Nags Head 2015

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This blog is hard to write as I didn’t do it right away.  But we literally have at least 500 pictures and we had a good vacation (overall), so while it will be an abbreviated version of what I would have written a month ago, at least it is something.  On a related note, Justin got me a personal laptop for my birthday, which I still need to actually pick out.  My main purposes are using it for email and internet, which I can easily do from the couch at night and it will be easier to blog without feeling so cut off from Justin at night on the home computer.

We left Saturday August 22 for Nags Head to vacation with the Brophy’s for one week.  The girls had a blast and LOVE Erin, Brian, Hannah, and Quinn.  They feel just as comfortable around them as they do with family. It’s awesome.

The house we stayed particularly the room we stayed in smelled of mildew.  Justin and I are “see the flowers” type people so we tried not to focus on it.  Justin’s body though felt differently and by day two his asthma symptoms started to kick in.  He was a trooper and tried to keep up but by mid-week he was really feeling lousy and at 4:30 a.m. Thursday he drove himself to the ER, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia.  Again, he tried to still do some stuff but he really was sick.  We ended up leaving a day early when Justin developed a rash from the antibiotic he was prescribed, which landed us in the Reston ER the following morning, where again the diagnosis was pneumonia. 

While the vacation certainly was disappointing in that aspect, we still managed to have a good time. We spent several mornings at the beach.  Playing in the sand….

Taking a dip in the water….Harper that is…Avery and Emerson are scared of the water and don’t want anything to do with it.

Looking for shells….

We also spent one late afternoon at the beach going for a walk….

We went out to dinner twice…once the 10 of us and the second time the four grown-ups.  We cooked several yummy dinners at home.  We made cookies with the girls. 

The girls did a lot of playing and running around the house. We went to two Piers.  First Jeanette’s pier where we attempted all kinds of pictures…

Had some fun playing ring around the rosie with Erin…

We went to Hatteras Light House on a cooler windy day as evidenced by some of these lovely “do’s”…

We went to Nags Head Pier and took a day time stroll!

And before we knew it, our vacation had come to an end.  The girls were quite sad especially considering we abruptly left Friday instead of Saturday.  Fortunately, Ludmilla had a great idea to bring sand and shells home so that the girls could recreate the beach at home!

A Kid On A Carousel

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Saturday morning on our way to the gym, Avery and Emerson started talking about parks. A few different ones were discussed as well as the fact that we hadn’t visited a few of them in some time.  Anyway, Justin and I decided to fit going to Frying Pan Park into our day Sunday.  Here is Ms. Independent walking ahead of the gang.

And here is the slower of the gang.  Avery who decided to dress herself that this morning in a bathing suit, wanted us to be chickens.  So here we are saying “bok bok”.  

And yes that is Harper wearing a tutu.  Once we agreed to let Avery wear a bathing suit and a mismatched skirt, Harper too wanted her pick at her outfit.

Just Harper and me strolling along.  I’ve been bringing back the bun lately (sorry Justin)….but it’s a low side bun so that isn’t really a bun right?!?!?

While Avery took a little break in the stroller…..

And Emerson took in the sights of the goat…

Joined by Harper who wanted to do exactly as Eme was doing….

Followed by a stop riding the stationary tractors…..

They were having fun until the boy in the green shirt came along.  He was actually very nice and asked the girls if he could join them.  I said yes and he was trying to teach them about the tractor parts and then play a game with them.  Emerson and Harper wanted nothing to do with him as can be evidenced by their facial expressions.  I later tried to tell Emerson that he was just a nice boy wanting to play….I think a stranger being so nice was a little bit uncomfortable for her. 

We then headed towards the carousel.  As many times as we have been to Frying Pan Park previously, we have never ridden the carousel.  It only runs a few times an hour at most and today was the first time the timing worked out well.  The girls ALL had a blast as we rode it.  They were giggling and smiling and it was contagious.  

As we were riding it, I felt carefree and just loved the fact that at this moment in time, my girls were loving life and had no other cares in the world.  To be a kid on a carousel….that’s how we should all live life.

The girls then played on the playground for a little while. 

Ms. Independent who didn’t eat that much of her picnic lunch got hungry while she was playing on the playground and decided to go help herself to the remaining crackers in the stroller bag. Apparently she was eating and meditating at the same time. 

To be a kid on a carousel….

First Day of Fours!

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Today was Avery and Emerson’s first day of pre-school in the 4’s class….hard to believe considering it is mid-September!  Anyway, it was a success!

I was a little nervous based on last year’s first day…and second day….and the fact that I thought the reality of being in different classes this year may sink in.  Both did fine though…Emerson walked right in to the point of almost not even saying goodbye…Avery was scared and refused to hang up her bag without me, but once I helped her she took the teacher’s hand and gave me a big hug and kiss and she too was off.  When they got home from school, Avery was full of smiles.  She said she had a great day and was very brave for going to school without her sister.  Emerson said she had fun in the same breath that she started misbehaving and having a temper tantrum.  After she calmed down she was able to tell me that her feelings were hurt at school.  The knot in my stomach subsided when she told me the reason her feelings were hurt were because she didn’t get to see Kris Denise.  We talked about the girls day at dinner and they each told one another a few things that they each did at school.  At  night we said what we were thankful for and much of our thanks revolved around a great school day with wonderful friends.  God came up as He often does during our discussions…I assume much of it they get from chapel or music.  As the lights were out and we were tucking Avery and Emerson in, Emerson asked me if God made little vaginas parts for men too!  I had to leave the room and compose my laughter and lie to my daughter as to why I was laughing before I could answer her.  As for sweet (and spoiled) Harper, I think she wants to go to school too; however, something tells me that she will thoroughly enjoy her alone time with Ludmila.  All in all, a good first day of school!

A Great Day in Annapolis

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Today Justin and I took the girls to Annapolis.  Justin had never been and to my recollection I had been once or twice as a kid, but hadn’t been in well over 20 years.  We could not have asked for a more beautiful September day.  We walked around, ate lunch (at an okay restaurant with crappy service but in a way met expectations as we waited to eat until close to 2:00 to eat and by then the girls were starving and we didn’t have much time to scope places out), and then walked around some more.  The sun was strong…in fact, pretty darn hot at times, but it truly was a wonderful day.  In fact, it’s been a wonderful weekend so far.  The girls are getting older and everything is becoming that much easier to do with three.  For example, last night we took them to Passion Fish at Reston Town Center.  Many people go there for a nice romantic dinner and I was that lady who brought her three young kids!  They were very well behaved though.  I just feel kind of high on life right now.  Perhaps it could be too because the last two nights I have watched two tear jerker movies (and I barely watch TV) and it just opened up my emotions in a way that I am feeling so blessed and so happy with my family and life right now.  Anyway, I had originally envisioned taking lots of pictures of the girls in Annapolis but it was way busier than I envisioned and since we were enjoying ourselves and getting pictures of the girls can be look pulling teeth sometimes and Justin still wasn’t back to his normal self from his pneumonia recovery, after he took out the camera the one time, I didn’t pester him to take it out again. Anyway, it was a really great day.

Williamsburg Wedding Weekend

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This past weekend we went to Williamsburg for my cousin Brett’s wedding.  Brett and Jesse both met at William and Mary, just like Justin and me, so they decided to get married at Wren Chapel and have the ceremony at the Alumni house.
Since Justin and I rarely go to Williamsburg and the girls had never been, we decided to make a long weekend  out of it so that we could truly enjoy our time there.  We left Thursday right after lunch with the hope that the girls would fall asleep on the car ride down there.  Avery and Harper fell asleep for a good chunk of the trip.  Emerson was up but was patient and quiet, even when she was mouthing the lyrics to frozen quite dramatically.
Thursday night we rode around campus and saw all the highlights of our old stomping grounds.  They definitely have built a lot of new buildings since we graduated!  That night we went to a Mexican Restaurant that was built since we graduated.  We went basically for the signature “white sauce” that is served in Mexican restaurants down “south”.  It was okay….service was so-so and the white sauce was good but not great.  Portions were huge and we definitely had some leftovers.  Anyway, the girls were tired by the time we left as it was already after 8:00 but we talked them into going to Duke of Glouster (DOG) street for a late night walk in the strollers.  It was dark out but it gave Justin and I some much needed exercise to feel better about ourselves after our massive Mexican dinner. It also gave the girls something to look forward to see during the day.
Friday morning our first stop was to William and Mary Campus.  We spent some time at the Wren Chapel….
The Sunken Gardens….
Bryan Hall…
The Crimdell…..
We then went back to DOG Street where we ran into much of the Petchenick clan at the William and Mary Bookstore.  The girls each picked out their own William and Mary BPA Free water bottle.  We did some exploring.  We checked out the horses….
Visited an old time jail….
And had a picnic lunch from The Cheese Shop!
The store was ridiculously packed but lunch did not disappoint.
We attempted an afternoon nap which didn’t work out so well so we took a quick dip in the indoor pool hot tub before getting ready for the rehearsal dinner at Sal’s.  At least Harper caught a few z’s during our morning outing.
Saturday morning we took a quick trip to the outlets as Justin didn’t bring enough shirts and I was potentially looking for a pair of heels that went with my dress options better than the one’s in which I brought.  I have always hated outlet shopping and this trip proved that I still do!
Saturday was the wedding.  Emerson loving on Harper while waiting for Mommy and Daddy to get ready.
Here we are on our way to Wren…way early may I add…thus we had time for some pictures!
Family picture (minus Harper) taken by my dad…not a bad picture besides the angle…just tilt your head a little.
The ceremony was literally the shortest ceremony I have ever attended…literally it was probably seven minutes from beginning to end…no joke…I’m not complaining though.
We had an hour after the ceremony ended until the cocktail hour started so we ventured to Paul’s Deli for a drink for old time’s sake…..slowly taking a few more pictures along the way.  
The girls happily ate their snack from Wawa and had a fun time coloring!
At cocktail hour, my dress seriously malfunctioned!  Good thing I was indecisive and brought a second dress and my husband so graciously drove back to the hotel during cocktail hour to get me my other dress.
The wedding was lots of fun.  Food was great and the girls especially had a great time dancing and hanging out with cousins Christine, Katy, and Jessie.
After the wedding, we went back to the hotel, got the girls in their pajamas and dropped the girls off in my parents room so that Justin and I could head to the deli’s for a little.  We were planning on picking them back up but they were all sound asleep in the same bed when we got back to the hotel around midnight that my mom didn’t want us to wake them.  Anyway, we went to a new deli “The Brick Tavern” first because that is where the wedding party was.  After staying there for a little, we went back to Paul’s for old time sake and so Justin could have himself a Hot Holly.  The Hot Holly didn’t disappoint although he did have to share it with the bride and groom and the little speck of mold on the bread didn’t deter either!  Justin said he felt nostaligic a few times during the weekend. I had a great weekend and it was certainly good to be back and to show our girls where we met, but I can’t say that I had that sadness feeling associated with nostalgia.  In a way, it felt like just yesterday that we were there and in other aspects, it felt like it had been the 15 years that it has been!  Either way, it was a great weekend!

Avery and Emerson Turn 4!

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It’s hard to believe but my first born babies turned 4 last week!  This was the first year that they were both truly excited about the anticipation of their birthday.  We decided last year that we weren’t going to have a big birthday party this year….this year was going to be strictly a family celebration.  We knew they remember their birthday party from last year particularly the moon bounce. I knew that we needed to talk up their family birthday celebration so they knew that this year’s celebration was going to be just as exciting if not more exciting than their party last year.  We spoke about the upcoming birthday on a daily basis probably starting a week before their birthday.  They seriously were so excited…every day waking up and asking how many more days until their birthday.  

Their birthday was on a Tuesday this year and I took off the whole day and Justin took off in the morning.  We started the day with breakfast at Corner Bakery.  The girls had only eaten their once and truthfully it was before they were one so I think they really just accompanied Justin and I there for dinner one night while they drank their bottles.  Corner Bakery is right by my office and once every other week (okay sometimes every week) I usually treat myself to a medium Hazlenut coffee and an avocado and spinach power thin panini.  While it truly is delicious, I often take note of all the other things on the menu including the pancakes, eggs, and bacon platter that has everything Avery, Emerson, and Harper could all share and still get what they like most.  

So we went there for breakfast and the girls all split that one platter and the additional side of fruit I got them.  After breakfast, we headed to Clemyjontri Park.  It was a hot day but the girls had a lot of fun…on the swings……

hanging out in cars…

playing hop scotch….

walking on bridges…

on the merry-go-round….

taking family pictures…..

(okay so that was like pulling teeth…..Emerson especially doesn’t want to take her picture quite often)…so we took a few without her.

After some time watching, she decided she wanted to join in on the fun. 

After we got home, Ludmila made the girls lunch.  Harper was sleeping during this time so I used this time as an opportunity to have some one on one time with Avery and Emerson individually to read them portions of their annual birthday letter.  Emerson sat through most of it and enjoyed hearing what I had to say.  It was so neat to be able to finally share it with her.  Avery sat for the first paragraph of hers and then decided she wanted to do something else…..very typical!

After lunch, I took Avery and Emerson to ballet, along with Harper.  They were in a summer ballet class that meets twice a week and they are flourishing.  It is so neat to see how much they have progressed and how well they are doing in the class!

Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Adele came over to the house for dinner and we all ate take out from a turkish kabob place.  We were going to have Reston Kabob but it turns out they had closed so we had to come up with a very quick back up plan being that it was only when I attempted to place the order did I find out.

After dinner the girls opened up more presents from Grandma, Grandpa, and Grandma Adele.  The felt very special having been opening presents all throughout the day! They also received many Happy Birthday calls from other family members (GiGi, Uncle Russell and family, and Karolin). 

Finally it was cake time!  This year the girls got to pick out their own birthday cakes!  Emerson picked out Rapunzul and Avery picked out Sophia The First!  

We sang Happy Birthday to each of them separately.  They each made a wish and blew out their candles. 

 

We tried for some more family pictures!

We knew with two cakes we would have A LOT of cake left over so earlier that day, I sent a text out to our neighbors and invited them over for cake and ice cream. 

Truly it was a great day and the the girls had a great time turning four!

Happy 4th, Happy Family, Happy Life

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Saturday morning….having fun at the neighborhood 4th of July parade….

Saturday afternoon….just hanging out at home after the neighborhood 4th of July parade….

Saturday evening…..celebrating 4th of July with an awesome fireworks show in the cul-de-sac!

Sunday morning hanging out in our jammies!Sisterly love!This next one Emerson yelled out funny face just before the picture….This is Avery saying cheese……and Avery saying Cheese even bigger and louder

Harper gets in on the mix…Sunday afternoon pool time!  Harper loved the water!  She had absolutely no fear.

The girls alternated between playing “Shark” and jumping in the pool.

Harper even got in on the jumping action which made Emerson quite upset to say the least as she wanted to jump when she wanted to jump and didn’t want anything or anyone to get in her way.  She decided to throw herself on the ground and pout.

Harper meanwhile was having the time of her life as her sister pouted right near her.

Since Justin was the one snapping away behind the camera all weekend, I decided to grab the camera to capture a few pictures of him with the girls. FOLKS, sadly THIS is as good as it gets.  I can only hope that if I continue to practice, that one day I will reach mediocre status!  

Happy 4th!  Happy Family!  Happy Life!!

My Disco Ducks

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The girls first recital is now in the history books.  I was so nervous about it for the last few weeks….I had seen the girls rehearsal a few times the past few weeks and at times the girls would pay attention to the teacher but then other times, Avery especially, would not even be looking at the teacher.  Well during the whole one minute and forty five second performance today, all I could do was laugh.  Avery actually followed pretty well.  Emerson had severe stage fright.  She stared out at the audience not looking at the teacher once and practically did the same first move from start to finish.  Emerson generally really got into the routine so I really hadn’t expected her to freeze, but she did.  After the performance, she really didn’t want to talk to anyone and you could tell she was upset but didn’t want to talk about it.  Anyway, I captured a video of the dance on my phone during rehearsals and as much as we wanted to have this performance, I couldn’t bring myself to shell out another $40 for the video.  And here is little Harper who was mesmerized by the performances!