Saturday, April 25, 2009

We were in Virgina

There are tons of things that I need to write about, and hopefully I will remember them all. (It was April 18th when I started writing this post, but the internet at the hotel we were staying at kept dropping out, so I wasn't able to post until now.)

Jasmine and I have been in Virgina since the 9th of this month. We joined my husband in Hopewell, VA. My husband is going to a school at Fort Lee and we thought that we'd have time to see the area and explore, but it has not been so. Until today I have been taking 24-hour Claritin twice a day and Benadryl-D every four hours. It has not been fun and poor Jasmine has been mostly stuck inside watching T.V.

Today we went to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, VA. (http://www.lewisginter.org/) It was very lovely. We spent most of our time in the Children's Garden. I had heard on an advert that there was a butterfly exhibit, Jasmine really likes butterflies right now, but unfortunately that doesn't start until May 22nd and we leave this Wednesday.

Tomorrow we are going to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. (http://www.buschgardens.com) We will probably spend a lot of time in the Sesame Street area, hopefully Jasmine will like it, although even if she doesn't it is a one-time free deal (http://www.herossalute.com) And hopefully the weather will cooperate and be nice too.
EDIT: Jasmine loved the water park at the Sesame Street area, and about $25 later we now have a new swimsuit and towel (we had both before, we just have more now.) If I had known they had this kind of area I would have just brought her swimsuit (it was in our suitcase) and a towel from the hotel with us. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day and the water wasn't warm, so she mostly stood with her hands in the water and shivered. She was pretty good about leaving the water, even though she didn't want to. We were kind of worried about if she would have a good time, we started out later than we should have and she was getting cranky about such a long car ride (over an hour), but refused to go to sleep. We thought we might have to just turn around a leave, but she pulled through. She rode with her daddy on Oscar's Whirly Worms and really seemed to enjoy it swinging back and forth and spinning. She was a real trooper about walking through a lot of the park and fell asleep as soon as we got into the car.

Tuesday Jasmine and I met a friend and his wife for lunch at Weezie's Kitchen for lunch. (http://www.weezieskitchen.com/) I don't think we ordered anything crazy, but the wait for our food was long, and the resturant wasn't crowded. I had the Portabella Melt, it was very good, but I would hate to see the wait for food when the place is busy.

Afterward we went to Maymont Park. They had tanks of fish, turtles and otters. I think some of the fish scared Jasmine, there were at least 2 that were as big as her. Then we walked some of the trails and saw loads of wildflowers, a Scottish bull, Gray Foxes, hawks, Bald Eagles and a bear. Jasmine did really good with the walking again, but got tired and had to be carried most of the way back and we didn't really see that much of the park, maybe an eighth of it.

So the best part of our trip was at the end of it. Oh, yeah I got to drive in a thunderstorm with hail while a tornado waring was going off. Good times (that's sarcasm in case you don't know.

I signed Jasmine up for some art classes at VSA arts of Nevada. (http://www.vsanevada.org) She will be attending both summer sessions of Start with the Arts. It is on Mondays from 9-10AM, which means my husband will be able to take her some times (he has every other Monday off, but he isn't an early riser, if given the opportunity he'd stay in bed until evening.) I wish I would have known about theses classes a long time ago. The Start with the Arts class is for 18 months to 3 years and Jasmine will be 3 years-old at the end of August. I was able to find an art smock for Jasmine while we were in Richmond, I was looking for one because I didn't see any of the children on the website wearing any and Jasmine has grown recently so none of her clothes are old or stained yet.

Jasmine should be starting pre-ballet dance classes this fall at Western Nevada Performing Arts Center. (http://www.westernnevadaperformingarts.com) This is supposed to be the best dance studio in our area. She really loves to dance when music is playing on the television or radio, so I am really hoping that she will like this class, but I am kind of worried because she tends to be shy around new people and new situations. Which unfortunately means that it will take her a few minutes (about 10-20 minutes) each week to warm up to the people in the class as it would be a new situation to her each time we go. But hopefully with starting the art class first the dance class won't seem so intimidating. Another reason I like this studio is they have this statement on their rules page,

"This studio does not agree with young children performing in mature dance routines. We want strong technique first and foremost.
There are plenty of dance studios around that will put your young child in routines that we believe are too mature in nature and content. You are welcome to take your child somewhere else if you do not agree with our philosophies."

As a mother to a daughter I really appreciate this philosophy. There is too much sexualization of young girls in the media as it is. I'm sure that Jasmine will see it eventually, on television, in a movie, in cartoons, in an advert, whatever, but she doesn't need it in her dance class.

What we are currently reading:
Jasmine's selection: Meet Blueberry Muffin by Silje Swendsen



My selection: Pandora gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy
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