Spring Break Fun?

Just after Easter, J began a 3 week away rotation at a hospital in Northern Va.  Since the first week was the kids’ spring break, we decided to pack us all up and stay at the condo with him.  The place was nice and spacious, but on the third  floor.  So, I spent MUCH of my time quietly asking the children to please stop running/stomping/walking so hard!!  At first I didn’t worry too much, figuring that we’d be out and about most of the time.  We took the first day easy to plan meals, shop for groceries, and generally find the “lay of the land”.  That night, Little Lamb woke up with a tummy ache which followed with symptoms of a stomach bug.  I figured it was a basic 24 hour variety and hunkered down for another day.

By Wednesday, I thought she was over the worst of it, so I researched nearby parks to visit.  Little did I know, she was merely entering phase two…I did get a few fun pictures of our outing.  Belle and Little Bear had fun, but complained that it was too babyish for them.  Little Lamb wanted me to hold her most of the time and only smiled briefly while riding the dog.

By the weekend, we decided LL was well enough to visit with family in DC.  J and I enjoyed our time with his brother and wife.  The kids enjoyed their time with the cousins.  We happened to be there during the Cherry Blossom festival along half the rest of the world.  The Mall was crawling with people.  We drove around looking for a parking spot forever.  J kept saying, “I give up!  There’s just no place to park.”  To which I replied, “Ummmm, so what are you going to do?  Drive back to the condo and tell your brother ‘Sorry we couldn’t find a parking spot so we bailed’???”  Obviously he didn’t give up, but it did take quite some time to find a space.  We met up at the Capitol then chatted and walked the length of the mall to the Washington Memorial and back, stopping once for a potty/ice cream break.

Such an amazing view all the way to the Memorial.

We made it to the Washington Memorial.  The kids loved running up and down the big hill!

As if they didn’t get enough walking in already, the kids struck up a game of Follow the Leader.  I always get the song from Peter Pan stuck in my head whenever we play that!

Despite LL’s ups and downs, we had a nice visit.  There’s a whopper of a tale involving poor LL, a port-a-potty, and a grassy patch across from the Washington Memorial, but I’ll spare you those details.  It’s something I’ll never forget, but thankfully she is young enough that she will!

Advertisement

Easter 2010

J’s parents and younger sister, whom we call Aunt M, came to visit for Easter this year.  We did the usual egg dying on Saturday and hunting on Sunday.  The biggest news was we saw the “Easter Bunny” hopping across the street and into the brush on our way to church!

Some of our artwork-we used rubber bands this year for a tie-dyed look as well as the old white crayon trick:

The Easter Bunny enjoys hiding the eggs far and wide on our property.  I always tell myself we should count them to be sure we got them all, but I never actually do it.  We have since found a couple chewed up by Mr. B’s tractor.  Oh well!  However, next year I will buy new baskets that can genuinely be carried by the handle.  These always get too heavy and toss everything out onto the ground!

Belle sporting the new bag she got in her Easter basket.  Sadly, it covers up the adorableness of her dress.  It is so unique, just like my Belle!

Eventually the kids get tired of holding their overweighted baskets, so they give them to a trusted adult and run back and forth.

I love this picture of Little Lamb.  The rush to grab and get to the basket is so cute!  We shopped for her dress when my parents visited in March.  Despite my mom’s efforts to talk her in to a beautiful smocked dress, LL was set on this dress.  LL is not easily talked in to things-like Belle is-just for the sake of pleasing Grandma.  In the end, LL was happy and adorable, just as it should be!

Once the hunt was finished, we got the kids to stop just long enough for a quick picture.  Little Bear’s eggs are all hidden under his grass.  He tossed it out somewhere along the way, but Mimi helped me save it.  🙂

March 2010

I finally loaded the pictures from the camera onto the laptop tonight.  Turns out it’s been since early March since I did that!  Oops.  Our winter was so long and so cold and so snowy, we welcomed the warmth of March more than ever before.  I am quite pleased to say that the girls are still happy to dress alike.  They’ve even taken to having similar hair styles sometimes!  Makes this Mama smile!!   Notice the snow still on the ground a full month after the storm.  I thought it might never go away!

That sparkle you see in Belle’s eyes?  That’s complete adoration for her little sister.

The boys were also happy to welcome in Spring with a bit of cleaning around the deck.  I always love taking pics of them working together.  They’re just so darn cute!

Once I started keeping Baby J two days a week, I lost most of my solo time with Little Lamb.  Every once in a while we get a little time to ourselves.  Her favorite thing to do is go to the mall and get cinnamon sticks or a cinnamon pretzel at the pretzel store.  It always makes the older two quite jealous, but the sweet smiles on her face are worth the trouble!

Her cheeks are still round and ever so kissable!

That’s all I’ve got for tonight.  Easter is up next!

It’s June!!

So much has happened in the last month. I don’t have time to get through it all tonight, but I am pledging to you right now to get back on the blogging wagon. Starting tomorrow, for tonight I am too tired to form complete sentences.

Off to brush my teeth and go to bed, for tomorrow is a new day!