Mrs. Gribble Goes to Washington...

Back in March I had the opportunity as part of my new role on the SMRP Board of Directors to attend the annual fly-in on Capitol Hill. There were about 20 member volunteers who attended and our goal was to speak with lawmakers about funding technical education through things like Pell Grants. Workforce development is a big pain point for our industry as the workforce is aging. So it was really cool to get an opportunity to go advocate for programs that will help educate the next generation of workers - and promote the value of the skilled trades.

My group got to actually meet with Congressman Glenn Thompson from Pennsylvania. The SMRP staff were shocked that our first meeting was actually with the Congressman and not just one of their staffers. Unfortunately that was the only one we actually met with.

Then we got to meet up with Senator Mark Warner's office - I was pretty excited about this but unfortunately we didn't get to meet the Senator. His office was decorated with all things Virginia - it was pretty cool.

Then on our way to meet with Senator Tim Kaine's office we actually spotted him in one of the underground tunnels!! I was so excited and luckily the SMRP staff person who was with our group had no problem flagging him down and asking him for a photo. Was a highlight of the day for sure.

We also met with Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky & Senator Sherod Brown of Ohio.

It was definitely a unique day and it really made me appreciate the country we live in and the access we have to those making the decisions. Aside from going through security check-points you don't have to have an appointment to just knock on the door of your representatives - pretty lucky!

Baking with Harper...

After seeing how much fun Harper had in the kitchen with Grandma during the holidays I decided we better keep his enthusiasm for cooking going. I feel bad that I didn't do much baking with Adam when he was this young - and yes, I'll admit to holding back on it because of the inevitable mess and lack of control - but I'm learning to let go a bit (just a bit!) and I'm so happy of it because I'm really enjoying my time in the kitchen with Harper - and he's loving it too!

Member Preview Day at Busch Gardens...

We decided to do season tickets for Busch Gardens again this year and so once again we got to take advantage of their member's only preview day. This year we asked Grandma and Grandpa to watch Harper which meant we got to have free reign of the park, ride all the rides together without having to do child swap, and skip past all the kiddie rides (sorry Harper!) 

Adam was so excited and couldn't wait to see if he would be tall enough to finally ride the last three roller coasters that he hadn't been big enough for last year. As we went to get him measured we held our breath, thought tall thoughts, and sure enough - boom! Tall enough for ALL The rides!! He was ecstatic! 

We had so much fun walking around the park, going on all the rides together for a change, and witnessing Adam experience Tempesto (ugh, I hate that one, thankfully Andy rode it with him), Alpengeist & everyone's favorite - The Griffon!! 

After we left the park we headed to our hotel room - another exciting thing for Adam - he loves hotel rooms! Adam got to go swim in the indoor pool and then we went out to Bone Fish for dinner. We missed Harper a lot but it's definitely a treat when we get to focus all our attention on Adam - he deserves adventures like this. 

Looking forward to a summer of lots of fun at Busch Gardens! 

Quick visit to Frying Pan Park...

Harper and I had some time to kill one Saturday in March so we popped over to Frying Pan Park to check in on the animals - though mostly Harper just wanted to sit on the tractors...

Those early spring park days...

I always love those first days of spring weather (and of course those first days of fall weather) and even when they are just a tease and we end up with cold frosty weather the next day we always make sure to take advantage of them when we can. So in March if the weather was spring-like it meant walks to the park after school...