Richmond and Road Trips

On our way back to Fville, we decided to make a day of it and do something in Richmond.  Of course Richmond is full of history and interesting things to do--but not all of that is very toddler friendly.  however, the man of this family is quite the history lover, so we settled on the Confederate Museum and White House and then we went to lunch.  

 its a big ball momma!

 sweet bonnet

 in front of the White House of the Confederacy

 "momma, take a picture"

 We both love to watch Diners, Dives and Drive-ins--and have the iphone app so that if we are ever near a one of the restaurants from the show we can go see it.  There were actually 3 places in Richmond, but we decided on the Village Cafe and we weren't disappointed.  It was definitely a little college bar hang out bit as the review said the onion rings were fabulous--it was the best strombolli i have ever had and the milkshakes for the ride home weren't too shabby either.  A good place for sure ;)

 the ride home was pretty uneventful...a nap and some curious george. they're getting better on this road trip stuff!

Visting the Tobacco Worms

Here's your interesting fact for the day...Soldiers in the Civil War that were from Virginia were called "Tobacco Worms".  

 This past weekend we visited two families that we were friends with in Hawaii that are now both stationed in Virginia...well at least for a few more days--which is why we made the quick trip to VA.  The Araujo's, at Ft. Eustice, are packing up as I write to move to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky and we wanted to see them before they move farther away.  Renee and I had seen each other about 2 years ago when i made a trip to NC but it had been since they left HI 3 years ago that we have all been together.  At that point i was growing two silly babies in my belly and their little girl was just 6 weeks old.  This weekend we celebrated her 3rd birthday--man how time flies! 

Since we were so close, we also stopped to visit our great friends, the Williams Family currently stationed at Ft. Lee.  The Williamses were like our family in Hawaii and we spent 5 of our 6 years there hanging out with them. Bryan and Marybeth were our first real friends there and we had so many good times together.  Because of a death in the family, the Williamses had to cut their visit with us short, but we'll definitely get back together soon--we're hoping for a NC visit before the summer is over...eh hem! 

Our Road Trip to VA.  A little Cracker Barrel and Toy Story is all we needed to keep these kiddos happy on the ride. 

Us with Bryan and Marybeth.  We didn't take any pictures at their house--but take my work for it--we had a great time.  The Williams Girls doted all over the twins, Bryan and Marybeth cooked every meal and Mike and I hardly had to do anything but sit and enjoy their company.  We also had quite an epic game night--i can't remember how long its been since i've laughed so hard.  

The next morning we drove to Ft. Eustice (near VA Beach) for Allie's 3rd Birthday Party. Here's the pretty birthday girl below.

with Daddy Adam

Holden loved hanging out with Uncle Bryan..

.(maybe because Uncle was sneaking in forbidden sweets!)  

just look at those guilty faces!

Nora and I sat at the table and watched Auntie Marybeth paint all the kids faces. I tried hard to convince Nora to do it, but kept getting a firm "No Thank You".  gotta respect that...although i did convince her to get a butterfly on her hand. 

Of course they enjoyed the birthday cake

Holden was very brave and got his face painted like a pirate.  

really i think he just liked getting the "red" on his face...one of his favorite colors. 

Arghhh...

these two aren't too manly to rock a birthday hat!

Marybeth is a master facepainter...Bethany the Tiger

Williams, Burns and Araujo Kiddos

 (left to right) Elizabeth, Nora, Holden, Alexandria, Bethany and Baby Ethan (Allie's new brother)

the girls, Marybeth, Me and Renee

the boys: Mike, Adam and Bryan (we made them touch ;)

The Williams Family had to leave to go to the funeral in PA from the birthday party, but we stayed to visit with the Araujo's for the next few days.  After the party, Auntie Renee read stories to the kiddos then we put them to sleep for nap time.  Then we had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack and made a trip to the Bass Pro Shop to see the fish--amongst other cool things. 

bibs for everyone!

 talking to Baby Brother

loves riding boats!

i'll write more later on our 2nd fun day with the Araujo's at the water park!

it's 2009

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year! Happy 2009 from Chicago!

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The Month of Parents

Its been a little while now, but in the beginning of August my Dad and Stepmom, Anne, came to visit me for the first time. We had a great time--tried to fit in as much touristy things as possible and also get to see a little of my everyday life here as well. Their arrival was just in time for a minor car crisis of a dead battery that my dad came to the rescue for. It's amazing all the little things that can go wrong with the house, car, etc. that i have no idea how to fix and completely rely on my husband to handle. It was very nice to have someone else there to help take care of me for awhile.

Me and Dad at Volcano National Park

Dad showing us where we are Our kayaks and our rental after snorkeling at Captain Cook's Monument

Then for Labor Day, Mom and my Stepdad, Scott, came to visit. This was their second visit, and we really spent more time visiting and only did a few "hawaii" things. We had planned to go to the Big Island, but Scott got sick off (we believe) some questionable Asian chicken the night before our flights and we had to cancel the trip. Thankfully he was feeling better after 24 hours. We still did some fun things while they were here--and i took mom to her first ever pedicure where she got a Hawaiian flower painted on her toe.

Me and Mom

Getting our Pedicures

For more pictures check my Google Pics website at http://picasaweb.google.com/jessi.burns

Fun and Excitement

These past few weeks I have gotten to do many fun and exciting things that I would like to share.



1. Got to see the beach hut set for ABC's LOST. It is currently all wrapped up because they aren't filming and there was a guard right there to make sure no one got in, but it was still cool to see. The orange tarp is where the kitchen/community tent is.











2. Hang out with some awesome sea turtles at my favorite beach in HI.



















3. Kayak/Swim with some the dolphins--but not for as long as normal, because of the looming danger from a 16ft (so the papers said) shark that bit a woman the day before. But just so you don't think we were completely nuts...we were told the lady was way far out nosing around in the caves the shark lives in. I don't currently have pics of this one yet--they are on the water camera.



4. Witnessed a perfect rainbow on a beautiful drive home.

















5. Snorkeled at the Captain Cook Monument. This is where the Christopher Columbus equivalent to the Hawaiian Islands was murdered in a more than slight misunderstanding by the hawaiian people. This place seriously has some of the best snorkeling around. Again...pics are on the underwater camera so you will just have to take my word for it.




6. Went Spelunking (Cave Exploring) in an old Lava Tube.



















7. Saw my first ever double feature at the $1 theatre--spent more money on the food than the movies!



















8. Had Beer-i-Misu (instead of the common tirimisu)--and seriously loved it!



















9. Saw a certain LOST character at Hillary's Triathlon--although i will not say who--cause he seems to be very weird about getting his picture taken and being recognized...maybe you can find him in this picture!



















10. and most importantly--and the coolest thing ever--I saw lava spewing from the earth as it ran into the ocean. Volcanoes are SO AWESOME!

Great Friend, Great Visit

I've been offline for a couple of weeks because of Amanda's visit. We were way to busy having fun to spend time here blogging! It was great having someone from home here to hang out with. She got to stay for a long enough time that we didn't have to pack every day with touristy things to do. Some days we just layed around laughing and watching movies--and that is some therapy i was in serious need of.

I have said it before, but i am so very blessed to have such good friends in my life. They are my wonderful distractions and my saving graces while Mike is gone. I can't stress how important i believe it is for us as individuals to keep up with our friendships no matter what else is going on in life. There may be times--and for us military families this is inevitable-- where that one person you depend on the most will not be there and your family may not be close by.



So yay for college friends and especially for Amanda for coming to hang out with me ( i know it was such a hardship in HI and all--but she did promise if i were to move somewhere cold and depressing she would still come see me!)

We had some great times--We went to luaus, hiked, beached, went to 3 concerts (Live, Everclear and Billy Ray Cyrus--i know, i know, he was the 4th of july entertainment and yes he did sing Achy Breaky Heart!), snorkeled, rode mopeds, shopped, kayaked, tried new foods and more. We also went to the Big Island with my two friends from HI which i will devote another blog entirely to. She also got to do some things nonspecific to HI, like accompany me to the dentist, grocery shop, help with children's church and even make her own visit to the doctor when her back went out on the day she was leaving. Things are always eventful with her!