Adventures in Virginia - the end

So, our last night there, after a whole week of eating home-cooked meals in our hotel room via our kitchenette, we splurged on a local seafood buffet. My girls were so excited for all-you-can-eat shrimp!

" Woo hoo - our cheapskate parents finally took us out to eat!"

Josephine showing off her fried shrimp - ohhhh, how she loves it.

This was the first of Lou's MANY plates of crablegs. He takes the "all-you-can-eat" seafood buffets very seriously. He has a whole game plan - he concentrates soley on the crab legs, since they are the priciest item. He was a man on a mission, cracking stack after stack of crab legs - I think he ate his weight in them before we left...

Our last night there, the girls wanted to take a walk on the beach "one last time". They were so sad to leave. We brought the last of our bread, and they had a great time throwing it to the seagulls to eat.

Maria was a good girl and just tried to feed them

Josephine, however, was intent on "catching one and EATING IT!!!" Seriously, she tried for over a half hour. She didn't get one, by the way.

Our last night there, I had a craving for some ice cream, and so I asked Lou to go out and get me some. When he came back and told me he had Ben & Jerry's, I was really excited, until I saw the container. In case you can't tell, this thing is TINY, like, the smallest carton of ice cream I have ever seen in my life.

Here it is inside a small bowl, to give you some scale. I was like "Are you KIDDING me?!! I ask you for ice cream, and you bring me six bites worth?!" As much as I was annoyed, though, I did find it kind of funny - what a goof he is...

It was the day we had to leave. The van was packed up, we were checked out of the hotel, but Lou wanted to do ONE more fun thing before we left. So, we went to the local putt putt golf place with a jungle theme. The girls saw it on the way in on our first day, and so they were really excited to get to go.

Maria did her best, but truth be told, Josephine was a way better putter. They both had fun, though, and that's what counts in the end.

We squeezed a couple of visits in on the way home. My cousin lives in Richmond and had just had her first baby a week earlier, so we dropped in to see her and the new baby boy for a couple of hours.

We joked that there were two babies in this picture - one newborn, and one half cooked!

After we left my cousin's house, we headed up to Springfield, to visit out long-lost friends, the Tolboes! They moved out of our ward a year ago, and it was really nice to catch up with old friends. Maria got to see her buddy Gavin and her pseudo-little brother, Josh, which thrilled her to no end.

My friend Linda and me! I have missed seeing all of the friends that I have made over the past few years, and it was sooo nice to be able to see one again and be able to talk, just like old times. Seriously, it was like they had never left, and also served as a nice reassurance that friends who move away don't have to disappear forever!!!

Ahhh, what a great trip - relaxing on the beach, seeing the sights, visiting with family and old friends. We felt so blessed to be able to have such a wonderful family trip together. I just love family vacations... :)