Weekend Trip to Norfolk

My little guy Forrest (age 3 1/2) took a quick trip to Norfolk this weekend to visit my aunt and cousins.  Forrest was really excited for the trip with mommy.  We spent Saturday afternoon at the Virginia Aquarium which was great!

Forrest loved seeing all of the fish, sharks and amphibians.  I'd say the two highlights were the seals outside and getting to touch the sting rays in the touch tank.  He was SOAKED afterwards but it didn't seem to bother him at all.

The water views outside of the display areas weren't bad either and they have lots of docks and outdoor paths that you can walk around. 

Immediately after feeding the sting rays, they have an area set up where you can touch things in the sand followed by touching a live horseshoe crab. He was soaking wet and then played in sand so you can imagine that his OCD mother was a little upset at all of the sand glued to him.  :)

They also had these gigantic Komodo Dragons and inside the glass enclsosure where the dragons were, you could climb underneath and "pop" up inside a big plastic bubble so it felt like you were in the cage with the dragons.  Thankfully Uncle Beau volunteered to climb underneath the dark cage so Forrest could "pop up!"

Forrest loved meeting his cousin Harrison aka "Mav".  He is four months and absolutely adorable.  Here's Forrest giving him the low down on his PB and J.

My cousins have moved into the main house since they have the baby and my aunt stays outside in a little guest house which we all fondly refer to as the "shed".  The shed has its own bathroom and is a pretty decent size.  My aunt has her bedroom area on one side and then they have their office for the non-profit organization they run, The Chas Foundation, on the other side.  (Side note: my older cousin Chas committed suicide in 2011 - he was bipolar - and afterwards, my aunt and cousin Beau started a non-profit organization to help families of the mentally ill.  It's a great organization that is doing wonderful things for the community.  I'm proud of how much they have achieved considering they built the whole thing from the ground up.)

Years ago I did a blog post about my Aunt Tucker's house (it was in my early days of blogging and the pics aren't great).   I did notice there is a picture of the shed in that old post if you are interested.  She has such a great knack for mixing old and new and has a great eye for things.  The pictures never do it justice but I was impressed with how homey she made that "shed" feel with just a few pieces of art.  Most of them are Asian inspired and so, so cool.  Hopefully one day she will gift them to her favorite niece!  (She loves to remind me that I am her ONLY niece.)

This one isn't Asian but it is a vintage needlepoint piece that she has framed.  I've loved it for a long, long time.  It's faded over the years but it has such great texture and character. 

Our drive back was through pouring rain but we made it home in one piece.  I haven't traveled that much lately because it just is such a hassle packing everybody up with all of the baby and toddler gear, etc. but we got this great new inflatable toddler bed and Forrest did really well on the drive so maybe I can start getting out and taking more trips! 

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.  Happy Monday!