My usually active and spunky little monkey has turned into a wilty, whiney, snot-nosed heap. Poor little girl! We're all hoping this ends soon.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wild Weekend in Washington
D.C., that is. We have precious few relatives near us so when we got an invite for Spencer's cousin's wedding reception in Virgina, we knew we wanted to be there. Unfortunately we didn't manage to take any pictures, but I still wanted to be sure and document our adventures.
Spencer took Friday off so we could have more time to enjoy and we set off around 10 am. That was extremely poor planning on our part since we hit some pretty nasty traffic. Around 1 pm, we entered Delaware and decided to stop for lunch at our favorite burger place, Jakes. We filled up on delicious cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes. While we were sitting there enjoying our meals, one of our old ward members happened to stop in! That was a happy surprise.
Anyone who knows anything about driving on the Capital Beltway knows you do not want to miss your exit! If you do, you are just plain out of luck. We were the unlucky family that did just that and ended up taking a driving tour of downtown D.C. We finally made it to our friends, The Browns in Fairfax around 7 pm. We relaxed, chatted and caught up for the rest of the night.
The next morning, we headed to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. This museum is located at Dulles Airport and houses all sorts of aircraft, space shuttles and missles. There is also an observation tower where you can watch all the planes touchdown and takeoff at Dulles. It was great fun!
After the museum, we headed home to rest for a bit. Later that night, we attended Lauren and Aaron's reception. It was beautiful and we had lots of fun catching up and spending time with relatives.
On Sunday, we left Virginia early in the morning and headed back to Delaware to attend church in our old ward. It was really great to see everyone and we felt so loved! As we were leaving, I said to Spencer, "I felt like a rockstar today!" It's so great to spend time with people who are genuinely thrilled to see you.
Although it did have it's bumps along the way, it was a great weekend and we were definitely glad we made the effort.
Spencer took Friday off so we could have more time to enjoy and we set off around 10 am. That was extremely poor planning on our part since we hit some pretty nasty traffic. Around 1 pm, we entered Delaware and decided to stop for lunch at our favorite burger place, Jakes. We filled up on delicious cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes. While we were sitting there enjoying our meals, one of our old ward members happened to stop in! That was a happy surprise.
Anyone who knows anything about driving on the Capital Beltway knows you do not want to miss your exit! If you do, you are just plain out of luck. We were the unlucky family that did just that and ended up taking a driving tour of downtown D.C. We finally made it to our friends, The Browns in Fairfax around 7 pm. We relaxed, chatted and caught up for the rest of the night.
The next morning, we headed to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. This museum is located at Dulles Airport and houses all sorts of aircraft, space shuttles and missles. There is also an observation tower where you can watch all the planes touchdown and takeoff at Dulles. It was great fun!
After the museum, we headed home to rest for a bit. Later that night, we attended Lauren and Aaron's reception. It was beautiful and we had lots of fun catching up and spending time with relatives.
On Sunday, we left Virginia early in the morning and headed back to Delaware to attend church in our old ward. It was really great to see everyone and we felt so loved! As we were leaving, I said to Spencer, "I felt like a rockstar today!" It's so great to spend time with people who are genuinely thrilled to see you.
Although it did have it's bumps along the way, it was a great weekend and we were definitely glad we made the effort.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday in the Park with Anna
Last Saturday, we took a trip to the city to enjoy some family fun time. We had planned on lunch and a museum but when we got to the train station, we ran into the Reids and they convinced us to go to the park as well.
The lunch stop was at none other than the infamous Shake Shack. We devoured every bit of our cheeseburgers, fries and concretes. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we forgot to take any pictures!
Next we walked down to Central Park for some play time. Ending up at a playground that has fountains and streams to play in is, of course, one of Anna's dreams come true. Since we hadn't planned on the park, we weren't prepared for water. But when you're two, you can get away with splashing around in just your shirt and diaper.
What started out as serene feet wading and water pouring...
turned into all out fountain running!
She was definitely the wettest kid there! Thankfully her shirt was thin enough to dry quickly and our friends brought an extra towel!
After that escapade we walked along the park paths to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where Spencer's ID badge scored us free admission. We happily meandered the floors, looking at beautiful statues, portraits and all other sorts of art. As we walked, we began to wonder just why it was that as a JP Morgan employee, you and a guest get in free. We got our answer shortly thereafter as we entered the James Pierpont Morgan Wing!
We loved taking advantage of just a bit of all New York has to offer. It was a great Saturday!
The lunch stop was at none other than the infamous Shake Shack. We devoured every bit of our cheeseburgers, fries and concretes. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we forgot to take any pictures!
Next we walked down to Central Park for some play time. Ending up at a playground that has fountains and streams to play in is, of course, one of Anna's dreams come true. Since we hadn't planned on the park, we weren't prepared for water. But when you're two, you can get away with splashing around in just your shirt and diaper.
What started out as serene feet wading and water pouring...
After that escapade we walked along the park paths to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where Spencer's ID badge scored us free admission. We happily meandered the floors, looking at beautiful statues, portraits and all other sorts of art. As we walked, we began to wonder just why it was that as a JP Morgan employee, you and a guest get in free. We got our answer shortly thereafter as we entered the James Pierpont Morgan Wing!
We loved taking advantage of just a bit of all New York has to offer. It was a great Saturday!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Washington Wrap-up
On July 25th, we returned from a wonderful 2 week vacation to Washington. We had tons of fun and greatly enjoyed our time spent with family and friends.
We flew in to Seattle on July 11th. Anna spent the next day and a half playing with her cousins. She was particularly enthralled with Alyssa's gymnastics abilities and loved to try and copy her.
After church on Sunday, everyone but Tara and Jon piled into the car and headed to Yakima for the week.
Mom had enrolled Caleb in a drama camp and Alyssa in a gymnastics camp. So they were pretty busy. But once they were done for the day, we packed in lots of fun activities.
Tea Parties:
Kids Castle:
Swimming in the Backyard:
And feeding the ducks:
Even mundane activities like going to Costco were made that much more fun with cousins!
On Friday, Caleb's drama class put on a performance. Caleb got the lead as The King of Hearts in Whole Stole the Tarts. We enjoyed watching their little show.
After the show, we decided to beat the heat with a dip in the pool. My parent's friends have a gorgeous house and pool and let us drop in for a swim. Anna has always been a water bug but she was in heaven floating around and going down the slide all by herself!
Later that night, everyone but Anna went to opening night of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at our community theatre.
We had a great day on Saturday. We started out with a trip to Meadowbrook Fun Center for go karts, bumper boats and batting cages.
After a yummy dinner at Zesta Cucina, we then went to see The Fantastiks at the Akin Center Theatre. While in Yakima, we also had the opportunity to catch us with some old friends. It was a great week.
On Monday, we headed back to Auburn. That evening we had family pictures taken, had a fun barbecue in the park and took a walk.
Tuesday was Caleb's birthday. To celebrate, we went bowling and then out to dinner.
Caleb got Mario Kart for his birthday. Anna desperately wanted to play while he and his friends were so they gave her a disconnected nunchuk. She wiggled the little toggle, truly believing she was driving the car. Hilarious!
On Wednesday, we saw Harry Potter and then had a talent show with lots of fun entertainment.
On Thursday, the adults spent a wonderful night at the Seattle Temple doing sealings and then dinner at PF Changs.
Friday was a marathon day beginning with a tour of Safeco Field. The boys, especially Caleb, were thrilled with the chance to go on the field.
After getting outfitted with new Mariners caps, we then walked down to the waterfront for a delicious lunch at Steamers and a stroll around Pike Place Market. I also had the chance to catch up with my good buddy Ivan.
A few hours later, we headed back down to the field for the Mariners game. The M's had a poor showing and lost badly but it was still a fun time. Also fun was running into our Provo friends the Haffners after the game! They live in Indiana now so it was definitely a surprise.
Saturday was full of lots of packing as we tried to squeeze everything we acquired over the last two weeks into our bags. We succeeded for the most part and made our flight. We had such a wonderful time with family and were very sad to leave them. Hopefully we'll see all of you again soon!
We flew in to Seattle on July 11th. Anna spent the next day and a half playing with her cousins. She was particularly enthralled with Alyssa's gymnastics abilities and loved to try and copy her.
Tea Parties:
We had a great day on Saturday. We started out with a trip to Meadowbrook Fun Center for go karts, bumper boats and batting cages.
On Monday, we headed back to Auburn. That evening we had family pictures taken, had a fun barbecue in the park and took a walk.
Tuesday was Caleb's birthday. To celebrate, we went bowling and then out to dinner.
On Wednesday, we saw Harry Potter and then had a talent show with lots of fun entertainment.
Friday was a marathon day beginning with a tour of Safeco Field. The boys, especially Caleb, were thrilled with the chance to go on the field.
Saturday was full of lots of packing as we tried to squeeze everything we acquired over the last two weeks into our bags. We succeeded for the most part and made our flight. We had such a wonderful time with family and were very sad to leave them. Hopefully we'll see all of you again soon!
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