The Dahlem Dish

St Patrick's Day Snow

2014-03-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well, one day after 70 degrees, we got a big snow! On St Patrick's Day of all days. We had about 8" at our house. The best part was we went sledding for the first time! We first tested Avery on the sled in our little slope backyard:

Then found a good big hill nearby and went flying down in the fresh powder!!!

Meanwhile Colleen and Avery enjoyed lounging in the kiddie pool!

Within 2 days it had all melted again and we went right back up into the 70s! This has been a bi-polar winter for sure!

Virginia Beach

2014-03-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

We went to Virginia Beach on St. Patrick's Day weekend for Colleen to run in the Shamrock Half Marathon. We drove down Friday after work and Avery of course loved being in a hotel (that's always the best part of each trip for her!). On Saturday we went to the race expo where Avery got to be the GEICO gecko.

She also found a big pot of gold!

Later we went to the beach.

Avery ran around in her undies and made lots of friends, too cute!

Look what I made mommy and daddy!

Daddy and Avery footprints:

On Sunday morning Avery got her sign ready and watched for momma on the course:

Colleen came by in a blur!

Afterwards we enjoyed beer in the tent, and you know Colleen is fast when the beer tent is still empty when she gets there!

The tent was on the beach, and Avery played on the sand and danced around to the band playing, the Dublin Five. (A great band from Maryland we've heard at other post-race events!)

We headed back into a great big snow storm, the weather in the mid-Atlantic went from 70F to snow in 12 hours! We got home just as the snow started accumulating!

Date night!

2014-02-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

Jim gave Colleen a second Valentine's present, a date night all planned out! He arranged the sitter, dinner reservations, and tickets to the theater! We ate at Point of View that overlooks the White House from a rooftop, and enjoyed a glass of champagne

We then saw American Idiot at the National Theater

It was a fun time!

Florida Trip

2014-02-19T20:05:00.000-08:00

Jim surprised Colleen and Avery with a Valentine's Day present: A trip to Clearwater Beach Florida (near Tampa)! He arranged the flights and ride to the airport for them to fly out Saturday from DC to Tampa, while Jim would fly from his marathon in Myrtle Beach to Tampa and arrive Saturday early afternoon.

After meeting up at the airport we went straight to our favorite place near the airport in Tampa, called Whiskey Joes which is right on the bay. They have outdoor seating under cabanas right on the sand. Jim was eating a heart-shaped Rice Krispy Treat that Avery and Colleen made for him in DC and flew it down to Tampa. (He was still wearing his race medal on him too!)

We enjoyed a nice beer too

We stayed out the same place we've stayed before in Clearwater Beach, a place called the Beachview Inn, which is right on the beach as the name says! It's nothing fancy but it's about half the price of the chain hotels that surround it, so it's a great bargain, and it's really not bad.

One of the greatest parts about the beach there is that the sand is pure white fine sand, almost like sugar or flour! It is the best sand of any beach we've been too. Plus since it's on the Gulf, the waves are nearly minimal and the beach goes out very gradually so a kid can play around in the water with no worries of big waves or deep water.

They also have cabanas at that beach that you can rent for $20 for the day. And they come with beach chair / recliners. So you don't have to worry about bringing a beach umbrella and beach chairs!

While we were there we went on a dolphin watching tour and tour of the bay on a boat that is a shark!

Avery loved it! We saw dolphins up close in the Gulf, and in the Bay they showed us all the celebrity houses that line the bay, which was actually pretty interesting too.

Avery and momma did some yoga poses one day

And Colleen did a 10-mile run down the beach and on the roads and bridges that cross the bay.

Colleen also did some exercises like walking lunges with Avery following along!

We ate dinner twice at a place called Jimmy's Fish House and Iguana Bar just 3 or 4 hotels down from ours. They have beachfront dining with delicious food, a kid-friendly atmosphere, and a great countdown and celebration as the sun sets over the gulf each night!

They have a countdown clock on the wall:

And a live musician playing who then counts down like New Year the last 10 or 15 seconds and everybody cheers as the sun dips below the water!

They also have very good Pina Coladas! They have a huge pineapple slice, plus they line the glass with shaved coconut stuck on with honey! Yumm!

And remember our snowman pics from a few days ago? Well we made a "sandman"! Look at the two next to each other, what a fun few days to do both!

Avery had a blast and made a great friend one day, a girl from Iowa named Nora! They played all day together:

One day we went to Sand Key Park, about a mile away across a channel to another part of the Gulf. However the sand was really "shelly" there, as you can see in the photo:

(but oh isn't Avery cute??) It wasn't easy to build sand castles and actually kind of hurt your feet to walk on. We recommend not paying the day fee there and just go the good old free beach at Clearwater Beach!

Once we asked Avery what kind of sand castle to build and she said "Ummm, how about a ice hockey stadium??" So, here you go!

We flew back late Tuesday night and had a great time!

Jim's marathon

2014-02-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

Jim flew down to Myrtle Beach to run the marathon there to try and increase his chances of making the Boston Marathon (he qualified in October by running the Marine Corps Marathon in DC but qualification doesn't guarantee entry and they only take the fastest runners if the number of people who registers exceeds the race capacity). He finished in a 3:02:13! That is almost 8 minutes faster than his qualification time and should nearly guarantee his chance to get accepted into the race. He started the race at 630am, finished at 932am, and was showered and at the gate by 1045am for a flight to Florida to meet Colleen and Avery!

Big snow storm!

2014-02-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

After forecasting a big snowstorm, we got an even bigger snowstorm! It snowed 13.5" at our house! Take a look at Jim's car buried in the snow:

Avery liked walking around in it with her momma:

We made a whole family of snowmen/women/kid--notice the mom had running gear like a running hat, water bottle, and energy gel? :)

Luckily it was warm enough to start melting and Jim could catch his flight to Myrtle Beach the next day to run his marathon!

And Colleen showed off her great wife skills by shoveling the driveway so Jim wouldn't have to just two days before the marathon!

Playground pics!

2014-01-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Just a few fun playground pics from this winter, we thought it was worth sharing...and saving for looking back on in the future

Jump!!!

Here is Avery and her daddy riding down the yellow tube slide together!

New Year's Eve

2013-12-31T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today we first went downtown to the Yards Park (on the Waterfront next to Jim's work). They had a kid's party. We watched a band play under the tent while waiting for the balloon drop at noon:

"Happy Noon Year!"

Avery then got to go into one of the coolest bounce houses, into the shark's mouth:

We then ate lunch at a new brew pub by Jim's work called BlueJacket Brewery

They have real high quality food (the kid's noodles are house-made pasta noodles, the warm pretzels had hand-made mustard, the Cesar Salad had real anchovies, etc) and the beer was very good too! They had tasters for $2 or full glasses for $6, all made in-house and in a restored old big warehouse.

Then we walked around Georgetown and did some deal shopping at the stores, before heading to a family yoga party at a yoga studio called Lil Ohm Yoga Studio in DC.

First was the yoga:

Followed by a pizza party and 6pm countdown and celebration.

Then we headed home, put Avery to bed, and enjoyed watching the New Year's celebration on TV with champagne in front of the fireplace! Happy New Year!

St Louis Visit

2013-12-30T19:08:00.000-08:00

We went for a quick visit to St Louis to visit friends and family on the weekend between Christmas and New Year's. We landed in St. Louis on Friday night and headed to Jim's mom's house. On Saturday we woke up and headed to Einstein Bagels in Webster Groves

We then headed downtown to the Arch. After buying tickets, we went for a run around the area:

While we were running, Grandma and Grandpa watched Avery and cousin Emily:

Then it was finally time to go up in the little pods and up into the Arch.

At the top Avery loved the view down, even if it was a little creepy laying down and looking out the windows!

After we came back down we took a few more pictures by the Arch:

Then on Saturday evening the cousins had a pajama party at Aunt Julie's house (Jim's sister). The girls had so much fun playing together! First they played dress up:

Avery especially loved dressing up as a doctor

And dressing up in other outfits and practicing other professions as well. Olivia showed her all the options in her play room!

They played for hours. We had originally planned a movie night pajama party but they just kept playing and didn't want to stop for a movie:

On Sunday Avery (and us) went to see Great Grandma Shirley (Jim's Stepdad Ted's Mom)

And then went to see Great Grandma Dahlem (Jim's paternal Grandma). Avery loved putting on the animal masks with her!

And she loved putting on flapper headwear :)

Then we were off to eat at Pi Pizzeria in Kirkwood (It was the first time Colleen had real authentic deep dish Chicago-Style pizza) and Avery got to visit with Great Grandma Harper (Jim's maternal Grandma). After that we came back to Jim's mom's house in Fenton and opened presents for a late Christmas.

On Monday morning we woke up very early, headed to the airport, and flew home from a very busy two day trip to St Louis! Avery was excited to pick up Kylie from dog camp, and it seemed the feeling was mutual as they snuggled up in the back seat together on the drive home:

Apple Picking

2013-09-22T06:32:00.001-07:00

We went to our favorite pick your own farm, Lariland Farm, to pick some apples yesterday. (Lariland uses integrated pest management instead of pesticides!). Avery enjoyed picking the Empire and Magnolia Gold.

The Red Delicious weren't as flavorful though. Those three were available now but throughout the fall there will be 12 more varieties ripening so we will be back a few times!

They also have so many other fruits and vegetables to pick! In the summer we picked blueberries, raspberries, and beets. Well yesterday we picked spinach and Swiss chard!

We also picked more raspberries (we never thought raspberries and blackberries would still be available this late in the season!).

Next week broccoli and more become available too.

Lariland starts their fall festival next week too. They were constructing the hay maze, characters to see on wagon ride through the forest, and more. They also were setting up "spooky" things around the farm!

We can't wait to come back to pick more vegetables, apples, pumpkins, wagon rides, and enjoy the fall fun there!

Track Meet

2013-08-11T09:01:00.003-07:00

Since we are part of the Montgomery County Road Runner's Club (And for $40 a year we get a family membership which means all their races from 1 milers to half marathons are free!). Last night was the Going Green Track Meet, a unique race that was like being at a high school track meet again. There was a kid's run (1/4 and 1/2 miles), a 2-mile race, a 1-mile race, and a 4x400m. Avery is part of our family membership so she ran in the 1/4 mile kids run. Here she is line up waiting to start:

One last stretch before running:

And they're off!

Here she is struggling to reach the finish line:

And crossing the timing mat!

Enjoying a much needed drink after the race to re-hydrate:

And yes, she was proud!

Later, Colleen ran in the 2-miler. Her good friend Anna from high school ran track with her back in NH, and now lives in DC. It was like old times again!

Here is Colleen passing a guy in her heat:

She finished 3rd overall in her age group!

Berry Picking

2013-07-08T16:16:00.001-07:00

Lately we've been going to Larriland Farm to pick our own fruit and veggies. It is in Woodbine MD about 45 minutes from our house. They use integrated pest management instead of pesticides. Essentially it is organic farming but they haven't gone through the formal certification process. We've picked blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and beets there! Soon they will have blackberries and later apples. They also do fall hay rides and a pumpkin patch. Earlier in the year they had sweet cherries but we missed out on those.

Here is Avery helping out picking berries, she LOVES doing it!

This carton of raspberries is so heavy!!!

Pirate Ship!!!

2013-07-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of an Amazon Local deal to take Avery on a pirate ship adventure here in DC. It's called Boomerang Pirate Ship and leaves from the Georgetown Waterfront.

Once on the boat they teach everyone how to "talk like a pirate", and do face painting and temporary tattoos for all the kids. It sails up and down the Potomac past all the monuments too.

Then all the kids have to keep an eye out for "Dangerous Doug" who stole the keys to the treasure chest. When he shows up they all spray him with the water cannons!

Eventually he gives up and hands the keys back so all the kids can get items from the treasure chest.

They also have some adult cruises at night and they have a cash bar for all the cruises! Here are a few more pictures from our trip:

YARRRRRR!!!!!

Afterwards we took advantage of the spray ground at the Georgetown waterfront since it was a blazing hot day!

4th of July

2013-07-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

For Fourth of July we started the day by taking part in the Montgomery Village 5k Race. Here is Jim before the start:

Colleen and Avery cheered on

since we couldn't find a sitter to watch Avery and allow Colleen to run it. Jim got 5th place overall, and man was it a hot race!!!!

Then we went to Harper's Ferry about an hour away from us in the beginning of the Appalachian Mountains. The Potomac there is wide and shallow with lots of places to play in the water.

We had a picnic, sat in our camping chairs, and played in the river

Then we ate dinner in Frederick MD on our way home and stayed for their fireworks show (small!) over the canal at their downtown park.

Avery's first dentist visit

2013-06-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

Avery had her first dentist appointment! She loves how they have a big play area in the waiting room.

She was very brave and sat in the dentist chair and let the dentist do her thing with no problem!

She has great clean teeth and no cavities, all her good brushing each day pays off!

OBX Beach Week

2013-06-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Grandma Woods flew in from New Hampshire and joined us as we spent a whole week down in the Outer Banks of North Carolina at a beach condo.

We packed up the CRV with all our beach gear, and found a way to squeeze Kylie in too!

It should have been about a 4 hour and 50 minute drive, but with a bit of traffic, and mainly lots of 3-year old potty breaks, it took about 6 hours to get there. As soon as we got there we headed to dinner at our favorite place, OBX Brewing Company. We've mentioned it on previous blogs, but we love the back yard there. They have full menu service but also have live music, picnic tables, cornhole, and of course a big pirate ship playground.

The kids can run free while the grown-ups enjoy food and beer. And it is billed as America's first wind-powered brewery too so we can eat "off the grid" and carbon neutral. We went there three times during the week, once we even met up with Mike, Lisa, and toddler-Austin who were also staying in another part of the Outer Banks for a few days.

We stayed in a 2 bed / 1 bath beach cottage that we have stayed at previously, called My Lagoon. It has it's own private hot tub and is only a quarter block from the beach access. Plus it's dog friendly and the owner of the complex, Butch, has a dog named Rudder that is a great playmate for Kylie at the beach! Speaking of which, Kylie had a great time running around the ocean chasing a squeaky tennis ball.

The first day was a bit cool (low 70s) and then it warmed up into the 80s the rest of the trip, with no rain at all. Perfect weather for the whole trip, we were very lucky about that. We didn't spend very much time in the beach condo but when we did Avery loved playing cards with Grandma Woods!

We went up to the very northern end of the Outer Banks to Corolla, to rent 4-wheel drive Jeeps.

You need one to get access up to the area where the wild horses are. (They are descendants of horses who came ashore during ship wrecks hundreds of years ago)

We also went to our favorite pizza place called Wave Pizza Cafe in Duck, NC. It is a great little pizza shop with a deck overlooking the sound. Their sign on the window says it all:

And connected to the pizza place was Duck Donuts, where they make "made to order donuts" fresh exactly how you want them. Avery loved the frisbee from there! (And the donuts, it's not every day that she gets a donut)

Connected to that deck was a town of Duck boardwalk that runs for over a mile weaving through the maritime forest and back out over the water. We took a nice walk along it looking at all the forests, marshes, and water views.

One day there we took Avery mini-golfing at a neat place that has a mine-train to take you to the start of your mini golf.

It goes through "tunnels" and under "waterfalls" of the mini golf course. They even have one hole that is on a pirate ship there, neat for Avery since she is really into pirates right now for some reason.

We also went to the NC Aquarium while we were there. Avery loved the alligator statue

And she loved being a "scientist" with mom to help save the sea turtles.

Another day we went to the kids pool at the local YMCA (after Colleen swam laps there since she can't run from her injury)

the kids pool at the Y has a sprayground and zero entry pool, perfect for a little 3-year old.

But of course Avery was not afraid of the ocean, at least up to her knees. She had a blast each time we went out to the beach as she loved digging, filling buckets with water, and hanging out in her big hole she dug with daddy. Here are some pics of Avery enjoying herself:

Spelling her name out with sand castles

Toes in the water with momma

Playing in the foam

Hard at work getting buckets of water with a friend she met who was with a family visiting from Chicago

Buckets, cups, water, sand. What else does a kid need?

Even when we were at the beach with no swimsuit, we doused her in sunblock and let her play in her underwear. It's cute on a little kid, although she may be embarrassed by this picture when she's older!

Enjoying a moment with momma.

Showing daddy where the best place is to get wet sand for the sandcastles.

Relaxing in a hole that daddy dug for her.

Relaxing in the gentle waves of the Atlantic. In a way, similar to Florida: perfect shallow warm water for a kid to play in unlike New England or the Pacific.

Of course we enjoyed the beach too, here we are attempting a "selfie" with Kylie, hard to keep that dog still:

Another day we went down south through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. On the way down we went through Rodanthe where the filmed "Nights of Rodanthe" and Jan got her picture in front of the house

We visited the Cape Hatteras Light House, the tallest light house in North America:

Jan and Colleen climbed the stairs to the top, and Jim stayed down with Avery since kids need to be 42" to go up (and no holding kids in arms are allowed due to the spiral nature of the staircase inside). Here is what they saw:

We then took a fun scenic car-ferry over to Ocracoke Island:

The town of Ocracoke is a very cute small town on a little harbor on the island, and a lot people get around by golf carts too!

We at ice cream at a great place with hammocks, we went stand-up paddling boarding in the harbor (too bad not pictures of this!), and ate dinner on a nice deck overlooking the water.

The ferry ride back at sunset was really pretty

Avery is getting big, she looks bigger than mom here!

Silly faces!!! :)

Daddy needs to shave! Nah, it's vacation never mind.

We also rented bikes while we were there

Avery enjoyed her seat attachment!

We all rode 8 miles each way to dinner once!

One night we ate dinner on Pamlico Sound and enjoyed the water views and then sunset, so relaxing:

In addition to seeing the sun set over the water in the sound, Jim got up and did a couple sunrise runs and got to see the sun rise over the ocean

The Outer Banks are one the few places you can see the sun rise and set over water because they are such a narrow chain of islands up to 45 miles away from the main land. This photo shows it well, the ocean to the right (wide open beach too!) and the water of the Pamlico Sound to the left

Maybe only 200 yards wide here and no sign of land in any direction. Very cool!

Because Colleen was injured and couldn't run, she kept up her fitness by using her resistance band for exercises that the physical therapist works on with her:

The final night there we had a date night while Grandma watched Avery. We went to the Lost Colony Theater on Roanoke Island and watched the summer play there. June 1st was opening night of the 76th season, the longest running outdoor play in the country. It is about the Lost Colony of Roanoke the existed on the very spot of the theater. The first English-born person, Virginia Dare, was born there. But when the English supply ships came back the colony was mysteriously gone with no signs of them other than the word "Croatan" carved into a tree. The play was very good and you can't beat an outdoor theater with a water view in the background!

While we were at the play Grandma Woods babysat, and even took Avery to get ice cream...Thanks Grandma!

We had a great trip and we are sure to be back to the Outer Banks again, we love it there!

Superhero Boot Camp

2013-04-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

Avery started today at her Superhero Boot Camp at the YMCA. It is for one hour each Wednesday for a few weeks and will involve some fun superhero activities such as solving mysteries, learning superpowers, and strengthening through exercise!

It is held at the YMCA preschool that Avery will probably be attending this fall so she already calls it “my school”. So, she got her backpack, put a snack in it, and got ready to head out.

When we got there she was very proud to turn around and show me her school backpack

The first day was the only day they wouldn’t be outside since the pre-school had their entire field taken up for their annual “Olympics”. So Avery met a few friends from the class outside

And then we went in and did a meet and greet (yes it is 4 boys and her, the only girl!). They went around and said their name, their superhero name, their favorite color, and favorite food. She was good to go to start the class now!

First everyone drew a picture of themselves with their name on top, and drew in all their superhero items. Then they went around the room and described it to the class. Avery came up with the idea to have a superhero watch (She said once she pushes the button then she turns into a superhero) and a bow in her hair to protect herself. Good imagination!

Then they found the letter that starts with their name and did jumping jacks

They did pushups

And all the hands to the middle and say “GOOOOOO SUPERHEROS!!!”

It was a fun day for her and this class will let her get used to going to her school before she starts this fall.

Trip to Boston - What a crazy week!

2013-04-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

Jim had a conference in Worcester, Massachusetts for most of the week of the 15th and had to fly in and out of Boston. Colleen and Avery paid for a ticket up and decided to hang out nearby and visit Grandma Woods in Manchester. We came a day early and left two days later to see the Boston Marathon (and watch our friends run it), and to visit NH and other friends up there.

We landed Sunday and hung out with Grandma Woods and her dog Bella.

That night we got some posters ready for our friends who were running the race and prepared ourselves to be in certain locations at certain times to see our friends pass by.

We had originally planned three locations, at mile 4.5 in Framingham, at mile 14 in Wellesley, and around mile 21 in Boston (and possibly catch the T to the finish). The plan was for Grandma Woods to babysit Avery while we went. At the last minute that morning, Avery demanded to go with us. That may have helped save us from experiencing the tragedy later that day as you'll see below.

We got to Framingham in time to see our friend Anna Savage from DC pass by, and even her boyfriend Jason who ran by 20 minutes before her. Colleen held up the sign we made

It got so many positive comments, in face a lot of runners came over and got their picture with the sign. (For those that don't know, the unicorn symbol on the sign is the official symbol of the Boston Marathon.)

We then packed up and headed farther in to mile 14 in Wellesley. We saw Anna come by again, ahead of her goal pace of 7:30 per mile. We then saw Colleen's friend Becca, one of our neighbors (Christine Stephen) and one of Colleen's high school friend (Lindsey Mason) pass by. Also a lot of people who saw the sign back in Framingham loved to see it again! We were ready to pack up and move into Boston to see the runners at Heartbreak Hill around mile 20. There was a T stop there that we could catch to the finish if wasn't too crowded. Well Avery was demanding to go back home to Grandma's as she said she didn't want to see runners anymore. Who can blame a 2-year old, it's probably not too exciting for her. We did love the spirit and enthusiasm of the race though. Most races, even big races, you get pockets of fans cheering. Well, even out in the 'burbs it was packed solid of cheering fans and blaring music, so a runner would get a full 26 miles of solid crowd support.

We drove back to Manchester NH and when we went inside that's when we heard the news that 10 minutes prior explosions were reported at the finish line. The local news was trying hard to figure out what happened, and we immediately texted our friends to make sure they were safe. We heard back from everyone that they either finished and had left or were a few miles short of the finish and got diverted away safely. We also got a lot of calls, texts, and facebook messages from friends and family around the country making sure we were safe, since we had just posted pictures of us along the course. If we didn't have Avery with us demanding to go back to Grandma's, we probably would have headed to mile 20, and possibly to the finish. Luckily we were nowhere close to where everything happened. Colleen has more info on it in her blog on Live Free and Run

It was hard to believe what had happened since we were there at the race, and Jim had to find a way to get ready for his hour long presentation the next morning at the conference. All week long while they were figuring out who did it, the atmosphere was a mix of both sadness and fear of more attacks while the suspects were at large and unknown.

On Thursday afternoon, after Jim's conference ended, we all met up in Boston when Jim turned in his work rental car, and explored the City. The police were everywhere and you could feel the City was on edge and in mourning. We walked over to Boston Common.

And we did manage to see some of the great sights like the famous "Make Way for Ducklings" statue. Someone had put spring bonnets on all the ducks, cute!

We also walked around the Boston Common and saw the pretty ponds, boats, and bridges

We took the T trains, which of course Avery pointed out that our train at home has an "M" for Metro and this train had a "T".

and went to Faneuil Hall where Samuel Adam's statue was

And we bought Avery the Make Way for Ducklings Book for a memoir.

We took a Duck Boat tour of the city, learned a lot about the extensive history of the area, and had fun when it went into the water for a boat tour. If you've never been on one, it's a vehicle that drives around on the city streets and also goes into the water to act as a boat. You get a lot of neat trivia fun facts from the driver too. Click on the link above to see what they look like.

Avery LOVED it, and was glued to the window.

The driver even let Colleen drive, and look how close we were to the famous Longfellow Bridge!

Back turned as we continued towards the bridge! We were safe of course, but she did get to steer the boat all the way under the bridge. Cool!

We also got to meet up with Christine who lives in Boston. She was the Maid of Honor at our wedding and a great friend. We went to a pub downtown and had the Sam Adam's 26.2 brew

And we saw a few more sights before heading back to Manchester for the night.

The next day, Friday was another crazy day as the city of Boston and surrounding towns were on lock down. Early that morning, the suspects had killed one officer and injured another and the police were trying to locate them. We were glued to the TV for awhile but realized that they weren't making much progress and we needed to get out for a bit.

We drove to Portsmouth and had a yummy lobster-roll lunch by the tugboats and then Avery had some ice cream

And drove up and down the seacoast while Avery napped in the car (We were going to go to the beach until she fell asleep on our way after lunch).

Then that night Colleen and her good friend Amy met up for dinner in Manchester and talked for 2-3 hours. Too bad they didn't get a picture together that night, but it was nice to hang out uninterrupted like that.

Later that night the whole ordeal ended when one suspect was killed and the other eventually arrested. We could now feel relieved to go back to Boston and hang out for the final day of the trip.

We went down Saturday to the Boston Museum of Science and was overwhelmed with how big and fantastic it was. After 4 hours there we hardly got through half of the museum before we had to head out. Avery loved the giant grasshopper

And being a scientist complete with safety glasses:

And pretending to be animals such as a chipmunk and beaver

Jan got to experience a hurricane

We saw a science magic show, saw many different exhibits in the various wings of the museum from space to dinosaurs, and from geology to mathematics. We vowed to come back for more another trip. Avery cried when we left because she was having so much fun!

We liked all the signs on the highways that said "WE ARE ONE BOSTON",

and had a safe trip back home. We feel so strongly like others that we want to run the Boston Marathon some day, maybe next year in 2014!

Frosty the Snowman

2013-03-25T16:16:00.001-07:00

Well it figures, after a winter of little to no snow (just some dustings), we put away the sled. They called for rain that night and what happens???

A very pretty and serene scene on our street when we woke up before dawn. It was a wet pretty snow that stuck to all the branches.

The airport officially got a whole 1.4 inches, but it was enough to officially end DC's snow drought.

We got a few inches, maybe 2 or 3. It was enough to build a snowman!

Unfortantely for Frosty, it was above freezing the whole time it snowed and his head slid off in less than 30 minutes.

Within a few hours the yard was mostly mud:

We didn't get to sled, but at least we got to use the snowman kit once!

Spring Weekend

2013-03-10T17:56:00.001-07:00

Spring is showing some signs of arrival in DC, as evidence by our daffodils

This weekend was fabulous and we had a lot of fun enjoying ourselves outdoors. Saturday we spent a lot of time at different playgrounds, here we are in Rockville

I'm flying!

Going for a hike on the trail

Nothing like the feeling of being out of control running down a hill

Then we went to another playground in the District near Columbia Heights and Adam's Morgan called Walter Pierce Park, here is Avery pointing the way on the firetruck!

On Sunday morning, we ran a 10k race, the final race of the Snowball Series. Colleen did awesome, she got 3rd overall female and a new PR. Here she is picking up her Starbucks gift card award

(Jim did good too, a new PR and 5th overall, but no award for 5th place!)

Then we met Raul and Ally for lunch of pizza and beer on the 3rd floor rooftop of Mellow Mushroom pizza in Adam's Morgan

Yes Raul is wearing beads, they are Avery's. And yes Raul is wearing women's sunglasses, their his girlfriend Ally's! :)

Later we went to Gravelly Point Park. There is a reason for this sign:

It's right under the approach to Reagan National in downtown DC!

Colleen jumped up to reach the plane, and missed. Nice park with the Potomac River and monuments in the background though

Raul and Ally got buzzed by a plane too

Later that afternoon we enjoyed daylight savings and the longer day, by hanging in the backyard.

Spring was in the air, and we are excited for the Cherry Blossom Festival which starts in a couple weeks!

Also, a few days ago, Colleen learned a fun trick for a toddler...put some saving cream (the cheapest you can get!) in some trays with food coloring, and you have tub paint!

Excited about her masterpiece!

Florida Part II - Clearwater Beach and Tampa

2013-02-27T17:28:00.000-08:00

After the first half of the trip to Disneyworld, we headed towards the Gulf Coast and Clearwater Beach. While driving out there, just after we passed downtown Tampa, we saw a restaurant on the bay called Whiskey Joe's. Sounds a little corny but it was actually really neat! (It's about 15 minutes before you get to Clearwater and we were too hungry to wait until we got out there). First, we ate up on a deck above the bay. Avery loved searching for worms in her "dirt and worms" dessert item:

The fish tacos are yummy there, and they have two dollar beers too! Then, they have a separate area called the Barefoot Bar. It's got covered cabanas

And you can play corn hole

Avery was really good at it

There is also a really shallow beach there that goes way out into the bay, and Avery met a friend there

The water on Tampa Bay was even warmer than the ocean and very comfortable, even for February!

We had a few beverages and then we drove out to Clearwater. Wow what a great beach there, we were impressed! Our hotel was pretty cheap, called the Beach View Inn,

and on the outside looked a dive compared to the 20 story new Hyatt next door

But our room's view was perfect

And we even had a little balcony too

On the other side was we could see Clearwater Bay

The sand on the beach was perfect...very white and fine like sugar or flour. They have cabanas you can rent for $20 all day too

We ate a few restaurants with ocean views, one of the best was called Jimmy's Crow's Nest, about 15 stories up on top of a hotel

The photos don't do justice of course, but it felt really high up

On Friday Avery and momma did yoga on the beach

And Avery enjoyed walking in the warm gulf water and playing in the sand

During a break that Avery wanted (she loved saying "let's go the hotel room mommy and daddy), she enjoyed a key lime pie on a stick...yummy!

We enjoyed spectacular sunsets from our balcony

Friday evening we went to downtown Tampa to the convention center for a race expo for the next day's 15k race that was part of the Publix Gasperilla Race Weekend we were running. (They had a 5k, 8k, 15k, and half marathon, but we were going to fly out before the half marathon Sunday so we chose the 15k-about 9.4 miles).

The next morning, Saturday, we work up early and left Avery with Grandma. The 15k started at 6:45am so we had to leave long before Avery woke up. For more on the race, you can see Colleen's post here from her Live Free and Run blog. It was a bit of a disappointment. Even though the course was along the bay, it wasn't laid out too well, and it was highly disorganized for such a huge event. Tampa was experiencing above average temperatures in the upper 80s, and even with the early start it was a very hot race. The race started in the dark, here's Colleen ready to go:

Here's Jim very sweaty after the race.

We both said even though Florida has great vacation and beach weather, we could never live there because you never get a break from the heat and humidity at all...there is no good "racing season" with high temps in the 50s and 60s. Then we drove back to Clearwater, checked out of the hotel, and spent the rest of the day back at Whiskey Joe's. It's close to the airport so we could maximize our time on the sand until right before our flight. There was a kid's birthday party there, and before it started Avery got to use their bounce house!

Jim had one last Pina Collada before heading out

Colleen and Avery dipped their toes in the warm water one more time

and Colleen and her mom had one more laugh at the bar

At the airport Avery enjoyed their kid's play area. Here she is flying like a plane on top of a plane

On the plane, we were lucky to have TVs. Perfect for flying with kids

Our plan was that Grandma Woods was flying with us to DC on Saturday night, and then fly back to Manchester, NH on Sunday night. However, we saw the New Hampshire forecast showed lots of snow for Sunday

But DC was supposed to be 50s. So she pushed her DC-NH ticket back until Wednesday and got to spend more time with all of us!

It was sad to end the vacation, but it was nice to be home and sleep in our own beds, and eat some homemade food though! After we got back, we picked up Kylie who was happy to see us

And Jim ran another race that is part of our winter race series here in DC. 24 hours after running the 15k in Tampa he ran the 10-Mile Club Challenge in Columbia, MD. Here he is after finishing much more refreshed in the 50-degree crisp weather

Also, Avery played a little Tee-Ball and hop scotch in the backyard

During the next few days, Grandma Woods and Avery got to spend some quality time together

And even enjoyed a treat at Georgetown Cupcake

The extended stay was a nice surprise at the end of the trip, and Colleen's mom surely enjoyed not having to shovel 12" of snow!

Florida Trip Part I - Disneyworld

2013-02-25T18:18:00.000-08:00

We headed down to Florida for a trip to both Disneyworld and the beaches in Clearwater near Tampa. Grandma Woods (Colleen's mom) came down from New Hampshire to join us as well! Before we headed out Colleen got a mani and pedi, and of course Avery wanted one too. So she got her nails painted red like Mickey! Here's daddy helping out:

Avery liked letting her nails dry with momma:

The next day we flew down to Tampa and headed right for the beach since we had 5 hours until Grandma's plane landed. Avery showed daddy how to make a sand castle:

Then Avery and momma enjoyed the sunset before we headed over to the airport:

We picked up Grandma from the airport and went right to the hotel between Tampa and Disney. The next day we got up early and headed right for Disney, Avery had fun with Grandma in the back of the car:

It was a pretty quick drive until we reached the gates of Disney World:

We spent our entire Disney time at Magic Kingdom since it is more kid-friendly than Epcot or the other parks. However, it is quite a process to get into the park. First you pay to enter, then drive into a huge lot, then take a shuttle tram:

Then that drops you at the monorail, then you take the monorail. After the monorail you go through security. Then you go through the ticket line, and finally you are in! We were going to stay on the resort to eliminate all that hassle, especially if Avery needed a nap during the day, etc. However, the on-property hotels were running $400 a night, ouch! Finally we were in. We went to the castle first to get the iconic pictures:

Avery first saw the Dumbo statue and was so excited (she had just watched the movie a few nights before!)

Then we went to meet some characters...first we met Goofy:

Grandma did too:

Then we met Donald:

And Minnie. Avery was very excited about that since she was dressed up as Minnie herself:

Avery loved trying on the Mickey ears and white gloves before a show at the castle:

Then we went to the It's a Small World ride, and Avery was mesmerized by the all the singing kids:

We did some other ride and attractions like the Jungle Cruise, and we liked going under the waterfall:

We did other rides and attractions like the Swiss Family Tree House, a couple shows, tea cups, etc. Then came a highlight of the trip. During one of the parades, when everybody was focused on that, we went in to see Mickey. There was no line at all, and Avery had 5 full minutes with Mickey to herself. (Usually there is a line for the characters and they make you take a quick picture and move on). When she saw Mickey she ran at full speed over to him and give him a huge hug.

Then Mickey showed Avery one of his magic tricks, a disappearing bird trick:

Then we left and went to get dinner at Downtown Disney. After dinner we went to a dance party out by the lake, and Avery and momma danced for awhile:

Unfortunately Colleen got her groove on a little too much, because she went down in pain during Gangnam Style with a badly twisted ankle. It swelled up badly, and was a direct result of a sprained ankle she got on Christmas day during a run. Luckily it only set her back a few days in her training and seemed to heal up. The next morning we went to have breakfast at Cape May Cafe. The Disney characters come around to your table during breakfast! If you are going you'll need to make reservations way in advanced since it fills up. Also neat was that they had Mickey waffles:

The food was actually not too bad for a buffet (but of course never as good as ordering individually). Avery got to meet Donald:

And Minnie:

And even got a high five from Minnie:

And goofy:

Then went to the park and Avery got to meet more characters. She got to meet Tinkerbell:

And Periwinkle:

We went back to our hotel for awhile since Avery needed a break. We swam in the pool, and Avery thought it was hilarious to dump water on daddy's head:

We ate a late lunch/ early dinner at a place called T-Rex Cafe, which was sort of gimmicky but the fish tacos were really good! Our table was in the ice cave:

Yes, your eyes will hurt after eating in that section. Back at Disney, we were excited for nightfall. While we staked out a place on the Main Street to wait for the Electric Parade and fireworks, Avery enjoyed a cool ice cream cone:

It was neat seeing the park all lit up:

Once the parade started, Avery kept saying "it's magical!!!"

Then the fireworks started, and we were wondering if Avery would be scared...she flinched a few times but really seemed to like it!

She liked the shooting stars the best:

Then we wandered around some more. We rode the Dumbo ride. She wanted to ride it again, but the second time we were in line she took advantage of a neat area. While you wait in line they give you a buzzer, like a restaurant. However, it's a huge kids play area with things to climb on, tunnels, etc. All in a circus tent theme like the movie. Avery didn't want to ride the ride again, she was having too much fun in there!

We left and were sad to go. We were going to bed and waking up to drive to the beach in Clearwater, near Tampa, the next morning. On our way out we got one last picture, and thought this one was good, it covered up the letters of "Begin" so it read "Let the Memories Be". Sometimes an accidental thing like that works out perfect:

(Here's how it normally looks)

And with that we were on our way, so long Disney! We'll try and get Tampa and beach pictures up on the blog soon!

National Building Museum

2013-02-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

On Sunday Colleen was taking an all-day spin class instructor certification class. So Jim took Avery to some fun activities downtown.

They hopped on the Metro and first went to the National Building Museum. Avery enjoyed the lion statues out front of it

Once inside the museum we enjoyed looking at the beautiful interior atrium

Then our friends Raul and Ally arrived. They helped up build a big arch

And after it crashed down Avery enjoyed stacking blocks and playing around. The museum is a great place to bring a kid.

(We toured an interesting traveling exhibit that was a documentary of the urban decay of Detroit. There were no photos allowed in the exhibits so we don't have any additional pictures.) There is a mini-golf course inside too, but we didn't get to that part.

Then we walked 3 blocks over to Chinatown to watch the Chinese New Year's parade. Avery liked the dragons and lions.

It was a nice day for early February and we enjoyed spending time with Raul and Ally!

Frosty and hot chocolate

2013-02-03T09:01:00.001-08:00

Well, we had another 1/2 inch snowfall that is quickly melting. So Avery got on her snow gear to make a snowman with what little snow we had! She got a snow man making kit from Grandma and Grandpa Ball that she has been waiting all winter to use. We had to search for our winter snow gear and got her bundled up

Since the snow was so light we had trouble making a snowball big enough, but Avery had fun trying to decorate a mini-Frosty anyway

Here she is posing with him...CHEEESE!

She also loved throwing the tennis ball for Kylie who is absolutely berserk in the snow (and what lab isn't)

After she insisted on taking her gloves off because her hands weren't cold, they did eventually get cold holding snow barehanded. So we came in and she enjoyed her first hot chocolate ever!

She even said "It is amazing mom!"

Inauguration

2013-01-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

The morning after we our beach day was President Obama's inauguration for his second term. We decided since we lived in DC now we shouldn't miss the opportunity to go see it and take part!

Avery had to take Goofy with us on the Metro so he could see the ceremony too

We had no problem getting down there, there were no delays of any kind! Once there, we walked out to the National Mall where there was quite the party atmosphere! Volunteers were everywhere giving directions and answering questions, and even giving high fives to everyone thanking them for coming. We ended up on the Mall right behind the CNN and CBS booths!

We kept getting closer and closer, that silver haired guy is Anderson Cooper, he kept turning around and waving at us, neat!

Even the broadcasters were taking personal cell phone shots of the crowd:

They handed out flags, and Avery was very patriotic waving it strongly!

They also were handing out stickers and Avery said we needed to put them on our heads, he he

The crowd grew large and the Capitol building looked neat all decked out for the ceremony

View from 1 mile away:

They had gigantic screens up and down the Mall with giant speakers so you could see and hear exactly what was going on:

We met so many people from all over the place. A nice lady (a teacher too), drove from Milwaukee just for this event was kind enough to take these nice family shots for us:

After awhile, Avery looked over and saw the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum and said "I don't want to see the President anymore, I want to see dinosaurs!" What a smart kid. We are very fortunate to have lots and lots of museums, many of them free. The Natural History museum is one of our favorites. Avery got to see all kinds of giant dinosaur skeletons and even called them out "triceratops!" "T rex!" "Brontosaurus!"

Then we went back outside to see the parade (which starts with the president going from the Capitol back to the White House, followed by bands and floats. The line to get in was really backed up due to the Secret Service checkpoint, but Avery was a good sport waiting it out and enjoying the neat architecture around us

Eventually we realized the pace of the line moving forward would put us into the parade when it was halfway over. (Guess you need to get to the that early!). So we took the Metro home, and that's when we hit delays we didn't have on the way down. The line just to get down into the Metro station was a 30-45 minutes long, but we made it eventually and watch the rest of the parade at home comfortably on the couch.