My sweet Jack

Oh how I love this little miniature man. I love the goofy giggle in his throat when he likes the taste of something. I love that he always has his legs crossed. I love his pointed little fingers. I love his frankenstein, unstable little walk. I love his laugh when I crawl in snorting after a nap. I love his snuggles when he's tired. I love his inquisitive little eye brows when they go up and down at sight of something new. I love watching him reach on his tippy toes for his dog mobile above the crib.
I love that nothing can really get him down and a smile is always near. I love that although she scares him to death, Sadie is the only one who can REALLY make him laugh. I love watching him eat a teething biscuits. I love watching him weed through board books and throw them on the floor. I love his little arm when he chucks rocks across a pond. I love his shy nod when he meets someone new and then nuzzles his head into my shoulder. I am absolutely in love with my little Jack. I love him even more today because he is still sleeping after a four hour nap. What a champ!!

One must concentrate...

When trying to color inside the lines.

Chase Cannon, Esq. JD LLM

Chase was finally sworn in last week in Annapolis at the Court of Appeals. Originally he was supposed to wait until September 1st but we talked them into a private ceremony with one other guy from Texas. It was short and sweet and I couldn't get over how many years of studying, sacrificing and student loans that went into that short sweet little moment.
At first we planned to leave the kids home with a babysitter but after calling the court they said they were more than welcome to come, so we brought them. What a family affair! Jack walked all over the court room and Sadie stood in the center of the room twirling in her white sparkly dress. Amongst it all I tried to get pictures of Chase while the judge tried to talk over the chaos. She was very sweet and after he was sworn in we all just sat around and talked for a while.
Other than the fact that it was sweltering hot outside, we tried to enjoy our surroundings. I always feel bad for the men in their suits during the hot summers but then I remember women's fashion in the winter with their high heels and nylons trudging through the snow to church and then I don't feel so bad anymore.
Congratulations to Chase and all of us for getting through school, bar, job searches and sleep deprivations. It's been a fantastic ride!!

Good Dog

Sadie loves her dog Clifford. She likes to think he's alive and treats him as such throughout the day and night. She asked to buy him a collar and has made a little leash out of ribbon with a noose at the end. Wherever she goes, he goes and if she happens to sit down anywhere, he's usually anchored somewhere so he can't "get away." My favorite thing at night is to see his collar all wound up with the leash near her pillow while Clifford sleeps in her arms. I love that she wants him to be comfortable while they sleep and that's quite impossible with a collar and leash. I'm going to keep on encouraging this behaviour because I think it's adorable and if I get can away with a pseudo dog instead of a real one, then I think we're on the right track.

Back to the Beach

Who knew there was a beach just over an hour away?! We didn't and we've been here three years! Good thing the Sanderson's are pretty savvy about those things so we headed to Annapolis' sandy beach/bay for a day of swimming, eating, and lounging in the water. The water is somewhat murky because it's not just salt water. We have a little bay water to spruce things up and make it feel like a hot tub. It was the prefect temperature for the kids and I was pretty happy considering I always wear a wet suit on the West coast.



Sadie has never been much of a water baby. We tried to get her to like the ocean when we lived in San Diego but she wouldn't have those cold oceans for anything! She's still a little timid in the water but if she has her little green raft (Chase calls it the lily pad), she is absolutely fearless. She jumped right in that ocean and swam all the way out beyond the other people. We convinced Isaac (another timid seafarer) to try out Jack's pad and he and Sadie has a splendid time swimming with confidence.
Jack was a dream boat...of course! He just hung out in his little pool, threw pebbles in the water, swam and then zonked out in his stroller for about an hour. It took me getting a double Bob to figure out that my single actually reclines too. Who knew. He was sleeping in luxury out there. I love those chubby little toes:-)

As for Chase and me, in case you were wondering, we had a great time too. We're always happy if the kids are and that's usually the main goal these days...satisfying them:-) It was great hanging with the Sanderson's. Thanks for the great tip and fun day!!

Portland Girl's Trip

I can't believe it actually happened. We always said we'd go on a trip together but I never imagined it would come to pass. I got to spend every waking second with my girls for a whole weekend. We had so much fun we've decided it has to happen at least every other year. We'll just go around and visit each girl in their home town. We chose Portland this year because Kim's Grace has chemo treatments and she also has a nursing Ben. It makes sense to go wherever the nursing baby is. Since Sara is preggers we'll have to visit Chicago the next time we get together.
I had such a wonderful time! There was never a silent moment and most of the time we were laughing about something. I love my girls. Kim was a great hostess. It was so fun to see her beautiful home and surroundings. Portland is now one of my favorite cities. I also loved getting to know her adorable, sweet, and polite children. Even their humongous dog Annabelle was polite. I was subconsciously taking notes while watching Kim with her kids because I want mine to be like hers. She must be doing something right because they are the nicest bunch around.
I made a hat for baby Ben on my long flight across the country and found that his head is a lot bigger than I expected. He is the chubbiest little butterball and I couldn't stop squeezing him or his thighs. I made him try on the hat even though we had record breaking heat in Portland. Little Ben didn't seem to mind, but nothing seems to bother this guy.
Kim showed us all of her favorite places including the Oregon Coast (gorgeous!!), down town Portland, Lake Oswego and a lot of delicious restaurants. I'll never forget my risotto cakes with butternut squash and I'm still salivating over my sandwich at Elephants. I could move to Portland just for the food, and Kim of course:-)

My lot in life happens to be that everyone, but me, likes sushi. It's not just my friends. My family is obsessed too. I haven't ever really warmed up to the idea of eating raw fish. I tried and my pallet continues to reject. However, Kim took us to a pretty good Sushi restaurant that might have altered my taste buds a little. I actually liked some of the rolls. Of course I had the pregnant ladies to my advantage so most of the rolls were cooked. Overall, it was pretty good and I'm glad they talked me into it.
Mostly our trip revolved around talking, laughing and food so I probably came home a couple of pounds heavier. We visited the famous doughnut shop Voo Doo Doughnuts for some crazy pastries. Mo got a maple doughnut with bacon, and Kim got the actual Voo Doo itself. They had other doughnuts that I won't mention on our clean family blog, but if you use your imaginations, you'll probably think of other shapes and sizes they bake at Voo Doo. They didn't get famous for their glaze, that's for sure.
This amazing home is the Pittock Mansion. Kim told me to post it on Facebook with the inscription "Kim's lovely home." Located at the top of a lush, green mountain, it's a sight to behold. I loved all the old homes in Portland and the quaint little neighborhoods. I also realized after deep concentration, and kim pointing it out to me, that the cloud hovering far away wasn't a cloud at all, but Mt.Saint Helens. Sadie would have been in heaven....she loves volcanoes.
We had a joyful reunion anytime someone arrived at the airport and an equally tearful farewell when we got back on our planes. My only comfort is knowing that we'll get together again soon and that eventually when we outlive all of our husbands we can reincarnate the Golden Girls. 2060 baby!!!

P.S. Another reason to move to Portland; the mosquitoes ate everyone but me. I like to think my bloods tastes like sushi to them.

AH CHOO!!!

Sneezing is one of life's simple pleasures. I know it's one of mine:-)

Happy Fourth

When I was a little girl I always did the same ridiculous grin in every picture. I'm sure my parents tried to dissuade me from looking like a hooligan, but determined as I was, the grin kept on smiling. Sadie will one day look back on her pictures and find the same scenario.

I can't figure out why it's so hard for her to just smile with out making a goofy face. At first it was frustrating but now I realize that she's making some pretty hilarious memories. This first picture is a real keeper. Our only issue with Jack is his scowl which really isn't an issue, just cute:-)
We went to the McNairs for a BBQ Saturday before the 4th and let the kids run wild. Jessica made delicious cookies, Matt grilled the hamburgers to perfection (even Sadie ate one) and there were no mosquitoes...that in of itself is all I could ever ask for. Thanks for the party McNairs!!

After the cookies were gone and everyone had left (we're always the last ones at any party....Chase's fault:-), we headed over to the Sanderson's to see some fireworks. I know this picture is blurry, but I thought it was hilarious. Sadie has only seen the big fireworks from afar. She has never been up close to street ones. You can see she was pretty impressed. I love that she is clutching her little dog. Clifford shows up in a lot of our pictures.

Sadie and the boys ran around with their sparklers and when everything had burned out, we ate some delicious fruit pizza. Thanks Sanderson's. A great day of frosting, fireworks, and awesome company. I love the fourth!

Our Favorite Spot

I have always been amazed by Virginia's woods. One minute you are on a bustling city street and the next minute, if you know your way around (which I finally do), you can find yourself in a deep forest of green trees, creeks, and ponds. It's probably my favorite asset Virginia has to offer. I love that instead of billboards lining the highways, there are tall trees.

I recently had to run an errand that would take me into the Vienna Woods. I decided to take the scooter and had the best time navigating through the thick oak lined streets. I kind of felt like an ewok from Star Wars riding my motorbike through the forest. It was so cool!! I saw two deer, squirrels, a couple of rabbits. I've even seen a turtle cross the road out here. I've also seen my fair share of road kill, but I won't get into that.

We have this great little trail by our house that is totally shaded and covered with trees. We try to go there as often as possible but with the record breaking heat, we are often cooped up inside. There was a week that was actually pretty cool so we lathered on our Deet and headed down to our little spot almost every day.
Jack learned the art of throwing rocks. He's quite a natural and Sadie learned that when she wears her Keens, she can get in the water. She and Jack always have a great time splashing around in those little creeks.
I know I've said my fair share about how much I detest the weather in Virginia, but when I'm in my little shaded haven in the woods, I don't mind NoVa so much anymore. You would think that with this 105 degree weather it would kill the mosquitoes, but they seem to thrive off of sweat and stinky bodies. Nasty!!

Virginia, you're ok but I still can't figure out how our forefathers set up camp here with out air conditioning. No wonder the life expectancy was so low back then. With corsets, dresses, tights, and wigs they were probably dropping like flies, but not mosquitoes.

Walking

Jack took his first steps on May 7th and I am finally getting around to blogging about it. He's walking pretty well these days but it took a few weeks to make use of his sea legs. Here's our little Jack then and now:

A day in D.C.

I just finished reading the Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. I was so pumped about everything I learned about our nation's capitol that I chose the coolest day a D.C. summer offers to head down to the National Mall. Because the book takes place in D.C., I walked all over the place looking for the symbols he wrote about in the book. Man, did he do his research. Sometimes I think Brown's books are just a way to brag about how smart he is.
It was a great day!! Sadie just gathered flowers and danced around the "meadow" as she called it. Jack just pointed his finger at anything and everything. I love that little finger.
I realized that after three years of living in D.C. I have never actually walked to the Washington Monument (only around it). We sat down on a bench and looked up realizing we couldn't even see the golden pyramid capstone at the top. It was too high. Sadie ran up to see if she could scale the walls like Mr. Bridwell's Clifford. She couldn't (we needed the Big Red Dog to get us up there). She looked so small against that massive formation. It made me happy. I like it when Sadie looks small. She's getting too big:-(

After playing in the fountains at the WWII Monument (against the rules so we just dipped our fingers), feeding the geese near the pond (watch out for green bird feces) and the Museum of National Art, Jack fell asleep while Sadie rode the the Carousel. Doesn't he look comfortable? Today for the first time in a long time I loved Virginia. Now if only we could do something about these bugs and the blasted humidity, I would love it even more!!

My Girls

When we all graduated from high school we swore we'd try to get together (all of us) at least once a year. That usually happened around the holidays when everyone came home to visit their families. However, after 10 years, kids, and more family, we rarely find the time to just sit down and laugh together and there's always at least one person missing.

Ever since Kim's daughter Grace was diagnosed with Leukemia, we've all wanted to go to Portland to support her and mostly just give her a humongous hug. It took us a two years but we are FINALLY going on a girl's trip. Probably the first since our high school days in St. George. It's going to be so much fun and I can hardly wait!!

We are going to laugh until our sides hurt and talk for as long as we want because we aren't bringing the kids. It won't matter that we go to sleep at 4 a.m. like we used to because there will be no wake up call. I just can't wait to have all of my favorite people in one room again. This is what I have to look forward to:

Watch out Portland, here we come!!