Friday, August 31, 2012

Hanging out at Zinga

We met up with Kelly, her mom and dad, and the kids over at Zinga since the fire department was going to be there with the fire truck collecting a donation check. The kids had a ball checking out the fire truck, mommy got a coupon for BOGO, and the kids ran around outside and got out all the excess energy before bedtime. Win-win. :)


Owen almost broke the family jewels trying to ride the "bike" rack.


Another fun night out at Zinga!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Happy Anniversary


Us, by the numbers:

9 years married

14 years together (started dating October, 1998)

3 honeymoons (pre-Paradise Island, Bahamas: engagement, real - St. Lucia, Sandals & post-Maui, Hawaii: 1-yr anniversary)

11 jobs (Ben: 2, Jenn: the rest)

4 degrees (Jenn: 1, Ben: the rest)

2 houses (townhouse in Herndon from 2003-2008, house in Ashburn from 2008 - present)

2 babies

2 C-sections

1 family which I love with all my heart

Happy Anniversary, honey. I love you.

Pool day with Grandma!

Ben and I needed to attend Owen's new preschool's Parent Orientation night tonight, so Grandma offered to babysit and stay over so that we could go out to dinner afterwards to celebrate our anniversary (9 years!). (She even stayed the next morning so I could get some work done too ~ thank you Grandma!!)

I worked during the day, and then in the afternoon when the kids woke up from their naps, we took Grandma to our pool. It was a gorgeous day - not too hot, and the water was perfect - and the kids loved showing off their water skills.


Thank you Grandma for watching Owen and Vivian while we had a fun date night! 

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Off to camp

This was such a fun week. I had both kids enrolled in Little Sprouts for their end-of-summer camp. Owen is graduating from Little Sprouts and will be starting at St. David's Preschool in two weeks. Vivian will be attending LS for the Mom's Morning Out on Fridays this year, so I thought it would be a fun way to get her excited about her new school. She LOVED it. Every morning when I dropped them off, she practically ran into the room and immediately started playing with her new friends and toys.


I thought I would be sad about dropping her off and leaving for 3 hours, especially since the house would be so quiet and I'd miss her. But, I must say, there is something about being the second child. I didn't get sad, didn't shed a tear at all. Instead, I found that I was smiling sympathetically towards the moms whose little ones were crying during drop off. I was in their shoes a few years ago.

Tomorrow is the last day of camp. I'm sure the kids will miss it a bunch.

Thank you Miss Karlene and Miss Jessica for a super fun week of camp!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Green juice is yummy

Made some celery, pear, apple juice today and Owen liked it enough to drink one cup but Vivi just LOVED it.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Fun on the playground

Real grape juice

Received two bags of concord grapes in our CSA box this week. I decided to try making grape juice. Wasn't as tough as I thought it would be and the result is a (very small) batch of the freshest grape juice you have ever tasted.



Not sure it was worth all the effort for three little cups of juice. Might try making jelly next week.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Kayla's house of bounce Birthday Bash!

Kayla's birthday party was so much fun!!! The kids bounced until they couldn't bounce any more, and Kayla got to sit in an inflatable birthday princess thrown so that everyone could sing happy birthday!


We were sent home with adorable little goodie bags and a balloon for each kid. 


And this is why I cannot stand balloons.

Happy 5th Birthday, Kayla! We love you!!!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Shopping with Grandma

for new school shoes, socks, and underpants. So much fun because they got to ride a bunch of rides before we left the mall. Thank you Grandma!!!


Vivian couldn't wait to try on her new froggie panties when we got home.


Now Mommy just needs to get up the courage to do potty training boot camp with her! :-0

Gone apple pickin'

Combing Vivi's tangles

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Warming up

Sometimes when we got to the pool, the kids get chilly and Owen asks if he can lay on the concrete.


I say yes, of course, because Vivian inevitably follows her brother's lead and it gives me 10 minutes to sit (lie) down on a lounge chair and relax.

Genius, right??

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Weeknight dinner date

We had Kel and the kids over for fish tacos tonight. Unfortunately for Kel, they didn't turn out as great as they did when Ben made them at the beach. It was only his second attempt at making them though. He needs a few more tries to perfect his recipe.


I'll shut up and cut him some slack. We still had fun with the wonderful company of our friends even if the dinner wasn't up to par with Kel's cooking. :)

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Potty material


It appears that Vivian shares the same taste in bathroom reading material as her Daddy (Men's Health).

Don't know how I feel about that one.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

One of the best shots from our family photo shoot

My cousin Sara did an amazing job researching photographers many months before our trip. She narrowed it down to one, Cassandra M, who did an incredible job with our huge group and individual family photos. We had a blast and when it was all said and done, she sent us 482 - yes, that many! - photos of our family which we will all treasure for many years, I am sure.

This is just one of the funny ones. Wish Vivian would have been looking towards the camera, but she was all tuckered out by that point in the evening. Still a great shot though.


Friday, August 17, 2012

Our week in Hilton Head

We had so much fun on vacation this week in Hilton Head, SC. Mornings were spent on the beach, wading in the tide pools with the kids and swimming in the calm warm water. Afternoons consisted of feeding the kids lunch and putting them down for naps, then taking turns relaxing on the beach while the kids snoozed. We usually took a dip in the pool in the late afternoon and took turns cooking various yummy dishes for dinner. One night we went out to dinner while the grandparents watched the babies.



Owen was sick the second night and Vivian caught it a few days later, but it was nothing more than a 24-hr virus and they both rebounded really well. They did much better than expected on the drive down and the drive home, despite a few moments of screaming over whose turn it was with the ipad, and Ben was a trooper to drive the entire way both times.





Us cousins spent two nights (after putting all the babies down for the night) playing Cranium until we were doubled over laughing. 





Even though we saw more palmetto bugs than I'd like to remember, it was an incredible family reunion vacation week and we were so thankful to have spent the time with our family at the beach this summer. We look forward to the next one!!


Friday, August 10, 2012

Off to meet the Lang Gang on Hilton Head Island!


We decided to break up the drive and stay halfway at a hotel so that we wouldn't be starting off our vacation exhausted from driving 11+ hours with two little ones. The car is packed to the brim. Can't wait to get there!!!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

A special Tea Party

Aunt Hillary and Grandma came over today to do a special tea party for Owen & Vivian. They made adorable little tea sandwiches, fruit tea, and a bunch of cute little desserts. The kids had a ball! Grandma had found a pretty tea pot patterned fabric which my mom and I sewed into a little tablecloth especially for the occasion.


Vivian had just woken up from her nap (hence the messy hair and rosey cheeks) and Owen was away all morning (until 2pm actually) at camp so he came in to find the surprise that they had put together while he wasn't home. They gobbled up turkey & cheese sandwiches, tiny tuna melts with cheese and tomatos on top, and cucumber salad sandwiches. So fun!!



The look on the kids' faces when Aunt Hillary & Grandma brought out the dessert tower was priceless! They were so excited. Thank you so much to Aunt Hillary and Grandma for such a special playdate (and for babysitting so that I could get some work done upstairs!)! You're the best!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Potty time


I guess they needed some privacy while sitting on the pot. HA!