Nature Center

With no set plans for the day, we headed to a free nature center not too far from our house. We haven't been there in several months, but once we arrived Allen began looking for the racoon and chicken costume so he and Abby could wear the same ones as our last visit. (Kids have great memories!) They enjoyed all the exhibits, especially watching the turtles swim. I sang Tiny Tim over and over for them.

Notice, Abby's nails are painted. It is a first.

Friday football

Last night Ross and I saw the Washington Redskins play the New England Patriots. It is a pre-season game which means it wasn't on a Sunday and it was a little more affordable :) I met Ross downtown, we transferred to the blue line, and walked the mile to the stadium. We had heard from several people about how crummy the traffic can be, and we believe it, that's how the D.C. area is. We opted for public transportation. It was a very muggy evening with rainy weather reports so we brought our ponchos. (Not any poncho, mind you. These were our "Maid of the Mist" ponchos that we got from our Niagara Falls trip in 2006. Ross has teased me about keeping them through all the moves and I tell him they could come in handy. The kids used them earlier this year during some puddle jumping, and we, adults, finally used them... just as a covering for our wet seats, but regardless, they came in handy.) Can you see the mist under the stadium's lights? Everyone had a "healthy glow."

For the past 4 years we've lived in big cities with big sports teams. When we lived in Chicago we saw every team play (Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Bears, Sky, Fire, Blackhawks -- except I missed this one.) In Houston we saw the Astros and since we've been in Washington we've seen the Nationals, Wizards, and the Redskins. We love a good ball game!

Next Friday the whole family is going to a Nationals game (we're sitting in a box suite with complimentary popcorn and peanuts) and the kids are so excited, let me tell you.

cheese, please!

Our family spent the evening at Chuck E. Cheese. Good job, Allen on accomplishing your goal!

whatcha been doin'?

We spent the weekend in Powhatan visiting Ross's side of the family. And I didn't take a single picture... but we had a good talk with his dad, visited his mom twice in the hospital (the kids loved riding up and down on her hospital bed), saw Lea and Nora (in town because Nora starts college soon at SVU), saw the White Family and visited the Powhatan ward. Oh, how I love a real Virginian accent! Maybe I'll pick it up someday, but the people around D.C. area don't really have accents because very few are born/raised types. (Of course, Ross was born in VA and he doesn't have an accent -- unless you hear him talking to Stan on the phone about our car *smiles* -- because his mom is from Oakland, CA and his dad is from Ogden, UT.)

Other tidbits from the last two days:

• Lots and lots of laundry done...
• Swimming at the pool in the moonlight...
• Hearing Abby say, "I need We Will, We Will Rock You song again!" (The kids heard this during the roadtrip and it's their new favorite)...
• Listening to Allen's constant reply about everything, "Why not?" (To which we replied, "Why not," said Mike Mulligan. "Why not," said the townspeople... *quotes from a favorite story*)
• Making homemade pizza...
• Reading my pile of church publications (and now I'm all caught up thank-you-very-much!)
• Giving Ross a hair cut
• Shopping at Walmart
• Watching the "fan man" drilling holes... it will look great when the living room is done.
• Ross and I wishing we had something like this to play with when we were younger...

They love their new ball pit in the basement. It's a volcano pool with a slide.

sentimental six

I had a GREAT day yesterday full of finding hidden surprises (some of which are still hiding, I am told), wrapping gifts, making a cake, putting together a "party" table (which the kids loved), dinner out, memorable music in the car, shopping, hearing that Ross told work (when something came up) that he had a previous engagement, listening to Ross sing Kenneth Cope's "Andrea" (I haven't heard that since he proposed), getting proposed to again with a Ring Pop, having Ross read me a book that brings back courtship memories, finding rose petals in the shape of a heart (another memory), and many wishes from friends and family. It was sweet! We had a yummy 3-course meal for two at Chili's. We used a $25 gift card from our law school days (thank you LexisNexis). This photo shows our cake toppers (SL Temple, and two small folding frames showing pictures of us as kids and when we were dating), yellow wedding napkins (I have plenty of those because unfortunately they weren't used at the reception), my bouquet, our wedding album, candles (that the kids are so excited to burn!), and a tablecloth that friends and family signed at our reception.

six years strong

Dear Ross,

Even though you "struck out" on our first date...

• 1. Not much taller than me (Strike! Tall guys can be hard to find)
• 2. Your last name was further down in the alphabet than "S" (Ideally I would have liked to try having my name at the first part of the alphabet).
• 3. Not from Utah (Strike three! No offense, but I didn't want to marry someone who would take me away from my family and the place I grew up).

... we were married 9 months later and I couldn't be happier.

Without a doubt, I picked a real WINNER! It's funny how easily (and often) we stay up after 1 a.m. just talking. Happy 6th Anniversary! I love you!

-Andrea

p.s. I have found 2 of the 6 Snickers... and will keep looking :)

FYI... Ross hid 6 Snickers (a candy bar with remembrance during our courtship... one for each year) throughout the house. And, tonight we are going out to dinner. Well... our anniversary celebration this year is composed of three parts: 1. Sealings at the temple, 2. dinner at Chili's, 3. tickets to see Washington Redskins (pre-game). We're spreading it out over three weeks... Yes, I know, we know how to party!!

two picnics

It actually would have been three picnics, but our dinner plans (picnic by the pool) were changed following two afternoon thunderstorms.

Let me recap our day ...

This morning, bright and early, we saw road construction going on outside our house. The kids were eager to go out and watch so I spread a blanket out on our pathway (in the shade) and brought out zucchini bread, bananas and juice for breakfast.

I love how they are BOTH plugging their ears. The noise was very mild compared to other construction workers we've watched before.

For lunch, we attended an outdoor teddy bear picnic at the library in McLean. We ate our packed lunch as we listened to a one-man band and enjoyed free ice cream that was served. (You gotta love end of the summer reading program parties!) Allen and Abby couldn't help but dance a little to the groovy songs.

It was a HOT day so after the concert, and a few minutes at a park, we had to leave because the heat and humidity were starting to drain my energy away.

In the late afternoon Allen and I had fun sitting in our screened-in porch watching a thunderstorm. Then we made a Sesame Street Village using our set (thanks to a thrift store) and our Sesame Street board books (free from my Kindergarten-teaching days.) It was really fun. Sometimes you just have to let things slide so you can sit on the floor and play!

Abby didn't feel so good today. She napped about 4 hours and was super fussy. And as I type I am feeling a sore throat coming on... I'll keep sipping my lemonade and finish up so I can head for bed.

messy Monday

Since I had no plans for today we stayed home and tried doing some potty-training with Abby. Let's just say that was had more messes than successes so we'll wait a tad longer... but that girl does LOVE wearing her new underwear.

Also, for extra-outside-fun I filled a bucket with flour and a bucket with rice and brought out funnels, cups and spoons. The kids loved it.

After quiet time we got out the easel, paints, aprons and paper. Another mess for the day, but they had fun, mixing the colors and all. Allen even figured out how to flick his wrist which flicked the paint. I found some clear across the room on the wall. (I think to myself -- "Ahhh! New house... ahhh! Then I have to remain calm... "But it's okay. We're making memories and it's just a house, right?") Allen appears to be right-handed and Abby seems to be a lefty. Now that our weekly summer art class has ended I should just keep doing "Messy Monday" so I remember to do lots of sensory/art-sy activities for the kids (even though I hate cleaning up after) because it's good for them. And I'm glad I got a degree in college to confirm that fact.

the last few days

*Allen gave out his first pass-along card!! *sealings at the D.C. Temple *lunch at the new Chick-Fil-A near our house (gotta love free coupons in the mail!) *another visit to Home Depot *rearranging closets and rooms *Sand Toy Park *vacuuming *Aladdin *sub as primary pianist *directions to Hollywood stars' homes *new craft area *2 hour nap (for me!) *zucchini bread *Ocean's 11 (orginial) *lots more Daddy time *kids learning how to use the camera (see photos) *Sunday evening walk

preschool picassos

Today's highlights include attending our last art class (in the photo the kids are holding their sand art), finding some puddles in the basement, and going to a puppet show at the library. Allen and Abby are crazy about puppets. Tonight as I tucked Abby in bed (for the 3rd time) she said, "Can we go see more puppets? It was funny!"

Take a number

What do you do when these things happen within just minutes?

• Abby is uncomfortable and you realize she is saying "bead" and pointing to her nose... and that there is a bead UP her nose and it's FAR up her nose.
• Allen has disappeared from the backyard
• The water is boiling for ramen noodles

First...

• You try to get the bead out, but Abby cries out in pain and won't trust you again.
• You run outside to see where Allen went and realize he is riding his bike and is already in front of the next-door-neighbor's house
• You call Ross about the bead who tells you to call the doctor's office
• You add the ramen noodles because the water is boiling (for the second time) and you have to finish lunch because everyone is hungry.
• You wait on hold until a nurse answers, listens to the problem, then puts you on hold again.
• You go grab Allen (and the bike), and pull them back into the yard.
• You start searching for Abby's blanket because it's the only trick to bring her comfort.
• You add the seasoning for the ramen and turn off the stove
• The nurse asks how far away you live and then says to come right in
• You grab something for lunch, coax the kids to come to the car quickly, buckle everyone up, and off you go.

Next time could everyone just take a number and save me from 10 minutes of extreme stress? Reminds me some of the movie One Fine Day, but this was no script.

And, yes, the doctor was able to pop that bead out pretty quickly. The kids were amazed and talked about it for the rest of the day.

Livin' in the moment

We had an awesome weekend! As our day at Busch Gardens was wrapping up, I told Ross I was disappointed that I hardly took any pictures. He said, "How could you? We were livin' in the moment!" And he's right. We had a blast.

• On Friday night Ross and I went to a Nationals game and the White Family arrived, babysat, and stayed with us.
• On Saturday Gina and Ron went to the temple while Ross and I played with 5 kids. That afternoon we took everyone to the temple visitor center (they had a cool Hubble telescope exhibit) and all the kids were able to touch the temple. That night we taught Ron and Gina how to play Ticket To Ride. I love playing board games because of the chatter and laughs and memories they create.
We were all a little surprised that the kids sat so still for the picture. This hubble telescope exhibit was so cool. See here for more cool photos. This picture makes me laugh. Allen wouldn't hold still so I had to tickle him, then he busted out laughing, Abby was tired and Ross is squinting from the sun. What can I say? It's a geniune family photo. I saw another couple get their photo taken in the reflecting pool and I wanted to do it too. So this picture is our reflection. Gina was a good sport to take a few photos of us. You can see my niece Sydney (upside down) on the side as a reference point.

• On Sunday we attended the McLean 2nd ward. After lunch and a little packing we piling in the car and headed to Richmond. We stopped and saw Ross's mother in the hospital and stayed that night in Powhatan.

• The next day we went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg (my 1st time to visit).

There is nothing like standing in line for a ride you have never heard of or know nothing about. The first time you ride it it ends up being a COMPLETE surprise and no matter how many times you ride it after it never is as good as the first one. The park has a European theme with rides and scenery representing Scotland, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy... And what was more fun about this day was it ended up being a mini-reunion with Dana, Beth, and Gina (three of Ross's siblings) and their families. There were 20 people in all. It was SO MUCH FUN!! Plenty of people to ride with, talk to, watch kids... and that's why I only have a few photos (and they are of my kids). You'll just have to picture us screaming on the big coasters, standing in line for Griffon while they do some "minor housekeeping" (hose down the backseat), planning silly faces for the cameras on the rides (we had some good ones!), figuring out who can ride and who will watch kids, getting wet on Roman Rapids (twice), and walking around with wet shoes all day in the 101 degree, VERY humid weather.

Allen and Abby loved the two water areas.

Aunt Gina with 4 short kids in the tea cup.

Jerron, Allen and Abby went on this horse ride repeatedly (at least 5 times) because no one was in line, it was right before closing, and most of the adults were still on Loch Ness Monster.

sweet suite

We saw the Washington Nationals (MLB) last night in a box suite thanks to Skadden. I met Ross downtown and we rode the green line to the game. We saw a home run, several good hits, the hilarious Presidents Race during a game break (Lincoln beat Jefferson, Washington and Roosevelt), and the Nationals won the game. As we watched from our comfortable seats, we filled up on the complimentary popcorn, peanuts and drinks. Ahhh! Talk about sweet. Thanks Gina and Ron for watching our kids.

pool people

We are on the waitlist for membership to our neighborhood's private pool and we get to use the pool from now until Labor Day. It's close enough to walk to (which is a bonus) so it should be fun to go over whenever we want. Maybe my super-white skin might actually get some color this month . . . it probably won't, but we'll have fun at the pool anyway.

haircut

Our day has consisted of yardwork (thanks Ross!), getting a haircut (which I needed and I'm glad my hair is all one length again), having an Arby's picnic lunch (in our dining room on blankets), taking Allen to a birthday party, and hanging around at home. It's been good.

where were you born?

If you told Abby she would be sure to remember.

The other day in the car (completely out of the blue) she said, "Daddy was born in Richmond." (I can't even remember when we talked about that.)

Then in the afternoon while we were out swimming in the backyard she kept telling me where everyone was born. "Mommy, you were born in Ogden. I was born in Chicago. Allen was born in Sa-Provo (not sure where the "Sa" part came from). She's got a great memory. Of course, when I got the camera out she wouldn't say it on her own; I had to probe her.