Fun with the Fam

We had a wonderfully fun visit from Bee's fam. recently. We will post more pics later, but just want to throw this one up there to let you know...more is on the way so check back soon.

Who Loves Chocolate??

Ok, so Bee and I made a bet with some friends that we would go without any sugar for an entire month. The last day without sugar was February 1st and...we made it!! So, how do you celebrate living an entire month without any sweets?

Go to the annual Chocolate Lovers Festival in Fairfax, VA !!!!
There was a judging section, where you could vote on home made chocolate creations!



This was supposed to just be a picture.

There was plenty to do, see, and taste! The hot spot is the "Taste of Chocolate" located in the City Hall building. You buy pogs, then use your pogs to buy any and all of the chocolate goodies your chocolate heart can handle. A glimpse of the chocolate chaos.


This local Fudge shop sells Fudge Puppies, which are Belgian waffles dipped in fudge!

The line to get into the "Taste of Chocolate" reached down the block! But was well worth the wait.

Ballistic Blizzard

We had a ballistic blizzard this weekend! The stores were promptly emptied of milk, eggs, bread, and toilet paper. This is a common event when the weatherman dares to hint at the slight possibility of a chance of snow or what they like to call a "wintery mix." Apparently, many churches canceled their services on Sunday and the Bishop received several calls from members of the Ward asking if we were still having church.

Now, most of you have probably experienced such devastating weather that closes schools, roads, stores, businesses, and even church, but you're probably thinking of a pounding storm dropping at least a foot or two in a matter of hours. This, however, is Virginia....where the major storm dropped a whopping quarter of an inch!

But you can still have fun with only a little snow.

Neptune Festival!

This weekend we headed to Virginia Beach for the annual Neptune Festival.

We lined the street with our friends for the parade.

We had to watch our language, because it's against the law to curse while on the parade route in VA Beach. Seriously....it's posted.

On with the parade.........

Apparently, they crown some old guy King Neptune...and give out Mardi Gras beads.

Our friend's little girl loved the princesses.

Bee liked the organ.

J liked this unsung hero of the parade we affectionately called...manure man.


This band was pretty cool; they had some good moves...

but lacked the technique displayed by this tiny dancer.....

Then it was on to the sandcastles

People come from all over the world every year to create and see these famous sand sculptures.

This one is called "Meet the In-Laws"
Here's a side view, which includes the dog house.

This one won first place.

We're still trying to figure out what this one meant.

After all the fun in the sun, it was time to cool off with some creamy frozen custard.
Isn't life grand?

High School Football in Virginia

A couple of our young men play high school football. We've been to a couple games so far this season and I thought I would post some pics.

Number 25 is Dwayne. He moved to Virginia from Jamaica a few years ago and plays linebacker. He's a senior this year and hopes to play college ball for a year before he leaves on his mission. He's a beast!

Dwayne is also the punter. Last year, he played for a team that had not won a game in 3 years. He would play the entire game: offense, defense, special teams, punter, kicker, and more.

This was his first win after loosing over 30 games in a row. He was... happy.

Our other young man (number 86) is on the JV team of a different High School. This is his first time playing football and although he has gained some respect for football players, he prefers tennis to standing on the sidelines.

Enjoying the game!
Most of our young men had never been to a high school football game. It can be dangerous to go to some of the games. You have to go through security (guards with metal detector wands and a bag search) to get in and they make you leave as soon as the game is over.
As you can see...I think it's a lot of fun!

Some more pics. of Dwayne's recent game.

Neptune Festival 2005

So we found out about this festival in Virginia Beach (about 2 hours from Richmond) called the Neptune Festival.

We decided to make the trip and took a back road so we could experience more of what Virginia had to offer. We saw cotton fields and drove through the Peanut Capitol of the World!

They have a parade, local vendors, surfing competitions, sailing, football, volleyball, fireworks, and our personal favorite, the sandcastle carving contest. People come from all over the world to show off their talent with sand. It's AMAZING! - the pictures don't do it justice.