The next stop on family fun day was Shenandoah Outfitters for an afternoon rafting trip on the Shenandoah River. We had a bit of a hiccup when we realized that the sandwiches that Popsie had prepared were still in the fridge at home. Luckily, I had packed extra snacks and had a few things stashed in the van. We managed to scrounge together enough to stave off hunger and get started.
The day was overcast and even a little drizzly when we got started. It was actually perfect not to have the hot sun beating down on us. We took plenty of opportunities to jump in the river and swim or float in our life vests.
It's kind of hard to tell in these pictures, but it was jampacked on the river. So many people! Everyone was very friendly, and even the large groups of partiers with their innertubes tied together were pretty subdued, so the crowds weren't really a nuisance.
Popsie planned a fun family adventure during Kelly and Cooper's summer visit. The first stop was at Luray Caverns. Brady and Rudy had been once, but it was not something they remembered. I think all three boys were awed by the views inside.
We all thought that the stalactites mirrored in Dream Lake looked like a miniature Star Wars planet.
You know when your mom and Miss Cindy and all of the other moms tell you not to walk up the slide?
There's a GOOD REASON!
I had to go back the next week to capture this. Rudy is quite the urban legend with the preschool/elementary age set; apparently it's now a rite of passage to visit his teethmarks on the community slide:
Ellen and Garth trusted the boys with the care of their chicken flock while they were on a 10 day vacation. Brady and Rudy took over the chores that Ellen's kids usually share: collecting and washing eggs and watering and feeding the chickens. Thankfully, our duties didn't last long enough for us to have any serious coop cleaning duties. We all loved going to see the chickens in the mornings, when they would be anxiously awaiting their release, and getting to know some of the personalities of the birds. I really loved all of the eggs! I typically don't enjoy eating eggs, as I find them rather sulfur-y tasting; not these, though...these were delicious!
We all got a chuckle out of the hen who laid an egg on the front porch rocking chair :)
Of course, having a few minutes to bounce may have been the best part for the boys!
We decided prior to their visit that we would hit Kings Dominion while Kelly and Cooper were in town. It was a bit of a gamble to pre-buy our tickets, but we couldn't pass up the Groupon. It worked our well - we had an unseasonably cooler day with relatively low humidity. We encountered some serious crowds on the first few rides, but things seemed to thin out after lunch.
Brady is a coaster aficionado - loves them all. He wanted to ride every last one at the park. The adults tag teamed a few of them to spare our necks, heads, and stomachs. Rudy claimed to not like coasters, but for some reason decided that he wanted to ride all three of the wooden ones. FWIW - Brady, Popsie, and I all found these to be so HARD to ride...very herky-jerky, with your head slamming around and your bones rattling. Somehow, Rudy loved them.
I got Rudy on the ShockWave only because I told him that it's the last season it will be at the park, so it was his one and only chance to ride it. He was SO nervous the first time. As soon as we were on the ride and latched in, he broke into a loud rendition of Jingle Bells to occupy his mind. That lasted until we started down the first descent, at which point he changed to repetitively screaming, "This is so awesome!" (Quite similar to his shouting on Rock-n-Roller Coaster at Disney!)
I wised up, finally, and got him to admit on video that he loves roller coasters. I fully plan to pull this video out the next time we're at an amusement park and he tries to tell us he doesn't like coasters!
He loved it, and wanted to ride it again...stat. Kelly and Cooper were going to stay to ride with him, but Brady wanted to squeeze in a ride on the Intimidator. We hustled over to that ride, with a plan to meet up with everyone else aftewards. When we met, Cooper had changed his mind so Ru was still antsy to get in another ride on ShockWave. After all was said and done, I think I rode ShockWave three times and the Intimidator once, all in rather quick succession. Blergh.
Thankfully, it was time to head out after that. After a quick snack to get some food into my churning stomach, we called it a (successful) day!
