Wytheville, Virginia

We met Joel and Zina in Wytheville, Virginia--they were in Townsend, Tennessee checking everything out for the upcoming Warner family reunion, and Matt had the bright idea of meeting them halfway for a quick visit.  We went from Thursday-Saturday and enjoyed the visit.  

Here is Beck packing his own backpack.

It was so hard for Ramsey to choose what to take.

Ramsey put on some tinted chapstick for the trip :)

We went to Fort Chiswell Animal Park.  It was amazing.  This is the fattest rabbit ever!

HUGE snake.

Ramsey wanted me to take a picture of her on each animal statue. 

We rode a bus for a safari--Beck was pretty iffy.  He had a cup of food in his hand, and the resident camel, Humphrey, snatched it right out of his hand!  He kept recounting it over and over again, "Mommy, remember when Humphrey took my cup?"  And an elk licked Ramsey's hand while she was feeding him, and she kept talking about that too.  She said it was gross, but she laughed about it.  

I've never been so close to a zebra like this--we got to touch him.

The turtles were all congregated on this log for a sunning session.

We checked out a local antique store, and the kids rocked this bear for 15 minutes.  

They were so careful and kind to this little guy.  

I think they are getting baby fever.  Ramsey recently told me "Mom, you will be so happy when you have a baby in your belly."  I don't know where that came from--

maybe I've been smothering them with too many kisses?

Beck even leaned in for a kiss.  

We were walking around town, and started getting tired and cranky, so we managed to find a small, local grocery store that had an ice cream stand.  

All the green is so beautiful.  

So, Ramsey and I wanted to go up the Big Walker Lookout Tower--it stands 100 feet high.  This is the view.  Matt was not interested in going, and I told him he didn't have to, but he insisted because his little girl was going (Ramsey) and he wanted to hold her hand.  Incidentally, she was barely nervous.  I was not scared at all, Ramsey was a little scared, and Matt was terrified.  

We gripped hands the whole time.

Here is my sweetheart--he managed to smile even though the height of the tower was crazy for him.

The kids LOVED staying in the hotel.  We brought a pack-n-play for Beck since he still sleeps in a crib, but they really wanted to sleep in the same bed (first time, if you can believe that).  I just piled pillows around them in case one of them rolled off.

Blue had his own dog bed and blanket on the floor.

It took a while for Beck to settle down, but he eventually conked out.

Look at these three!  Joel took off his glasses because he feels like he looks like David Letterman when he wears a hat and his glasses, and that is a bad thing :)

We stopped by Southern Virginia University on the way home in Buena Vista, Virginia.  Matt spotted this lunch spot--bluedogart cafe--and Ramsey was so proud.  Here she is posing with the original Blue Dog.  I had a wrap, Matt had a ham sandwich, Beck had a hotdog, and Ramsey had a grilled cheese.  It was a welcome change from fast food, which apparently half of the family struggles to digest.