Saturday, May 11, 2013

Signs of Spring

We've had sunny skies and 70's ish temperatures the past week or two, so it seems we are actually getting a real spring this year.  Last year it went from freezing to way-too-hot overnight, so as eager as I am to ditch the jackets completely, we are appreciating the weather.  

Nicholas is following in his daddy's foot steps, doing a 2 month soccer clinic.   He's also had theme days most Fridays at school, so we've had fun with crazy-hair, mismatch day, and his school performance about America.  When he saw Tina McBride singing the Star Spangled Banner on TV for the Kentucky Derby, he said, "That's the song from my school!"  We are impressed.  

Claire is keeping us on her toes--she decided she wanted to be like her big brother and use the  potty.  17 months, let the potty training begin!  The fewer diapers we have to buy, the better!  She's not a huge fan of the stroller right now, but loves to walk and run around outside.  If she wants to go out, she will go find her shoes and bring them to us to put on.  She's the perfect age now for the slide in the backyard and will do it 100 times.  We also discovered that she loves digging in potting soil.  We need to get these kids to the beach and see what they can do in the sand!  

David's parents came for a visit so we went to the National Cathedral Flower Mart-- a full blown festival really, with lots of fun booths, food, and children's activities.  Christy read about it in the Washingtonian, and is definitely something we'll look out for next year.


 soccer clinic

 festival at the National Cathedral

 Nicholas loved the giant slide!



 Claire's take on eating corn on the cob

 crazy hair day--it's supposed to be a Mohawk

 we've had some beautiful breezy days, perfect for kite flying

 Claire's first pony tail!


 Nicholas's school performance about America!  Now they are learning about different countries, so Christy is preparing something about Trinidad--pan music, fried plantains, and a book about the Giant Sea Turtles!



 Nicholas was so excited that Claire came to watch his performance

 soccer practice and birthday parties.... how our weekends have changed.  when Nicholas got home from a birthday party for one of his classmates, he was nice enough to share his goody bag with Claire, so the two of them were going crazy running around the house in gold sunglasses blowing on their kazoos!

new stove, yay!  



Christy's 4 day break is coming to a close, but not without a dentist appointment in the morning.  Day shift next though, so time to pull out the business dresses.  We are looking forward to spending lots of time outside in the evenings, and enjoying our new patio table, replacing the one that shattered in last year's duracho.  At least we were able to recycle our Trinidad beach umbrella to use in the umbrella stand!  Let the BBQ season begin!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Cherry Blossoms

We are celebrating the annual Cherry Blossom Festival here in DC.  A few weeks ago we went to the family festival held at the National Building Museum where they had some fun crafts for kids.  Then last week we went down to the Tidal Basin and walked around under the cherry trees in full bloom.












Happy Easter!

March was quite a busy month!  Spring has finally arrived. We celebrated Palm Sunday and Easter, with church, Easter eggs, Easter baskets, and presents from GG and Grumpa and Grandma and PapPap.   



 Palm Sunday procession






 Easter eggs!







 Easter breakfast

 pre-church photo op



 Easter baskets!

 Moe wanted to see what was in Claire's basket too


 thanks for the pizza, GG and Grumpa!



 and the gardening set, Grandma and PapPap!

 and the puzzle, GG and Grumpa!


 and the talking animals, Grandma and PapPap!

 and the portable DVD player with TWO screens!  Road trips will be so much more fun now.

 Peeps!  and Easter Bread!  Life is good.


 Indoor Easter Egg Hunt


 Easter dinner, with our friend Mike

Spring Break

We didn't actually go anywhere for Spring Break, as it was David's first day of work at Main State, but Nicholas did have the week off school.  Monday would have been a snow day one way or the other.  Tuesday and Thursday, Nicholas did a Hawaiian Luau camp at Mobu Kids, so he's ready for the beach.


 first snowman


 the snow was gone by Tuesday
 Claire is doing a great job drinking from the cup
and mommy and daddy are sneaking the veggies in with veggie/fruit smoothie blends

 Nicholas has an appropriate wardrobe for Hawaiian Luau camp

 a few days later it was warm and sunny and we pulled out the wagon