Back To School

Today was Priya's first day of school. Summer went by too fast this year, but ready or not, it's time to get back into the routine... going to bed on time, eating breakfast before 10:30am and learning lots of new things every day. First grade is the real deal, and at her school she has entered the French Immersion program which means most of the instruction (at least by the end of the year) will be in French. This should be an interesting year for all of us. Today her teacher sent each of them home with a high five and an "au revoir".

Translation Please

I realized recently that even after their speech is nearly perfect, kids still require translators. Luckily, we have Priya to help us out with Sanjay. We call on her often when his words are disjointed and archaic... at least to us. With her telepathic link to the boy, she can usually discern the meaning.

In fact, just last night we were playing family charades. Sanjay wanted in on it, so we thought we'd give him a chance, expecting very little. We were quite surprised with the creative things he came up with... Merry-Go-Round, Roller Coaster and even Hubba-Hubba-Highway (a ride from the water park). But he really stumped us with this next sign. He held his hand flat in front of him, parallel to the ground, then started it in forward motion while at the same time lifting it slightly up and down. Mom and Dad were shouting out things like “Bumpy car ride”, “Airplane turbulence” and within seconds Priya yells “Bouncy Rocket”. Sanjay announces that she's right... he was indeed doing his version of a “Bouncy Rocket”. What?!? See what I mean about the telepathy?

Anyway, I have compiled a list of some things the kids have said lately that have required translation. Here are the results of my very scientific study...

Actual Spoken Words By Sanjay	Translation
He's hiding behind the water goes up.	He's hiding behind the water fountain.
Did your eyes sprinkle? (Question posed to Priya after she ate something spicy)	Did your eyes water?
Look at this, I'm down blinking.	I look over at him and his eyelids are opening only half way and he's speed-blinking them.
I have x-ray eyes... I can see through the water.	Said after popping his head up from swimming underwater in the pool.
Does your band-aid hurt?	Does your boo-boo hurt?
He's down... he's working. (His reply when asked about Pappy's whereabouts.)	He's downstairs working. (It didn't occur to me until then that he thinks all Daddy's work in the basement, since that's all he's known.)
Actual Spoken Words By Priya	Translation
Let's play body talking.	Let's play charades.
After Nana said, "I forgot"... Priya replied, "That's ok. You're too old to have your memory good."	Needs no translation, but I wanted to capture this because it made all of us laugh. No worries... she was quickly forgiven.

Long Lost Friends

Thanks to Facebook I found an old high school friend that I'd lost touch with over the years. I don't have the good fortune that my friend Kristi does with running into these folks at random places on various occasions, so I have to rely on the good ole internet to bring us together.

We spent the afternoon discussing high school and college days while our kids played. What fun! Although 20 years has aged us more than a bit, our friendship remains as it was in the first photo... we just picked up where we left off.

Bittersweet Goodbyes

We leave tomorrow and although we're looking forward to sleeping in our own beds and seeing all our friends back in Colorado, it's still sad to say goodbye. Priya asked me this morning if she could stay and enroll in school here. Then she reminisced about last year when it was time to leave and she started crying. She's wondering whether she'll do that again this year and whether Sanjay might follow in her footsteps. Last year Sanjay couldn't wait to get back to the familiarity of home... but this year I know he'll have a harder time leaving.

When asked what she had the most fun doing on the trip, Priya didn't mention the rides at Busch Gardens, playing in the sand at Greenbriar State Park, the slides at the water park or even all the parties and friends she made while she was here. Instead she said, "Being with you, Nana". So, it's these seemingly purposeless photos, filed in my "AroundTheHouse" folder, that I'm so glad I took the time to capture...

Hawkins Reunion

Today it was time for the Hawkins family gathering... my Mom's side of the family. It was a great turnout and I think only a few cousins were missing and one of my Mom's brothers. With my Mom being one of 7 children, if this side of the family all turns up... it can be a crowded event. Check out the parking lot that was my parent's front yard today once everyone was here:



Bartee was in town for this one and feeling festive, he tried some Maryland crabs... well, one bite anyway. Despite the great flavor of the Old Bay seasoning, the seafood taste was too strong for him to crave more.



The newest members of the family stole the show with their absolute cuteness...



But, this group of 3 year olds also enjoyed their share of abundant affection...



All in all it was a great day and hopefully we can plan more reunions like this in the future. If you're interested in seeing all the pictures from today, click here.

Beach Day - Yorktown

Today we went to historic Yorktown for some fun in the sand. It's a bit closer than driving all the way out to Virginia beach and less crowded and the parking is free, so we opted for this instead of the Atlantic Ocean. We spent the morning there and the afternoon napping... the most relaxing of our days so far. Here are a couple of snapshots...

Griffon Footage

As promised, we went back to the park and this time I brought my camera along. Here is a picture of the Griffon coaster after just releasing its hold at the top...



And a closer look reveals the terrified looks on the faces of Sarah and Bartee in the back corner...



Here's a short little clip of the roller coaster in motion and it looks like the coaster only holds at the top for about 5 seconds before dropping... for some reason I thought it was longer.