When it Rains...

The last couple of days we were in Virginia Andy's sister Natalie came to stay with us.  The plan was for her to stay with us for the last few days we were in town, and then finish out her trip with Andy's brother and his family.  It was great.

The day she flew in we decided to go big (since we knew we would have to spend some of our time packing and cleaning our place).  We took her to downtown DC to see some of our favorite sites.

Jefferson Memorial from a distance. 

Lincoln Memorial.  One of my very favorite places that I've ever visited. 

As we walked around, the sky got darker and darker.  Soon, we were running back to our car in the pouring rain.  I have never been caught in a downpour like that.  We were all soaked from head to toe.  My shoes were slopping on the ground.  I could barely open my eyes because of the amount of water running down my face.  We were a hot mess, to say the least.  

All we could do is laugh about it.  It is definitely a memory we won't soon forget! 

Aside from all the packing and cleaning, we got out just a couple of times to see a little bit of Fairfax county.   I felt bad that we weren't better host's, but I told Natalie that if she came to Boston, we would make it up to her! 

Last Summer days in Virginia

Because I am playing catch-up, I have a lot of random pictures that need to be shared.  All of these were taken during our last two weeks in Virginia, so early August 2013.  Enjoy! 

I can't be sure why I even took this picture of Clare, but she is just too sweet for me not to share it!

One of my very favorite pictures of Andy and Clare.  

 After a busy day packing, we decided to take a little trip to the park.  The kids were good sports about me spending all my time organizing the house, and they needed some time outside! 

That face just cracks me up! 

Over the summer, Noah developed a huge infatuation with bugs.  While we were at the library returning some books, we saw this huge stag beetle on the sidewalk.  Noah was beyond excited and will occasionally mention it to me still. 

Some days we would just go walk around Ikea for the fun of it.  The kids love Ikea (almost as much as mom does).  I told them to smile and give me the peace sign,  obviously Clare thinks peace has a different meaning, and I can't say she's wrong about that! 

We LOVE family picnics and movies.  One of my favorite things to do as a family. 

Doing a little letter practicing.  I am happy to say Noah wrote his own name all by himself just the other day! 

His reward for practicing his letters....homemade frosty. mmm.

What a difference six months makes!  

One of the kids favorite summer traditions was going on a Saturday morning run with Andy and stopping to get donuts on the way home.  They LOVED it and even though we are back in Boston, Clare will frequently ask to go with Andy on a run and say, "nonuts??"  Too cute. 

And of course, a little 'after' picture.  It's always the ones with the sprinkles that get them excited! 

I Just Set a New Record....

...for how long its been since my last post.  I've had at least three people ask me if I've given up the blog, but to their joy, I have not.  Life has been so crazy that after some self encouragement, I have finally decided to sit down and update!  I am going in chronological order here, so bear with me!

After our trip to Ohio, which was practically ages ago, we only had two weeks left in Virginia before we moved back to Boston.  Those two weeks were spent packing and getting our vacation planned (more to come on that).  We also tried to spend as much time as possible with Andy's brother, Corey, and his family before we left.

Some of the fun things we did....

Took the kids to see Despicable Me 2 and even let them play the arcade games.  I am pretty sure they enjoyed the games more than the movie.

Spent many a meal time at Potbelly's Sandwich shop and on occasion would explore other local restaurants...

And even did a day at the Washington DC LDS temple.  It is so beautiful there and I am so happy that we were able to do a little kid swap with Corey and Jenessa.  We let the kids walk around the beautiful temple grounds for a while and then spent some time in the Temple visitors center. 

While in the visitor's center the kids got their own little missionary badges.  They wore them with pride, one day they will serve missions of their own.  I just love seeing them outside of the temple.  

I was amazed at how quickly our time in Virginia went.  I think about it now and it almost seems like a dream.   We really enjoyed our time there, and were so grateful for the opportunity to be in the DC are and close to family for the summer.  Only time will tell where we will be after business school, but we are confident that we will be led to the place we are needed most, and the prospects are exciting!