Virginia Beach, VA, July 20-24

My friend Irene was having her daughter's birthday party on Saturday, July 20, and it worked out great because I was going to be attending a conference July 22-24 in Virginia Beach! Ted and I drove separately so that he can Hudson could return to Richmond on Sunday afternoon. I had a great time, except for one major/minor side effect.

Saturday:

The party food and the party girl with her bff Emersyn. They were having a blast, their faces are the result of too much 'fairy food' (Hudson took the picture of the girls by the way!) 

You can't tell by looking at it, but the cake was delicious and rainbow colored inside!

The party was great, but I was freakishly exhausted! I don't know if it was the three hour drive but my feet began to swell, and all I wanted to do was take a nap! Ted enjoyed teaching Irene and her cousins Magic the Gathering, and they were amazingly good sports about playing! Too much Filipino food was consumed as always, but it was delicious!

Sunday: We were off to a leisurely start, and first headed to the Fun Forest Park, where Hudson and Sinclair had a blast playing and I enjoyed sitting in the shade chatting!

Fun Forest Park

We headed over to a sandwich shop for some lunch, then back to Irene and Mikes for some water play!

The food was worth dancing about! 

Sinclair and Hudson had so much fun together!

I really didn't mind being squirted!

Ted and Hudson heading out around 4 PM and I was sad to say goodbye! Irene and I chilled and watch some TV and Pitch Perfect while Sinclair slept. The rest of the night was similarly chill!

Monday: 

I headed out to my conference around 7:45 AM, it was a little unpleasant having to go back and forth to my car 2 times to take the luggage out, then move my car, all in the rain, but I survived and found my coworkers in the ballroom of some 400 +. The conference was for Early Childhood Educators and I actually got a lot out of it. My learning ranged from recognizing a home Meth lab, the cognitive effects of trauma on the brain, progressive NICU care, and how to teach toddlers about feelings. 

Here was the view from the hotel room! Monday it rained when I arrived, and right when we were dismissed for the day, so I didn't get to walk on the beach or swim in the pool! Two coworkers and I went to a movie, The Heat (such a treat!), then to dinner where we enjoyed this lovely view:

 We stayed at the 'new' Cavalier, this one across the road looks so stately, but what's creepy is that it's totally vacant, and as Irene  liked to tell me, it's haunted.

 Some shots from my morning and evening walks! I was able to walk on the beach around 7 AM and 5 PM on Tuesday, and at 7 AM and 1 PM on Wednesday, ah heaven!

On Tuesday night Irene picked me up and we went out to dinner at Waterman's and walked the boardwalk! We seriously could not remember the last time we went out just the two of us and it was a super lovely time (not to mention delicious!) I wish I could have walked longer by my feet were hurting. 

Below is the price I paid for my lovely 5 days away! There is still sand on them because the foot washes didn't work! Those marks are from the largest pair of flip flops I had with me. I took this picture after I got home around 3:30 on Monday, and couldn't think to do anything but put these stumps up to rest. It was so painful, and I was so worried they would not go down until I have the baby, about 8 LONG weeks away! Now a day and a half later, they have gone down significantly! Thank you Fertility Gods! Some swelling is normal, but I think this happened because I was eating out so much (more salt) and sitting for longer periods than normal. Even though I tried to move around in my seat, each session was 90 minutes, and I couldn't put my feet up. 

Ah the adventures! And this weekend, off to Northern Virginia for some friends and family time!