A Fine September Sunday

Today was another fine outdoor day for the Dotsons.  After a lazy morning at home, we went over to our church's annual picnic.  Simone was pretty excited to go to what she thought might involve a bouncy house and a hot dog, but when we arrived she realized she was about to kick it up a notch.

We headed first to the food tent to grab some lunch and then the real fun began.  Simone spotted the rock climbing wall and of course darted straight to it to see if there were age or height requirements.  When I noticed no helmets or protect gear was involved, I was more than a little nervous, but figured she'd harness up, go a couple feet and want to quit.  Ummmm, not quite...

She started off a little slowly and then.... 

next thing I know, BAM! at the top!!

It was crazy and terrifying.  Clearly Simone doesn't have her mommy's fear of heights.  Once at the top, she however realized one thing.... she didn't really know how to get down.  

But no fear, a little verbal coaching and voila.

She got to the bottom and first words -- "Can I do that again!?!"  And of course my thought was... let's go play mini golf!

Here a few more shots of her on the wall.

The rock wall wasn't the only climbing of the day.  Simone scurried up this much milder spider web apparatus as easily as she crawls into bed, no sweat.

Other than a mild heart attack and a little sunburn for mommy, the day was great! Simone got to go rock climbing, daddy go to eat all his heart desired, and mommy didn't have to cook dinner -- what could be better?  And now, sadly, the weekend is over.  But there's always next weekend!  :-)

From Lansdowne to Luray in a Day!

The weather was really spectacular today, and we decided to forsake pulling out the summer annuals from our flower beds and take a leisurely drive westward for some pure sightseeing.  So after a quick run to Home Depot and a stop to check out a new piano school for Simone, we headed to Luray Caverns.  But first I'll share this awesome "thought of the day" that I noticed in the deli as we picked up a picnic lunch...  We all know this feeling. LOL!!

And then we hit the road, we couldn't have asked for a better Indian summer day...

A shot along the Blue Ridge mountain range.

Along the way, we stopped in Washington, VA.  And how could we resist this place?  Wine AND chocolate?  what's not to love?

Mommy and daddy did the wine and chocolate tasting, and Simone got to make up her own box of truffles from the truffle bar. Sampled a GREAT port, and made sure to grab a bottle to take home--upcoming visitors will surely get a taste!

Simone and daddy in front of the Inn at Little Washington.

 Next stop... Luray.  The caverns were great.  Simone had never been to a cavern before, and this one's not too shabby for being in our own backyard.  We ate a quick picnic lunch and then spent over an hour exploring.

We all enjoyed the caverns, and then made a quick stop for some pumpkins and gourds (in anticipation of next weekend's fall yard work).  Finally, we wrapped up the day with dinner at Dan's Steak House -- a local joint. 

The leaves along the way were only just starting to turn colors so we hope to take another day trip in a few weeks to soak in some more autumn scenery.  I'll be sure to post when we do.

Happy 7th Birthday!!

Although Simone doesn't officially turn 7 until tomorrow, yesterday we celebrated her birthday with friends at a party of her design.  Simone surprised us this year in coming up with a very creative theme all by herself, and it was lots of fun putting it together. So for everyone who was with us only in thought and spirit,  here's the party recap...

The invitations.

The tea party room.

The last photo as the door bell rang with the first guest arriving.

After tea was served, the girls enjoyed a lunch of yakitori and chicken teriyaki, complete with kid's chopsticks.  Very fun! and every last noodle was gone!

The tea party table.

The birthday girl's place setting.

Aside from the tea party and lunch, the main party activity was building candy sushi.    We set up the kitchen table as a sushi building station.  And

My sample tray.

Each little girl build their own container of sushi to bring home as a party treat.

After a couple of party games and some play time, we had cake and mochi (Japanese-style ice cream).

 And my personal favorite part -- Kokeshi doll cake pops.

Totally adorable... and delicious!

Simone was so sad to have the party end, but opening her gifts cheered her up pretty quickly.  She really loved her party and told us many times that it was her favorite one so far.

It was so satisfying to watch her have such a good time with her friends celebrating her birthday.  We just can't believe how fast each birthday comes and goes as the years fly by.  She's been our greatest blessing for the last 7 years and we cherish every second we get to see her smile.  

We love you Simone!!

ALOHA!!!

Summer is winding down now and we just returned from an OUTSTANDING week in ... you guessed it, Hawaii.  We couldn't have been happier with our first Aloha experience; from the hotel and the weather to the beaches to the food and fun, the whole trip really exceeded all of our expectations.  We're already planning a trip back. 

Trouble with paradise is that every place you look is a picture perfect postcard and we did so much, so I have more photos than I can possibly post here. I've picked some of the highlights to share with everyone.

We knew this place was going to be special from the second we stepped off of the plane.  Here's Tony and Simone at the airport courtyard after a 10+ hour flight.  Simone was a complete pro the whole time; it's official, she can pretty much handle travel anywhere after this.

We stayed at the Hale Koa right on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu.  Incredible location, sandwiched right between the Outrigger and the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and within walking distance to practically everything.

The staircase to the hotel.

View from our room.

Zoomed in view from our room.

Oahu is covered with awesome beaches, but this is one of the first we visited outside of Honolulu -- Ko Olina lagoons.  They were gorgeous, clear and calm -- perfect for swimming for Simone.

One of the many amazon sunsets of the week!

During the week, we took a short jaunt over to the Big Island of Hawaii, primarily to visit Volcano National Park.  It was a long day, but we can now cross viewing an active volcano off our bucket list.

Simone near the steam vents in Volcano National Park.

Volcanic crater smoldering in the distance.

Simone and Grammy entering an old lava tube from the volcano.

A mural inside of the visitors center at Volcano National Park.

Simply breathtaking scenery was all around us.  This was our one of our stops on the way to the volcano -- a black sand beach next to a waterfall.  INCREDIBLE!

 No trip to Oahu can be complete without a visit to Pearl Harbor.  Very somber, but beautiful.

"Black tears" -- the oil that is still being released from the sunken Arizona.

We were all struck by the flora and fauna of the islands.  The most brilliant flowers just growing wild everywhere!

 This is a shot of us right before our luau at the hotel.  Doesn't the background look fake?  No, it's just the "plain" old landscaping that was everywhere.

Simone and Tony sipping their respective hawaiian drinks at the luau.

We stopped at Turtle Beach to view the wild turtles swimming with people right off shore.  None of them came up onto the sand while we were there, but I managed to snap this one when it came up for air.  

Chinaman's hat.

Made a quick stop at the Byodo Temple.  Simply stunning and brought Tony back to his days in Japan.  We also made a visit to a Japanese department store in Honolulu with a Japanese food court that feels like you've stepped into Tokyo itself.  We stuffed ourselves with Soba, Okonomoyaki, sushi rolls and washed it down with Sapporo!

A black sand beach on the Big Island.  

Simone's feet in the black sand.

Rainbow Falls

On our very last day, we woke up very early and hiked to the top of Diamond Head-- a perfect bookend to a perfect week.

Evening view of Diamond Head from our hotel.

View of Waikiki from Diamond Head.

View of the lighthouse from Diamond Head.

And finally, before we left, we went down to the beach and tossed our lays into the sea -- a good luck tradition to help insure a future return to Hawaii.

Our lays floating off to sea.


Hands down, Hawaii was our best tropical vacation ever.  We can't wait to return!!!