Missing Mia

I am missing Mia like crazy while in DC. I found this adorable video that I never had time to upload before. It is from over a month ago so she is bigger and saying more now....but this is still absolutely priceless!!!!

Getaway - Day 2

So based on my blog it appears as though our vacation has revolved around food! Which in some ways is has. This morning we took the Metro across town to a quaint little restaraunt I found while researching DC on the net. Belga Cafe is an authentic Belgian restaraunt. Famous for their Belgian waffles and other delicious breakfast items we headed down for brunch. The food was so beautiful we had to take pictures! Zack ordered Liege waffles with caramelized apples and cinnamon and my plate is Green Eggs and Ham (actually an herb pesto and spinach egg dish with bacon :-) DELIGHTFUL

We headed downtown to see the Museum of American History and it is closed for renovations until Fall.....booooo hooooo I was really looking forward to seeing the First Ladies dresses, Judy Garland's red slippers, and Carrie Bradshaw's laptop!!!!! Guess this means I have to come back soon though---the kids would LOVE it here!

Getaway - Evening 1

I literally feel like I am in a romantic movie this week-end. Perhaps we relish our date time a little more since it's so rare, but this trip is just amazing!

Tonight we had a fabulous dinner. Since I am such a foodie I will share our decadent choices and make your mouth water! We started with the Crab & Artichoke Dip and Mojitos, for dinner Zack had a Parmesan Rainbow Trout with a Hollindaise sauce (Dad you would have flipped for this fish. Zack says it is by far the best fillet of fish he has ever had!) and I had the Crab Cakes. Then we splurged on dessert! I had the Creme Brullee which was PERFECT.....but Zack got a Blondie with Chocolate Sauce....wow oh wow oh wow!!!!!!! We also chatted with some locals who thought Zack and I were on our honeymoon! haha I think we have that glow:-) We are absolutely enjoying every single moment!

After dinner we strolled some more downtown. DC at dusk is so beautiful!

Zack's snoring now so I should likely shut the computer and get some rest. He has another big day planned for tomorrow!!!

Getaway - Day 1

Hi ya'll!!! Zack and I are in Washington D.C. and having a glorious time! This morning we got up early to get started viewing pieces of our nation's history. Right around the corner from our hotel we found a cute little french bistro for breakfast......ahh the joys of big city life. I had a portabello and egg sandwich on ciabbata bread...fabulous! Zack had a prosciutto and egg sandwich on an onion bagel!! We then set off to walk the Mall. We are staying right downtown so we just jetted off for the Vietnam Memorial.

My most poignant memory of day was a handwritten card placed carefully at the foot of the Vietnam War Memorial. This card was written by a young child and it read, "I hope your next trip is safe." Precious and heartbreaking. I studied the Vietnam War in great detail while getting my History degree so this was one of the monuments I knew I wanted to see. So powerful.

Zack's been here twice before so he's been my tour guide. We visited several other monuments, the Holocaust Museum, and Union Station. We are back at our hotel now getting dressed up for a lovely dinner at the Ebbitt Grill.

Tomorrow we plan to visit some of the Smithsonian Museums, Arlington National Cemetery, and possibly drive out to Chesapeake Bay.

Skyler, Abby, Trendon, Livie, & Mia ---- we miss you!

Swimming

Mia's first time in a swimming pool! Several of my Mommy friends and I took the kids for a swimming playdate yesterday. The Pavillion in Georgetown is SOO nice. For only 5 bucks we got unlimited swimming all day. They have 2 indoor pools (one is a HUGE baby/toddler pool with big buckets, HUGE twisty slide, and a rainbow sprinkler and then an olympic size pool too!) I can't believe I have lived 20 minutes from this place for nearly a year and have never taken the kids! We could have been swimming all winter! POO

Mia absolutely loved it! I let her float on her back and put her under several times. Hopefully she will learn to swim as easily as Livie & Abigail did. What fun! Can't wait to swim in the sun though!!!

Rain....rain....go away!

So far, all of Trendon's T-ball games have been rained out!!! He is getting very anxious for a chance to show off his new uniform. We think he looks absolutely adorable! His next scheduled game is on Monday! Hopefully, the rain will take a break!

One More Song!

Love, Skyler

Song from the Musical Perfomance

It's Easy Being Green

It's Easy Being Green *Being Green
It's Easy Being Green *Being Green

Easy like changin' a lightbulb
Easy like ridin' a bike

It's Easy Being Green *Being Green
It's Easy Being Green *Being Green

Tell your friends and family
Tell your neighbors too
Tell your teachers
Tell your school
Green is easy to do to do to doobie doobie do

It's Easy Being Green *being Green
It's Easy Being Green *Being Green

Easy like taking a walk
Easy like planting a tree

It's Easy Being Green *Being Green
It's Easy Being Green *Being Green

It's Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy
B------E----I-----N---G
Grass green, lime green, tree green, sea green
It's Easy Being Green

YEAH

The Music Program

On Thursday evening, last week, Southside Elementary had a music program that our school kids were in. The theme was "Being Green!" All of the songs were about recycling, becoming energy efficient, and caring for our environment (Melissa you would have been so proud:-). Both Abby and Skyler had speaking parts and Trendon got to play his hand-made tambourine!

My Girl Scouts

On Saturday morning, we hosted a troop breakfast so my new girls would have a chance to get to know one another. 11 of my 18 girls were able to come and we had a BLAST! We made Belgian waffles and topped them with strawberries and syrup. We played several Brownie games including the Brownie Choo-Choo train, Princess and Fairies, and PS Sit-Up. The girls are bonding already and I am thrilled to have this opportunity!!!!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

We hope all of you Mommies had a beautiful Mother's Day! We had a glorious day. Livie and Trendon helped Zack make breakfast for me. They made pancakes, bacon & eggs....yum! They showered me with gifts both home-ade (my favorite) and a few things they knew I wanted. I felt utterly spoiled and blessed the entire day.

For my Mom; Daniel, Rachel & I took her to see Made of Honor (hilarious) and to eat at one of favorite restaraunts, P.F. Changs YUM! We had a great evening full of laughter.

It was fabulous celebrating motherhood both with my children and my own mother. The job, though exhausting at times comes with such rich rewards. I feel so blessed to have my quiver full of beautiful, smart, fun children.

6 months old!

So our little doodle bug is 6 months old. (Technically she is nearly 6 1/2 months old now....so I am a little late...)
At her doctor's visit she weighed 17 lbs 15 oz which puts our chunky girl in the 80th percentile for weight!!! She is 26 1/2 inches long.
She is sitting up so well now and loves being able to play with her toys and interact better with her brothers and sisters! She has been sleeping 13 hours a night for several nights in a row...until last night! Last night she decided it would be more fun to laugh at daddy than sleep. I think I will likely crash before supper tonight! She is making up for it today though....she's been asleep nearly all morning. YIKES. I hope she doesn't get all messed up!!!!

Grandpa Clay's Visit

The week really flew by while Grandpa Clay was here! He babysat Livie, Mia, & Trendon while Zack and I took the big girls to the Daddy Daughter dance! He got to attend a T-ball practice with the guys. The rest of the week he worked really, really hard on our bathroom. We had one disaster after another. Somehow the sewer exploded all over the laundry room and all over Grandpa! Eeeewww!!! After that mess was cleaned up the kitched sinked backed up...which was a total nightmare. Imagine no kitchen sink or dishwasher while feeding 8 people 3 meals a day! Crazy! It took Zack and Clay about a day and a half to figure out that mess. All of this while our crazy lives kept on a going. Of course, Zack still had to go to work, kids to school and girl scouts and homework etc.....The week was very very busy! On the last day Grandpa was here he set up the trampoline he bought for us!!! What a treat. THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH Grandpa Clay & Grandma Julie!! We absolutely love it! It keeps the kids in the backyard which is a treat for me! Plus Zack and I love jumping on it just as much as the kids do:-)

Our Creative Writer

One of the best parts of being a parent is finding the little stories, notes, and pictures that the kids create. This evening I was cleaning up and came across this story that made Zack and I crack up. It's author is none other than Miss Skyler. Spelling, punctuation and grammar I will replicate for you as well...

The Lost Parents

Once upon a time there was a mom and dad that had no children. But one day the mom and dad heard somthing scary! They followed the scary sound. Sundly they got lost. Mom had and idea. "I know how to get out of here". "How." saud dad. "Climb up those trees." said mom. "There is home." said dad. When mom got home she was pregnet. She was suprised!!! She had a baby girl.

Happy week-end everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:-)