Into Darkness, Into the Woods, and Around and Around the Blacktop (A Picture-Intensive Post, with Video, too!)

It's the time of the year in Virginia where everything is this really intense green.  I think all the rain has made things even more green than usual.  I like it.  It's very soothing for some reason.

A few days ago, Daphne asked me to help her find some four-leaf clovers in the yard.  I did NOT want to go look for four-leaf clovers in the yard, so I said no.  But then, I thought, "You big dummy! Your kid wants to hang out with you and do a nice simple thing like looking for four-leaf clovers and she is going to be grown up sooner than you think so you better just do it!"  And I did.  And it was fun.  Then it started to rain, so we sat on the swing and talked about all kinds of things.  I need to remember that.

It was an extremely action-packed weekend.  SLOW will have to wait.

Friday afternoon, we had a big Mom and Daughter non-Girl-Scout-sponsored play date at a local winery, which is owned by the parents of one of my Mommy friends.  The kids ran free in the huge field and had a blast, while the moms sat by the heater on the porch and had snacks.  Really really fun.  We need to make this happen more often.  It's good for the kids to have some unstructured time to play, and good for the moms (and troop leaders) to be sort of off-duty.

Saturday, Daphne was tired, and stayed in her PJs most of the day.  G-Ma and G-Pa came over to hang out with her while Kev and I went to see the new Star Trek (Into Darkness) movie at the Alamo Theater (totally cool new theater).  The move was GREAT.  Very exciting and fun to watch.

Before the movie, they showed all Star Trek related clips, like skits from SNL and In Living Color, clips from the Star Trek cartoon from the 70s, and stuff like that.  It was very entertaining.  I am admittedly a huge Original Series fan, but never got into Next Generation.  Apparently, the Riker character from that series is known for the way he sits down, and they showed this clip during the pre-show entertainment:


On it's own, it isn't funny.  However, it was accompanied by this song - an old youTube favorite of Uncle Jeff's -  which made it hilarious:


I cracked up, and couldn't stop laughing.  I was shaking and crying, and making the lady beside me laugh too. I hope Kev wasn't too embarrassed.  The same thing happened during the Disco Chicken scene of the latest Muppet Movie.  Sometimes, I just can't help it. Stuff is funny.

Sunday, we got up early and went to Rust Nature Sanctuary to go on a bird hike.  It was chilly out and so peaceful at the park.  We saw deer, bunnies, geese, and lots of birds.

We saw this Eastern Bluebird - so pretty:

We heard bullfrogs down by the pond.  Look at that reflection!

And we saw this injured butterfly:

Monday, Memorial Day, was a big day too, as Daphne accomplished a major milestone.  But first, she played some uke:

We took her to the blacktop at her school, and a very very patient Kev helped her learn to ride a two-wheeler.  She was anxious.

However, she eventually went from this:

To this (press "play"):



Look at that smile!!!  She eventually got better at stopping.  And she can turn left, but not right.  We'll keep working on it.

A big day indeed.  We were so proud of her.  And her persistence was rewarded with a new skill AND a DIlly Bar!

Another crazy busy week has begun.  Girl Scout bridging this weekend, Donuts with Dad, Field Day, our last Daisy meeting, and Daphne's birthday. And the last week of school.  Soon it will be time to pack up and head to Maine for a much-needed vacation.  Time is going by so quickly.  I need to take advantage of slow moments, stop for a minute, and just go looking for four-leaf clovers.