Category Archives: Uncategorized

Snow

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The first real snow of the season!  Everyone all bundled up and ready to go!  

Larissa joined in for the fun.  Right before I snapped this picture, Emerson threw snow in Larrisa’s face…so that look of excitement is really a shriek from ice cold snow on her face!

Then Avery got a taste of that ice cold snow on her face and was less than thrilled. 

Emerson actually tasting the snow.  There was a lot of that going on the initial part of the morning…especially with Harper.

Happy Larissa enjoying the snow.  Pretty sure she even put on make-up for her snow pictures…I mean it isn’t often Brazilian’s see snow…this photo is going to probably be showed over and over again…I would have put on make-up if I were in her shoes too!  Speaking of pictures, I got a new iPhone yesterday and it takes great pictures!

Harper getting ready to sled.

Emerson sledding.

And now Avery.

And while I didn’t get a picture of myself sledding, I had a great time sledding.  Honestly, sometimes it feels so great to just be a kid again…even if it is only for a few moments. I even managed to wipe out Avery the one time Justin took a video…mom of the year!

After these girls had enough for the first round of the day, they came in to a nice surprise that Karolin had sent for Christmas and had arrived last night.

The girls went sledding again in the evening.  Justin finally used the snow blower…the one that we bought two years ago after the prior years 2+ feet of snow and since that time, it hasn’t even snowed enough for Justin to use it.  He was a little nervous it wouldn’t even work.  I’m happy to report that not only did it work, but also, he had a fun time using it.  In total, we have somewhere between 8 – 10 inches of snow. School is already cancelled for tomorrow. So while it is back to work for Justin and I, these girls will enjoy another day in the snow with Larissa.

Christmas 2018

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We had a very merry Christmas.  We spent the week prior decorating gingerbread houses, listening to Christmas music, and admiring our door of holiday cards.

Christmas Eve, we started with our annual pictures by the tree. My serious loving Emerson!

My sweet do your own thing Avery….

And my loving crazy goofball.  

Trying to get all three looking and smiling at the camera for the same picture has proven to be a continued challenge over the years…at least it makes for some good laughs.

Pics with Larissa…

Love this picture – this little goofball has continued making my heart happy and smile since she came along five years ago!

Pictures with awesome and handsome Daddy.

Mommy with handsome hubby!  Not too shabby for almost 40 year olds!

Our happy little awesome family.

Our happy little awesome family plus one!

Seriously, why can’t we all stay still and smile for the camera?  At least it makes for some good pictures!  Nice height Ave!

At church, Harper brought true meaning to the song “Silent Night”.

We went to PF Changs for dinner – our fourth year in a row of the tradition.  Food was delicious, service not so great.  Without really even complaining, we got 25% of the check and a $25 gift card.  They made it right in the end…so whether PF Changs or another restaurant will be our go to for next year, is still up in the air.

I totally bought Christmas jammies for the whole family this year.  Me and the hubs!

The girls…

Pics with Mila, who joined us by the way at PF Changs.

Hope that toe taste nice Eme!

The five of us in our jammies…

The girls placed their letters for Santa along with a note about who has been on the nice list.  And of course cookies for Santa, which the girls baked that afternoon with Larissa; carrots and reindeer food, which Harper made at school.

Christmas morning, the girls patiently waiting to go downstairs. Harper had gotten sick that night after she went to bed and despite two rounds of throwing up and diarrhea, she rallied Christmas morning.

Santa was good to all of and left a few things in our stockings that made us laugh and be joyful.

More pictures with props that Larissa had brought home from her Brazilian Christmas Eve celebration the night prior.

And finally after several hours of opening Santa presents and several pots of coffee, it was breakfast time.  The menu included a sausage, pepper, kale, and mushroom strata, bacon, fruit, and orange citrus scones.  All were delicious!

More present opening after breakfast…this time gifts to each other.

Harper gave Mila some socks that said “John Lemon” and had a picture of John Lennon as a lemon head.  Mila taught Harper the names of all The Beatles several years ago…she would pronounce John Lennon “John Lemon” so when I walked past these socks in Bed Bath Beyond, I knew they would steal the show.

The girls got coupons for a day in D.C. and a movie theatre day.  We went to D.C Thursday and spent time at The Museum of American History followed by dinner at Dogfish Head Alehouse in Falls Church.  Friday we went to see The Return of Mary Poppins. We brought home pizza instead of eating out as I was starting to get achy and could feel myself coming down with the virus that had plagued the entire household the week prior.

The girls did not buy each other presents so we came up with this gift that they could chose to sign if they were ready to make the pledge.  They all took some time to think about it and within several hours, all three had made the pledge.   They took it seriously and have really overall been getting along really nicely with one another the past few weeks.  

Later in the day, Papa and Grandma came over for Christmas dinner.

More important than the presents around the tree are the people around the tree!  We had a merry Christmas and feel so blessed.

Three Ladies, Eight Nights

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Hanukkah came early this year starting on December 3.  The first night fell on a Sunday, which was logistically more convenient for celebrating the first night with my parents.  We went to my parents house where my mom cooked latkes.  While the girls don’t eat latkes, the adults certainly ate our fair share. We even celebrated with Noah!  His first Hanukkah!

The girls each received their own art set from my parents, which they loved.  My parents as always got the girls presents and then some every single night.  The girls were so intrigued by their art sets that we held off on giving them their Hanukkah present from us until it was time to change into pajamas, since they received Hanukkah pajamas!  They always receive Christmas pajamas but when I saw that Hannah Anderson was carrying a Hanukkah set this year, I ordered them right away!  The girls wore them many of the eight nights of Hanukkah. 

Avery and Emerson did a great job with saying the Hanukkah blessing this year.  We even sang it a few nights with the help of recording!  Harper wanted no part of the candles since she is afraid of fire…she stayed in a different room each night until we were done lighting the candles and even then she stayed far away as they burned for the next hour.

The girls received mostly practical items from me and Justin…some workbooks, books, art paper, board games and STEM projects, and of course Christmas pj’s one night.  THIS year the whole family, including Larrisa, received a pair.  While we have a lot of great pictures, I am only posting one because I don’t want to spoil the Christmas Eve fun.

It was a good Hanukkah and I’m glad we have some time between the two holidays this year!

Arlington National Cemetery

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After a rainy dreary LAZY Saturday where showers and dressing in real clothes was overrated, we welcomed the sunny warm day today and being OUTSIDE!  We took the girls to Arlington National Cemetery.  We saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and The Changing of the Guard, the John F. Kennedy Gravesite, and walked along the paths of tombstones of those who honorably served our nation.

It was a beautiful day and I love instilling a little bit about our nations history and those who give the ultimate sacrifice to serve our country.

My PurplePeggaPuppy

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Her first season of soccer has come and gone.  She was named the “Most Improved Player” by her coaches and was told she should continue to focus on hustling.

She just signed up to play again in the fall…we’ll continue practicing an hustling to get ready for the next season!

Parting Ways After Two Decades

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Last week, we said goodbye to our ’99 civic; the same civic that my parents bought me when I was a junior in college!  From the age of 20 to age 39, she was a part of me!  Seriously, how crazy is that!  I owned that car for half my life!  It was a great car for a college student and even into my young adulthood.  This was the car that I picked Justin up in when we went out on “dates” in college.  This was the car that we drove to many of concerts at Nissan Pavilion and used for our tailgates.  This was the car that I got into two accidents on the same day (that story for another day)!  In recent years, it has been a great car for our au pairs.  But in recent years, it has also been the source of disbelief and contention that as almost 40 year olds Justin and I would still have to drive the civic to work about once a week. We have tossed out the idea of replacing it for the last three or so years and each time, we have decided to keep the civic just a little longer.  UNTIL last week…when it broke down….$800 to fix it tipped the scale of what we were willing to pay. So after 19 years we said one last goodbye to our civic as it sat in the car shop where it was towed after it broke down.

It was a good ride!

A Bumble Bee, a Dragon, and a Bride

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The girls all chose their costumes early this year….as in mid-September!Avery and Harper made their costume decisions upon arriving in the costume section of Hanna Anderson last month. Emerson decided she wanted to be a bride around the same time and I searched on Amazon to find the perfect dress.  My mom spent HOURS hemming it….all five layers of it! She was all about posing!   A little foresight into the future.  Seriously gorgeous!The girls and Larrisa.Slowly adding one more adult at a time to the picture.

While I was weak in my Halloween costume this year, I was strong in my cul-de-sac socializing.  We trick or treated for an hour and then proceeded to spend five more hours hanging out by the bonfire.  I’m still not even sure how that is possible.  The girls went to bed much earlier than that…fortunately Larrisa was willing to go in early and give the girls shower and put them to bed!  TREAT!  All night, I was living in the moment and so appreciative of the wonderful neighborhood we live in and I didn’t want to miss a minute.

The girls all filled their pumpkin and had a great time trick-or-treating and hanging out with our awesome neighborhood.

 

Great Country Farm

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Apple Cider Press Demonstration

Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage

Obstacle courses

Slides

Corn Fields

Farm animals including a filthy pig

Cool barns and doors

Rope Swings

Wagon rides

Apple picking

Some were more appreciated than others.

The fan favorites amongst the girls were the roasting marshmellows, the jumping pumpkin, and the roller scooters.  Who could argue with the girls on the roller scooters….that was mom’s favorite too!

Justin’s favorite was the filet at Tuscorara Mill….a spontaneous decision to eat in Leesburg and an awesome surprise to find out that the café section serves the full dinner menu in the evening! 

Happy Daddy!

It was a muddy but great family day at Great Country Farm in Bluemont, VA.