Big weekend in the city

It has been pretty rare that we as a whole family go into DC. We call it "going into the city," as if we live out in the back woods. But today we piled in the van and headed East. Specifically, to Eastern Market. We tasted homemade mustards, pickles, and pretzels which are unreal they're so good.
We saw tchotchskys carved, pressed, knitted, glued, and painted that sparkled, made noise, inspired, or just took up space.

Addie, obviously a fan of color, was right at home.

We saw a cool little dude that we all ended up loving. Bug? Snail? Bird-type thing? We don't know but we hung around him for a few minutes and smiled.
We walked the neighborhood and stopped at a coffee shop where we all got a treat. Some of the best coffee in the city - not just according to Aaron.
The day kept getting colder, but we still swung by the zoo.
Though we had a hard time finding any animals (here we can see the cheetah) - seems like they were all inside or not even at the zoo for some reason - we did meet up with our fun friends the Maynards.We hung around as long as we could stand it (it was COLD!) Then headed back home for pizza dinner and bed. Big day!

Halloween!

Addie wanted to be Kai-Lan, her favorite cartoon character. Nora was Hoho - Kai-Lan's little white monkey friend. And Aaron was Yeye - Kai-Lan's grandfather, hence the powdered hair.



We were joined this year by our dear friend and neighbor, pirate Katherine. She helped the girls trick-or-treat and then sort the booty.

It was all fun and games (literally) until some pretty scary kids came to the door and Addie decided she was done with Halloween. Hopefully she'll forget the fright so she can enjoy next year.

Pumpkin Carv-- er, Decorating.

Valentine Visit to the Farm and American History Museum

When the Valentines come, we try to keep things interesting. This visit, we explored the newly-renovated Museum of American History. The Valentine girls are gaga for Revolutionary America, so they got to see some really neat things like the star-spangled banner and the first ladies' dresses.


The hands-on area was more Addie's speed - she built, adjusted, leveled, lifted, and observed.

We also swung by a small farm near our house that the girls loved. Animals everywhere! and plenty of space to run.

Of course, any time Bekah and Sarah get together, there will be sweets...

Aaron and Sarah in New Orleans

Audrey and Brooke Sleep Over!

Addie's and Nora's BFFs came over for a sleepover while Aaron was traveling. We had popcorn, read books, played games, watched TV, and had a great time.

The girls took a while to settle down to sleep, but eventually they got it together.

We have a new kitchen!

We planned a trip to the beach to allow time for our contractor to do his thing. Though it was more stressful than we hoped, and took longer than we planned for, we are really pleased with how it turned out (and that our guy stuck to our budget like glue).


Here's the before:
One set of cabinets, no dishwasher, old stove, AWFUL counters (maybe original to our 1952 house)





























Here's the after:
Dishwasher! New stove! Cabinets, cabinets, and more cabinets! Counters that can be cleaned well and look clean!



















We'll paint soon, and hope to get new floors sometime next Spring.

Addie starts preschool

It's official - Addie has started her educational journey.
Four days a week at a church a few minutes away...

The front stoop of our house before we rushed to get to the orientation at 8, only to realize it wasn't until 11. Hm. Mom's fault.

Who wants to go to preschool?

Walking right in.

She found her little cubby. Her starfish happened to be her favorite color! That made her happy.

Right at home after just minutes.

That isn't a hand in the mouth indicating anxiety. She's holding a sucker. Actually there were no tears (by either party) except when, having discovered we were way to early and got in the car to leave, Addie was upset because she wanted to go to school and thought she wasn't getting to.
She's so big!

Official summer vacation to OKI

We are so fortunate to have Aaron's parents living at Oak Island, NC. It's a beautiful, classic NC beach where Aaron and Sarah both grew up visiting. This summer we were able to spend a little bit more time visiting - two weeks.

We ate muscadines and scollops, napped, celebrated Grammy's (Aaron's mom) birthday a whole week, went to farmer's markets, rode ferries, and bathed in the outdoor shower.

Love those NC beaches and piers.

Aaron had the chance to go deep-sea fishing with his cousin. He and Addie present the dolphin that Aaron reeled in.

Nora loved her hat. She picked it in the store and wore it all summer. She pretty much sat in Grammy's lap at the beach. Grammy had snacks.

Addie on the other hand was busy, busy building, digging, or 'cooking.'

We took the ferry from Southport to Fort Fisher to see the aquarium.

Sweet Nora on the ferry.


The girls loved every little part of the aquarium.

Outside the NC Aquarium.

Addie shows Granny some of the shells she picked up.

Nora loves the beach!

The Valentines for a day

Bekah and her kiddos drove down from MD to visit for the day - unfortunately the outrageous rainstorm knocked out the power. The girls got creative in their activites. Sarah and Bekah got creative with dinner: off to Chick-Fil-A so the kids could expend that cooped-up energy.


Coloring by lamplight in the evening.

Silly faces

The youngest: Jenna's 3, Nora's 19 months, and Silas is 7 months.

Pack&Play faces

Definitely deserves its own posting.

E = m c 2

Where m = mealtime and c = children.
E must then equal 'entertainment necessary.'

(Yes, Addie can successfully and with confidence operate the iPhone)