St. Patrick's Day 2014

Each year our neighbors host an elaborate St. Patrick’s Day party complete with beer kegs, a moon bounce and Irish music and dancing.  This is always a great occasion to reconnect with neighbors after a long winter hibernating indoors.  Despite a really rough winter, the weather this weekend was perfect—sunny and seventy degrees.  Below are some photos of the kids and us enjoying the festivities.  Just to be clear, the keg in the picture below is filled with rootbeer.  Slàinte!

 

  

 

 

Snow Days

At some point we lost count of how many delayed starts/snow days we’ve had this winter.  Suffice to say it was many—way too many.  The first 2-3 snow days are always fun: lazy mornings by the fire and afternoons playing outside.  After that, the shoveling, bored children and missed work grows tiresome.  The biggest challenge is keeping the kids occupied.  There’s always TV, but after a while, even that has diminishing returns.  After the first few snowfalls, Bryant ordered some plastic sleds from Amazon.  A park around the corner has a mid-sized hill that is perfect for junior sledding.  After one particularly icy storm, we even sledded down our street (see below).  When we weren’t romping in the snow, we passed the time playing board games (Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders and Hedbanz are popular in our house), baking (see Snow Day Baking) and enjoying happy hours with our neighbors (whose families were similarly stir crazy).  So far, no make-up days have been ordered, but if we keep up at the current pace, the kids made be looking at a shortened spring break or summer vacation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend at Lake Anna

We were fortunate to be invited by our friends (and former neighbors), the Mates, to their vacation home in Lake Anna, Virginia.  The lake was created when Dominion Power damned the North Anna River to provide a fresh water reservoir for its nearby nuclear power plant.  In recent years, the area has become a popular vacation spot.  Whether or not it has anything to do with the nearby power plant, the water in the lake is always comfortably warm.  Below are photos of the kids swimming in the lake with the Mate children.  As you can see, they had a ball.  Afterward, Henry asked if we could get a lake house.  Maybe someday. 

 

 

Spring Break Visitors

Back-to-back visitors at the end of March/early April provided a nice break from the routine, even if we weren’t traveling anywhere.  First up was a visit from Eric and Melora Shelton and their daughter Margaret, who were visiting from Seattle.  (Melora and Elise attended college together at Albion).  Margaret is the same age as Henry, and she was a big hit with the kids.  Vivi especially enjoyed having another girl around to dress up, play dolls and generally do “girl stuff” (as Henry calls it).  Margaret also was happy to dig for worms in the backyard, which impressed Henry greatly.  Having three young children in the house certainly made for some exciting dinner/bath times (yep, all three squeezed into the tub together).  Fortunately, we had two extra sets of hands to help out.  In fact, Eric and Melora were kind enough to make dinner (penne al vodka) for us one night, which was a real treat.  Melora also introduced us to some fine Washington State wines.  We lost track of how many bottles we consumed during the week, but it was a lot!  We’re also grateful to Melora and Eric for giving us an excuse to hire a babysitter and go to dinner at one of our old haunts: Bistro du Coin.  We used to frequent this spot once or twice a month when we lived in Dupont Circle, before we had kids—indeed, even before we were married.

Below are some pictures of Margaret, Henry and Vivian decorating Easter eggs in the basement.  As you can see, they are quite the creative little munchkins:

 

 

A few days after the Sheltons returned home, Elise’s cousins Emily and Alexander visited from Michigan.  Elise took some time off from work and planned a fun-filled week of activities.  First up was a whirlwind tour of Washington museums, including the National Archives, the Native American History Museum and the National Air and Space Museum.  Next was a tour of Georgetown University followed by lunch at The Tombs and (for Alexander) a quick jog up and down the Exorcist Steps.  On Thursday, it was down to Kings Dominion (outside of Richmond) for a day of roller coasters and thrill rides.  Around noon, Elise called Bryant to say that she was feeling green.  For their last day, all three got a personal tour of the Pentagon courtesy of our neighbor Paul Prevost, who works for the DoD.

When they weren’t exploring Washington (or enabling their aunt’s motion sickness), Emily and Alexander provided great entertainment for Henry and Vivian.  They brought a Thomas the Train set for Henry and a princess dress-up game for Vivi, and both proved hugely popular.  Alexander also scored big points by taking Henry on his first fishing expedition (see Hail the Mighty Anglers!).  While the boys were fishing, Vivian had a ball playing princess with Emily. 

 

 

After two weeks of visitors, the house seemed a little quiet with just the four of us.  No sooner had our guests departed as Henry and Vivian were already asking if they could come back. Hopefully Eric, Melora, Margaret, Emily and Alexander will visit again soon for more backyard-playing, roller coaster-riding, museum-hopping good times!

Easter 2013

As is our tradition, we spent Easter Sunday with the Powell family.  After morning mass, we all went to brunch at Clyde’s in Tyson’s Corner and then back to the Powell house for coffee and dessert.  Rain kept us from hunting for eggs in the backyard.  Instead, Brad and Tonia improvised and hid eggs in the basement.  The kids didn’t seem to mind—candy is candy, no matter where you find it.  Getting a picture of the kids in their Sunday finest is usually one of the more excruciating parts of Easter morning; however, this year Henry and Vivian were amazingly cooperative.  As you can see, we got some nice shots.

We asked the Easter Bunny to bring us fewer sugary treats this year, but somehow he didn’t get the message.  The baskets were overflowing on Easter morning.  The night before, Henry was quite nervous that the Easter Bunny might skip our house.  He asked to go to bed early (unheard of) and expressed alarm that mommy and daddy were staying up to watch TV.  We assured him that the Easter bunny would not be frightened off by our choice of movie (Lincoln).  And indeed, he was not.

  

 

Earthquakes, Birthdays and Other Natural Disasters

At approximately 2pm on August 23^rd—Henry’s birthday—a rare 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Washington, DC.  The quake lasted several seconds and resulted in only minor damage to the area (the exceptions being the National Cathedral and the Washington Monument, both of which sustained some structural damage; also, part of the ceiling in our church collapsed, severing an arm on the main crucifix).  The most immediate collateral damage to us was that the kids had to be evacuated from their daycare center in the middle of afternoon nap.  By the time we got home (after spending most of the afternoon camped outside SEC headquarters), they were both tired and cranky.  Henry cheered up after opening his birthday presents.   He’s been infatuated with Spider-Man for several months, and he got plenty of Spidey-wear for his birthday, including a full body costume, light-up shoes, and snow boots (thank you, Mimi Mimi Pauline!).  

Henry’s birthday party was scheduled for the following Saturday.  He requested a Spider-Man party (naturally) and, as entertainment, we booked a live reptile demonstration.  However, Mother Nature decided to wreak havoc with our plans.  Hurricane Irene began churning up the East Coast on Friday and was scheduled to arrive in the Washington, DC area by Saturday evening.  With the storm bearing down, we frantically rescheduled the party for Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, the rain began just as the party started, so we had to move everyone indoors.  It was a tight squeeze, but the kids seemed to have a good time nonetheless.  The reptile demonstration was awesome: the instructor brought lizards, turtles, frogs, a tarantula and a Burmese python for the kids to see and touch.  As the birthday boy, Henry got to help the instructor hold the animals.  Afterward, we all had BBQ, hotdogs and, of course, Spider-man cake.  We were fortunate that our friend, Christine Lee, kindly offered to assist with the party logistics.  Without her help, we would have never survived a house full of preschoolers and live reptiles in the middle of a hurricane!  As an added bonus, Mimi Joanne and Paw Paw Bill drove straight through from Mobile to attend the party and helped us weather the storm (which, in the end, was only “a little rain storm”—as Paw Paw predicted).

 

  

Below are some additional photos from the party:

Dog Days of Summer

July was busy and very, very hot.  In fact, it was the hottest July on record in the Washington DC area, with temperatures regularly in the high 90s and sometimes exceeding 100 with the humidity.  Despite the heat and increasingly ferocious mosquitoes, the kids enjoyed playing in their new backyard.  The swings have gotten much use, as has the plastic kiddy pool that we bought at Walmart for $12.  Vivian is particularly fond of stripping to her diaper and taking a dip.

Over the month, we welcomed several visitors to our new home.  In early July, Mimi Pauline drove down from Michigan and brought several pieces of antique furniture for our living room.  Thank you, Mimi Pauline!  She also gave us a new handheld vacuum, which Bryant quickly fell in love with it, much to Elise’s scorn.

At the end of the month, the Baker-Brown family (Dawn, Emily and Alexander – we missed you Stokes!) paid a visit.  To keep cool, we hung out at the pool and went for a boat ride on the Potomac.  At noon, the local river boat company does a pirated-themed cruise around Alexandria Harbor, which involved donning eye patches, brandishing plastic swords and accosting the local yachtsmen with “Ahoy, there!  We be Potomac pirates. Prepare to be boarded. Aaaaargh.”  Not sure if it was the heat or the ridiculous pirate costumes, but Henry didn’t seem too impressed.  He did, however, enjoy spending time with his cousins, and was particularly excited to show Alexander his action figures, cars and dinosaurs.

 

Between visits, we also celebrated July 4^th with friends from our daycare center, hosted a BBQ with the Powell family, and celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.  To mark our anniversary, we had dinner (sans kids) at the Columbia Firehouse restaurant in Old Town.  There was a slight break in the heat, and we were able to eat on the restaurant terrace.  It was a nice, low-key meal, during which we enjoyed trading smug comments about the childless couples seated next to us.  They seemed blissfully unaware of what lay ahead!  Afterward, we strolled down to the river where Alexandria city was having its founder’s day fireworks celebration.  We lingered on the waterfront to watch the fireworks, which seemed like a perfect way to end the evening.

Springtime in Michigan

During the two week gap before Elise started her new job, we traveled to Michigan to visit Aunt Pauline. This was our first time flying with both children, and it was an exhausting experience. The flight is only one hour from Washington, but getting to the airport, clearing security and keeping Henry in his seat during take off and landing was quite an adventure. Somehow we managed to get there and back in one piece. Along the way, we had a wonderful visit with Aunt Pauline and our friends Jenn and Steve Lathom and their son Matthew. Below are some pictures from the long weekend. As you can see, Henry was both fascinated by and slightly apprehensive of Aunt Pauline’s dogs. He was particularly interested in the Labrador puppies. He also enjoyed riding around the property on Aunt Pauline’s Gator and looking for mushrooms. For her part, Vivian rolled with the punches, as she usually does. She slept for most of the plane ride and spent the rest of the time observing her bother’s antics with a bemused smile.

Henry's 2nd Birthday

This year Henry had not one, but three birthday parties. On the Friday before his birthday (August 23rd), he celebrated with his friends at daycare by eating cupcakes during afternoon snack. Then, on Sunday, he enjoyed a Thomas the Train birthday cake and an afternoon swim at Brad and Tonia Powell’s home, where we spent the afternoon visiting with college friends. Finally, on September 29th, Henry had a joint birthday party with several of his friends from daycare at Hayes Park in Arlington, Virginia. The park has a sprayground (a water spray park for children), a large sand pit, lots of playground equipment, and Henry’s personal favorite: swings. The theme for the party was “A Day at the Beach” (because of the water and sand), and we were fortunate to have some cool (if overcast) weather. The turnout was terrific, and everyone seemed to have a great time playing in the park and eating birthday cake.

Celebrating with Henry were his friends Nicholas Cho and the twins Teddy and Dorothy Huang. Henry’s parents were glad to share the burden of planning and preparing for the party with four other parents. We were responsible for the favors and decorations. For favors, each child received a plastic sand bucket filled with bubbles, playdough, sunglasses, stickers and other small toys. And, yes, we did assemble each of those forty party favor buckets by hand!

Henry received lots of great gifts for his birthday. Mimi Pauline gave him a toddler bed shaped like a boat, which Henry absolutely loved (when his father finally managed to finish assembling it). Mimi Joanne and Paw Paw Bill gave him an inflatable pool for the backyard. It was so hot in August, we let Henry open this gift early and start enjoying the cool water right away. Mom and dad gave him a puppet theater and some puppets. Unfortunately, the pirate puppet that we selected was a little scary looking, so Henry has gone off the puppets for a while. But hopefully the theater will pay dividends soon.

Click below for more photos from the party: