Now we were planning for our last weekend trip together as a family before the end of summer. We signed Scott up for an ACT math tutor for the week, so he was keeping busy doing geometry all week. He also had a job interview for an After School Aide at his old elementary school, Resurrection. One of his old school friend and fellow scout whose Dad is the Vice Principal at the school also works there. Scott inquired about a job opening earlier this summer and they did not have any spots available. But apparently one came up. Scott would prefer working as an After School Aide since the job is closer to home and the work schedule is better. He would not have to work weekends, and the shift usually runs for 3hrs right after he gets our of school. So he went in to interview and picked up the application to fill out. So we think he has the job? Guess we will find out.

Allison finished up at work camp(and feeling better) and returned home on Weds after closing up camp. She had a wonderful summer working as a counselor, but wished she had not gotten ill with anemia, along with a stomach virus. She was sorry she missed the outing to Hershey Park with just the counselors, Holiday week at camp as well as the Appalachian Trail week long hike and camp. But overall she loved visiting with her counselor friends, and especially seeing the girls that travel from overseas to work at the camp. She also enjoyed sharing goodie bags with her fellow counselors all summer and building long lasting friendships.

Now she was home trying to get ready to go back to school-ordering books, packing clothes and resting. But not for long.

We decided to take a quick trip to Williamsburg and to include my Mom. It turned out to be a bit crazy. Tom was already out of town for the week in Chicago on business. He was also trying to schedule a trip to Scotland for work on top of everything. Plus he was thinking about taking all of us, but I just didn't see it happening. His business trips are usually last minute affairs. Too hard to schedule airfare and time off that quickly. We were also dog sitting for our friends who were off visiting Hawaii. They were not expected to return until the following week. We thought we could ask our next door neighbors to watch the dogs for us, but they were headed to New York City. So we had no choice but to take the dogs with us on vacation!

So we had to find hotels that allow us to have dogs. Most hotels with suites were already booked, so we opted for the Hampton Inns. Tom was looking at going to Scotland on Sunday, so we could not stay long. We decided to head out on Friday after picking up my mom, packing her suitcase and scooter, along with our suitcases, and the dog's supplies/cages/food and started out on the road. We prefer traveling to the eastern shore and down to Virginia since there is hardly any traffic. Except it takes longer to get there. No matter. Tom prefers driving with no traffic  for a few hours more vs sitting for hours on the DC beltway. We stopped overnight near Virginia Beach. It is interesting sleeping with dogs(they don't always sleep). Mom and I shared a room with Cookie, Tom and the kids had Ripley. Cookie got up early in the morning as usual(around 5am) for a potty break. At least the hotel is very accessible and easy to take the dog out for a walk. It had rained all night, and we were expecting on and off showers during the day, mostly in the afternoon. After breakfast we headed to Busch Gardens. We dropped both dogs off at the on site kennel and decided to spend the morning at Water Country USA. We were all in our suits and managed to find a shady spot under a cabana with an overhead fan. It turned out to be very hot and humid but we missed out on the rain showers. Everyone enjoyed lounging in the shade, reading and resting and Scott and I caught a few rides. I even got Mom's toes wet in the pool at Hubba Hubba Highway. Sadly, it was Allison that started feeling ill-seems the heat was just too much for her. She took a break in the air conditioned medical center while we packed up and headed over to pick up the dogs late in the afternoon. We would have dropped her back to the hotel and visited the Amusement Park, but we had booked a hotel nearer our house in Richmond. Turns out when we picked up the dogs, we saw that the Park was filled to capacity. They have Saturday night concerts and that was the only reason we figured it was so full. So we really weren't missing out(it is too crazy when the Park is packed and miserable when it is humid). Instead we drove to our hotel, unpacked, got Allison and the dogs some dinner and rest, and Tom, Mom, Scott and I headed out to the movies. We found a very interesting movie theater near Richmond-an old factory turned movie theater. Very cool. We watched "The Hitman's Bodyguard". A bit crazy and violent(dark humor). Not exactly sure Mom appreciated the dark humor as much as we did. It has the same actor that plays the Deadpool character, Ryan Reynolds, so that is all I could think of while watching the movie. Same type of humor, a little less violent than DeadPool. And the popcorn was very good with a lid on the bucket so it does not spill! How cool is that! Popcorn Tupperware.

Anyway, we switched dogs for the night and Mom and I had Ripley. The rest of the family swore she was a much better sleeper than Cookie. I just did not want to keep waking up Mom. Turns out Ripley was not much better. She whined most of the night-I got her a bowl of water and that seemed to help. But Mom kept waking up and turning off the AC. So not much sleep that night either. I needed a vacation from the vacation. At least it was an easy ride back. We did take a potty break near DC and discovered a fabulous Italian bakery. We had to pick up some provisions for the long trip back. We also stopped at an outlet store to pick up some Khaki pants for Scott's new job(we hope).

We returned to the area early enough in the afternoon to drop off Mom, unpack the van and repack Tom for his trip to Scotland. I spent the rest of the day doing yardwork with Scott and laundry! My favorite.

A Big Happy Birthday goes out to Sarah Seitz(Eric's wife). Also, Congratulations to both of them as they announced that they are pregnant and due in February(same month as Eric's Birthday!). They bought the cutest Green Bay Packer baby clothes when we were on vacation! Can't wait to meet the newest Seitz member. And another Big Congratulations to Sarah as she was recently hired for a 4th Grade teaching position in Indiana. Way to Go Sarah!