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Upcoming Events
- Children's Bike Parade in Lexington
Jul 4 10:00am - Jul 4 11:00amNot KIVA, just free, outdoor play
Children are invited to devorate their bikes, trikes, scooters and wagons in patriotic colors and then ride down Main Street in Lexington. Meet at the library! - KIVA Kick-nic at Booker T. Washington Park
Jul 11 9:30am - Jul 11 12:30pmCome out and play with us at the wonderful Booker T. Washington Park. A KIVA parent recommended we have a Kick-nic! (kickball and a picnic: awesome, huh?) Join us as we play with a ball donated by Dick's Sporting Goods and then we will have a walk along the Lick Run Greenway for a picnic in the shade. Come out and bring a picnic basket full of yummies for your family.
- Hey Kids, Touch a truck!
Jul 25 10:00am - Jul 25 4:00pmNot KIVA, but it sure sounds like free, outside fun!
Wheels, wings and water!
Kids of all ages can climb, discover and explore. A brand new event where kids and adults have the opportunity to see, touch, and interact with dozens of cool vehicles!
Roanoke County Parks, Green Hill Park, near Salem - Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing Family Weekend
Jul 25 10:00am - Jul 25 5:00pmAdventure Race, expo, and family fun weekend
Don't miss one of the biggest events in Wilderness Adventure history!
Wilderness Adventure and Odyssey Adventure Racing are coming together for their first adventure race, expo, and family fun weekend. There will be a 24 hour race (for all you extreme folks), a 6 hour sprint race, and a short family fun race scheduled throughout the weekend.
On Friday and Saturday we will have exhibitors from all over the region to showcase their outdoor expertise in areas such as; mountain biking, road cycling, trail running, fly fishing, paragliding and more. We will also be running our 900' zip line and 50' Climbing Tower all day Saturday.
Come out for the BBQ and family events on Saturday, or stay the whole weekend! Either way you don't want to miss this event. Lodging will be on a first come first serve basis, and camping is available. To reserve a room, campsite, or exhibitor's booth call 800-782-0779.
Host:Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing Summer Camp
Time:12:00PM Friday, July 24th
Venue:Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing - Fishburn Park Elementary Work Day
Aug 15 8:00am - Aug 15 8:00amNot KIVA - but free, outdoor fun!
Fishburn Park Elementary (with a rain date of 8/29)
Join the school as they focus on two areas of improvement
– sustainability upgrades including the revitalization of a pond habitat,
and
- help clean out the existing pond and nearby flower bed, pull, plant and add. They will also be setting up several rain barrel systems that you can then try at home!
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Last weekend, we had a water blast with some people we do know and a whole lot of people who we do not know! Ah, Roanoke! We thought you might like to see a bit of the fun that goes on in this crazy city! Our kids loved this! To our out of town readers, consider hosting one of these in your town. More info at http://www.myscoper.com or just go right to the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Qx1dq1dc0. Look for me…hiding behind the tree!
Roanoke City Parks and Recreation is hosting a family bike ride today with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. It will be starting at Wasena Park (at 10AM) and then riding to Bennington. It should take about 35 - 40 minutes. Please wear a helmet! If you are interested, e-mail us at kivainfo@gmail.com
What a great day of fun! The Donahues are wiped out! Oh, that could be from Roanoke’s First Annual Super Soaker Sunday today! Wait til you see the pictures from that! We had such a fine time at the Roanoke Mountain Campground yesterday! Thanks so much to the fine rangers of the Blue Ridge Parkway and to the wonderful camp hosts. Please consider taking your family up to the Roanoke Mountain Campground this summer. They have free day camping, and for just $16 you can campout overnight. We will be heading back this summer for camping, plus for their free music on Sunday evenings!
If you were able to capture any pictures on Saturday, please send them to us and we will post them here. For more information, check out the wonderful write up in the Virginia section of the Roanoke Times.
Hello All!
(*anyone play banjo?) 
It doesn’t seem long ago when we announced that KIVA members would be able to participate in the NWF’s Great American Backyard Campout (http://www.nwf.org/backyardcampout/). Check out the NWF website for helpful camping checklists and ideas for campout fun. It took some phone work, but we got the official word that we could use the Roanoke Mountain Campground! The local Blue Ridge Parkway rangers have been very supportive of our efforts. We just had to go all the way up the ranks for permission. We decided to set up tents during the day to allow families the chance to try the campout experience with friends before trying it on their own.
(*anyone play guitar?)
That greatly anticipated day is coming up Saturday. This will be a great KIVA for staying the whole time, or just popping in on us sometime in the day. Here is a bit of information.
We will be arriving early this time - that will be our biggest accomplishment of the day!
(*anyone play harmonica?)
NWF’s Campout page has a great packlist here!
Feel free to start coming by anytime after 9:30! Directions at the end of this e-mail.
9:30- 10:30 - Tent set up
Feel free to bring your own, or come and help us set up ours. We will just be setting up for the day. We have permission to use the pavilion area for free. If you want to use a campsite, you will need to pay $16.00 to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We are renting one site for the day to use for a base. Here we will be able to set up our campsite and use the fire pit for cooking/heating up food for lunch. Visit friends, enjoy a trail snack. Drink water - need to stay hydrated! Weather calls for 90 degrees during the day.
10:30 - 11:15 - Roanoke Mountain Campground Exploration
Take a guided hike around the campground along the Chestnut Ridge Loop Trail. We will take a shorter version of the hike.
11:15 - 12:00 - Games, activities - more tent set ups. Lunch preparation
12:00 - 1:00 - Cooking lunch by the campsite
We will not be providing food for everyone, but we thought maybe some KIVA members might be willing to sign up to bring extra picnic snacks or supplies. Extra ice and water bottles would be fantastic!
Prepare to bring lunch and snacks for your family, but consider bringing extra items in case families forget.
Here is a checklist of needed items.
____ ice
____ bottled water
____ hot dog buns
____ a variety of chips or snacks
____ fruit
____ play a tune for us
Please consider if your family could help out by bringing extras.
E-mail us, if you would like to sign up to bring an item.
Ashley and I will supply the S’mores ingredients and turkey and beef hot dogs.
1:00 - 2:30 - Family free play. As our friend Jane Kirkland always says, “Take a minute to be in it.”
2:30 - 3:30- Campground games and snacks
Gatorade anyone?
3:30 - 4:30 - Campground Clean Up/ take down tents and prepare to leave
Here are directions to the Roanoke Mountain Campground:
From the parkway, the campground can be found at MP 120.5, head towards Mill Mountain Star and Mill Mountain Zoo. Campground entrance is on the left.
Locals can find it by heading up Fishburn Parkway, towards the Mill Mountain Star or the Mill Mountain Zoo. Pass the entrance for these on your right, and continue driving the Fishburn Parkway for a couple of miles. You will see the entrance to Roanoke Mountain Campground on your right. Enter the site and find us around the amphitheatre area.
Here is a campground map. We will be meeting around the ampitheatre.
http://www.virtualblueridge.com/maps/roanoke-mountain-campground.asp
The Donahues are just a family trying to get our green hour in and we like to invite our friends along! Come out and help us learn more! So far, we have only camped out in the backyard! Join us on our excursion out of the backyard and onto the great Roanoke Mountain Campground! We’ll learn our way together!
oh, and if you play some music…please come out!
Chip and Ashley W. Donahue
http://www.kidsadventuring.org
540-580-3015
Please R.S.V.P. so we know how many hot dogs to bring!
****KIVA - Kids In the Valley, Adventuring! is a free monthly outdoor adventure club for the families in and around Roanoke. We meet monthly in different parks to encourage families to discover the lovely free play opportunities that are available to us. Our motto is simple: KIVA - Play, Learn, Volunteer. You are receiving this e-mail because you asked to sign up for our monthly newsletter and e-mail updates or someone thought you might like to hear about our adventures. If you were forwarded this e-mail and you would like to sign up, please send us an e-mail at KIVAinfo@gmail.com or call 540-580-3015 for a print version.
Just came across Roanokecarfreewithkids blog. Parents, you must visit this page, and not just because they mention KIVA!
Check out this info segment from the RCFWK’s blog and see why this is important!
“The WHAT: A 6 month+ life-change entailing being car-free locally. That is, getting around town for work, errands, fun, and socializing without using my car. In fact, I am selling the vehicle to secure the deal. I’ll use my bike or walk, use the bus or carpool. The only really unusual thing is that I have 2 little girls who will go on this ride with me. But people everywhere do this, I am just joining the effort.
The WHY: I am an ordinary woman who loves to ride her bike, and I want to show folks that ordinary people can make this alternative work. I have 2 extraordinary girls, and I see this as an opportunity to teach them how to love life, live simply, and leave a lighter footprint. A community is made up of your involvement in it, and this is teaching them how to step up and get involved.
The HOW: I have several modes of transport: I have a road bike and a mountain bike, the girls each have their own bikes plus we have a tag-a-long and a bike trailer. My most recent fascination is the tandem that I found for under $300. I trick it out with the tag-a-long or the trailer for my 4 year old and my 6 year old can ride stoker position. We mix up the usage depending on the occasion and purpose.
I can do this because we made a conscious decision when we moved back to Roanoke to live where we could be active locally. OSW seemed to us like the best neighborhood for this. We have all we need locally: great grocery choices, an active farmer’s market, terrific museums, parks, zoo, trails, pools and schools. It’s all at our fingertips and at bike-able or walk-able distances. I’m a teacher, and my work is the longest bike commute of the family, at 16 miles round trip. I did it off and on throughout this past school year, with child and without, and am prepared to continue this bike commute in the new school year, taking the bus or carpooling in inclement weather. My challenge for the summer is to renew, train, and be very good at planning fun local activities and keeping my kids energized and loving the bike experience. It requires that I be conscious of the energy it takes to get places. I anticipate our spending to go way down (as well as the scales!), and our savings (and the earth’s) to go up.
EXCEPTIONS: We are still going on vacations (taking bikes with us, of course) and driving to far away places to see family and friends. We are still keeping one vehicle for out-of-town excursions. However, we are making deliberate choices to sell the least efficient vehicle, to use the remaining vehicle less, to rely on alternative modes of transportation and face the challenges that go with those choices. JOIN ME!”
Not only are the H ladies and the newest addition (La Sasha) the coolest kids in school, but they are also KIVA members. Way to make a difference! Best wishes in your wonderful endeavours! Give ‘em a honk!
Even if you are not a sweet eater, stop by to check out all the other great vendors at the Grandin Village Community Market. Fresh vegetables, fresh flowers, fresh food, and fresh coffee from Star City Coffee - all can be found in one little parking lot.
People all around the world have been reading about the healthy benefits of free outdoor play. Families are attempting to get out together. Family groups, called Nature Clubs For Families, put the green hour on the calendar. A free internet toolkit has been created and is available at www.childrenandnature.org/natureclubs.
Not many people can say… “I got a call today from the National Wildlife Federation.” But I did. They are very excited to hear about our KIVA Day Camp on June 27th at Roanoke Mountain Campground. We drove up there this afternoon and I have to write that I got tingles. The Donahues are also very excited. We were really excited when two huge packages of giveaway stuff showed up on our porch. Supporters of the NWF GABCampout sent out some wonderful things for us to share.
We will have stories, a few hikes, time to set up camp, lunch, a presentation about the importance of Leave No Trace, a Family Camping 101 presentation and lots of fun! As the time approaches, we have started thinking about important things we might need people to bring along. We are also thinking that if we could get people to sign up for meal items, then the overall cost could stay low for every family. The KIVA Day Camp is free, but a family has to purchase things to be prepared. If we could get one family to buy hot dog buns, plates and napkins and then another family to buy hot dogs and condiments…it might end up cheaper. Let us know what you think. I’ll post an item on the website each day to see if we have any takers.
We also want to hear from you if you have a guitar or a banjo, a fiddle or a mandolin. Come out and play some tunes and we’ll make you a hot dog! Might even let you make a s’mores.
Not so sure about camping? Check out NWF’s page on camping tips! We hope to see you on the 27th. More details and directions are coming soon.
Last Friday, Ashley and I went out on a date for our 13th wedding anniversary. The date was many days late, as we are very busy people. Three great kids, four part time (not to count our 2 full time) jobs between us. A website to update, contacts to be made, a family nature club to host, showing houses, keeping house. Thankfully, all diapers are now out of the house. This busy-ness even lead to us needing a family member to remind us of our anniversary. Ashley and I went all out for our dating anniversary (16 years) this last May. We went to Target, I think.
Romantic me. I arranged for a special visit to Earth Friendly Fridays to hear Mr. Rick Van Noy, and for a special treat…we got my mom to keep the kids! Who says the magic disappears? Ashley and I did manage to squeeze in a lovely dinner at a favorite restaurant before the talk. Rick had so many wonderful stories to share. Very inspiring.
After the talk, …wait for it…, we headed out to Target! The kids needed such and such, we needed to pick up supplies for the Grandin Village community market, and I wanted to check out my favorite section of the store.
Don’t let the common-ness of the day fool you. Our story is truly wonderful. So much of our early time together now seems to have been a foreshadowing to the great life that lay ahead of us.
We had the same best friend in college. That friend was getting very tired of hearing the same heartbreak woes from the two of us. Our previous boy/girlfriend issues had left us bitter and grumpy. He decided to get us together so that we would stop complaining to him and work through our grief together. Wonderful idea, btw. Changed my life, and for that I am very thankful.
We spent many a month together, getting to know each other, being the safe date, becoming best friends. We took trips on the Parkway and had many a picnic. Hiking and exploring local trails became a past time. One day, remind me to tell the story of our trip to the Cascades. I honestly lied to her about being the outdoor type - sorry Evan Dando. Kids, lying leads to trouble. Days to weeks to months to years. Ashley taught me how to drive a stick and how to catch a football. On May 9th, 1993, she kissed me for the first time and blew this old trout out of the water!
On April 16, 1995, Easter Sunday at the sunrise service at Natural Bridge, I asked Ashley to marry me. We walked off, away from her family, past the natural bridge, up the embankment and past the first row of trees. We goofed around the subject, both of us were so nervous that we needed to excuse ourselves separately to find a wide tree. “Pardon me. I’ve got to pee.” After this, I presented her with her grandmother’s wedding ring, in a box made out of multi-colored construction paper. It was filled to the brim with construction paper confetti, the ring, and a dogwood flower - which symbolized a very important moment in my life.
June 8th, 1996, I walked up the grass aisle, arm in arm, with the love of my life. The Windy Hill neighborhood had come out together to celebrate our vows. The rain had fallen for most of the day, but the clouds broke with enough time for us to complete the ceremony. Patsy Cline was singing “Today, Tomorrow, and Forever.” Everyone was smiling. I was a blubbery mess. But I knew then, and I know now, that I am - without a doubt - the luckiest man in the world.
We danced that night, on the patio, to the music of the Hollins College Jazz band, rain pouring down upon our guests. The longer the night went on, the more beautiful the flowers upon her handmade wildflower headdress became. It was made by her hands, as a matter of fact.
Thank you for letting me share my life with you, Ashley. You make the sunshine seem brighter. And just like those flowers, our children are growing taller and ever more beautiful each day.
p.s. I’m still falling for you.
Please check out the pictures from Sunday’s KIVA Play!
More details to come, but you have to see the pictures first!
keep looking »