Good Bye, Beach! Virginia Trip Day 5

We woke up early on the morning of September 1 (Donna's Birthday!!) to get Duck Donuts! Wow, they were the best donuts we have ever eaten--and we've had A LOT of donuts! They are freshly made to order and handed to you hot! We even coaxed Donna into having one, and she was glad she decided to indulge! After cleaning up a bit, we were ready to hit the road. We returned to Mechanicsville early enough in the afternoon for us to head over to visit Grandpa Frank before bedtime!

At the Beach, Virginia Trip Day 4

On Tuesday, August 31, we spent most of the day enjoying the beach! The boys hunted for sea shells (Benji found a shark tooth!), built sand castles, flew kites and body surfed. It was great fun and they even complained when we insisted that we take a break for lunch! While we were taking a break, we decided to drive over to Kitty Hawk and see the Wright Brothers' Memorial. It was really cool being in the exact spot where aviation history began!

Fun on Donna's Farm!

We love spending time at Cousin Donna's house! She was a wonderful hostess (and her husband Kevin was such a great sport, putting up with the antics of four boys!), treated us with love and made us feel so special!! We stayed at her house for seven nights, and if you asked the boys, that was not nearly enough! The bunnies and chickens were so much fun! Each morning, the boys helped Donna with the chores--picking fresh vegetables for the bunnies and feeding the chickens. The bunnies were only 2 weeks old when we left, and had just opened their eyes. If the boys had their way, we would have tucked them both into our suitcases and brought them home to Arizona!!

Going to the Beach, Virginia Trip Day 3

On Monday, August 30, we packed up Donna's Expedition and headed south to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We stopped at the Border Station, which is a store on the border of Virginia and North Carolina. The boys had fun hopping from one state to another and talking to each other from different states! By the afternoon, we were settling into a beautiful, three story beach home with an elevator!!! The boys couldn't wait to play in the ocean, so we headed right over to the beach for several hours of fun! After dinner, Cousin Tricia, who lives nearby, came over to visit with the boys. We all agree that Tricia is one of the coolest people we've ever met! She didn't just come over to chat . . . she came armed with a really cool pirate story to read to the boys and then had treasure maps that showed that treasure was buried all over the yard of our beach house! After searching for, and finding the hidden treasure, Tricia surprised the boys with ice cream and all the toppings to make enormous, delicious sundaes! And, if that wasn't enough, after dessert, Tricia brought out the flashlights so we could go Ghost Crab Hunting. It was SO cool. There were ghost crabs running all over the beach at night, we even caught some in our nets. Thanks, Cousin Tricia, for making our trip to the beach so memorable and so special.

Virginia Trip Day 2

The second day of our trip, Sunday, August 29, was a very special day. After waking up late, we headed out to have lunch with Great Grandpa Frank, Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jim. The boys and their Great Grandpa had a great time getting to know each other. And, while Grandpa was having his afternoon nap, we made a great discovery: The Virginia Science Center. Our family has visited Science Centers in Phoenix and Los Angeles, and this one blows them both out of the water. It was amazing! We spent several hours exploring this awesome museum before heading back to Grandpa Frank's place for another visit.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Virginia Trip Day 1

On Saturday, August 28, The Keller Family started out on our first big cross-country trip together. We took off in the morning from Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and flew to Baltimore. From Baltimore Airport, we took a bus to the Amtrak train station and then rode the rails to Union Station in Washington D.C. After a brief lay-over in D.C., we boarded another train that took us to Richmond where Cousin Donna was waiting to greet us! It was a great, long, exhausting day. The Keller boys are FANTASTIC travelers!

First Day of Casa Vida!

Friday, August 13 was the first day of Casa Vida for the 2010/2011 school year. And, this year, Ethan gets to go because he is in Kindergarten!! He has been waiting for this day for months and woke up excited and ready to go! Noah also woke up excited and ready to go . . . even putting on a backpack just like the other brothers. Casa Vida is an enrichment program for homeschooled students, where they do art, music, PE, computers, centers, library time, Spanish and science labs. This year, Ethan is in Mrs. Caviglia's class for K/1. Benjamin moved up to Mrs. Sheehan's 2/3 class and Daniel is in the "big" class this year: Mrs. Warner's 4/5/6 class. It's going to be a fun year!