Skip to main content

Toby and...

Finally, a long-awaited blog post about Virginia!  I'm afraid you will have to wait a little longer to hear a little about all our fun activities (we fitted in beach and mountains, what more could you want on a holiday?) but the main purpose of the trip was to introduce Toby to some more of his family.  He charmed 'em all.

First, the most important: Toby meets Grandma (or Meemaw as she is known to her great-grands)

Of course, Grandpa (or Grampoo) was just as important, but didn't get quite so many cuddles owing to having heart surgery while we were there (you wouldn't know it, would you?)


It was the second time for meeting Uncle John, but Toby's changed a bit in 6 months!

Inspecting the James River with Aunt Kristal.



With a couple of my cousins, Lloyd and Ben.  At the rate Toby's growing he may rival their height one day.


With Great-Uncle Ben.


Walking in the woods with Great-Aunt Mary, who did a great job entertaining us in the mountains.  Thanks for letting us stay!


With Mary's mom Susan and assorted other members of her family.

Lots of legs!


Bedtime story with Meemaw

Looking cute all by himself, and doing his best to eat an unopened packet of cheese crackers.

Phew!  That was supposed to be the easy blog entry for the trip, but I'm still getting used to Blogger's new way of adding photos.  I'm sure it'll be easier... eventually.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Limestone Way - the end! (for now...)

Bonsall is a pretty little village just up the road from Cromford. It was the centre point for my final Limestone Way walk. First I walked one way, back towards Ible, then I walked the other way to Matlock. I started at the fountain and climbed up to a tree in which a mistle thrush was singing loudly (helpfully identified by the Merlin app). A few fields took me across to the hamlet of Slaley. Then there was a pleasant walk through the woods, which dropped steeply to my left down to the Via Gellia. At Dunsley Springs the stream went right over the edge.  I made my way down more gradually, and then was faced with the long climb up again to the point near Leys Farm where I was rejoining the Limestone Way. Tree down! Rejoining the Limestone Way Once I'd reached the top, it was a very pleasant walk across dry grassy fields. There were signs of old mining activity, which suddenly made the ground feel less solid under my feet - how many holes were hiding under the turf? Back at Bonsall, ...

Limestone Way: Grangemill and Ible

It was getting mistier and mistier. As I drove past Carsington Water, the world around grew dimmer, and when I parked near Brassington, the nearby trees were hazy shadows in the murk. I was glad I was wearing a red coat as I started off along Manystones Lane. At least I had some chance of being visible. Fortunately it was a short road section. I navigated my way across a series of small fields, from one dry stone wall to the next, and crossed the old railway line which is now the High Peak Trail. I could just imagine a steam train emerging out of the fog. The next fields were larger. It was as if the landscape was being sketched around me as I walked across it. A tree or an electricity pylon would appear as a few faint lines, increasing in detail when I got closer, and fading away behind. Up ahead, the land dropped into a huge hole - Longcliffe Quarries. I couldn't see much, but the noise from the machinery dominated the next section of the walk.  I skirted the edge of the quarry a...

Baby Language

For some reason baby equipment is an area in which American English differs markedly from British English. As well as learning how to care for a baby, we had to learn a whole new vocabulary! Fortunately we are now fluently bilingual, and I have compiled a handy US-UK baby dictionary for you. Diaper n. Nappy Mom says if you can read this change my diaper. The first time you change one of these you will be all thumbs and stick the little adhesive tabs to yourself, the baby and probably the changing mat before you get them where they ought to go. A few years later you will be able to lasso a running toddler and change them before they even know what's happened (yes, I have seen it done). You will also get through more diapers than you ever thought possible, creating scary amounts of expense and waste. Hence we are now mostly using: Cloth diaper n. Reusable nappy Cool baby. No longer those terry squares, the main drawback is that there are now so many types it can be qu...