girls along for this one, as this was a big (multi-car per leg), multi-dog run. These guys were all on death's doorstep. The puppies in the big crate? Left tied to a porch, no food or water, severely emaciated. They are still bundles of bones, but have nursed back to health by an ASPCA who ran out of room for them and was going to have to put them down. Enter the Rescue Railroad, and these lucky pups are on their way to a foster home, and hopefully a forever home soon. Riding in the other crate were two Shit-zus, very desirable little doggies whose time had simply run out. If only all those little-dog loving types knew to look at the local shelter for their dog! I also had a terrier who looked just like Winn Dixie, a pincher cross who could jump up 5 feet, I swear, and in the front seat, sweet Riley. He's the Golden retriever in the photo-just a lovable, happy guy.

Anyway, if you are interested (hint, hint) here are some links to follow:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/I-70_rescue_and_transport/

For those blog readers in Missouri!

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/I-10_I-20_Rescue_and_Transport/

For those blog readers in Mississippi!

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/I-5_I-405_Transport_CA_OR_WA/

For those blog readers in Washington!