Relay for Life 2018

Ready to go

 

Benji could not wait for Sophia to arrive. For the first hour, before she got there, he asked about her twenty million times

Sparklers during luminaria ceremony

Walter Peacock was obsessed with Benji - he followed him around the whole night

From the photo "booth"

Late night girls (the little kids went home around midnight. The big girls stayed until the end at 4am).

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association Conference

Abby was happy to be chosen to present at this conference in Atlanta, along with her friend Elisabeth. The 2 girls flew to Atlanta with their engineering teacher, Brendan Martin. In Atlanta, they met up with the Charlottesville Schools Science Coordinator, Susan Ramsey. In addition to flying them to Atlanta, the school district put them up in the conference hotel for 2 nights and paid for all of their meals. Abby came back aglow with the experience of being on her own in a new city. She really liked that all of the people they met were surprised to find that she and Elisabeth were middle schoolers (and she was tickled by the many, many offers of mentorship they received from around the country):

Picture of the girls from the conference (courtesy of Mr. Martin)

Abby's holding on to her badge as a souvenir

Benji was super excited when we picked her up from the airport

Happy 10th Birthday, Benji!

I'm slowly catching up on these posts after a crazy busy month. Benji's birthday, with all the usual revelry:

Sneaking down the hallway, so as not to wake B while we decorate his room

Birthday Eve

Birthday morning donut (he prefers a Panera bagel, but we forgot to buy one and Kevin had to run to the Kroger at 11pm)

Opening his presents before school

He requests this every year - he loves to break through it on his birthday morning

And birthday bear, of course

I brought brownies for his class at Greenbrier at lunch time

Pyramid cake (Kane Chronicles themed)

Benji, finding the secret chamber inside where I had a room of m&ms

Birthday poster from Pop-pop

Early 10th Birthday Celebration

We got back to Virginia on the Friday of spring break and talked Benji into an early birthday dinner, because we knew the next week would be hectic. He chose the Melting Pot, which is his favorite birthday spot:

His first card was waiting when we got home

They brought him a little cake square with a candle

we let him choose the dessert fondues, and he chose only ones that get set on fire

Abby and Benji roasting marshmallows over the S'mores fondue

Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and Trip Leftovers

On our last day of spring break, we decided to check out this national park, which we got into free with Benji's "Every Kid in a Park" pass. The information center had great exhibits, and then you could walk the Northernmost portion of the Everglades on a boardwalk behind the building:

Simulated Airboat tour

It even blew air on  you and vibrated to simulate an actual boat experience

Lots of Spanish moss

We saw one gator in the park, but it was swimming in the water pretty far from us. Then we spotted this one on the drive home on the outskirts of the park -- it was right off the road!

And a few spring break pictures from my phone that did not fit neatly in another post:

In Grandpa Steve's hat

Second day on the beach

Shopping at City Place

Bridge in the Florida room/porch

Florida, Day 2

We spent the morning at Singer Island and the afternoon snorkeling at a nearby pier. I didn't get any snorkeling pictures, but the water at the main beach was blue and crystal clear:

Benji could not wait to get to the beach and start jumping waves

Pure joy

He's building "coast city," but the waves keep washing it away