James River Relay

Chris and I have been swimming in the evenings for the month of August with a bunch of other adults. The leader of the adult swim group decided that as a culmination event for the summer, we should try to swim across the James River (from Surry to Williamsburg). It's pretty wide near us, so we did it relay-style. There were 3 different teams of 4 people each. We had three boats (one per team) and a jet ski and kayak helper. 

Chris and I were on a team together with Eleanor's friend's mom Evie and Meagan, another swimmer from the group. The first half went very smoothly, and then we hit the channel. The current was strong, it was very choppy, and the second half of the swim was very challenging! We all took turns swimming and whenever we got tired we would rotate. 

Overall we finished the swim in 2 hours. Uncle Rob watched the kids for us and came to cheer us in. We felt very accomplished, and my watch said I swam 1.67 km. 

(Before the current took Jane out of the swim rope, when Chris had to jump back in and go retrieve her)

Until next year! When maybe Uncle Rob will swim with us!

Tubing

The other day we went to our friends' house, the girls' swim coach, on the river to play. She ended up pulling out the jetski and tube and we went tubing! It was so fun! Rosie and Eleanor also paddle boarded. We went with another family that has girls similar ages to ours and they all had a blast playing together. 

They even had this giant mat outside that you could float on or jump off of. The kids loved it. They really enjoyed jumping off the dock onto the giant mat!

It was a treat to do before school started!

Fools Regatta

Our neighborhood held their annual Fools Regatta the other weekend. We went down to watch. I think the girls would like to participate in the future, but just need some help attempting to build a boat. 

On the "Anything Goes" category though, they borrowed a boat from another spectator and participated! They got a bit frustrated trying to paddle and ended up jumping out and Eleanor kicked them through the course.

The girls got participation medals.

I love this fun tradition and can't wait until the girls are building their own boats!

Boating

The other day we went out on our neighbor's boat. She had it all set up and a morning free and offered to take the kids out. It was a great time, great weather, and great company. We went up to the Chickahominy to launch and swim where the water is a bit calmer.

 

Ben especially had a great time and everyone got to "drive" the boat and honk the horn. 

Rocket launch

We heard NASA was launching a rocket from Wallops Island the other week so we went down to the marina almost every night only to have it scrubbed again and again. I think in total we were down there 6 out of 7 nights that week. The kids stayed up way too late and were way too tired the next day, but it was fun and they got to spend some great time with friends down there. Finally on Sunday they launched the rocket, but it was so cloudy we didn't see much. We think we saw it in the picture right below, but it honestly looked like a little light in the sky, so who knows. It was still a fun experience!

Friday field trips - strawberry picking and beach

We decided to go strawberry picking one Friday at Mill Farm because our favorite place (College Run, because of the ferry and the ice cream) didn't plant strawberries this year. Bonnie came with us (and Lauren, of course)!

After picking we headed over to Freedom Park to play for a little while!

Another Friday we also rode bikes to the beach.

Field trips are definitely one of the big perks of homeschooling.

Auntie Ashleigh visits

Auntie Ashleigh came to visit the other day from Richmond and brought her bike! We made it around the lake, to the dock, and then over to the marina just in time for sunset.

It was so, so windy! I was not prepared for the wind, but thankfully at least had a blanket in the bike trailer for Rosie.

It was so nice that she had a free afternoon and was able to come hang out. Dinner was super loud and Auntie Ashleigh got roped into reading lots of books.

Thanks for visiting us!