Teenager!

Quinn celebrated his 13^th birthday, and with that he officially entered the teen years. That’s a pretty crazy thought, but it’s our reality now so I have no choice but to believe it’s true. His birthday celebrations started with his actual birthday, when he chose dinner out at Five Guys. Traditionally, we let the kids pick their birthday dinner that is made at home but this year, Keely had dance class that would have made a normal dinner at home difficult to fit around so we decided to go out for dinner. After Five Guys, we had marble cake with buttercream frosting at home (all made from scratch by James) and he opened his presents from Mom & Dad, Keely and a few others that were mailed from our family farther away. He got a new Kindle Paper white and saxophone stand from us and a cool t-shirt (this is what awesome looks like J) and a pack of Root Beer gum from Keely. The following weekend, we traveled to New Jersey and celebrated with the grandparents. Quinn chose lasagna for dinner, ice cream cake for dessert and he got some art supplies from Nana & Papa and a 3 month t-shirt subscription from Aunt Annie.

The last hurrah to ring in his teen years was probably the best part…on Columbus Day weekend, we traveled to Kings Dominion with Quinn and two of his best friends to ride the coasters and scream at the Halloween Haunt. We opened up the park at noon to overcast, chilly skies. Luckily, there was only a little rain throughout the day and the cool weather probably made the crowds lighter. Our bad luck with coasters getting stuck seems to be following us as we were one ride away from being stuck on the first coaster we waited in line for, and the kids were one ride away from being stuck at the top of the Drop Tower. Aside from that and one of the coasters being closed for the day, we had a pretty fun and successful time riding anywhere from 12-15 coasters and never had to wait more than 30ish minutes but mostly just walked on each coaster. 

We also let the three boys ride the Extreme Sky Flyer, which pulls you up about 150 feet and then drops you to freefall and swing in midair like a pendulum until you are lowered back to the ground. Quinn actually was the one to pull the cord, so to speak and release them to soar 60mph. We have a video of them flying, and it’s awesome but they all screamed pretty loud. Keely thought Quinn was going to throw up because he had his hands over his face, but he was just cold (thank goodness). It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience for them, and I know they all had fun with one more adventure!

At night time, the park becomes ‘haunted’ and that was pretty scary (for most of us). There are many mazes to walk through and there are areas of the park where scary people jump out at you, then sometimes follow you until you walk out of that ‘haunted’ area. I have not screamed so much in a very long time, if not ever. We only did two of the mazes, but Keely would have done more – she is so not scared, and my little daredevil. The boys were a bit scared, but I think they tried to play it off to be cooler. After all, what 12-13 year old will admit to being scared?!?! So not cool. I, on the other hand, could scream all I wanted, and scream I did. I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it again, but it was a little much for me.

We almost closed the park at 10 PM but left about 9:30 PM and were completely and utterly exhausted (some more than others). It was a long, tiring but fun day…Quinn and friends had a blast, which was our goal so that is all that matters!

So now we have entered the teen years. I never imagined we would be here so quickly, and I know that these next few years will most likely fly by. I am trying to enjoy every moment, tough as that is, with Quinn as he grows into a smart, funny, independent young man. He has his moments of independence, but I know he loves us and appreciates the support we give him as he tests these waters of adolescence. I don’t know what kind of road lies ahead, but I trust that we can be strong parents and raise a strong, happy, healthy teenager and give him the preparation he needs for the ‘real world’! 

Six Flags

We finally checked an item off our summer bucket list. We had this on last summer’s list but it didn’t happen. It might have been better because Keely has now grown tall enough to ride every single ride with no exceptions, a fact that makes her so happy and makes it easier for us. We arrived on a Sunday right after opening to almost no lines on the coasters. We rode 8 of 9 of their major coasters in under 2 hours, some of them more than once because there were no lines. It was dizzying and a lot of fun, but it’s hard to keep up with the kids who seem not to be bothered by motion sickness at all. James didn’t fare so well, having to sit out for a few coasters but I continued to ride with the kids. 

We even let them ride one together by themselves, something that now makes me cringe because of what happened later that afternoon – that same coaster was stuck at the top of the ride at an angle for over 5 hours with 24 passengers. It was a high angle rescue that required many fire trucks and police and medical support. Luckily, no one was hurt but I can only imagine how I would have felt on the ground as my kids were stuck up on the coaster. Luckily, that wasn’t the case so our only affect was that they closed many of the coasters because of the trapped riders – understandably. We were mostly done by that point and so we headed home happy and having had a lot of fun. Our next amusement park is King’s Dominion; a little further away but a lot of fun from what I remember when I visited each year in college.

New Jersey

Summer wouldn’t seem complete with a trip to New Jersey. This one was in early August and was timed to coincide with Lois, Ryan and the girls traveling there for a week to see Grandma and Grandpa. We drove up on Saturday morning and I came home early Tuesday morning, but James and the kids stayed until Wednesday evening. There is not much to do in New Jersey, but thanks to the purchase of some slip and slides the kids had enough fun right at the house. They also took a trip to Allaire State Park where they rode the train, and we took the kids to Clark Mills and Milford Brook – our old stomping grounds from Manalapan Rec and the site where James and I met some 22 years earlier. It’s crazy that 22 years later, we were there with our two kids and Lois’ two kids playing on the same (loosely) playgrounds where we met and started to get to know each other. It was actually quite surreal. We also went to church at OLM almost 15 years to the day of our wedding, and it was again quite surreal to sit in the pew with our children and expanded family. I had no idea where life would take us, but we have been very blessed and I can’t wait to see where the next 15 years, 30 years and hopefully more (God willing) takes us.

Our anniversary itself was celebrated back in Virginia when James and the kids returned home. We went to dinner at Matchbox - very yummy - followed by ice cream at Boardwalk Ice Cream. Keely made us her own handmade gifts and it was very thoughtful. She wanted to have this hanging in our room when we awoke, but instead it was hung during the day. Notice the artist peeping out the closet door :)

Friday Update...three is the new five :)

I always have good intentions with keeping the momentum going on these updates, but I just didn’t have five things last week nor did I have time to write too much. Another week though and a few more things to discuss, so here’s the latest update. Since we are on the verge of the first long weekend of summer, I will make my next update a preview of our top 5 (or maybe more) summer plans. In the meantime, enjoy the top five from these last two weeks…

-Mother’s Day 4 Miler – We had visitors for mother’s day weekend this year – Nana, Papa, and Aunt Annie. That meant three generations together for Mother’s Day. What better way to celebrate than with a 4 mile run? Keely has been asking to do another 5K for some time, so this seemed perfect. It was in Reston and we got tech tee shirts, a pin and all moms got a flower at the finish line. I would definitely run this race again, although the course was tough with all its hills. Most importantly, the four of us got to be together which is as it should be. We then met up with the boys at Silver Diner (where else?!?!) for breakfast. It was a fun morning!

-Quinn’s Band Concert – Quinn had his spring band concert. He, along with the rest of the Intermediate Band, played four songs including the theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark (a fun choice!) and it sounded very nice. We couldn’t see Quinn from our seats as he was in the 4^th row with the other alto saxophones but we couldn’t hear him which means he played well and was in tune with the rest of the band. He also got some very exciting news about next year…

-Symphonic Band – As a member of the intermediate band in 6^th grade, there are 3 choices for Quinn next year: Concert Band 2, Concert Band 1 and Symphonic Band. He performed last week for the two band teachers, and we found out this week that he has qualified for Symphonic Band! That is the highest level he can attain and he will have reached it in only his second year of middle school. There is only one slight snag. One other student received higher marks on the performance for alto saxophone and there is only one spot for that instrument. BUT…Quinn qualified for Symphonic Band as well – a quote from his teacher…”his tone is great, his rhythmic accuracy is spot on, and his knowledge and understanding of articulations is superb”. So in order to have Quinn participate next year, they offered him a spot on the tenor saxophone. Quinn doesn’t have to learn an entirely new instrument and the added sound will complement the band. And the school will pay for his instrument for the year since he is being asked to fill the spot. SO…Quinn is excited to try something new and has accepted their offer to play tenor saxophone in the Symphonic Band next year! We are very proud of him and his aptitude for saxophone and can’t wait to continue to watch him grow as a musician :)

Top News Flashes: April Fools Edition

-Each quarter in Social Studies, Quinn has to do a project. They are given three choices in which to deliver the project – one of which always seems to include a diorama. He is very hands on and prefers creative projects so he tends to pick the diorama. His first two have been very creative and scored him high marks. For the 3^rd quarter, he chose something slightly different. He made a model of a steam engine to signify that development in United States history (the unit is mostly geared towards Westward Expansion). He used mostly Styrofoam, with some spray paint and created a very unique and creative project. Thank goodness I took pictures of the final result, because his teacher is keeping it on display in his class and he got a 100 on this effort!

-April Fool’s Day came and went without too much fanfare. Overheard at our house – Keely to James: ‘Dad, I wore flip flops to school today.’ to which he responded that she knows she is not allowed to wear sandals until the end of the year, and not flip flops at all and to which he was given a prompt ‘April Fools!’. James to Quinn when he asked what was for dinner: ‘We’re going out to eat!’ and when Quinn surprisingly asked, ‘Really?!?!’ he got a sharp ‘April Fools’! All harmless, but a little bit of fun on what was be an otherwise normal weekday.

-This weekend we visited Gunston Hall, George Mason’s home. It is located just down the road a bit, at an exit off I-95 where Quinn happens to have a basketball game each Sunday. Keely was just recently discussing learning about and seeing photos of the home in class (it’s Virginia Studies for 4^th grade) and when she saw it at the exit on a sign, she was insistent that we make a trip there. I love that she loves history and actually wants to visit places such as these (I wasn’t really like that as a child) and I love that we live so close to so many historical places. Now we have visited Mount Vernon (Geo. Washington), Monticello (Tho. Jefferson) and we hope to add Montpelier (James Madison) and Oak Hill (James Monroe) to the list this summer. Keely really wanted to compare Gunston Hall to the other two we have seen. I know she loves the fanciness of the houses, and imagining what life would have been like in those days. Something that she said fascinated me and showed me that she’s really thinking about what she is learning – why would Geo. Mason have had slaves if he believed in free rights for all people? Honestly, I could answer her other than that he was a bit ahead of his time in that belief. Anyways, the house was quite lovely and a bit more practical than the other two historic homes. I would choose Gunston…for the size and practicality of the house, and the peaceful grounds on the banks of the Potomac. I also thought it was humorous to think that in those days, Geo. Washington was his closest neighbor – because of the ease of arriving by boat. It was a lovely spring afternoon, spent exploring a lovely piece of Virginia (and really US) history.

-I have new hope for my running legs returning after two runs this weekend – one a slow, painful 4 miler and one a speedier almost pain free 4.6 miles. I am feeling stronger and I think I just need to pick my days – when I feel good, I can run but when I don’t, I probably just need to know not to push it (even if the weather is nice or if the stars align for a run). It also helped that my soccer game was canceled on Saturday due to unsafe field conditions. I think it would have prevented the good run I had yesterday…but it was also bad because now when I play again (2 weeks since the first game) I’m not sure my muscles will remember and I could end up just as sore as last time. Hopefully next time out my mind will realize that my body is not 20 and it won’t be as bad afterwards. I’m still looking forward to another game, just being a little more realistic about how far I can push this aging body.

And that’s only 4 things, but I’m going to post anyways since a new week is upon us. A little over a week until we head to Florida for some hopefully sun and fun with the family J

2013 Wrap Up

The holidays were a whirlwind. It was pretty typical, from a tradition perspective. At the same time, it was untraditional in some respects. This was the first year since Keely was an infant (2 months old) that we traveled out of our home for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. For those keeping track, that’s 10 years! It was also the first time in my life that we went to church on Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve. For those keeping track on that one, that’s 37 years (!) since I had another birthday right before Christmas.

We had the Florida Donovan Torviks visiting us this year, so we had four additional people at our house from the 21^st to the 2^nd…minus the time we were all in New Jersey (5-6 nights). We enjoyed having them stay with us, and the kids all got lots of cousin time. We even got all of the Donovan cousins together in New Jersey for a couple of days. This holiday season might also go down as one of the most unphotographed…I just don’t feel like we took a lot of photos.

The kids were very blessed, err…spoiled, this Christmas. They both received iPod Nanos from Mom & Dad along with some iTunes gift cards. They got lots of other gifts from Santa, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. One of my favorite things about this Christmas though is their generosity with each other and their cousins. They took money that they make from odd jobs (Quinn from leaf raking and lawn mowing, Keely from cat sitting) and used the money to buy gifts for each other and each of their cousins. They weren’t gifts of high monetary value (love Five Below…each gift was $5) but they were well thought out gifts for each person. They also wrapped and labeled each gift themselves. This wasn’t something they were prompted to do, it was something they chose to do on their own. Once in a while, you get a glimpse of the person they are becoming and this was one of those times. They got to truly experience the joy of gift giving, instead of just receiving and I think it was wonderful.

So what else? We spent five nights in New Jersey, and as seems to be typical had many Christmas celebrations. We spent Christmas Eve and morning with the Donovans. Another non-tradition was having pizza on Christmas Eve for dinner. That’s not the norm, but it was an easy and non-stressful way to feed the 10 of us. I’m all for non-stress, as this year especially I felt Christmas and the weeks leading up to it to be a series of tasks I had to manage and complete. It felt like a chore, and it wasn’t all that enjoyable. In any event, as it typically does it all came together and I had no reason to stress. So back to Christmas Day, after opening presents and having a nice home cooked breakfast (Ryan and I were on that one) we showered and dressed for church. After church, we headed to my parents for the rest of the day and night. We celebrated with dinner, drinks, dessert, etc. with all of my aunts, uncles and cousins and it was quite enjoyable. It was a smaller, manageable group and this year it was catered which made it much less stressful for my mom (that’s where I get my tendency to stress!). The next morning, we did Christmas morning all over again on a smaller scale with Nana, Papa and Aunt Annie. Unfortunately, Quinn got sick that morning – though it was after he opened his presents. It seems he had a small 24 hour bug so we quarantined him at my parents’ (thanks to Nana for taking care of him) and went ice skating with Keely. The next day, we went bowling and Quinn was feeling up to coming along. Keely also had a sleepover at Annie’s and they had a blast. Friday night we had a lovely dinner with Uncle Joe and J.R. and that completed seeing my mom’s side of the family. Saturday it was back to the Donovans’ to see the North Carolina bunch and have all of the cousins together. 

Sunday was a special day – Cecilia’s baptism. I was honored to be her Godmother and it was a nice ceremony followed by lunch at Grandma & Grandpa’s. Then we headed back home to Virginia…we were happy to have a few days at home before school and work started back up.New Year’s was pretty quiet…but we had fun ringing in 2014 with some games and appetizers for dinner. Oh, and in the course of all of these events, Lois and I managed to run 30+ miles together  :)

It was a lovely holiday season…surrounded by those we love, and that is what is most important. We are very blessed indeed!

The Weitz Family Visits Washington

After what seemed like many months of planning and a few failed attempts at picking a weekend, we finally had our 2^nd weekend visit from Jess, Jon and Ethan. They arrived on the train Friday afternoon and stayed until early Sunday afternoon. It was a quick trip, but we packed in a lot of fun! 

On Friday, we had a nice dinner out at Silver Diner. Perfect for kids and great food, it ended up being a perfect choice. On Saturday morning, we drove up to Clemyjontri Park in McLean. I had a feeling Ethan would love this park, and I think it’s safe to say I was right. Quinn and Keely like it too, but we only go there when we have little ones in town. Quite honestly, they are just too old for parks but they like to live vicariously through the younger friends and cousins we bring there. 

We spent about an hour there and then it was time to head home and get Keely ready for her soccer game. After the game, we decided to head downtown to visit the Air & Space Museum. The museum was a hit with all, and we spent about 2 hours there before heading home to prepare dinner. Insert my WWBHM post here, because that picks up our activities from dinner through about 9 AM when I finished running the following morning. I was so happy to have 3 extra people in my cheering squad on Sunday morning! After my race, we had brunch at Jukebox Diner. Before we knew it, the time had come to bring our guests to Union Station for their return train back to NYC. It was too quick, but there were a lot of laughs and a ton of fun. We are so glad to live close enough to see them – though not as often as we would like, it’s working out to once or twice a year and I know I look forward to these visits.

Other fun stuff to mention – teaching Jess and Jon Anomia (and Jess getting a little too enthusiastic about playing!), teaching Jon to rainbow loom, and we can't forget Keely’s salon complete with massages, manicures, hair styling and even magazines to read in the waiting room!

It was definitely a fun time, and I’m so glad they were able to make the trip down to see us. Next time, we’re looking forward to visiting New York and Brooklyn, or even meeting in the middle for a getaway (Philly is the most likely place). I don’t know exactly when it will be, but I do know I look forward to the next time we get to hang with the Weitz Family :)

A Dozen

Quinn celebrated his 12^th birthday last week. I know I say this all the time, but I honestly can’t believe he is 12! I know I will say that each year because it does seem like just yesterday that he was a tiny little baby (well, not so tiny for those who remember his birth weight but still a lot smaller than he is now). He’s growing into a fine young man, and I love that he while he’s grown up in a lot of ways, he still has time for hugs from mom and is very loving, telling us every day that he loves and appreciates us.

As usual, his birthday seemed to last more than just one day – with really three different celebrations.

The first celebration was the weekend before when Nana, Papa and Aunt Annie came to visit and celebrate with Quinn. We went out to dinner on Saturday night (thanks Papa!) and Quinn chose the restaurant – although it was partly governed by him wanting to go to the Lego Store which meant he chose from the restaurants at Tysons Corner. We had a great meal at Gordon Biersch Brewery, and got our shopping in at Lego – even Keely managed to get some shopping in at Justice (how does that manage to happen?!?!). I made a train cake…I at first thought Quinn was harkening back to his younger years wanting a basic train cake but in typical Quinn fashion, he surprised me by making the 4 cars into a Metro train cake. Fitting since I work on the Dulles Rail Metro extension J He’s so creative, just asking me to make and ice the cake and then he takes over with decorating. He designed each of the cars, and even had Gummy Bears waiting on the platform to board the train. Two cars were carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and the other two were chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. It was a really cute cake, and tasted great! After cake, he opened presents – the theme this year was mostly Legos and books. I honestly wonder when he will outgrow his Legos – maybe never! There’s nothing he likes more than tearing into a new set of Legos and following the directions to build the set…except tearing it down and making his own creations! Oh, and devouring a new book of course :)

The second was his actual birthday. Since he’s now in middle school, there was no celebration at school except he did get 12 pieces of candy from the 6^th grade principal. He chose dinner…which was breakfast. French toast J We surprised him with Crumbs cupcakes for dessert – a treat for the whole family (except James who doesn’t eat cupcakes) and he got his presents from us – a Lego set from Mom & Dad, and a book from Keely. See, the theme continues on…

The third and last celebration was with his friends. He initially tried to talk us into Paintball, but we talked him into a sleepover because paintball is quite expensive. At 3 AM when they were still awake, I was thinking maybe paintball would have been a better – albeit more costly – choice! We had his two best friends over. They had pizza, watched a movie, ate popcorn, candy, and ice cream cake (homemade – and much better on my second attempt!).They stayed up way too late…and got up way too early. They had fun though, and that’s what matters most!

So now Quinn is 12, and we have one more year before he is officially a teenager. Still, I marvel at how quickly that seems to have happened. The reality is he’s growing up, and there is not one thing we can do to stop that – so we enjoy each day with him and marvel at the fine young man he is becoming!

Summer Wrap Up

We returned from Maine on July 22^nd, with the kids having been off school for over a month yet having had a very abnormal summer. They were gone 3 of the first 4 weeks, and we were very ready for life to settle down and everyone to settle into the normal summer routine. You know…sleeping late, playing with friends, staying up late, swimming at the neighborhood pool, etc. I’m used to getting up and out of the house every day with the rest of the family still sleeping, and that’s the feeling of summer we were all eager for. We also had been very busy out of state, but realized there are a lot of things we want to do close to home – stay-cations of sorts. So we made a list of things we wanted to do in the last 5-6 weeks of summer. I’m happy to say we checked off all but one or two items on that list. One being tubing, which I know we will do another summer – but would have been hard logistically to fit in this summer. And the other was a nearby amusement park – which we can still do another weekend this Fall. We checked off the other items on the list, capping the last one on September 1^st – a trip to a water park…pretty good, considering James and the kids were in New Jersey for one week of August.

I can separate these activities, or write about them all together. I think lumping it all together will help me catch up quicker to present time, so here goes.

We took a trip to Cunningham Falls State Park, a lake with a waterfall hike in the mountains of Maryland. My favorite memory from this trip was Keely’s description of the lake – Nature’s Pool :) There is a small beach area, and the part of the lake you can swim in is roped off. It was nice, but I wouldn’t go back again for the beach area. We also did the hike up to the waterfalls, and then played around on the rocks around the falls. The whole park was fairly crowded, probably because it was a gorgeous summer day with low humidity. We had a nice day, but for the 1+ hour drive I don’t think it’s worth another trip.

We combined two things from our list into one overnight in-state trip – Natural Bridge and Monticello. James and I had been to NB when we were in college, and we wanted the kids to see it. It’s gotten a bit more commercialized since we visited, but it’s a nice trip nonetheless. The bridge is pretty amazing, and it didn’t disappoint. We also made the hike (more like a walk) to the waterfalls, including a side trip to the Monacan Indian Village. They have also added a butterfly garden that includes some beautiful large butterflies. For a last hurrah, and what ended up being quite a laugh, we visited the wax museum on site that was included with our admission. I’m not a fan of these places, and it was a little creepy looking at these wax figures – but mostly, it was funny because they didn’t quite capture the people they were trying to replicate. 

We then traveled to Charlottesville for the night and visited Monticello on Sunday to complete our in state exploring. James was the only one to have ever been, and it was when he was very young so we all got to experience this for (almost) the first time. I’m comparing this to Mount Vernon in terms of history, pricing, crowds, etc. and I have to say I was quite impressed and I like Monticello better. The grounds are more spread out and even though there were a lot of people there, it didn’t feel crowded. We also chose the family friendly tour – and although it’s geared more for younger kids, the tour guide was excellent – very knowledgeable and very patient answering all the kids and adults questions. We spent about two hours exploring, including the house tour, lower level, grounds, gardens, and outbuildings. It was a very nice experience and I recommend it if you are in the Charlottesville area. 

Hey, it’s better than visiting the University – I still can’t believe that we took the kids to see UVA before we took them to Blacksburg to see our alma mater. I never would have thought we’d live in Virginia for over 2 years and not have visited Blacksburg once. However, it’s 4.5 hours away and that’s a long trip so I guess that’s why. We’ll get there one of these days – at least to show Quinn the school before he applies to colleges :)

James and the kids spent one of the last weeks of summer in New Jersey, mostly hanging out with Grandpa. They did also squeeze in some time with Nana and other cousins, it’s bound to happen with all of my family in the area also. Keely got to have a fabulous girls’ day with Nana in New York City, complete with a trip to the American Girl doll store that included lunch and some ‘big’ conversations! The rest of the week was spent at various parks, swimming, a trip to the beach, and an indoor game and ride center. They had a fun time, and I was able to join them for the last two days.

The last hurrah, so to speak, and another check off our ‘to-do’ list was a trip to a local water park. We are so fortunate to have not one, but five County water parks to choose from all at a pretty reasonable price for a days’ admission. The one we chose has a wave pool, five water slides, and several smaller pool areas. We spent a few hours there, definitely getting our money’s worth and even had some funnel cake – I swear they pump the smell into the wave pool area and I couldn’t resist!

So with that, summer was officially over and we (mostly me) were ready to get back into a normal routine. There are big changes in store, with both kids going to new schools this year and lots of new experiences coming up!

A Trip to Brooklyn

We spent the first weekend in May in New Jersey, but the real purpose of the trip was to see Jess, Jon and Ethan. We had not seen them in just over a year...a fact that is both sad and unbelievable. Time just goes so fast, and we made attempts to meet up for a weekend in the Fall but schedules did not mesh (mostly our schedule, because it seems we have something going on every weekend). So anyways, instead of try to meet in a neutral location we decided to drive to NJ and use that as home base to meet up with them in their territory. We spent Saturday with them, exploring their 'hood and surrounding areas. It was a beautiful day, perfect for outdoor activities and that was good since we planned to spend the day at the Brooklyn piers. We walked from their apartment to Pier 6 and then down from there all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge. On the return trip, we took the upper elevated walkway above the piers...enjoyed the views of NYC and fantasized about living in one of those brownstones (if only we had millions of dollars). We ate pizza at Grimaldi's, which I understand is legendary and the pizza was definitely worth the wait. The day went quickly, and we had a lot of great conversation and laughter. Ethan was the center of attention. Quinn and Keely both dote on him, and he took full advantage of the extra attention and care. And Jess and Jon got to enjoy an almost parenting-free day, even offering to rent Keely for a day or a weekend or even more if we'd let them :) We had a great day, and we can't wait to see them again. We swore it will not be another year...and still hope to meet up for a weekend in Philly but most likely next will be them traveling to our house again, hopefully in the summer!

GOTG 5K

The seasons of Girls on the Go (GOTG) and Young Men in Motion (YMIM) wrapped up with a 5K on Saturday morning. The run was held at a local middle school and run in the neighborhood streets. It was a low key event, only serving the youth programs at three local elementary schools. Keely chose James as her buddy runner, which meant I was to run with Quinn. He missed it though since he was attending his first Boy Scout campout, so that meant Keely ended up with two buddy runners.



She did really well, running almost the entire time. She complained of a stitch or two, but pushed through. I honestly think it's because James was with us...he doesn't take the complaining and makes her push on, where I would probably say it's okay to walk a bit, all the while irritated in my head that we are walking :) In any event, the first part of the run was two loops around the neighborhood and then a small loop to get back to the start/finish line. I was timing us, and we were making great time...too great actually, so much that I thought we cheated or the course was too short. We finished in 27 minutes, 15 seconds. An amazing 5K time for not only Keely, but me as well! When we got home, James mapped the course and it turns out it was only 2.9 miles. It was still great time...had we ran the extra two tenths, we still would have finished under 30 minutes. Keely finished first of the GOTG participants from her school, and also beat all of the boys from YMIM from her school. A great day overall! We missed Quinn, but it was fun to spend time with just Keely and to enjoy running together on a crisp April morning.

The Cabin Getaway

A few weekends ago, we met up with Tom, Judith and kids for a fun weekend getaway. After their weekend trip to see us in December fell through, I had been looking for a place where we could meet in the middle or somewhere pretty close to the middle.  I found Occoneechee State Park in Clarksville, Virginia…a state campground that also has some pretty nice cabins. It happens to be about a 3.5-4 hour drive from both of our houses, and that fit the bill.  We were able to agree on the first weekend in February, and the plan was set.  We hadn’t seen them since July at the beach house so we were long overdue for a visit. 

We arrived on Friday night…late and the craziness ensued.  The kids didn’t wind down until almost 1 AM only to be back up before 7 AM.  Thanks to coffee, I was not too unhappy about that lack of sleep.  The kids just have so much fun together….being that they are all within 4 years of each other.  I don’t think I heard ‘I’m bored’ one time the whole time we were there. 

After a breakfast of pancakes in the morning and lots of much needed coffee (for the adults), we decided to take a hike over to the park office and visitor’s center. The park was once the home of the Occaneechee Indians and there is quite a nice visitor’s center dedicated to their history and unfortunate demise. The weather was cold but that didn’t stop us from enjoying nature. 

When we got back from our hike, Judith and I headed into ‘town’ to grab a few necessities (we were roughing it, but there were some things forgotten that we couldn’t do without lol).  The kids took to playing down by the water in their ‘fort’…the adults stayed close to the fire, chatted and played games. The dogs were there too, and Callie and Max had fun together as usual. 

For dinner, we grilled burgers and hot dogs and I made baked macaroni. We also played musical chairs, ping pong, and lots of games including Catch Phrase, Beat the Parents (the kids won yet again!), and Taboo. The hours seemed to disappear fast…even though there were no TVs, we were never bored and there was always lots of great conversation and laughter. We had makeshift s’mores for dessert…using cookies and brownies instead of graham crackers. 

Everyone was tired on Saturday night and we got a much better night sleep. On Sunday morning, it was time to pack up and depart in our opposite directions. It was a really quick trip, and one that I think we will do again. We had so much fun and we can’t wait to see them again soon!

Jingle Bell 5K

Last Saturday was the culmination of Quinn and Keely's season of the school running clubs...Girls on the Go (GOTG) and Young Men in Motion (YMIM).  This was Quinn's second season, and Keely's first.  They have been meeting once a week since late September to train for a 5K. 

We got really lucky with the weather considering it was early December..it was in the upper 40s and overcast.  The race was held in Arlington, starting and ending at Pentagon Row.  It was an out and back, which I usually don't like but this ended up being a bonus because it allowed us to see people almost the entire time.  This is critical when trying to keep two nine year old girls moving towards the finish line.  James ran with Quinn, and I ran with Keely and Julia.

Quinn's goal was to finish in under 30 minutes, a substantial goal for him.  He ended up running the entire time, and finished in 30:03.  BUT James had to stop and use the bathroom along the course...causing them to lose time, and they estimate the stop cost them about 45 seconds.  So he (un)officially met his goal.

Keely's goal was to finish in under 35 minutes.  Actually, she didn't really have a goal but I set one for her because she finished the Beech Tree 5K in May with no training in just over 37 minutes.  She came close to the 'goal' finishing in 35:55.  It was a tough go at the beginning, the crowd was hard to navigate with so many people...and Keely complained of cramps and itchy feet to name a couple of things.  She finished strong though, and I think could have run faster because she sprinted once she saw the finish line...so there was some gas left in that tank.  Pacing (or pasting, as the girls sometimes call it) is such a hard concept, and 3 miles seems so long at the outset.

Both kids did great, and we enjoyed another family 5K and celebrated with a nice breakfast at Jukebox Diner :)

Camping

Last weekend, we ventured out to Shenandoah National Park to camp for one night with Quinn's Boy Scouting den.  The den only consists of two boys, Quinn and his best friend Jack so the group consisted of our two families.  It really works out perfectly that their family has a boy Quinn's age, and a girl Keely's age...and that the kids get along so well.  Only problem is that we don't have a 13 year old to pair up with their oldest.  Oh well, John's a good sport and had fun anyways.

We had so much trouble planning a weekend for this one night trip.  The only weekend that both families could find time in our busy schedules was early in November, and then it was so late in the season we worried about snow, and cold temperatures.  Luckily, we didn't have any snow but it was cold...highs around 50 and low in the upper 20s to low 30s.  It was also 'fall behind' weekend so we had an extra hour in those cold tents :)

We left after the girls' soccer game on Saturday and arrived at our destination, Andy Guest State Park around 5:30 PM.  A little later than I would have liked, only giving us an hour or so of daylight to set up camp.  The boys were supposed to do everything themselves to continue their boy scout training.  They set up their tent with a bit of help, and started a fire (again, with a little help).  They made a really good oven out of a box and aluminum foil...and using charcoal, it heated to more than 350 degrees (judging by how quickly things cooked while in it) and made biscuits to accompany dinner and cinnamon rolls to accompany breakfast.  Our main course for dinner was foil pockets...and the boys made all 9 of them, cooked to order with trimmings.  They consisted of ground beef, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, potatoes, salt, pepper, and whatever flavorings you wanted - BBQ sauce, white wine, ketchup, etc.  These are so simple...put all of the ingredients on a piece of foil, wrap it up like a tent, and put it on the fire for 20-25 minutes.  I was a little skeptical at first, but they were delicious!  The boys also made some desserts...including s'mores, bananas with marshmallows and chocolate, and apples with cinnamon and brown sugar.  I was so stuffed...for campfire meals, this was by far better than my usual standby of hot dogs and mac n cheese (though we did have some of that on the side).

Night arrangements found the boys in their own tent, and Keely wanting to sleep with Julia so that left me and James to our tent.  It was super cold...my feet were cold most of the night despite having wool socks on, and my nose never warmed up.  It wasn't the best night's sleep...oh, and also was interrupted by Keely and Julia needing me to accompany them to the bathroom at 1 AM (because they were afraid of bears). 

In the morning, we had bagels toasted on the campfire and the aforementioned cinnamon rolls.  We broke down the camp...honestly, so much trouble for just one night...and then ventured out for a hike to complete the Outdoorsman badge.  It really is beautiful out in that area, even though the leaves were past their prime.  I forget how beautiful, but it inspired me to get out in the mountains more often.  We were so spoiled having them so close in Utah, that I often forget we are still relatively close to mountains here in Virginia.

It was a fun one night trip camping, and I'm sure we will do it again sometime soon...hopefully in a bit warmer weather. 

11

One week ago today, Quinn celebrated his 11th birthday.  The birthday celebrations began the Friday before and lasted an entire week.  He is one lucky boy!

The pre-birthday weekend kicked off when Nana, Papa and Aunt Annie came to visit on Friday afternoon.  We let Quinn decide Saturday's main activity, and he chose to visit the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum (commonly called Air and Space 2, because the one downtown is number one).  I had never been to this one, but James and the kids went when we first moved here primarily because we were staying in a hotel very close to it.  Annie took Quinn on the simulator as one of his birthday gifts, and they had a blast even going upside down.  We got to see the newly retired space shuttle Discovery which is now housed in the museum.  It's pretty impressive to see such a large plane, and one that has gone to space so many times up close and personal.  I only wish you could go inside!  There is even a control tower that gives you 360 degree views of the area, as well as a chance to listen in on the actual air traffic control of Dulles Airport which is just to the north of the museum.  All in all, a cool place to visit - and at only a cost of $15 for parking, even more worth the trip! 

Saturday night, we let Quinn choose dinner - BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, and salad.  Then we had cake and presents.  His cake is always his own choice and design...this year a marble bundt cake with chocolate frosting, and his name and age spelled out in gummy worms.  Quite tasty, although I could have lived without the gummy worms.

Sunday he had another birthday meal, thanks to Papa - his choice a full rack of ribs.  This boy can eat more than me already!

On his actual birthday, he brought cupcakes to school to celebrate with his class.  It struck me as I was decorating his choice of funfetti with sprinkles that this is the last year he will be bringing a treat to school...next year he will be in middle school.  Wow!  Another sign that he is getting older, as if there weren't enough of those front and center.  We didn't do anything special that night, since he and Keely have guitar lessons but he did get a few more presents...all in all, he had a great haul with  an xBox game, movies (The Hunger Games, and The Avengers), Legos (who knew he could need even more of those?!?!), game (Anomia...for him and Keely, and fun for the whole family!), money, and from us a long board.  Quite a lucky boy!

But that wasn't the end of the fun.  On Friday night, he had his two best friends over at our house for a night of fun and a sleepover.  They had pizza, played games and watched The Avengers with movie style popcorn and M&M's, cookies and brownies...and stayed up until about 2 AM.  It was a long, crazy night.  They were up before 8 AM, and I made pancakes for breakfast.  Quinn had a lot of fun, but he was exhausted (so was I to be honest!).

And that was that.  The week long birthday celebration came to an end, and now we have an 11 year old.  It's not as dramatic as having your child enter the double digits, but another year gone by quickly just the same.  He's a smart, quirky, intelligent kid and I'm proud of the young man he is becoming.  I love being around him...he's calm, easygoing and fun...and I can't wait to watch him continue to grow and change.   

Beech Tree 5K

This past Sunday, we ran our first 5K together as a family.  James was Quinn's buddy runner, and they also ran with Quinn's best buddy Jack.  I ran with Keely, and we ended up running along with two other 2nd graders.  Quinn finished in just over 33 minutes, which was about 6 minutes faster than his first 5K last month.  Keely finished in just over 37 minutes, pretty good for her first 5K and with no training.  Her only practice was to run around our basement for about 40 minutes while I ran 4 miles on the treadmill.  I couldn't believe she ran the whole time, and just kept doing laps around the outline of the basement.

The school got a ton of great photos of the event, and I've clipped those that show our family in action.  It was fun, and I'm proud of the kids for running a 5K at such a young age.

Running is such a great way to keep in shape, and I hope to instill in them an enjoyment from running so that they can continue with it on through their adult lives.  I've definitely been hot and cold about running, but I do think it's important to stay fit and running is just one possibility for that. I'm not sure if the kids will love running, or continue on with other races, but I do know that we all had fun on Sunday, and that's a great start!

The Latest

Mid-February already!  Despite best intentions, another few weeks have slipped past without any writing.  It's the same deal as last time, no items of what I would particularly call noteworthy but when I think back about it, there are definitely things happening in our world.

The kids got their report cards for the midpoint of the school year.  Both did very well - Quinn receiving all As and Bs, Keely all Gs and Os (good and outstanding).  Keely needs to work on her chatting in class.  She has been given time outs in other classrooms, and can be pretty disobedient when her teacher asks her to stop talking and getting out of her seat.  Quinn needs to work on time management.  He has a lot of work to do, but this classroom is very open and he needs to focus himself and concentrate on tasks at hand - both at school and at home.  He struggles with not waiting until the last minute to do things.  I think it's something we all struggle with, but we are trying to teach him to do things in smaller chunks, with rewards of free time after for things like reading books and building Legos. 

While on the subject of school, Quinn was formally recommended for the AAP program.  Currently, he is a guest in the program because he was a new addition to the school.  He took the CoGAT tests in the fall and his scores came back a couple of weeks ago - he scored in the 97th percentile compared to other 4th graders.  That, combined with his teacher's recommendation meant we had to fill out some paperwork for him to be considered a permanent addition to the program...well, permanent as in for 5th grade as I am not sure what happens when he enters middle school (middle school?!?!).  Now that the files have been prepared and submitted, we won't hear until April or May.  Even if he isn't recommended, he can still be a guest next year if space allows.

Nana, Papa, and Annie visited us last weekend to celebrate Nana's birthday (and I guess Annie's birthday a couple of days late). The weather was the coldest of the winter so it was tough to do much other than go shopping.  We also enjoyed a fantastic meal at Founding Farmer's downtown near GWU. 

We went downtown and spent some more time in the Smithsonian - seeing the Star Spangled Banner, Revolutionary War and the First Ladies Exhibits in American History and gems, minerals and insects in Natural History.  Once again, it's nice to have no pressure to see everything and be able to explore these museums at our leisure.  No one gets burned out from museum overload, and we are there and back home in an afternoon outing.

Keely lost her last tooth for a while - number 8 for those of you who lost track.  It sorely needed to make its exit because it was blocking the front tooth from coming in straight.  After a couple of nights of really working on it, James was finally able to pull it out.  The Tooth Fairy (maybe our last visit?) left her a generous $3 in exchange for her hard work.  She bought two packs of Tic-Tacs - one for her and one for Quinn - very generous of her!

Lastly, a quick follow-up from last time - Quinn won the Webelos I portion of the Pinewood Derby.  Sounds great, but not so much a win though - he was the only car racing from his den of 3.  He went on to race the other dens and came in 3rd overall.  Not too bad and now he gets to compete in the Regional PWD on March 10th should we choose to attend that event.  He can also add weight to his car since he left about 0.7 ounces on the table - and the difference between 1st and 3rd overall was less than 0.10 seconds so perhaps the extra weight would push his car faster.

Holiday Recap

As usual, the holidays came and went too quickly.  I could have used a few more days off, but back to work I went.  This year was different than years past, mainly for the reason that we are now much closer to all of our family.  Being closer meant being busier, but I think it also meant being blessed with much more family celebrations.  I've counted five different Christmas celebrations over the course of 4 days!

We ushered in the holiday season with the North Carolinian Donovans visiting us for one night on their way to New Jersey.  We enjoyed their visit, albeit short.  Two days later, we anxiously awaited the arrival of the Floridian Donovans.  They arrived on a relatively empty plane to a relatively uncrowded airport on Christmas Eve night.  We were all so excited to see each other, and the fun ensued.  Putting out cookies, getting the kids settled, wrapping presents while chatting and drinking wine late into the night.  We celebrated a wonderful Christmas morning in our house.  Quinn's prize gift from Santa was a Kindle, and Keely's an American Girl Doll (Julie, of the 1970s era).  They got lots of other gifts as well, and we spoiled Adelia probably a little too much but the gifts were a hit and they gave her a few things to play with over the week she was at our house (we're not flush with two year old appropriate toys anymore...go figure).  Christmas dinner was simple, yet delicious - ham, sweet potato casserole, asparagus and Hawaiian rolls.

On Monday morning, we headed north to continue the festivities and on to the aforementioned four remaining celebrations.  We had dinner and presents at Grandma & Grandpa's on Monday night, breakfast &presents (a 2nd Christmas morning, if you will) with Nana, Papa and Annie on Tuesday morning, and headed up to Staten Island on a very rainy Tuesday night to celebrate with Great Grandma, Aunt Donna & family and some other SI family.  On Wednesday night, we traveled the short distance to Aunt Gail's for a delicious dinner and yet another celebration.  On Thursday, we rounded up the troops and traveled back home to Virginia - exhausted, overloaded with presents (mostly for the kids) and ready for a few days of break from the hub bub.

The rest of the long weekend went fast.  We went to see ZooLights at the National Mall, visited Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Iwo Jima and a bit of Arlington National Cemetery.  We rang in the New Year with a competitive game of Harry Potter Scene It, a bit of Love Actually and SNL Christmas Edition before watching the ball drop in Times Square.  Keely made it until about 11:56 PM, and then was asleep for the big event.  We tried to wake her but she was passed out!  I guess next year maybe she will make it until midnight.


New Years Day was quiet, we took a trip to another local park and James made a simple yet delicious pasta dinner.  I also couldn't not mention that we tried our first Vietnamese food on NYE for lunch from a restaurant called Pho Hot.  Very tasty, and thanks to Uncle Ryan for helping us navigate the menu and try a few new things!

Early Monday morning, our guests departed for warm sunny Florida.  We all enjoyed each other's company, and we were all sad to see them go.  Their time with us went too fast, as typically happens but we can't wait to see them again soon!  Next time in that warm sunny location, preferably on a beach :)

So on we go into 2012, another new year.  2011 was a big year for us, a huge cross country move and our first trip abroad were the major happenings.  I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!