Prior to the start of last year’s school year, I had contemplated signing Avery and Emerson up for Daisies (Girl Scouts for kindergarteners). In the end I decided against it, primarily because I thought it would conflict with a gymnastics class, one in which I was not able to sign them up for due to limited capacity. For several months, they kept asking me about Daisies and I told them I would sign them up for next year if they were still interested then. When several months later, they were still expressing interest, I decided to contact the troop leader. While that troop was full, another kindergarten troop had recently formed. They started going in February twice a month and they LOVE it! This past weekend was the end of the year celebration in which both kindergarten troops joined forces at Camp Crowell. I was in such a rush to get out of the house that I had forgotten their vests that Justin had ironed patches on that morning. I was so upset with myself for having forgotten them. Emerson who in the past probably would have been upset for me having forgotten them, simply said, “It’s okay mom, we don’t need them.” I guess she is learning the meaning of those Daisy petals!
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Rides, Waves, a Moral Compass, and Time
This past weekend was Memorial Day Weekend, still my favorite weekend of the year. It’s the unofficial start of summer…the three day weekend is always a glimpse of the possibilities of summer. While barbeques are often the norm, we didn’t grill or eat a single burger or hot dog, nor did we spend any time with friends or neighbors. And that was by choice. While I love hanging out with friends and neighbors, it means we are always busy and doing things according to a schedule. Having two working parents means that weekends are spent balancing the things that have to get done with the things that we want to do. And believe me both those lists are pretty long. Truthfully I feel as though we do a pretty good job of balancing the two; however, I still feel like I am always rushing through one thing just to get to the other thing. Recently I have had the girls say things to me such as “stop rushing me”, “are we going to be late”, and “chop chop”. I made a vow to myself that this weekend was going to have no commitments. I purposely didn’t schedule things and even turned down some invitations with friends and neighbors. While it was hard, I kept reminding myself to stick with my plan of no commitments for the weekend. We would do Viva Vienna and then just go with the flow. And it was wonderful! While I know it isn’t realistic to have so few commitments most weekends, for one weekend of the year, it was great to simply have time to stop and smell the flowers along the way.
Saturday we went to Viva Vienna in the morning. We were there by 10:15 and not only were we there early, but also I was dressed in real clothes with make-up done AND I had already worked out!
We got there in time to watch the Vienna Singing Princess perform on stage at The Town Green.
The girls thoroughly enjoyed the show and even got to go on stage afterwards with the princesses.
After the show the girls went on rides…first Avery and Emerson went on the swings.
…followed by the kiddie roller coaster…
….and then the merry-go-round. This was Harper’s first ride of the year and the beginning to Harper waving to Justin and I EVERY TIME she passed us. It was amazingly cute!
…and here she is not waving this time, but pushing me away. She didn’t want me to hold on to her or her horse!
Next were the motorcycles, where Harper’s waiving continued!
Next Avery and Emerson went on the massive potato sack slide. As they were climbing up the steep stairs carrying their potato sacks that were bigger than them, I thought for sure that I was going to regret letting them go on this ride. Luckily, they thoroughly enjoyed the five second ride and emerged from it unscathed. 
In between the games, we took a break with some soft serve ice cream cones. The girls wanted to take their cones back to the Town Green where the princesses were performing for a second time that day. They found a place right up front just as they did the first time. Justin caught this image right before Harper ran over to him from being scared of the witch.
As it was approaching 2:00 and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet, we decided it was the perfect day to walk over to Caboose Brewing Company and grab a cold beer and some food there. Fortunately they had enough on the menu that the girls would eat (mac and cheese, pancakes, and bacon) and the wait was fairly short. 
After a good lunch and buzz with less than half a beer, we arrived home close to 4:00 and while I never expected to be gone that long, it was so great not to rush through the day’s events in order to meet another timeline.
Sunday was a rain out and the girls weren’t able to go back to Viva Vienna as planned. They were disappointed but still got to spend the afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa while Justin and I had a few hours to get some grocery shopping done and some other things around the house.
When Monday rolled around and the weather was sunny and beautiful, we headed back for another day at Viva Vienna. We started out on the rides.
And once again, Harper was all waves for Mommy and Daddy!
Meanwhile Avery was all laughs…
…and Emerson! Emerson took one for the team and went on the boat with a random person while Harper and Avery shared a motorcycle. She was about to get on the motorcycle when all of a sudden she ran back to the attendant with three tickets in her hand. She had forgotten to give her tickets when she entered (clearly the attendant didn’t know)…I’m so proud of her moral compass! I certainly would have pocketed the tickets for an extra ride…she definitely gets that trait from Justin!
After rides, it was time for ice cream…again!
In total we spent over four fun hours there taking pictures with princesses, riding rides, eating soft serve ice cream cones, watching dance performances, and going on more rides, including one ride with Papa! And most importantly we were not being driven by the clock and had nothing but time (and three girls) on our hands this weekend!
Boy Crush
There is a little boy in Harper’s class…Ricky also referred to “Rick-o” by Harper. Harper has talked about Ricky all year long, frequently referring to him proudly as her boyfriend. She rarely mentions any other boys unless it is in reference to one of them having a birthday that week. She told Justin and I separately that she kissed Ricky last week at school. When we further asked her about it last night in front of Avery and Emerson, she proudly chanted and danced around the room “I kissed Ricky”. She thought she was something else. These two pictures were taken by Ms. Miller last week. I think she really may have kissed her boy crush!
This is Compton
This is Compton.
Okay, so not exactly ghetto! This is the Compton room of the Foster Harris House Bed and Breakfast in Washington, VA where Justin and I spent a weekend just the two of us. We left Friday a little before noon and arrived at our first destination an hour and a half later. We did a wine tasting at the Galdino Cellars followed by a picnic lunch that I had packed. We walked the grounds and then made our way to The Little Washington Winery where we did another wine tasting and took in the gorgeous scenery. 
We then checked into our B&B and took a stroll along Main Street stopping in a few antique shops, galleries, a chocolate shop (where we each got a single decadent truffle), and walked the perimeter of the grounds of the Inn at Little Washington B&B. Yes, that is a llama.
We did some more exploring of a neighboring town Sperryville in the evening and ended up eating at The Thorton River Grille, an excellent find. While the menu looked mouthwatering, we both settled on the cheeseburger for $12 knowing that food was a big ticket item in terms of quantity and price the remainder of the weekend. The burger did not disappoint.
Saturday morning we woke up to rain and a temperate in the high forties, as the forecast predicted. We ate a delicious four course breakfast at the B&B, the main reason I booked the place. It was excellent and ended with a chocolate soufflé….my first ever!
Despite the rain, we stuck to our original plan and went to Skyline Drive for a hike. We hiked Mary’s Rock and despite not making it to the top, we still managed to have an enjoyable two hour hike in the rain and cold. It was quite the hike…my fitbit registered 129 flights of stairs! It was quite foggy and visibility poor so the views were not as breathtaking as I am imagine they normally are, but again I truly came for the workout and not the views so mission accomplished.
Justin and I left feeling good AND wet. Copper Distillery was on the route home so we decided we would make a quick stop there. Before we found it, we found Pen Druid Brewing company so we stopped in for a beer (Mercury) where we also pulled out Trivial Pursuit to see how smart we were…were not…no surprise there! 
A huge antique shop was between the brewery and the distillery so we stopped there to shop. Yes, we were still in our hiking clothes. And yes, this is my man.
Sorry ladies, but he is taken!!!! (hahahaha)
Saturday evening we dined at The Inn at Little Washington. 
While I got reservations there about a month ago, the decision to actually eat there or not (we were still within the cancellation window) weighed heavily on me. I certainly wanted to eat at a world renowned restaurant but the associated price tag was tough to swallow. I’m glad we seized the opportunity and went for it. I had read a lot of reviews on TripAdvisor so I utilized some of those tips including asking to be reseated when we were sat in the café section and not the main dining room, to which they happily obliged. We opted for a reasonably priced bottle of wine instead of the wine pairing, which “saved” us about $200. The service was excellent and not at all stuffy. I debated my first course between the duck liver or the asparagus. I decided to go for the duck liver with the waiter’s recommendation. I’m glad I ordered it but I couldn’t get past the consistency. The waiter happily brought me the asparagus instead, which was excellent and I appreciated the service.
There was a ton of wait staff who were on top of everything! The amuse bouches were excellent as were all the entrees. 
And the dessert was truly sinful.
I’m definitely glad we went and while it was a once in a lifetime experience, I actually hope that it isn’t. I’m not looking to go back anytime soon….but one day. We left feeling full but certainly not disgusting as evidenced by my attempt to take some Inn at Little Washington bathroom selfies. 
The worst part about the evening was that I was literally up from the time we went to bed (about 10:30) until almost 2:00 a.m. I was miserable and upset and on the verge of tears. Honestly, I don’t know what it was. Either the coffee I had with dessert was laced with something, I got too much sleep the night before, it was mental, none of the above, or a combination of the above. Anyway, besides my restless sleep Saturday night, our weekend in Compton was amazing!
Easter Excitement
The girls at the top of the stairs patiently awaiting to see what the Easter Bunny brought.
And they are off! (And yes, Emerson purposely wore here bunny pajamas :))
Oh how I love the excitement and pure joy!
We spent a leisurely morning at the breakfast table, followed by church, lunch, and a few obligatory pictures prior to the Easter Egg Hunt.
And then it was time for the Easter egg Hunt! Again, they were off!
We had three very happy girls today who were full of personality and sugar….lots and lots of sugar!
The Calm After the Storm
This was the second year in a row that we gathered at the Farmer’s Vienna house the Saturday before Easter. Allison and Sarah were there along with Jamie and Pete and their two kids. Their older sister was there along with her husband and two kids. And Lauren and Alan were there along with their two boys. Eleven kids in all. The kids had a great time playing with one another, hunting for Easter eggs, and of course eating Easter candy! Both Justin and I had a blast too. It was just good wholesome fun…great times catching up with friends and lots of laughs, and kids who are friendly with one another and who can now truly entertain themselves! SO much FUN!!!
Bowling
DC – Spring Break Visit
Last year Justin and I took off 1 1/2 days during the girls spring break. One day we went to DC and the other afternoon we went bowling. We had a great time so we decided to do the same exact itinerary this year. We drove into the city, easily found a spot with Parking Panda, and started our walk. We took the single stroller and the girls took turns but obviously with one stroller and three kids, they too did quite a bit of walking. First, we walked by the front of the White House making our way to the World Word II Memorial. There was a service going on in honor of World War II vets. It is crazy to me that that time in history was 70 years ago….is 70 years a long time ago or not? I think it depends on your own age and where you are personally in your life. I just couldn’t help thinking that there are only a few more years, maybe a decade for some lucky folks, where there will be living World World II vets. It’s certainly a sobering fact.
Here the girls are at the World War II Memorial.
We headed towards the Tidal Basin where we walked until we were fairly close to the Jefferson Memorial (a strategic decision so to be sure that was the next stop) and then we stopped for a picnic lunch that we had brought from home. 
The Cherry Blossoms bloomed early this year and were long gone as were the crowds of people. The girls were having fun with the camera.
Up next was The Jefferson Memorial. It has been YEARS since I had been there. I walked up the stairs with Avery and Emerson while Justin took the long ramp for strollers with Harper. Avery was wearing her sunglasses and I think the darkness coupled with the white flooring, threw her depth perception off to the point she was crying and shaking and wanted to leave. We hung out for a few but were pretty quick to leave – making sure they knew some basic facts about Thomas Jefferson.
The girls really wanted to see the MLK Memorial again so we headed there next. We took a quick stop to enjoy the beautiful tulips. Okay, maybe the word “enjoy” is stretching it slightly….
Poor Emerson…her allergies, especially her eyes, had been driving her crazy. The pollen was horrible and her eyes were so itchy:(
We relaxed for a few minutes at the MLK memorial. Where’s Waldo? 
Then we walked along the Reflection Pool and made our way to the vicinity of the Washington Monument where we took an ice cream sandwich break.
Justin wanted to head back home but the girls (and me) wanted to continue as they wanted to go on the carousel. It took some nudging and promising from the girls that they wouldn’t complain (they didn’t) and we walked for about another 20 minutes to the carousel. I was afraid to let Harper go on by herself so I bought a ticket and went on the ride. As soon as it started, she didn’t want me holding on to her so I decided I too would jump on a horse. I haven’t actually had my own seat at a carousel since I was a kid….I was grinning ear to ear and Harper and Avery thought it was hilarious. Emerson was in front of us so I think she knew I was on the horse, but couldn’t really watch without turning around….which I wouldn’t let her do! 
A much needed potty break was necessary after the carousel so we headed across Constitution Avenue and made our way to the Museum of Natural History where we briefly explored the marine mammal and mammal exhibits.
And then it was dinner time. Originally I thought we would be at a restaurant just prior to 6:00 avoiding any wait times. We were just a few minutes behind that schedule due to another potty break that Harper needed to take which set us back about 20 minutes. I originally wanted to go to Matchbox but it was too far out of the way so I thought Old Ebbit Grill would be a perfect choice! Wrong…it was slammed! So we started walking as I got on my phone to do some further research and we came across a Mexican restaurant. I was the third party in line and after they seated both parties ahead of me (one a party of five), the hostess told me they were no longer taking any walk ins. I politely turned around and exited while cursing the hostess in my head. Justin spotted a Corner Bakery (the same one we ate lunch at last spring break actually) and I agreed. On the way, another restaurant Hamilton caught our eye. It didn’t look busy so I went in to check it out….the wait was an hour. Corner Bakery it was! I start ordering only to find out they are out of pasta! No pasta meant no Mac and Cheese for Harper and no plain pasta for Avery. Bagels I asked, in which the response was no:(. So we left. Justin wanted to go home or get something in Arlington and I knew we would just be sitting in traffic so that option also wasn’t a very good one. Again I turned to my phone and found a Pot Belly’s. We headed there…..it closed at 7:00…we made it in at 6:45! We ate pretty much in silence as the girls were exhausted and Justin pretty much wanted to chop my head off for not leaving hours earlier. The good news is that he is long over it and I’m sure will laugh when he reads this…at least I hope so!!
Celebrations, Observations, and More Celebrations!
Celebrating Mila’s 28th Birthday Mexican style!
Observing Harper’s ballet class during observation week. She is so cute to watch, but she easily gets distracted and forgets to do the steps at times. She also doesn’t like when another student gets too close and invades her personal space!
Watching Emerson perform her kindergarten school play “Over In the Jungle”, which by far exceeded any and every expectation I had. The students, costumes, set, music….was ALL AMAZING! Seriously, I was beyond impressed. And once again, I had to hold back from tearing up.
Observing Avery and Emerson’s ballet and tap class during observation week.
Celebrating Papa’s 67th birthday Italian style!
Celebrating meeting baby Elinor, Becca’s 4 month old daughter!
(Four kids looks good on us, doesn’t it) 🙂
Celebrating Harrison’s 2nd Birthday!
Celebrating a beautiful afternoon at Quattro Gumba Brewery with the Russos!
Celebrating the first night of Passover at my parents!
And all this before we even make a dent into the second week of April!
Quattro Gumba
Quattro Gumba…or should I say Seis Gumba? It has been WAY too long since the Maddy and McMillan kids got together….sadly over a year! About a month ago, we decided on a date with the destination being either a winery or a brewery. We couldn’t have picked a better day to start off spring. After two weekends of cold weather, the weather was finally warm. With the sky being overcast, we didn’t need to worry about sunglasses or sunscreen! The brewery and winery were packed. We stayed for over four hours and the time flew bye! It was great to catch up with Robyn and Ryan and the kids had a great time playing with one another. We need to get this crew together more often!!
