Kenwood, Maryland

Another great place my Grandma suggested was Kenwood, Maryland. If I had known about Kenwood before, we would have skipped downtown D.C. altogether. Kenwood is a community in Maryland. The trees have grown in such a way that they create a canopy over the street. During the spring season these streets become tunnels of beautiful pink blossoms. It was a slice of heaven being there. The homes reminded me of the one I grew up in so it was a little nostalgic. I told Chase that I didn't care what I lived in (trailer home, shed, some one's garage) but that I wanted to live in Kenwood one day. I don't think it will be anytime soon but it's always fun to dream right?



There was a little brook so we of course had to throw rocks.
Every great community has a park. Well, we found it.
Too much excitement for one day.
My nerdy husband. I got out of the car to take a picture and this is what I saw looking back at me.

Cherry Blossoms!!

When we heard we'd be staying in D.C. for another semester I was a little bummed because I love San Diego so much but then I remembered that the cherry blossoms would be coming out. I wasn't sad anymore. These blossoms are incredible. I saw them one other time when I was an intern in 2000. They were just as spectacular this year as I remembered. It was fun taking Sadie even though the only thing she cared about was feeding the ducks some cheerios, riding the "neh neh" (carousel) or the "choo choo" (metro) there and back.
We went down to the tidal basin twice. Once on Saturday and again on a Wednesday morning. To all of you ever thinking about riding the metro on a Saturday during the Cherry Blossom Festival, DON'T!! It was extremely crowded and I felt like cattle as they rounded us off the train and out of the metro stop. Once we were outside it wasn't that much better. There were people everywhere and we couldn't get our stroller around any of them.
We decided to go home (another congested train ride) and try again on Wednesday. Much better!! We rented a paddle boat and ventured out into the tidal basin with blossoms surrounding the entire river. Sadie wore her life jacket for a total of 5 minutes and then it was off for good. Again she was more interested in feeding the ducks her cheerios than enjoying the boat ride. I even tried singing "row row row your boat" and she hushed me up immediately. Not in the mood I guess. The seagulls (rats with wings...sorry Utah) got word of the Cheerios and nearly attacked. The poor ducks didn't have a chance so we put the cheerios away.

After our "fun" boat ride which ended early due to a screaming toddler with a runny red nose, we went to see the blossoms. Here they are in full bloom. Breathtaking aren't they.

Gravely Point

I have the best Grandma. She used to live in McLean, VA a long time ago but has a sharp memory of all the fun places to visit. She often tells me about her favorite spots and we've had so much fun visiting them. One of them is Gravely Point next to the National Airport. There is a park where the airplanes fly right above you before they land. These pictures don't justify the experience. The planes are so close!! It's funny because when I was an intern out here in 2000 I only thought about Wayne's World when they flew over me. Now when these monstrous planes roar above all I think about is 911 and what those people must have thought when they saw those planes fly over them into the WTC and especially the Pentagon. Creepy!! Sadie sure loved it and we even found the Potomac River nearby to throw rocks. Sadie was in HEAVEN. It's her favorite activity!!

King Louis' romp

Sucking in?
Two little ladies.


At the National zoo there are these cables that the orangutan can swing on that go right over the walk ways. At first I couldn't believe that the monkeys were outside of their cage but now I think it's pretty cool. So did Sadie and her little buddy Lizzie. This video cracks me up more so because of the distinct ways the girls dance. Sadie does squats and Lizzie just bobs around. Hilarious!!

Say Cheese!!

Trying to get a picture of Sadie in her Easter dress is much harder than it looks.....actually it's as hard as it looks.

Our little bowler

We went bowling with the McNair's last weekend. It's wasn't too competitive seeing that Sadie wanted to bowl during both Chase's and my turns. She also loved dancing around to the disco/rock music. Even if we decided to compete, there's no way we could have been defeated the McNair's. They are both amazing bowlers. I can't even remember how many strikes Matt got. Good thing we didn't bet on the game.

Easter Fun

We had an easter egg hunt at the Mecham's house with the Gardner's as well. The three little ladies had a great time running all over the park to find their eggs. Sadie was very particular about which eggs she wanted. There were some eggs that were glittery. She examined each egg as she picked them up and if they were glittery, they were discarded. It was hilarious. We also hid a stuffed duck in the trees for them and Sadie didn't want it. She only wanted her non glittery eggs. We love hanging out with these guys. It was a blast!!

It's a bear!!

We have this Wiggles CD and there is a song that Sadie gets very excited about called "We're going on a bear hunt." Every time they get to the cave and find the bear, this is what happens. I love how slyly she tries to take the camera away from me.

Supporting the locals

I love to support all the local gals I know that are amazingly creative. I have already sent a lot of you ladies a link to my friend's Etsy store (blue dandelion or http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5162160)and I just found another website that makes really cute clips too. I was a Chi Omega with her at the U. You can totally tell that she used to work at Anthropology. http://tatertothairclips.blogspot.com/ So if you need some cute clips check out Jaime's Etsy store or Chelsea's blog for a little treat. Sadie finally has hair so I'm getting all excited about accessories.

Let the "Madness" begin

Being married to a sports fanatic has really influenced me over the years. For the first time I decided to join instead of fight March Madness. There are usually many arguments in our home over all the television that is watched over the these next three weeks and I decided that I couldn't win. Chase is just too obsessed!! So I filled out a bracket of my own and am actually more into it this year. Just so you know, I am doing better than Chase.

Our Little Diva

Sadie has really light blue eyes that are super sensitive in the sunlight so she always asks for her "Gasses" whenever we go outside. They really help and it's doesn't hurt that she looks absolutely adorable as well.

Spring is Here!!

Yes, Spring has finally arrived and I'm feeling it. I have never had allergies before and always felt so bad for people that had them. It has finally happened. I CAN'T BREATH!!! I've tried everything and nothing seems to work. If any of you have some advice, let me know. I'm dying here. However, the blossoms and pollen haven't stopped us from getting out. We were out every day last weekend. Chase surprised me with a night on the town in D.C. for our anniversary and had his brother watch Sadie for the night. We stayed at the Marriott and went to a hilarious show at the Kennedy Center called "Sheer Madness." We then watched Juno on demand in our hotel room. I felt very pampered.
The next day we picked Sadie up and brought her back to the hotel pool to have a little fun. She swam all the time in San Diego and I think she must have missed it because we couldn't get her out. She was having so much fun blowing bubbles and swimming like "mermaid" or "nemo."





After wards we went out and toured downtown. We of course chased squirrels, skipped in freedom plaza (Andrea and Jess..you know what this is), and just enjoyed the sunshine.

When we weren't looking we noticed that she had run back to her stroller and climbed in by herself. I guess she was telling us it was time to move on. I love how proper she looks in this picture. We must have really worn her out because she zonked the second the car started.

Sadie's favorite things

Sadie enjoys many activities. Lately she has loved throwing rocks in the water whenever there is any body of water near by. We went to Old Town Alexandria and threw rocks into the Potomac River. Sadie thought that was pretty awesome.
We also love squirrel hunting. They are especially friendly in the park by the White House. They came right up to her and she fed them some of her granola bar. Lucky squirrels.

Sadie is really growing up!! She brushes her teeth by herself and can play on the playground with out any help. She LOVES the slides and will often specify which one she wants to play on (twisty slide or tube slide). Whenever she is having a bratty day (which is often with four new teeth coming in) I stick her in the bath to calm her (and myself) down. She could sit in the bath forever. She loves Nemo and plays with her Nemo and Dude (crush the turtle) toys saying "righteous..righteous" whenever the turtle slide down the side of the tub. She's hilarious!! Righteous is her new favorite word. She'll scream it while running down the hall way or when I go in to her room to get her int he morning. Another one of my favorite things is because of my nickname she hears Chase call me all the time, Sadie has been calling me Toots. Out of the blue I'll hear a "hi toots" and it totally cracks me up.

Potty Time!!!

For a couple of weeks Sadie has been a "little" interested in the potty. She saw her friend Lizzie use one and was fascinated from that moment on. Thanks Lizzie for being such a great example!! I of course jumped the gun and bought a potty, big kid pants, and books to help her along the potty training path. She LOVES sitting on the potty but has never actually "used" it until tonight. We just got back from a little get together and because of the late hour we rushed her through teeth brushing and diaper changing. She was insistent upon sitting on her potty even though we wanted to just put her to bed. But she asked us to take her diaper off and she sat on her potty. About 5 minutes later after she ran all over the house naked (on her tippy toes I might add) Chase noticed that there was a little pee in the toilet. How stupid are we to not notice her first time using the potty? We finally acknowledged her accomplishment and gave her a big "hip hip hooray" accompanied with a most coveted gummy bear. Hopefully we weren't too late to correlate the two acts (that being the potty and the gummy bear.) I'm just glad Chase noticed. I won't post pictures for this one seeing Sadie (and we) like to keep these things somewhat private. But good job Sadie Lady for using the potty for the first time!!!

CHASE!!!

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   Lets give Chase a big round of applause for his first blog entry. I never thought I would see the day. I often tell him that it would be nice for him to record a few things seeing that all of our blog entries are in my point of view. How sweet of him to write so many nice things about Sadie and me. Now it's my turn. Here are ten reasons why I think Chase is top notch.
   1. If I am ever in a negative mood he can always turn everything I say around with a positive reply.
   2. He is THE best dad to our little Sadie Lady and they have so much fun together.
   3. He hides the fact that he drinks coke behind my back (even though we've agreed that we both won't drink soft drinks anymore...and has even hidden cans of the poison in our closet).
   4. When I think he's studying I'll look over his back and find ESPN on the screen. He always has to check the latest scores and stats.
   5. Every time he sees anyone wearing a red sox hat, shirt or sticker on their car, he has to acknowledge them and give them a "word up", honk, or an occasional scream out the window..."go sox."
   6. He loves fruit loops more than any kid you will ever know.
   7. Even when I'm half asleep he'll whip out our scriptures and read ten verses to me.
   8. He doesn't ever seek revenge when I throw cold water on him while he's showering.
   9. He is always the last person at any event because he can talk any one's head off. He's also the person you can take anywhere and is bound to run into someone he knows.
   10. He will watch Americas Next Top Model with me makes sure it's "DVRed" so he doesn't miss an episode. Sometimes I think he likes it more than I do.
   Bonus. He has hobbit toes, is an IRONMAN, and can fit into my skinny jeans.