Category Archives: Uncategorized

Baltimore

Posted on by

Saturday morning we went to Baltimore to spend much of the weekend in Baltimore. Saturday the weather was still rainy and wet much of the day so we spent five hours in The Children’s Museum. The girls had a great time exploring, watching the magician/physics show, playing soccer, participating in a stage show, making a clay craft, and playing in the massive play/slide area. Saturday evening we had about an hour to relax in the condo before our dinner reservations. We said hello to Mike and Susan since they were also in Baltimore for the night. The girls had a great time with Susan! We walked to dinner in Federal Hill, a short ten minute walk, and made a vow to walk there instead of drive in the future. Dinner at Sobe was good and the girls were really well behaved.Followed by a little fro yo….

Sunday morning we walked to Federal Hill again and had a delicious breakfast at Blue Moon Cafe. It was so good and one of the few restaurants we would go back a second time! I wanted a cup of coffee for the walk back so we stopped in a donut shop across the street and while I am not the biggest donut fan, these donuts looked AMAZING! I let the girls get one and told them it would be their lunch! Sometimes it is fun to live on the edge a little and eat treats for a meal!

We walked along the harbor path to the inner harbor, which was great. It was about a half hour walk to the aquarium. The aquarium itself is just so so in my opinion. The dolphin shoe is the highlight and sadly the show we saw was beyond disappointing.  Avery used her monocular to improve her viewing experience! We enjoyed the walk back “home” to the condo and stopped at a coffee shop, Federal Hill playground, and the gift shop of the Art Museum on the way home. We had a great time and can’t wait for our next trip back.

Harper VPC Spring Concert

Posted on by

Harper’s VPC Spring Concert was today. It’s hard to believe that after four consecutive years of our girls participating in this end of the year event, this will be our last one. I teared up a few times. VPC has been a wonderful home for us. The teachers and administration have really been great and my girls especially will miss them. Harper’s last week of pre-school is also the realization that I no longer have a toddler…I haven’t had one in some time truth be told. I’m going to hold on to each day that Harper is still four because four sounds so much younger than five!

Harper did great. She also received her first Bible, following in the footsteps of her older sisters. My mom, Jana, Justin and I were all there and I think the ratio of four adults to one kid was something she could get used to. Happy Pre-school graduation my sweet Harper!

Mother’s Day 2018

Posted on by

I woke to breakfast in bed.

Followed by presents from the girls and Justin including a homemade card or poem from each girl.

Followed by an afternoon at Stone Tower Winery….where we ran into the Hansens and had a great time. The girls had a great time playing with one another and capturing the afternoon.

Followed by a quick stop at Grandma Adele’s.

And then a delicious dinner at home.

I even had six hours to myself between Saturday and Sunday and treated myself to a mani, pedi, a solo shopping visit to Whole Foods, and a morning in the house by myself to do lunch/dinner prep for the next day and get a solid hour long workout in.

And the girls were really well behaved and friendly with one another….which was probably the biggest highlight of Mother’s Day. I’m so fortunate these girls made me a mama.  And while some days they can drive me crazy, I simply love and adore them.

Date Night with Harper

Posted on by

(Guest Blog from Justin)

Avery and Emerson had their first camping trip with the Daisies planned for weeks and Stefanie drew the short straw to chaperone.   As soon as Harper found out that she and daddy would be by ourselves that night she starting planning our ‘Date Night.’   Like most things with our family – it all revolved around food.  She wanted (demanded) that I make her favorite macaroni and cheese – Kraft Mac & Cheese and that we have a donut for breakfast.
I decided to spice it up a little bit and actually take her to 7-11 to get her first slurpee, and I found myself giving her a tour of the place like it was an Open House.  It reminded me of all the times I had gone in to 7-11 with my own mom and dad as a kid (we did it all the time). We had a to do a few errands after that, but she proudly drank her slurpee everywhere we went.   When I showed her the spoon at the end of the straw – you would have thought I had dropped a unicorn in her lap, she was super shocked and excited.
The only time we eat in front of the TV is for the Super Bowl, but I made an exception to eat our Kraft Mac & Cheese in there while watching Despicable Me 3!!
Ms. Harper was getting so tired, we moved the show upstairs so we were closer to bed.  She had asked to sleep with me as much as I hate doing it – I let her.  Letting her sleep in my bed meant that for most of the night,  I would be basically on top of my night stand as she takes up the whole bed.
After breakfast she helped me make granola before riding her bike up and down the street in her pajamas.  I can confidently say that even with all the anticipation – I think she had a great time!!

Daisy Camping

Posted on by

Avery and Emerson had their first campout.  It was with their Daisy Troop 50020 and they had a great time with their friends. Fortunately for all of us, we eased into things….we slept in a lodge (granted it was on the floor and in over 80 degree heat) but that enabled us to not have to sleep on wood floorboards and use the indoor bathrooms in the middle of the night. The bathrooms were kind of gross and that would be my first thought if I entered a similar one in a restaurant, but considering I thought the campsite only had the outdoor bathroom that we previously used in the past, the indoor bathroom was beautiful.  Perspective is a funny thing sometimes.

The girls enjoyed exploring the grounds, doing their “kapers”, eating grilled hot dogs for dinner, playing games, doing activities, singing songs by the campfire, and eating smores.  Most of all, they enjoyed being with their friends and the sense of self the event gave them. Avery told me a few times that she made a new friend.  Her specific words were that she was “embarrassed to a new friend.”  I said you mean introduced, to which she replied “yes”.  This morning I overheard Emerson tell her friends that she needed a mop to clean the bathroom floors with such eagerness, that I couldn’t help but to smile.

When we got home, Avery and Emerson insisted on cleaning the house.  Harper followed and the three of them were cleaning everything from the kitchen floors to the bathroom floors with Huggies wipes.  Justin asked what exactly happened to them while camping!

Here are a few pictures from the evening and morning after.

Oh yeah, and Emerson lost her third tooth the morning after camping out.

Meanwhile, Harper and Daddy had their own date night, which Harper had been seriously looking forward to for a week!  It deserves it’s own blog and I’m trying to get Justin to do another guest blog!

Cherry Blossoms

Posted on by

Justin and I had intended to take the girls to see the Cherry Blossoms during their week of Spring Break. However, a cold front that swiped the East Coast shifted the peak bloom a few weeks later. Not wanting to take the girls out of school, Saturday April 7 was the only day that we could go during the short peak window. As we approached April 7, the forecast was not looking good. There was a wide range of forecasts but they all had very cold tempurates and some amounts of snow. Thankfully, the snow amounted to a few flurries at best. The temperatures though….very cold! I think the high was around 40 but with the clouds, no sight of the sun, and being close to the water, it was downright cold! We bundled up though and while we decided to forgo our picnic on the Tidal Basin, we still went.

We opted for lunch in Vienna at Pot Belly’s before we drove into the city. We parked in a garage on K Street and walked down 18th towards the mall. When we approached Pennsylvania, we decided to walk by The White House.

We then walked by The Washington Monument.

And finally we made our way to The Tidal Basin.

With the bitter cold, my goal was really to have made it there to see The Cherry Blossoms. I wasn’t trying to get “extra credit” and walk the entire path of The Tidal Basin to The Lincoln Memorial.

We let the girls take turns and take pictures of Justin and myself. It was so funny as each of them had a turn because they would mimic as Justin and I do when we take pictures. Emerson had a turn with Justin’s camera. She looked so small holding such a big camera that I couldn’t help but to smile with pure joy.

Avery had the next turn. Her little hands couldn’t find the click button so Justin attempted to go show her.  She kept snapping away hysterically as he moved closer to try to help her.

Just as Harper was about to have her turn, a spot along the water opened up and I felt like we had to quickly take advantage. I sat down and told the girls to join me. Avery and Emerson came, and Harper became upset because she thought she wasn’t going to have the opportunity to take our picture and she started crying.I got her to join us finally…her expression is hilarious!

Then a nice lady offered to take a family picture!

And afterwards Harper had her turn to take a picture of me and Justin.Her sisters were trying to help her out. Emerson was trying to guide Harper how to use the camera, although she already knew. Emerson thought Harper had her hand covering the camera so Emerson was saying “seriously”!  And Avery was standing next to her telling Justin and I, “look at me, look at me….I have a monkey on my head.” It was so funny!!

Finally after pictures, the girls “earned” their Cherry Blossom Dunkin Donut that we had bought right after we parked. We wanted to use a bathroom so we popped into a Dunkin Donuts and I realized having the treat would be a great way to get them to keep from whining until we got there. It worked pretty well….oh, bribery….yes, there is sometimes and time and place for it!

And a few last picture before we turned around.

We decided to see if we could explore one of the history muesuems on the way back….largely in part to warm up as well! Apparently, everyone had the same idea and the lines to get in were very long. Standing outside in the cold for any longer when we already had number fingers and toes didn’t seem like the right thing when the muesuems were closing in an hour anyway. We ended up walking more and then sought some warmth (as well as a bathroom break) in Nordstrom’s Rack before heading back to the car. On the way home, we stopped at Mad Fox Brewing in Falls Church. We got there a few mintutes before 6:00 and didn’t have to wait. It was pretty good….would definitely try it again in the future…especially if in the mood to sample a few different beers! The night ended with some grocery shopping at Whole Foods, which I was able to convince Justin to do, by allowing him to order a beer at the bar, while I shopped! It was a cold but fun day and I’m glad that we were able to experience the Cherry Blossoms this year, even if it felt like winter.

 

Easter 2018

Posted on by

The girls woke early and nicely played in their rooms until a few minutes after 8:00 when Justin and I were finally ready to get out of bed. The Easter Bunny didn’t disappoint! I love the girls excitement as they rush to see what the Easter Bunny brought them!

Easter fell on April Fools Day this year….the Easter Bunny must have played a trick on these girls because the girls had carrots in one of their Easter Eggs!

These happy girls played outside with their jump ropes, bubbles, and climbed trees before breakfast.

We went to the 11:00 church service.

So grown up!  And look at that bow!  My Eme:)

After lunch, we took more some more obligatory Easter pictures.

Justin tried to recreate a picture from last year with the girls. It worked very well and now he wants to do this same picture annually.

Staged pictures were followed by the traditional Easter egg hunt in our backyard. And they are off! This year the girls had designated color eggs with some extras that were a free for all.  Avery was green/yellows; Emerson was blues; and Harper was pinks/purples.

At one point, Emerson had found all three of the large special eggs that she thought were free for all.  They weren’t but before we realized she had taken ownership of them, Harper thought she hadn’t found any of those particular special eggs. 

After the hunt was over, the girls enjoyed the contents of 10 of their eggs!

Later on in the afternoon we rode bikes and Avery and Emerson took turns using their roller skates for the first time.

Oh yeah, and I did make Avery and Emerson practice some sight words too…even on Easter.

Happy Easter!!

Spring Break 2018

Posted on by

While we didn’t travel anywhere during spring break (as has been the case to date for all other spring breaks), we still wanted the girls to experience some non-routine events.

Sunday: We took a ride towards Frederick, Maryland. Our first stop was to a small town Walkersville, where we took a scenic train ride on Walkersville Southern Railroad through town.

We had a special guest appearance by the Easter Bunny. The train ride was only somewhat scenic and definitely overpriced, but the girls enjoyed it and loved the Easter Bunny. In fact, this is as close to the Easter Bunny that our girls have ever been; it was pretty cool to see their excitement, even Emerson was excited!

After the train ride, we drove to downtown Frederick where we ate a yummy lunch at JoJo’s Restaurant and Tap House followed by a little shopping!

The town was cute and the employees of the stores were incredibly nice. It was a cold day but we had fun…and despite the cold we still ate ice cream outside from the Pop Shop!

Monday: Monday was routine mixed with some non-routine. Jana had all three girls for the entire day. The day started with homework in the morning followed by a picnic lunch at Meadownlane, where the girls played for awhile afterwards.   Jana treated the girls to a donut from Safeway after the park.

Tuesday: Jana took the girls to see Sherlock Gnomes at Reston Town Center. Tuesdays at that theatre is “Super Tuesday” so movie tickets all day long are $7. There is a service charge too so in actuality the ticket price is closer to $8 a ticket, but still much cheaper than a normal ticket price! After the movie, the girls went to lunch at Ted’s Bulletin. They had a fun day!

Wednesday: My parents had given the girls a coupon to the Baltimore Aquarium for Christmas. Wednesday they cashed in on that prize! My parents picked them up at 9:15 in the morning and they spent the day at the Aquarium followed by dinner at Tequila Grande and shaved ice and custard at Rita’s. The girl’s favorite part of the aquarium was the dolphin show.

Thursday: We had intended to see The Cherry Blossoms; however, some really cold weather the last few weeks delayed the peek blossom date several weeks. The delay of the bloomed trees, coupled with the ground being so wet from the rain Wednesday, we didn’t think our picnic along the Tidal Basin was the right thing to do for the day. We decided it would be Mt. Vernon for the day! Emerson and Avery were ecstatic about going. They have been learning about George Washington and some of the other U.S. Presidents in school so they were thrilled to be able to make the visit.

I was pretty impressed at how captivated they were the entire visit. Harper had a full-blown temper tantrum at one point, but besides that, the girls were really well behaved. The whole ride home they sang together and Avery and Emerson even quizzed one another on the spelling of words. I told Justin I would definitely be interested in purchasing an annual membership if it was something the girls stayed interested. There was so much to do and see there!

After visiting Mt. Vernon, we decided to head back towards home…we went out for an early dinner at Cooper Hawk Winery followed by a little shopping and dessert in Reston Town Center.

Friday: The girls had a fairly normal day with Jana. They did homework in the morning followed by a trip to the library in the afternoon and Jana treated them to another donut from Safeway after the library.

In the evening, we went to my parents to celebrate the first night of Passover. Avery and Emerson even helped with reading the four questions. It was really cool to have them be able to read. And as always, they love to find the matzoh….one for each girl that my dad hides in the living room. Upon finding the hidden matzoh, my dad gives each girl five dollars.

Saturday: We met Mila and here parents, who were visiting from Brazil, at Matchbox in Mosiac District for a late lunch. The only other time we met Mila’s parents in person was in December 2015, almost two and a half years ago! Monday is also Mila’s birthday (her 29th) so we celebrated early with her and her parents. The girls always LOVE visiting with Mila. It was a fun and gorgeous afternoon!

Saturday evening we dyed Easter Eggs. It was my first time ever making them….I bought brown eggs! NOT the best for dying…haha. To be fair, the stock in Target was low and I just grabbed what was left…thinking more about the fact that I didn’t need cage free and organic for egg dying but that they would suffice. It was still fun and now I feel a little smarter about the process for next year!

Sunday: EASTER! Since there are so many great pictures of our Easter, Easter is getting it’s own blog entry!

All in all, it was a really great spring break!

Emerson Loses a Tooth

Posted on by

One HAPPY girl!

My Emerson finally lost a tooth!  Avery has already lost five and I’m pretty sure Emerson is the last kid in her class to lose a tooth.  While we kept telling her that all kids lose teeth at different rates, I think she was feeling left out.  So imagine her excitement last night when her tooth became loose to the point of realistically losing it in the near future.  She couldn’t keep her hands from wiggling it.  She was determined to pull that thing out!  Her wishes came true and by the end of the school day today just after she finished talking to Mrs. Peters about her loose tooth, it fell out.  Seriously, her excitement permeated the house all evening.  It was amazing to see her so happy.