Summer Fun

I've been so bad about blogging lately, so I'm uploading tons of stuff for you. We've had a fun summer so far. We have mostly been playing outside when it's not TOO hot. L&D love the water table and sprinkler. Plus we went to the pool for the first time this summer last weekend. They have almost outgrown their little boats we have for them, so we'll have to get new ones eventually (or floaties)! They liked the baby pool, but poor Libby got scared when her face went in the water a little. I hate to see that happen!

Last Saturday, we went back to Great Country Farms for blueberry picking. They hadn't fully ripened, so it was slim pickings, or so we thought. It was HOT and buggy, even with bug spray covering us. But we managed to come home with 3 pints and they are delicious! Already made a batch of Lemon Blueberry Muffins from Deceptively Delicious (snuck in some squash this time). Yum!

Yesterday we went to the public library for the first time. L&D had so much fun. They loved the big stuffed animals and kept kissing them, which I just had to let go out of my germ-o-phobic mind. They don't understand the concept of quiet, but I think most kids were loud like them. Thank goodness! We're gonna try and sign up for some fun library story times and music shows soon, so that should be fun. I was so proud of both Libby and Drew. Drew picked up a book and sat at this table to read all by himself! And Libby took her time looking through them on the floor with me. Thank goodness for cell phone cameras! They're growing up so fast.

Dutch Wonderland

I've heard great things about this nice amusement park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is only about 2 1/2 hours away. It's called Dutch Wonderland and it has rides and games for young children. We packed up the van and headed out early Saturday morning. It was a rainy day, but we were able to do a lot in between little showers here and there. We had a really great time, but poor Drew still doesn't like the carousel-- he wanted off right away. I thought he might enjoy it this time since we tried it before. But I think he's got his daddy's genes since he doesn't like amusement rides either. We took a fun ride on the log flume and got splashed at the end. It was a little fast and steep, so I'm surprised they said it was for little kids like Libby and Drew. After that, we stuck to the really slow, but fun kiddy rides. We headed out as it started pouring late that afternoon. It was a breezy day-- so much so that we had to buy sweatshirts for Libby and Drew-- in JUNE! But we had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back again.

It was funny b/c the mom next to me was calling her daughter Lizzy. It was a little confusing!

We laughed during this one b/c Drew had a death grip on the gun on the front of the airplane. He was looking a little "Terminator-ish", which scares me. ;)

Low, Low

Libby has been so cute singing lately. She keeps going back to some jibber jabber and then sings "Low, low, low, low" in a deep voice. It's really funny. We've been imitating her and have wondered where she heard this or what song it was from. Then, the more I thought about it, it sounds EXACTLY like the song "Low, Low" that's out right now (I guess??) Take a listen...

So now I wonder where on earth she'd ever heard this song! Every day at daycare, the kids have fun dancing to music before the parents pick them up. I hear different kinds of music every time and Drew dances the best to the Latin songs! I'm wondering if their sitter let her 8th-grade son pick out the music one day? I think it's pretty funny but hope there aren't any bad words she'd pick up from it. Oh my gosh--- I sound like I'm 75 years old, don't I??

Strawberry Picking

Today we took a nice drive out to Great Country Farms for their Strawberry Festival. It was our first time to this farm and we had such a great time. We plan to go back for blueberries in a few weeks and pumpkins in the fall. There were so many fun things for the kids to do, plus it wasn't very crowded since we got there early. And the weather was so nice after almost a week of non-stop rain! The patch was full of the most delicious strawberries I've ever eaten. Good thing they are grown chemical-free b/c we ate about a pint while picking! We came home with about a flat and even made homemade strawberry ice cream, which was sooo good. Now, I need to surf online for some other recipes since we still have tons of strawberries left over!

Our Portraits are Here

I picked up the portraits and they are gorgeous. It was so hard to pick only 20 for the CD, but we came up with these...

Bye Bye Nemo... for now

I've assumed that no matter the age, everyone dreams in some way or another. But I wonder if L&D's age is one where dreams become more vivid or even nightmares. Libby has not been sleeping well the past few nights. She wakes up crying like she's hurt, but doesn't seem to be when we check on her. It's the saddest cry ever-- like she's afraid or maybe having a nightmare. Last night, she just wanted me to hold and rock her, which I don't really mind. ;) But after I put her back down, she tossed and turned all night long. No crying- just awake and unsettled. Poor little girl.

So, I was talking to my friend, Leslie, at work today and she asked if they had seen any new movies lately that may have been scary to them. Turns out that Darrell bought "Finding Nemo" last weekend and thought he fast forwarded through the bad parts. But there's a scene with a robot-machine-looking piranha that is scary to me! As soon as it came on, I ran over to the TV, but they did see a second or 2 of it. So, sorry Nemo, but you're officially being put on hold for another few years. This makes me ponder--- why is Disney so opposed to women and mothers? Almost every movie of theirs has some sort of mother dying or turning into an evil witch or something. What's the deal??

Meanwhile, as I'm rocking Libby last night, Drew was turning a little bit, but still asleep. Then all of a sudden, he started giggling and had the biggest smile on his face. It was the cutest thing. He only did it a couple of times, but I wonder what he was dreaming about because he surely was tickled! Libby looked at him and then up at me as in, "What's so funny?" Maybe he was thinking about his favorite new movie "Cars" and "Nie Nih MaNeen"! I think that one is safe for now since there's no talk of his mom anywhere in it.

Flashback Friday- Summer, 2007

I'm using the power of positive thinking by flashing back to beautiful sunny weather perfect for a dip in the pool. It's been raining for what seems forever. Great for the gardens, but where is the sun lately?? Can't wait to hit the pool this summer b/c we need to try out the 3 different bathing suits they got as gifts this year!

Back from NOLA

I'm back!! It was a whirlwind of a trip back home to New Orleans, but I had such a wonderful time. I went down for my cousin, Erin's wedding this weekend. I decided to go alone, so Darrell could stay back with the kids.

I arrived Wed. night and met my sister Gretchen and niece Ella at the airport. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton (ooo la la--actually thanks to a nice corporate rate from Gretchen's company). It was SO nice. We met my mom and aunts the next morning for the Bridesmaids' Luncheon at Ralph's on the Park-- great food!. Later, we walked all over the Quarter. Tourism seems to be back b/c there were nice crowds everywhere we went. The Bar at the Hotel Monteleone was celebrating its 60th anniversary, so drinks were $1 each. Mom and I decided to be part of the celebration! We waited in line for a while and I had my first (and most likely last) Old Fashioned. Not sure if all are that strong b/c it was basically like jet fuel! We walked a million blocks for dinner in Brad and Angelina's neighborhood, although, I'm sad to say no sightings that night.

On Friday, we met up with my brother, Tim, his girlfriend, Christie, and my cousin Eric (or "Boog" as we call him). We went to Cafe DuMonde for beignets and Cafe Au Lait (the best), the Insectarium, ate, visited Jackson Square, window shopped, walked some more, ate, walked some more, ate, had a cocktail or 2, ate, walked, ate po-boys at Johnny's-- you get the drift.

The wedding was Friday night and we had such a wonderful time. The weather turned out to be nice since they had predicted bad thunderstorms. The reception was at a reception hall on Bourbon Street, so naturally, we saw some interesting sights that night. I even had my first Lucky Dog after hours of dancing and having fun with the family. We met up the rest of the family at the hotel lounge and kept it open til 3 AM!! That's celebrating New Orleans-style!

The next day, we got together again as a family to... well what else but EAT at The Palace Cafe. Later, I was able to visit my dad and stepmom and my best friend, Darnell, and her husband and baby girl, too. My brother, Tim, was nice enough to boil crawfish for us that night. YUM. And then it was back to Northern Virginia on Sunday morning. I need some serious fasting after this weekend, but we really had such a great time. I think I'll wait several years until Libby and Drew get to have this kind of fun, though! ;)

I uploaded my photos and the 2 I had of the bride and groom didn't come out!! So, I'm just posting the ones that did...

Our Saturday

Today was another busy Saturday. Our church is looking for a permanent home and although they were initially intending to build, it looks like renovating a current building for sale is a better option. We went to tour the empty "Bud Building", which was the former home of the Budweiser warehouse. They had a little service talking all about it, but since it started at 8:30 AM, we missed it. We did, however, make it just in time for the BBQ and socializing. We met some new members, including Karen, who was taking some photos of the event. She got some of us, too...

My Favorite:

A Rainy Sunday

It's been raining here for the past several days, which has really helped my garden. But we've also been a little cooped up lately, so we decided to go out and play in the drizzle today. L&D had a blast in their new raincoats and matching boots (on clearance at Target)!

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Uncle Jeff!! We left you a voicemail tonight, but L&D were a little shy-- the phone still freaks them out, especially the speaker phone. ;)