Happy Birthday Ewan!

Happy birthday Ewan!

Pirates ahoy

We all dressed up as pirates today and went to the pirate festival in Newport News.  The festival organizers were trying to beat the world record for the most number of people dressed as pirates. The record stands at 14000 pirates.  We walked for a long time to get from the car to the festival.  It was hot and there were pirates EVERYWHERE.  We ate some food at the festival then walked back to the car.

Autumn blooms

Autumn is come and the dahlias are blooming. Our tomatoes which we grew from seed are producing pounds of fruit. We are still getting cucumbers and egg plant. Tonight I am going to make a sauce from the tomatoes and eat it with pasta.

Superheroes

Sometimes three guys are thrown together and magic happens. That's what occurred on this day. Things have not been, and never can be the same again. Our super powers were revealed and each of us realized that nothing can ever stop us. We are invincible.

Butterfly gardens

We went inside the Butterfly garden.  There were many caterpillars and butterflies. Our favorite butterflies were the large yellow swallowtails. They fluttered and danced in the breeze.
Some of the butterflies were emerging from their chrysalis.  We watched them dry their wings.
They have special plants for each species of butterfly.  They prefer to lay their eggs on one specific plant and their caterpillars like to eat the leaves of that plant.
They had luna moths too. They were large, mysterious and beautiful.

Botanical gardens September 15th

We went to the botanical gardens in norfolk today after Ewans nap. It was a lovely sunny autumn afternoon.  We saw spiders, dragonflies and lots and lots of flowers. 

Ewan went and sat on a bench next to a young couple who had been enjoying a romantic moment.  There were three other empty benches nearby.

James ran down a trail and disappeared for a while. We saw a huge green dragonfly. James came back. The dragonfly left.

Zoo with Moo

Ewan, Heather, and I went to the zoo in Norfolk yesterday. It was hot and humid. Ewan liked running places he wasn't supposed to go.  We chased him the whole time.
They had the fountains running so we put our hands in the water and it felt good.
The orangutans were outside foraging and we saw them eating popcorn.
We stayed about an hour and a half then came home.

Merchants Millpond September 14th

James and I went canoeing at Merchants Millpond State Park. It takes about an hour to get there from our house. There is a sign warning about alligators.  We didn't actually see any but because of the sign I was thinking about them the whole time I was in the water. 
It is easy to get lost in there. We ended up at a dead end where a stream that flows into the lake is blocked by a small bridge. We tied the canoe to the bridge and then we set off into the woods trekking on Lassiter trail. James found a staff and carried it from that point on. He claims he knows how to defend himself with it if necessary.
After our hike we paddled for another hour or so. The lake was very overgrown with water weeds. It was thick as soup and makes paddling difficult. We got disoriented but eventually James remembered the way we had to go.
We drove home munching crisps and drinking orange fanta. The weather was
beautiful today and it was a great way to spend the day!