The annual tradition of picking that perfect family pumpkin! We went big this year, probably getting the biggest pumpkin we have ever purchased!
We skipped the slides and the long lines of a fall festival and opted for a local pumpkin patch that seriously has the most unique and amazing pumpkins I have ever seen.
We took our time exploring the plethora of heirloom pumpkins; there was no rushing, and fun was had by all as we wheeled our wagon around the patch in search of our family of pumpkins.
A view from 550 feet, a 70 second elevator ride, a cloudless sky, a first experience for all of us.
The view was amazing and even better than I expected. Seeing the city from that high up from all angles really gave me a better appreciation of the city and all that went into the planning and structure of it hundreds of years ago. While there were some nerves from Avery and Harper about the height, all of us loved it.
Waiting for bladders to empty!
Waiting for our 11:00 ticket entrance time.
Waiting for time at the time at the Smithsonian American Art Museum to be over.
Waiting for yummy pizza and a salad and Pi Pizzeria.
The Washington Monument is not far from home and as such I never made visiting the inside a priority so when it dawned on me that it had reopened after being closed for some time, I decided not to take living so close to it for granted and booked us tickets!
72 hours.
3 hikes, 15 miles, 3 wineries, 1 brewery, 3 dinners, 1 breakfast, 1 visit with family, 1 visit with friends, 2 movie, and 2 naps.
ALL in 72 relaxed hours.
All to celebrate 14 years since the best wedding ever.
Hikes:
Amazing hike. Took 2 hours 20 minutes including the 1-mile scenic tour we took after we reached the peak. It’s the largest waterfall west of the Mississippi. It’s actually quite dangerous with over 30 hikers having plummeted to their deaths in more recent years when slipping on the rocks. It is pretty much a straight uphill path and then straight downhill on the way back.
Wineries
Breweries
Dinners
Breakfast
Family
Friends
Movies:
Naps:
14 years married, 22 years together. Honestly seems like college and just getting together was yesterday. It hardly seems like we have been together that long. You are my best friend, my person, and I love our life and doing life with you.
As if no time has passed, Karolin slipped back into our house and our lives merged for a wonderful week. Our activity calendar and evening activities are busier than in the days when Karolin was our au pair, but with a few rain and runny nose cancellations, we managed to eat family dinners more than I anticipated. The girls’ activities allowed for some one-on-one and two-on-one time. There were lots of hugs, cuddles, reminiscing, and enjoying the present.
We feel so fortunate that Karolin continues to visit us on her vacation time…she could go anywhere, and she chooses us.
Labor Day Weekend we escaped to Williamsburg, Virginia, for one last summer adventure. While school started the prior week, the girls had both Friday and Monday off. We departed early Friday and headed straight to Jamestown. Colonial America is the 4th Grade History curriculum so it was good to be able to make the history come to life. The museum and settlement and ship replicas were interactive; we all enjoyed it.
Friday evening after checking into our hotel, we briefly explored D.O.G Street before heading to Amber Ox for dinner. The food and vibe were fantastic, though if we were to go back, we would leave the kids at home as they weren’t as impressed as we were. We figured a visit to Kilwins would put a smile on their face. Their ice cream is so delicious, it made us all happy!
Saturday morning we woke early, ate breakfast at the hotel (a late change to our hotel to get one that included breakfast) and then headed to Water Country USA. Fairly early on, we ran into Grace, Matthew, and Suzy Thompson and spent half the day doing rides with them. The girls loved the water park. Emerson was the bravest tackling several of the high thriller rides, Harper tackled a few of the high thrillers, and like me, Avery got her thrills from the low and medium thrillers. The park closed at 7:00 and while the girls could have stayed to closing, we wanted to be able to shower before dinner. We found a cool spot, an indoor warehouse type space, which housed long rectangular tables, arcade games, beer, and food stands. We indulged in the beer (Precarious Beer Project) and tacos (Electric Circus Taco). It was a unique and fun experience for a Saturday evening. Oh yeah, and we made another visit to Kilwins.
Sunday morning routine was the same as Saturday. When we had gathered plenty of snacks and food, we ventured to Busch Gardens for the day. Our family favors water parks over amusement parks, however, we all had a great time. The risk level of the girls on the rides was a repeat of the water park. Emerson went on a total of two different roller coasters, riding a roller coaster three times in total. Harper did two roller coasters, one time each. Avery did the bumper calls multiple times; they were her favorite ride. When we stumbled across some of the Sesame Street rides when searching for a bathroom, those became my targeted rides. The girls made fun of me…two of those rides were thrilling enough for me!
We did a lot of splitting up with rides. The Log Plume was the only ride all five us did, besides the bumper cars.
While we didn’t close down the park, we stayed late and missed our dinner reservation. Sals was open late so we went there knowing it would be a good spot for the girls.
Monday morning, we strolled through campus before heading home. It was a great way to end the summer….some reminiscing, some history, new experiences, fun, and family time.
The last first day of elementary school for Avery and Emerson. The next first day where all three girls will be together at the same school will be in four years. We have been so fortunate to have all three girls at the same school for five years! I thought I might shed a tear or two at the bus stop, but nope!
Avery confident in her stylish jumper.
Emerson confident in her stylish dress.
Harper in her soccer shorts…wasn’t the planned outfit, but the one that she felt confident in.
All three of my girls!
The annual bus stop breakfast. My girls are always so excited for it, yet too nervous to truly eat much.
Wow, how the group has changed over the years!
The non-Oakton students joined the breakfast too!
The 6th graders – they think they are so cool!
The morning bus ride was a bit delayed due to a new first grade neighbor with the first day jitters. The afternoon bus ride was delayed as well due to a double back bus route. It was a long first day. The girls came off the bus happy and ready for day two!
All week there was minimal shoes and clothes wearing. Note for packing next year…LESS shoes and clothes! We wore bathing suits from morning to late afternoon alternating between beach and pool constantly. The beach was practically in our backyard so going inside to grab some snacks, go to the bathroom, and eat lunch was quick and easy.
Weather was good, except for the last day which was a washout. Water was calm and warm, and I even got in the water twice…and more than just to pee…legitimately got in the water.
The kids played in the sand burying Sophia.
They boogey boarded and played paddle ball.
We collected shells. We found quite a few big olive shells!
They had pool contests using the boogey boards to see who was the last man standing.
They lounged around the house and had too much screen time.
Justin and I walked and worked out a lot. We took a family walk only once to the pier.
We didn’t even go on the pier this year!
We ate in every meal!
We did venture out for ice cream twice at the local ice cream shop Bada Bing.
We celebrated Harper’s birthday once more!
The first night we did a poolside barbeque which was a huge hit, why we have not done one previously, I don’t know!
The grown-ups indulged in a seafood boil.
The rain stopped for a very brief hour at 6:00 p.m. Friday so we ran outside to take some group shots.
My girls…getting to be so grown up!
After being stuck inside all day, we were in a silly mood!
The rain continued to hold out long enough for the kids to jump in the pool one more time!
It was our third year staying in the house Conched Out, so we pretty much nailed down the menu for the nights we took out (pizza, barbeque, and seafood boil) as well as the responsibilities of each family. We shared delicious meals, laughter, poop stories, dad jokes, and most of all our continued friendship.
“Friends are the family we chose”.
Harper’s birthday celebration started two weeks before her actual birthday. To celebrate, she opted for a sleepover with Liza. Liza came at 4:00 and they spent nearly 24 hours together not getting bored once and keeping themselves fully occupied.
There was present opening, which included some twinning.
Mac and cheese eating from Pot Belly’s.
Followed by a trip to the new Tysons Boro movie theatre to watch Minions: The Rise of Gru, where the girls enjoyed a jumbo popcorn while layed out on reclining seats.
Their bellies were full, but not too full for Jenny’s icecream!
The girls chattered and slumbered.
Enjoyed a blueberry and chocolate chip pancake breakfast.
Followed by a morning of more playing a more fun!
The celebration continued Saturday evening with tickets to see Toy Story with music performed by The National Symphony Orchestra. Harper invited Grandma to join so the three of us had a girl’s night. The weather was perfect.
The food delicious!
The freebies were ever so present starting with a ride to the front in a golf cart! Harper won a pop-it. I won a tote bag.
Grandma and I sat in the rented cushion chairs and wow, I will never not rent those again!
Smiles…wide smiles…from ear to ear…were present all night long. My girl was so incredibly happy, living her absolute best life.
We celebrated her birthday dinner the 11th at Pazzo with Grandma and Grandpa. Since we would be packing Friday for the beach, we decided to do dinner Thursday evening.
Friday morning was present opening, followed by a day spent with Papa and Grandma visiting Grandma Adele and bowling. She had a great time, but after she got home and Justin and I were still packing and finishing up work, it was clear she didn’t feel like it was her birthday and we cared about it. She was moody!
With no food in the house, I was hoping she would pick take-out, but she wanted to go out….Bear Branch it was, followed by apple pie and ice cream at home and a wonderful cuddle reading her birthday letter.
Her 9th birthday celebration went on for days; however, it became clear to us that unless Harper celebrates on her actual birthday, all those things are somehow forgotten!
Happy 9th birthday Harper!! Hope you know how much you are loved.
One of the things Avery and Emerson dislike the most about being about a twin is sharing a birthday. Totally valid…completely understandable! Therefore, I told them they could have their own parties this year and each pick a day to celebrate with the family. Ironically, they decided on a joint party…Watermine Waterpark was what they both wanted!
Although they had a combined party, that was actually fairly small due to a lot of their friends being out of town, we had an extended birthday celebration over four days!
Thursday morning started out with gifts…and all their gifts. They wanted to open everything at once! Gifts were not extravagant and yet they were so appreciated, especially the ones from each other and Harper. Harper had soccer camp from 9-3 so I took Avery and Emerson out for breakfast at Simply Social Coffee shop just the three of us.
A quick stop on the way to my parents’ house allowed us to pick up some edible parting gifts for the birthday party (Swedish Fish and gum). They spent the afternoon celebrating with my parents at Bowlero bowling and playing arcade games, followed by lunch at Wildfire, and finally some swimming, which Harper also joined in for the swim.
My parents brought the girls back home at 5:00 and we sang happy birthday and indulged in birthday cupcakes and tarts.
We opted to go out to eat to celebrate on Friday due to Emerson having softball practice Thursday as well as the girls being “fooded” out from going out to breakfast, lunch, and having so many desserts.
Friday evening, we celebrated with my parents at Matchbox, singing to them once again!
Saturday was their birthday party. The weather was great and the girls had a fantastic time. The only complaint that I heard was that the party wasn’t long enough! Not a bad complaint to hear! Justin and I sat at the Funbrella during the party and it was honestly the easiest most stress free party I have ever entertained.
We were all zonked Saturday evening from spending all day in the sun. We did some vegging on the couch and I even fell asleep for an hour.
The celebration continued into Sunday as one of Avery and Emerson’s gifts were tickets to see ABBA at Wolftrap. The show was sold out. We tailgated by eating CAVA in the van and then danced in our seats to a great show where the energy was contagious.
Perhaps sharing a birthday is all the reason to extend the celebration into four great days!
Happy 11th Birthday Avery and Emerson!
For four summers now, we have been attempting to vacation with my sister and her family. Each year the idea has gotten pushed to the next summer due to COVID and a pregnancy. Last year as we were thinking 2022 may be the year, I realized it was my parent’s 50th Anniversary and there was no way we could vacation together without my parents also joining us. I asked my parents if they would be interested in doing a beach vacation with all of us to celebrate their 50th to which they jumped on the idea.
It took a bit of searching before finding a great house on the sound in Duck, NC. Lauren, Gabriel, Noah, and Elias flew in from London on a Thursday and by Saturday morning we were all packed in our two cars and headed to the beach.
Family. Sandy. Delicious. Exhilarating. Bakery. Extraordinary. Water. Amazing. Grateful.
These were the single words that each of us chose the last night around the dinner table to sum up our vacation.
Duck was the perfect spot for our family. We were within walking distance of the boardwalk, the beach, the Four Seasons clubhouse, local independent food markets, outdoor produce stands, restaurants, and hundreds of stores.
The weather was quite rainy some days, probably the rainiest beach vacation I have ever had, but it was far from a washout, and we still made it to the beach a total of four times, which is how many times I anticipated we would go being that we were staying on the sound.
We made some delicious dinners at home…from pasta night to steak night to a burger and dog night.
We enjoyed a couple beautiful sunsets on the non-rainy and non-cloudy days.
We had a family talent show where we laughed so hard we gave ourselves a core workout.
We drove to Nags Head and peacefully enjoyed a calm morning at Jeanettes’ Pier.
We played paddle board, collected shells, played in the sand, and swam in the ocean.
The girls battled out their pool skills, both on the billiards table and in the swimming pool.
We indulged in a few bottles of wine and brewskis, including an afternoon beer flight at Growlers.
We purchased and ate an insane amount of bagels, cookies, scones, donuts, and cake from a local bakery Tullio’s where our family may have been the best customers of the week.
As if that wasn’t enough sugar, we indulged in ice cream from Big Bucks twice and ate saltwater taffy.
The house itself was great, very clean and well maintained, a fully stocked kitchen, a great floor plan, and spacious rooms. All beds were comfortable except for (yes, you guessed it) mine and Justin’s. The mattress was fine but ironically the very pretty bed frame squeaked every time sometime turned a fourth of an inch. By day four, I couldn’t take it anymore and bunked with Avery in a quite comfortable twin bed.
There were lots of cousin cuddles, grandma hugs, and most of all love, joy, and fun celebrating a huge milestone and what my parents “I do” commitment 50 years ago created.
