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! 

Off to Ohio

Part of Andy's internship was to spend two weeks at a project site right outside of Las Vegas.  I wasn't excited to have him gone, but this isn't our first rodeo, so I knew we could keep busy while he was away.  The first week of his absence the kids and I tried to keep busy by going to the park, eating at Potbelly's (sandwich shop), hitting up the splash pad and playing in our house (because it was hot and humid)!  For the second week I decided it would be fun to make the drive to Ohio to visit Andy's brother Greg and his wife Allice (also my BFF from before we were married) and their three boys!  I was a little nervous about the drive, but I honestly don't think it could have gone better.  Both kids did great and there was minimal whining!


We started the trip off right with a little breakfast from McDonald's.  I have many fond memories of getting breakfast right before heading out on a family road trip.  I remember being so excited!  I love reliving some of my most favorite and simplest memories through my kids.

Drive went smoothly but it did take us a while (stops, construction, traffic etc.)  We made it though and the kids were so excited to be there!  We piled the boys in the back and headed for ice cream for family night. 

Noah giving a little peace sign and showing his ice cream cone.  

Anything with sprinkles will make him happy. 

Same with Clare, obviously. 

Went back to the house and got right down to business playing with all the toys.  Anytime we go somewhere where there are toys my kids get overly excited.  This is a result of bringing VERY few toys with us to Virginia for the summer.  It will work in my favor though.  When we get back to Boston it will be as if they have all new toys!  Genius, right? 

Games on the iPad always bring people together...right? 

We also went to visit Greg at work during our trip.  I was amazed at the property of this company.  Incredible!  It looked like it should be someones mansion, and not an office building. 

We played really hard, and Clare rarely got more than a 20 minute nap.  This made bedtime a piece especially wonderful.  She fell asleep like this at least two of the four nights we were there. 

Can't forget the summer time staple, a trip to the Zoo!  I was really happy with the Toledo zoo.  We were able to see a lot of animals and the weather was perfect, which meant that there were a lot of animals out.  I feel like usually when I go to the zoo all the animals are sleeping in their cave.  It was great to get my money's worth! 

This was Clare's reaction to the Polar Bears.  She either puts her hands over her mouth and begins to shake or she will say, "Ew, yucky!"

The most exciting part for Noah was the bug exhibit.  Noah has really been interested in bugs as of late and he was so excited.  Thankfully Greg, Allice and the boys were patient with us while we looked and discussed every disgusting bug on display.  I still have nightmares.  (Really bad picture below, but I had to include it)

A trip to Chick-fil-A and Greg giving their Oreo shake a thumbs up.  So if you like Oreo and milkshakes, this is for you!  

After letting the kids get out lots of energy in the play place at Chick-Fil-A we topped it off with a trip to the park.  We wanted them good and tired! 

The merry go round was a new experience for Noah and Clare.  Noah kept asking me to go "slow fast" whatever that means.  I don't like merry go rounds, but I do have memories of them on the playground in elementary school!  I don't think I've seen one since then. 

This is a random one.  But in true boy fashion the boys would take off their shoes and say, "Smell my feet!"  If I am honest, they all smelled pretty awful. 

There were moments at the house where Clare would wonder off.  At first I wasn't sure where to find her, but then I realized that she went to the same place every time, upstairs on Greg and Allice's bed.  I guess she just needed a little alone time while all the boys wrestled! 

Our last day we spent at this great park not far from the house.  The kids loved the sand box and played to their heart's content.  Harvey and I hung out a little too.  That smile is just too much! 

To top the day off we hit up the awesome local pool.  The shallow end is HUGE and perfect for people with little kids.  I loved it and wish it was by our house!  The boys got some $1.50 goggles from the store and they were like three peas in a pod.  Handsome too.  I love summer. 

We had so much fun and were so sad to leave.  I was the perfect way to spend our week!