It’s been almost a year since my last blog post.  I thought I’d do a general recap of the last year and I also plan to add specific blog posts over the next month or two as I try to record the events of the past year.

The last year in three words: busy, happy, stressful.  Andi is adorable (so completely adorable) but she’s really turned our life upside down.  She just turned 18 months and she still wakes up at least twice a night and she is very active during the day.  She requires constant attention and supervision.  Considering I’m running a small business from home and have semi-demanding church responsibilties (primary president) and I’m on the PTA board and I have three other adorable children, well, we stay very busy.  Busy is good.  I’ve told Ben almost daily for the past year, “Better to have a life too full than too empty.”  All of our activities bring us happiness and I can’t seem able to give any one thing up.  I have tried to cut back on photography but I definitely need to cut back more.  It’s hard to keep that from growing too big, for some reason.  It’s so hard for me to turn down work when I know the money is always useful and the work is enjoyable.  One of my goals for this fall is to set better boundaries though.  I think I’m going to try to only schedule sessions for Fridays and Saturdays and keep one entire weekend each month free of photoshoots.

Sadie is beautiful, wonderful, helpful and sweet.  She and Andi seem to be great friends despite the large age gap.  Andi prefers Sadie over any other person other than me.  Truthfully, I think she may even like Sadie more than Ben.  (Sorry Ben)  I’m sure that will change as she gets a little older but Andi doesn’t like men so Ben has that stacked against him, poor guy.  Sadie also loves her brothers, though, there are times she likes to have alone time in her room.

Sadie is a pretty easy kid.  She goes to bed when she’s asked, eats most any foods, doesn’t get nervous/anxious in new situations, loves to do new things and meet new people, and is usually pretty happy.  Ben and I know how lucky we are!

Sadie has been doing horseback riding lessons for the last 6 months and she did a horse camp this summer.  She loved it so much!  It was part of her birthday gift, but I hope to continue it long term if we can swing it.  She also started piano lessons this past summer and she’s doing super!

She’s just barely starting to enter the tween stage and it’s really a shock to me that she’s growing up.  There are times when she’s emotional.  Thankfully, she’s normally a pretty low drama, easy-going, reasonable child.  Hopefully we’ll navigate these next few years of entering the teens without too much tumult.  I’m bound and determined to enjoy my kids during their teens years.  Let’s hope that will be the case.  Thus far I seem to like my kids more and more the older they get!

Jax is doing well.  He loves to play the piano, read, play with legos, and run around outside.  I haven’t been able to convince him to play any organized sports recently but I’m hoping to sign him up for something this fall.

He’s obsessed with growing his hair out recently so we’re just going along with it!

We home-schooled him during the 2nd half of 2nd grade because his teacher wasn’t the greatest.  He’s always disliked school and he feels a lot of sadness, nervousness, and anxiety when he’s there.  He seemed so stressed and unhappy and anxious this past December that I finally decided we needed to take a break and hit the reset button.  He loved being home-schooled and I loved it too!  It was really nice having him home with Andi and me.  He was both helpful and entertaining. We definitely didn’t do as much school work as we probably ought to.  If I hadn’t of had a small baby I think we could have done a lot more but I was often occupied with Andi or catching up on work responsibilities so he spent a lot of time reading independently.  He loves to read and the books were great so it wasn’t a waste of time but I could have done better and I think he’d probably get a more well rounded education in a traditional school setting so he’ll be starting 3rd grade back at his school in a week and I’m praying this year goes better for him!

McKay did great with Kindergarten and it’s sad for me to see him growing up.  He still feels like my baby and I’m often surprised when I check on him at night and see how long he is in his bed.  He doesn’t seem to mind that Andi has replaced him as the baby.  He’s more cautious with helping to take care of her, but he loves to play with her and make her laugh.  He calls himself her “fun connection” or something like that.

He is quiet and shy, yet, he makes friends easily and seems to be a leader in his class.  I still can’t convince him to get up in primary to say a prayer or give a talk but he’s outgoing in other ways so I don’t push him.  He’s so sweet and soft-spoken.  I love to hear his little voice – so full of sweet happiness.

He has a great sense of humor and keeps the whole family laughing with his one-liners.  We all thing he’s pretty hilarious!

He loves transformers, legos, remote control things, and outdoor play.  He’s learning to swim this summer and it’s so great to see him finally overcoming his fear of getting his face wet!

Lastly, we have Baby Andi!

Most people remark that Andi is small, smart, and busy. That’s pretty accurate.  She keeps life interesting and exciting!  She’s quite verbal (just starting to put 3 and 4 words together) and it’s so fun to hear her thoughts.  Her voice is so girly and cute and the whole family hangs on her every word.  She especially loves playing hide and seek with things, “Where’d it go?” she’ll ask us.  She loves being quizzed on locating her body parts.  She loves turtles (and we love the way she says turtle!) and horses.  We love the way she makes the horsie sound and if you ask her what sound any animals makes she always makes the horse sound (actually she’s now makes the dog and cow sounds and it’s a little sad that she’s no longer say ‘neigh’ for every animal she spots).  She’s a little too impatient for books but she loves music.  Her favorite songs are Let It Go and the songs from Moana and she tries her hardest to sing along. She’s always on the go and is busy, busy, busy.  She’s very small weighing only 17 lbs. at 18 months.  Many strangers still stop to say, “I can’t believe she’s walking! How old is she?” When I tell her she’s 18 months they are often taken back.

She reminds of us Gramma Meyers in alot of ways.  She has Gramma’s active energy and matter-of-fact attitude. She also hated water for the first 14 months of her life, just like gramma.  Her favorite place to be is outdoors, just like Gramma, and we often took several walks a day to calm her down during her first few colicky months of life.  She is head strong and determined which are hard traits in a toddler but a blessing in the long run, probably.

Andi hates food and most of what we give her ends up thrown on the floor.  Her favorite foods are sunflower seeds, hot dogs, popcorn, fruit snacks, and nutella. Sometimes I can get her to eat tortilla chips, strawberries, grapes, pasta, hamburger, veggie straws, cereal, and yogurt.  She never liked eating food off a spoon but she’s enjoying using a fork to feed herself lately.  She has a major sweet tooth and will eat most any sweet desserts you put in front of her.  Not the healthiest of diets but we’re trying to be patient and encourage her to be more adventerous with food.  It’s slow going. Despite the lack of fruits and vegetables she seems to be a super healthy child!  She’s only had 4 colds in her 18 months of life.  We’ve traveled to Alabama, Canada, Italy and Utah in the last two months and she hasn’t picked up a single illness.  We’re so grateful!

I’m still figuring out her personality.  She’s girly and yet seems like a tomboy to me?!?!  I don’t know what she’ll like.  She absolutely loves babies and lights up any time she sees a child under 6 years of age and calls them a “baby”.  She also loves makeup and insists on putting some on if she sees me getting ready in the morning.  “Makeup” was actually one of the first words she learned 

Ben is doing great!  He probably would like for us to have a slower pace in life but he keeps up with our active schedule and many activities.  He has an interesting winter/early spring where he interviewed for a few jobs and accepted one.  After he submitted his two weeks notice at his current position there was some negotiating and he ended up staying with his same company.  It was a drawn out process and we both felt a lot of stress throughout but he seems happy with the results and I’m happy to see him happy.  He’s a great, patient dad and the kids and I love him so much!

Andi is crazy!

Our little peanut created a bit of upheaval in our normally organized and productive lives.  We knew the first 6 months were going to be hard.  They were.  We knew we’d survive.  We did!

We had a small 6 month celebration with the family on Andi’s half birthday which fell on a Sunday.  We made her a little cake which she unexpectedly grabbed while we were singing to her.  She wasn’t happy when we put a quick end to her exploration. I think she’s be thrilled to demolish her first birthday cake!

Looking back here are a few little items about Andi during her first 6 months…..

Andi was our hardest newborn.  She was also our smallest.  Alicia thinks her small size caused her fussiness – her intestines weren’t large enough to digest the larger proteins yet? We did everything we knew to do to help ease her discomfort – chiropractic adjustments, medicines, sleeping at an upright angle, lots of burbing, small feedings, and dietary restrictions for Alicia.  It helped but those first few months were pretty looonnngggg and exhausting.

Andi was a pretty chatty newborn.  Lots of cute sounds and expressions!

Andi started smiling early.  I think she was 5 1/2 weeks.  Those early smiles gave us so much hope and happiness that happier times were ahead.

Andi was not the best day-time sleeper, but maybe our best night-time sleeper.  Early on she was up a lot at night, but quickly got into a routine of only about 2, maybe 3, night feedings.  There were a few nights she slept clear through the night – 9pm to 6am!  Because of her small size Alicia started waking her up at night to feed her, though.  Also, Andi’s routine was interrupted during our trips to Utah and DC and we’ve never been able to get her to sleep those long stretches again.  One day. In the day time, the only way we could get her to sleep was in the mobi wrap.  The mobi wrap naps eventually evolved into stroller naps.  We’d take her for a walk in the stroller and she’d relax and fall asleep.

Andi hated bath time.  She didn’t like the water and would cry and cry.  Needless to say, bath time was always very quick.  She’s changed recently, and now loves bath time.  She likes to splash the water.

Andi’s first word was “Mama.”  It came out very clearly when she was crying.  When life isn’t quite right for her, there is no one in this world that can calm her like her mama.

Andi loves to nurse, and has been great at nursing from the beginning.  But she has not transitioned easily to baby food.  She’ll take a bottle when she’s really hungry, such as when Alicia is on a long photo-shoot.  She would take a few bites of baby food when offered to her, but after about two bites, she preferred just playing with the food rather than actually eating it.

Andi had a lot of hair when she was first born, and it was very dark.  Over time it seems her hair has thinned out and lightened in color.  People often say she looks like Ben.  Ben’s response is “it’s because she is bald and chubby.”

Andi loves to be held!  Her favorite spot is in Alicia’s arms. Her second favorite spot is in Ben’s arms.  She likes to face outward so she can see the world.

Andi is always looking around and has a very inquisitive personality.  She’s not what I would call a laid-back personality.  She’s on high alert most of the time.

Andi loves to pull hair or squeeze the skin on a person’s face.  Ouch!

Our lives got interrupted a few weeks ago by Hurricane Irma.  It created quite the excitement in Florida.  I’ve never seen anything quite like it really.  The nervousness in the air was palpable for the whole week leading up to landfall.  The grocery stores ran out of some foods and the gas stations were mostly empty.  People were going a little crazy.  I had a feeling from the first time I heard about it that it was going to be bad news.  At first they were predicting an east coast landfall, similar to Hurricane Andrew.  So we made necessary preparations – food, generator, oil lamp, flashlights, boarded up the house, removed stuff from the yard, etc.

However, the track kept pushing further west as the storm approached Florida.  Our plan was to stay home if it was a Cat 1 or 2 but on Saturday morning, the day before landfall, they were predicting a Cat 3 or 4 coming straight into Tampa Bay.  So, we made the necessary preparations and evacuated.  It was our first evacuation in all my years of being a Floridian.  I left with quite a bit of sadness.  Ben insisted we had to leave.  I felt things would change and figured we’d end up with a Cat 1 over our house, which is exactly what happened.  I really hate road trips and I wanted to be at our home to take care of clean-up as soon as the storm ended. But we didn’t feel like we should risk it in case it did ended up being a stronger storm.  The kids probably would have been scared.  Hurricane winds sounds like a loud freight train going by outside.  Also, we expected to lose power and didn’t think Andi could be in the heat too long without A/C. If it was just Ben and I, we would have certainly just hunkered down and experienced our first hurricane together.

Ben had to work until Friday and I had a wedding to photograph on Saturday (crazy, I know!?!) so we left late on Saturday night, September 9th, and drove through the night.  We had a number of concerns about this plan.  The news and social media were making it clear that the roads were packed full of cars, trucks and RV’s evacuating from all over the state of Florida.  Some were predicting it was too late to leave, that you would get stuck somewhere and have to find a shelter to weather the storm – absolutely NOT what we wanted.  The other issue was gas.  Even in Tampa, gas was hard to find by afternoon, so how would it be along the evacuation route?  We had concerns of going from gas station to gas station, having to wait in long lines, dealing with rationing. or maybe being stuck on the freeway running out of gas.

Well, all our concerns turned out to be for not.  I guess by the time we left, we were among only the very few who were crazy enough to leave when we did.  We felt we had a safe enough window – we would have had to have had a 15 hour delay and goggle was telling us the road were clear.  So we went for it.  There were very few cars on the road, maybe just as many leaving Florida as were coming into the state on the other side of the freeway. No slow-downs at all, other than the policeman who pulled Ben over concerned he was drunk (not the first time Ben has been pulled over for drunk driving).  He may have been a little distracted listening to the end of the BYU/UofU football game, and the connection going in and out going from cell tower to cell tower.  When we pulled off the highway after Tallahassee for gas, the first station we entered had no lines and plenty of gas.  We refueled and were back on the road in no time.

We arrived in Alabama at 5:30am.  We had a great time visiting Wendy and her family for two days! They have a large, private upstairs playroom and bathroom and we all camped out together.  We visited the park, went to Payne’s place of employment – an indoor bounce house, and ate a scrumptious meal at Aunt Judy and Uncle Ken’s home.  It was a fun 48 hours and it was so nice to have the emotional anticipation and concern relieved.

The worst of the storm arrived Sunday night in Tampa.  The eye of the storm was literally over our house.  We figured we would lose all the food in our fridge and freezer (a few hundred dollars), I expected our pool screen to get torn, and maybe a few trees would be down.  Our neighbors were great to text us Monday morning with updates.  They said we had a few big branches down and our house light fixture was hanging off the house – that’s it! We never lost power (yeah for keeping all that frozen meat!), the pool screen was fine, and there was no flooding.  We were so relieved!  We packed up and headed home Monday night.  Drove through the night again (and through a Tropical Storm Irma) to get back to our happy home.  Two all-nighters in 4 days was tough but the kids slept the whole way so it was worth it.  We were some of the last people to evacuate and some of the first to return so the roads were still empty.   We had about a 8 hour drive.  I know lots of people whose drives lasted 18 – 22 hours along the same or similar routes.  The news said it was the largest evacuation in American History.  Half of Florida left it seemed like.  So the drives could have been much worse and I’m grateful things went smoothly.

The blue line (above) shows the projected path of the storm at one point was only about a mile from our house, and directly over our church building.

We were so, so, so, so happy to get back home!  When I shut off the kitchen lights and walked out the front door I remember wondering when we’d have a normal meal around the kitchen table again.  So I was so thrilled to be back in our home just 2 days later with power, internet, and safety!!!  We went out for celebratory frozen yogurt the evening we got home.  Many shops and stores were still closed but we were lucky enough to find one open!

There were lots and lots of trees down around the area and almost everyone we know lost power for some amount of time.  Many Pinellas county residents were without power for days.  We’re feeling pretty good about the location of our home.  Maybe the jungle in the backyard helped to block a lot of the wind and Heaven was just watching over us?  We didn’t see any trees down in our neighborhood and we’re one of the few areas that didn’t lose power.    My parents and Joe and Julie were without power for days.  I went and cleaned out their fridges and freezers so it wouldn’t be stinky when they arrived home.  Ben went down to Naples to help with clean-up last week and there are still so many people who don’t have power or who can’t return home because of damage.  So sad!  We feel so grateful that we were so blessed and protected!  And we’ve been eager to help those who were less fortunate.

Ben choose Olive Garden for dinner.  We hadn’t been there in years.  Andi was a little tired and fussy so I left early with her.  We had ice cream sundaes back at home, and the kids presented him with homemade cards.

That’s about it.  Not much to report but I still wanted to jot it down so we’ll remember it one day!

Love you Ben!

We had McKay’s birthday celebrations on 8/2.  McKay’s 6th Birthday blog post has tons of pictures and details.

On the morning of 8/3 I met my BFF from high school for breakfast.  We had fun catching up and laughing about times gone by.

Then we drove up to Alpine, Wyoming for Ben’s Johnson Family reunion.  It’s a place where 120 of the nicest, happiest people on the planet sit around and laugh and visit for a few days.

On Saturday afternoon we drove to Idaho Falls to visit Grandpa Clint’s resting place and for the Fish Fry on the Johnson Family Farm.  Visiting the grave was one of the highlights of the trip for us.  The kids could really feel something and were very calm and sweet.  It was a special stop.

McKay lost his first tooth by natural causes while we were on the farm.  Now he’s missing three teeth on his left side.  He’s still cute, though!

Sunday we spent at church and had supper with all of Ben’s siblings and Mom.  The kids loved the cousin time!

On Monday we went to Provo Rec Center and swam with Grandma Cliffie, Lane’s family, Bret’s family, Des and boys, Christy and girls, and Troy and kids.  Lots of fun!  Sadie was brave and adventerous.  Jax and McKay were not.  Very typical.  One of these  years those boys will get in touch with their wild sides, I just know it.

After swimming we stopped by the Creamery for an ice cream cone and walked through the Bean Museum.

After returning from Provo we packed up again and Troy was kind enough to take us up to Wasatch Stake Park (maybe that’s the name?) for some stocked pond fishing for the kids.  Ben was worn out so he stayed home with Grandma Cliffie and Andi.  The kids had a great time and we caught three fish.  I always feel sad for the fish and guilty about catching them for recreational purposes yet I have fun at the same time.  Complex feelings about fishing.

We woke up super early on Tuesday and caught an 8:20am flight home to Florida.  Farewell Utah.  See you next year!

His birthday happened to fall on the first day of Ben’s Alpine Family Reunion this year, so we celebrated him a day early which also happened to be Lucy’s 3rd Birthday.  We arrived into Utah late on August 1st and Christy picked us up from the airport and we went to the Haggard Home.

On the morning of August 2nd he woke up to a cutely decorated house, cousins to play with, and a few presents to open.  He requested that I keep his birthday plans a surprise.  So, all throughout the day we had surprise destinations planned, delicious meals, and a present for him to open after each activity.  He loves a good surprise!

We started the morning with Kolachi’s, a Czech pastry.  I thought they were delicious!!!  He took a few bites and then asked if he could have a bowl of cereal  Fine by me.

After breakfast we quickly got ready and headed up to Sundance Stables for a short little horse back riding session for each kid.  Children under 8 can’t ride unsupervised so the employee at the stables took each of the kids on a 15 minute walk through the forests.  It was beautiful and the kids had a fun time.  Poor Jax got a little carsick and lost his breakfast, but everything else went smoothly!

After horseback riding and a present we went to Sundance to ride the lift up to the top of the mountain.  We had planned to hike to Stewart Falls but the 3 mile hike sounded a little too exhausting so we skipped it.  We loved the peaceful ride up the mountain.  Sweet Andi nursed and slept the whole ride up. I loved holding her sleeping little body and taking in all the mountain beauty!

We ate lunch at Bearclaw Cabin at the top of the mountain.  Beautiful scenery in all directions!

After the lift and another present we headed to Blickenstaff Toy Store where we let McKay pick out a toy.  They kids enjoyed wandering and exploring; it’s a very interactive and interesting store.

Next we picked up Maddy and went to Scales and Tails – a warehouse of reptiles in West Jordan.  I think this was the highlight of the day for the kids.  It was so hands on – the kids could hold and pet any non dangerous animal that they wanted!  An employee stayed with us for at least an hour and a half showing us animals, teaching us about the animals, making funny jokes about the animals, and letting the kids pet and hold the animals.

After that….another present!  Then we grabbed Thai take out and ate McKay’s favorite meal, Panang, at Christy and Matt’s house.  Cliffie and Natalie joined us.  We ended the day at the fire pit two blocks away from the Haggard Home with fire building, smores, and the final presents.

I think he had a fun, surprise-filled, exciting birthday!

You never know how many birthdays you’ll be blessed with in this life so I think it’s important to make each one really special

I love that little boy!

Parade with Grampie.

Old Ebbitt Grill for for a late lunch/early dinner.

Fireworks with Kimmy.

A little history about, “Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington’s oldest saloon, was founded in 1856 and boarding guests read like a Who’s Who of American History. President McKinley is said to have lived there during his tenure in Congress, and Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and Warren Harding supposedly refreshed themselves at its stand-around bar.”

I loved it all!  It was crowded but not nearly as bad as I expected.  Our hotel was two blocks from everything and it was so convenient being so close. I left the parade early so Andi could cool down, nurse, and nap.  It was a 5 minute walk. Fantastic!

We woke up early the next morning to see “the big Lincoln” as the kids call the Lincoln Memorial. It was so peaceful and quiet at sunrise. It was hard to get up early but I’m so happy we went. It’s my favorite spot in DC and I always feel a deep sense of gratitude and respect and patriotism when I’m in that space.

We grabbed donuts, checked out of the hotel and left on a 9am flight back to Tampa.

It was a busy, fun, tiring, meaningful, patriotic 4th of July trip!

She lives in Long Islands with her husband and five kids (!!!!!!  WOW !!!!!!) but she met us in Philadelphia with her two oldest.  We had a great time chatting, laughing, and see the sights – liberty bell, home where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and Independence Hall.  There was an fun scavenger hunt going on for the 4th of July and that made things a little extra exciting.

We ate lunch at Reading Terminal Market – a large indoor market with, “Everything you need to create a memorable meal, from cookbooks, to table linens, to kitchen ware, to fresh cut flowers, and more.” It was crazy crowded, hot, and loud.  I circled with Sadie, McKay, and Andi in the stroller for 15 minutes trying to find a seat. We finally found a situation where two chairs were available and one was across.  So we sat there with an old man next to us and I nursed Andi.  It was awkward but one of those experiences that builds character and is fun to laugh about later but not really in the moment.  This what what the kids thought of Reading Terminal Market….

A few of the sites….

George Washington used this chair for nearly three months of the Federal Convention’s continuous sessions. James Madison reported Benjamin Franklin saying, “I have often looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now I… know that it is a rising…sun.”  I’d heard that story several times so it was really exciting to see in person!

Oh the rain, it poured on us after we left Independence Hall.  We ran two blocks in heavy rain and laughed so hard we almost wet our pants! I was uninvited but decided to hop under an umbrella of a very nice Indian couple while we were waiting for a light to change.  They thought I was crazy but once they saw I had a baby they didn’t mind me standing so close.

We stopped by the new temple after our goodbye’s and arrived home late and tired but happy!

The next day was Sunday.  We enjoyed church, and then a fun evening visiting with friends and family.  Bret and Shannon, coincidentally, live in the same ward as Steve and Dorthy Grenhalgh who are good family friends.  Steve is the missionary who taught and baptized my dad.  They’ve remained close and we would visited them when we were kids and they in turn visited us in Florida.  Dorthy was a stenographer for George Bush and gave us a behind the scenes tour of the White House when we were kids.  She’ll always be a famous person in my mind because of those childhood memories. Ben’s Uncle Glen and Aunt Kim happen to also know the Greenhalgh’s so they came for a visit with cousin Clint, too.  They’re all really wonderful personalities and we had a great evening!

Kimmy and my dad spent the night at Bret and Shannon’s on Sunday.  On Monday they helped us pack but we kept getting distracted playing foosball. Jax and Ben beat Kimmy, my dad, and me a few times.  Jax was thrilled!

Once we were finally got our chores done we went to a nearby waterpark with Bret and Shannon’s family.  The kids loved it and I think they say this was the best part of the trip for them

That afternoon we headed into DC and checked into our hotel. We stayed in the historic Willard Hotel. Lincoln lived there for a time (along with two other sitting presidents), MLK stayed there and wrote his I Have A Dream speech there, and Julia Ward Howe wrote the lyrics to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” while staying at the hotel. Other noteworthy guests include Mark Twain, Harry Houdini, Emily Dickinson, Charles Dickens, and the Duke of Windsor. Also, part of Minority Report was filmed there. So much history!

We all (Kimmy, Dad, Bret, Shannon, and kids) went to dinner at Matchbox and then headed over to Capitol Hill to listen to the dress rehearsal performance of A Capitol Fourth. We arrived a little late so we only heard the second half and the seats weren’t great but we had a great time nonetheless!

We said our Farewells and Thank You’s to Bret and Shannon and family and walked our very lonnnnggggg walk back to the hotel.  The kids were tired and wanted to join the homeless people and sleep on the side of the road but we convinced them to carry on and we finally arrived back to the hotel around 11 and quickly went to bed.

We arrived on Wednesday, June 28th.  My dad, coincidentally, traveled up on our same plane.  We knew we going up around the same time but didn’t realize it was the same flight.  It was fun to have his help and company.

Bret, Derek, Tyler, Katelyn, and Kimmy all met us at the airport and we went out to dinner at Matchbox.

After dinner Bret offered to take Sadie and Jax back to his home while the rest of us quickly checked out Kimmy’s nearby apartment, which was surprisingly nice and fancy.  We brided McKay with ice cream to stay with us since there wasn’t room in Uncle Bret’s car for him.  He was happy to oblige and I was happy to get ice cream.  I’ve slowly started reintroducing dairy and Andi hasn’t shown any fussiness.  This was my first time having real ice cream in 5 months.

On Thursday, June 29th, the kids played around the house for a while and then we went paddle boating in DC at the Tidal Basin.  It was hot but lots of fun!

Bret and Shannon and family headed home afterwards and we walked the loop to the Jefferson, Roosevelt, and MLK memorials.  I loved it all!  The kids enjoyed the first half but got hot and tired about half way around.  I wish we could have gone slower and enjoyed all the history and quotes but we rushed through the second half for their sakes.  Andi was a champ and after nursing at the Jefferson she slept the rest of the time!

We stopped at Sister Thai Cafe for dinner and it was a big hit!  The one food we all love and agree on is Thai.  It’s McKay’s absolute favorite and he really ate loads on this night.

We ended the day with a dip in Bret and Shannon’s community’s pool.  Very refreshing for the kids after a long, hot day!

Friday, June 30th, we visited the Natural History Museum with my dad, Bret, Shannon, and family in the morning.  The kids enjoyed it, I think?  They asked a few times if we could go back to “Derek and Tyler’s House” and play.  That was probably the highlight of the trip for them – time playing with cousins.  

After the Museum we visited Kimmy at her Nike Georogetown store and then got Georgetown Cupcakes.  That was a very long wait but they were quite tasty!

I love Georgetown!  One of my favorite spots.  I find it all inspiring and everywhere I look I feel the need to take a picture – doors, beautiful homes, vines, foliage, architecture, brick roads, inviting paths, and so much history.  I love it!  Unfortunately I didn’t have my big camera (perhaps a blessing because I would have been so distracted) until we got back to the car so I only got a few quick pictures of my only willing participant, Sadie.  Good ‘ole Sadie!  So sweet to indulge me.  I didn’t have the right lenses and I was rushed so I didn’t get anything memorable but I’ll go back one day.

We celebrated Jax’s birthday with the family on Monday, June 19th.  We were planning to meet at a small waterpark in the area but it was storming outside.  Plan B – meet at the church and play fun games in the gym!

We gave Jax a bunch of options for games and he choose to play

• Hot Potato Baby Food – pass a jar of baby food around a circle and whoever is hold the jar when the music stops has to take a bite.
• Name Game – a sheet separates two teams and each team puts forward a team member.  When the sheet drops the winner is whoever can say the other’s person’s name first.  It was funny.
• Poison Stump –  hold hands and try to push your neighbor into a center “stump” without touching it yourself.  Whoever touches it has to leave the circle.
• Hide The Coin – basically hot and cold game with a coin.

Very funny.

The kids also wanted to do a show/talent show up on the stage so they entertained the adults a bit, too.