Life in the East

Skiing....and SNOW!

2012-01-18T14:21:00.005-05:00

Mike and Damon definitely took advantage of their breaks from school by going skiing, at least 6 or 7 times....and Damon also started his ski classes. He is LOVING it. It also snowed last week....and then I began experiencing the coldest cold that I have ever felt. -13 the other morning. Not kidding. Here are just some pics from the snow storm, and the skiing.

My sweet sweet Damon begged me to go out and shovel the neighbors sidewalks. I was so proud of him.....I know his grandpa is definitely proud.

I think Mike took this from a chairlift somewhere...

On his way to Killington - this was their third day in a row

starting ski class!

Mr. Santa brought Damon ski poles for Christmas! He was so excited.

this second storm also brought another ski jump to our porch. Thanks a lot for that. :)

all this skiing = a few naps here and there. I won't complain.

all geared up.

woo hoo!

What a wonderful Christmas!

2012-01-18T13:44:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this was the first year in a very long time that we would not be in Utah for Christmas.....As much as we have loved spending this fantastic holiday with our families...it was kind of special to finally do it on our own. I definitely took more videos than I did pictures....which I am now regretting....but I have to say that we (and our kids) definitely felt spoiled by our families this year. We were so grateful for their generosity.

wake up dad!!!!!

we were lucky enough to have these little guys jump in our bed, and hang out for a few minutes before we headed downstairs.

cute brothers.....heading down!

It didn't take long for Cars 2 to be in the computer for the boys to watch.

this went on for a while.....but I didn't even care. :)

Merry Christmas! (a few weeks late) :)

A Rash.....

2012-01-02T10:27:00.002-05:00

So as I was getting home from the Christmas boutique (blogged about earlier), I walked in the door to find Damon, COVERED in a crazy rash. It went on for days...and days....I was so confused as to what would cause this....I couldn't think of any reason! no new food, no new laundry soap...etc....it literally took me like 3 days to realize that he had eaten a new food....I had bought those french toast sticks (which I had never bought before) - and he had those for breakfast for 3 days....that is the ONLY new thing he had eaten...and it never even occurred to me that he would have an allergic reaction to it. So random!

he survived with the help of Benadryl every 6 hours, and lots of cortizone cream. I did end up finally taking him to the ER one night....because it just wasn't going away. They recommended Zyrtec, and it worked like a charm. Thank you Zyrtec. :)

No more french toast sticks for us.

Brixton....

2012-01-02T09:51:00.003-05:00

okay....so lately our Mr. Brixton has realized that his tongue is long enough stick up into his nostrils. um....GROSS! He gets to his boogers before I even have a chance to wipe them! It's so gross, but seriously, there isn't much I can do about it! even more frustrating!

Brixton also has such a cute little friend, Eli. He loves him, and constantly is saying E-I. I love it.

his hair was getting LONG. I loved it. Mike did not.

so, he got a hair cut

Decorating....

2012-01-02T09:39:00.003-05:00

Decorating the tree was a big deal for us....because we've never been able to do it before! Having a tree is so much fun! Damon had a play date the day we were decorating....so our little buddy Alex got to help. He was thrilled.

so cute to watch Brixton help!

yea for Christmas trees!

O' Christmas Tree!!!!

2011-12-15T10:15:00.004-05:00

For the first time since Mike and I were married....we actually have room for a Christmas tree. I guess we would have had room the first year, but we were packing to move to DC...so that didn't make sense. We were also traveling over Christmas, almost every year that we were in DC. So....now we are finally in a house big enough for a tree, and staying home for the holidays....so off we went to chop down our tree!

checking out the lot!

sawing....sawing...sawing....

cute cute boy

Damon LOVED helping carry the tree to the car!

let's go!

Christmas Boutique

2011-12-15T09:47:00.004-05:00

A few months ago, my sweet friend Maren, (who I talk about ALL the time) suggested that we get a group of friends together, and have a Christmas Boutique. I had never done one before, but she has done a few....so she spread the word....and after a couple of weeks we had a group of friends who were all excited to join in.

I decided to make treats, and then got some things in New York, and from my aunt to sale.

So....I had a week full of very late nights. Which most of you know is not normal for me....and my kitchen looked like this for a few days....(pictures above and below)

I made caramel / chocolate dipped pretzels, white choc. peppermint oreos, and hot chocolate dippers (candy canes dipped in choc.)

I made tags for everything, and tried to make a cute little presentation for everything.

the girls...minus Liz who left before we took the picture...Ashley, me, Maren, Brittani, Latasha, Brittany, and Missy. What a fun day!

my stuff. :)

It was so fun! can't wait to do it next year!

Thanksgiving!

2011-12-15T09:10:00.003-05:00

I hosted my first Thanksgiving! But....was way too nervous to cook the turkey. So our sweet friends, the Laytons, were joining us....and luckily, Maren wanted to make the turkey anyways! It all worked out! The turkey may have taken longer to cook than we planned....but WHO CARES! It was delicious, and we had a super fun night. Our sweet friend Tiffany had to work until 7 pm that night, but her husband and kids came over to join us, along with two of Mike's classmates. Jasmine and Alexis. It was fun to have Jasmine with us because this was her first time ever experiencing Thanksgiving!

Maren's hilarious thumbs down, due to her stress over the stubborn turkey. :)

the two pies in front are the pies that we made at the King Arthur Flour class....the one on the left is my lemon chess pie, and on the right is Maren's fall fruit crostata. yum yum!!!!!

King Arthur Flour!

2011-12-14T07:41:00.005-05:00

So about a week after we moved to New Hampshire, the CEO of King Arthur Flour (big east coast company) - spoke at one of the orientation meetings at Tuck. That afternoon Mike came home and told me all about it, and said that they have baking classes at their headquarters (about 10 minutes away from our house) - he suggested I sign up for one if I want to....so I went outside, told a bunch of my neighbors...and we all signed up! (a few ended up on the wait list, so sad)....

So we signed up for the Holiday Pies class, which was the Monday before Thanksgiving....it was SO much fun!

me, with maren, liz, brittany, and emily....and I don't think Amy was there yet when we took this picture

We made a Lemon Chess Pie - yummy! and a Fall Fruit Crostata. Also, delicious. (I'll show the pictures in my Thanksgiving post. We learned about how to make the perfect crust, and all kind of other things. The instructor was such a funny little lady, and it was so fun to sit in this huge room and bake away with such good, fun friends!

Besties.....

2011-12-09T08:06:00.002-05:00

First, a big thanks to Deborah for letting me steal this picture.

These are two of my very best friends from college.

Deborah (middle) was my roommate, and is still, and will forever be one of my closest and dearest friends. We have done road trips, cruises, Vegas trips, double dates, cry sessions, laughed so hard we cried, more road trips (like across most of the U.S.) and everything else you do with a best friend.

When I moved out Deborah moved into another apartment with Syndi (left). We all had some super fun, crazy, hysterical times back in the day, and these two friends mean so much to me. Oh the boys....oh....I laugh just thinking about those crazy dating days!

But it all worked out.....I introduced Syndi to her future husband in 2000 (I think), and a few years ago they actually moved to Virginia....about 30 minutes away from where i lived in Maryland. So over the last couple of years Syndi and I bonded about motherhood, marriage, living far from family....etc....We also have boys who are very close in age, so playdates were always a blast.

This past summer Syndi and I both happened be in Utah for the month of July, so we all met up, and laughed some more. Love Love Love you girls.

Damon....ski jump....from our porch.

2011-11-26T07:35:00.001-05:00

Mike built this ski jump for Damon.....he's OBSESSED. it's pretty fun to watch him go down, pop out of his skis....carry them back up, climb up, put his ski's back on himself, and do it again. So fun!

snow!

2011-11-26T07:05:00.002-05:00

so....we had our biggest snow storm to date the day Tuesday night / Wednesday day before Thanksgiving. We were all up early (at least Brixton and I....) Damon wasn't far behind....then Mike remembered about the storm and jumped right out of bed. By the way...Thank heavens for seasons passes to Killington Ski Resort! The boys packed up the car, Brixton and Damon were seriously out playing in the snow at 6:45 a.m. I'm not kidding.....Mike and Damon left, Brixton and I went in....but came back out later when we saw one of our little best friends, Olivia, outside playing.

Olivia's mom and I were dying at how cute they were in all of their snow gear!

Olivia also taught Brixton the art of eating snow! It was so funny, until he started picking the snow up off the pavement. haha!

We both look a little weird in this picture....but I love it anyways, and love all the snow around us!

yes, this was taken before 7:00 a.m.

Olivia's dad came out and built this fantastic snow man....cherry tomato eyes, asparagus nose, and peas mouth. We were laughing so hard.

Oh New York....New York....

2011-11-17T12:48:00.004-05:00

When I was in Utah this summer, my mom mentioned that she, her best friend Judie, and two of my aunts were in the middle of planning a trip to New York. Hmmm....New Hampshire = 4 hours from New York....woo hoo! (okay, 5 hours on the bus, but whatever). I moved to New Hampshire, a month later bought my bus ticket (thank you Dartmouth Coach!), and started counting down the days until I got to go on a trip, for 3 days with no husband, no kids....just girls! My mom joked that I'd just be hanging out with a bunch of 60 year olds....I DID NOT care! We had sooooo much fun!

Macys, beautiful Macy's. What an overwhelming place to walk into! 9 stories tall!

Christmas shopping!!!!!

My Aunt Anne, Aunt Cookie, and Mom!

a bus tour! mom, Judie, my cousin Brooke, her son Landon, Anne, and Cookie

My cousin Brooke was also in New York! Her husband had business there and so she and their son came along! I hadn't seen her since her wedding! It was so fun to catch up with her a little bit. We've always joked about being twin cousins....(born on the same day, same year....just on opposite sides of the world!)

Awh! I love my mom!

My mom and her BFF Judie! So glad Judie was able to come. It was her first time to New York. It's so fun to be there for someone's first time to the Big Apple!

waiting for our tickets.

me and my Aunt Anne....shopping on Canal Street. Such a great place! (maybe slightly annoying, but still so fun! )

Judie and I. The sculpture behind us used to be inside one of the World Trade Towers.

Judie, my mom and I - big fans of Project Runway.....we were so excited to drive past this building during the bus tour!

bus tour :)

bus tour... :)

Had to take this one for Brixton.

Thanks for the most amazing trip Mom! I loved spending so much time with you and all the ladies! love you!

Half Marathon!

2011-11-01T13:04:00.004-04:00

So...I've enjoyed running since I was a teenager...and probably when I was 19 or 20 started running in a couple of 10K's each year....then we moved to Maryland, had kids....etc...I still ran and worked out, but come on, most of us know how much harder it is to prioritize ourselves when life gets in the way. So...we move to New Hampshire....I meet some amazing friends....who are all runners....I mean, like real runners. Maren, Andrea, and Tiffany.

My good friend Maren looks up some races and in September, tells me...."There's a half marathon on October 29th, let's sign up for it". I didn't really even contemplate....I just signed up. Like a crazy person! Slight roller coaster - starting out as #44 on the wait list....figuring we'd never get in, then moving to #13 on the wait list, then actually getting in.....So Maren, Andrea and I get in....Tiffany didn't end up signing up because after hearing how far we were on the wait list we never thought we'd even get in!

little did we know! CAPE COD HALF MARATHON......here we come!

by the way....I promise my head is not really 3 times bigger theirs....they both just have really small heads! I look like a monster!

It was freezing when we got there....we got our bibs, stayed warm inside for a while...threw our coats in the car.... then headed for the starting line. By the time we started I think it was 43 degrees....so really, not that bad....

I wanted to see how far I could run before I had to stop and walk....I made it to mile 11....which was a huge accomplishment for me. Granted...miles 9-11 were SLOW, I had majorly slowed down, "hit the wall" I suppose they'd say, so at mile 11.... I walked to 11.7, then ran the rest of the way.

Thankfully, since this was my first half marathon, I had zero expectations, besides actually finishing the race. I knew that if I finished it, that would be a miracle in and of itself. It's a good thing I didn't have any expectations, because my finishing time was awful, but I was still really proud of myself. Which honestly is a feeling that I don't get very often. On the last turn towards the finish line, this nice volunteer man looked at me and said "50 more yards to go!".....I started crying right at that moment. Word to the wise....don't start crying when you're already feeling like you're going to die! It makes it really hard to breathe!

My sweet friend Maren, who has now run 13, count them, 13 half marathons - stayed with me the entire time. Even after I repeatedly told her to go ahead. go ahead. go ahead....she'd just say "I'm fine!" Andrea ran with us until about mile 6, we could tell she was "antsy" and was itching to run a little faster...so we sent her off. She got an awesome time...and even walked back after getting her medal to meet up with us and finish the race with us.

Cape Cod was beautiful. We ran through the small town of Falmouth, and around part of the Cape. Past little farms and light houses....It was beautiful. I definitely should have taken more pictures.

me, andrea, and maren. Love you girls. Such great memories.....

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T12:53:00.002-04:00

This Halloween was a big deal for us, once again, because of our living situation....and actually living in a neighborhood with lots of kids....as opposed to a giant apartment complex with only a few. It was so nice to just walk around the community, and actually have trick or treaters come to our house.

A pirate and a train engineer.

Our awesome neighbor, Emily, planned a little neighborhood Halloween parade and pizza party. It was soooo much fun. The husbands even took a break from studying to join in the fun!

Pretty sure he's saying "choo choo...."

AAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins!

2011-11-01T12:47:00.002-04:00

Hard to believe that in 7 1/2 years of marriage, I am pretty sure that this is our first year actually carving pumpkin. That's what happens when you live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building for 6 1/2 years....This year we (Damon and I) were so excited to pick out some pumpkins, carve them, and actually have a nice big porch to display them on! We are no professionals, but we definitely had fun. The lack of pictures just makes me sad...but that's just how it goes sometimes.

I asked Mike to take some pictures for us, and this was seriously the best one that he took. Thank honey.

Such a fun night!

oh Brixton.....

2011-11-01T12:25:00.005-04:00

Brixton....I felt like doing this post because lately your Dad and I have been constantly talking about what a hilarious little kid you are. Even though you still have a hard time saying what is on your mind....you've figured out so many ways to communicate, and we can definitely tell that you have got one funny personality.

Here are some pics from the last month or so....

someone loves cheese....just like his mom and dad :)

You've learned to ride Damon's little red bike! We were super impressed to see some decent coordination when you were figuring out how to ride it! (That might sound mean, but he just isn't coordinated).

You are excellent at eating pizza!

You love this lunge / squat position when you're in a crazy funny mood.

Our most recent issue with you is your waking up WAY too early! like 5 a.m. early. One morning I heard you yelling for mamma, You had made your way downstairs, into the fridge, and into the drawer....I walked down to find you with a gallon of milk, and a sippy cup. (yes, that's a binky in his mouth, don't judge.) And...don't mind Mike's hockey stuff spread across the living room.

We finally got bar stools, and this is your favorite way to sit at the counter.

You fell and smacked your forehead on a book shelf at my friends house. It was a BAD one. Poor kid. At least it meant I got some good cuddles.

just your happy little self, with awesome hair.

also, you LOVE your big brother! shirtless and all. :)

Fall in New England....

2011-10-31T20:52:00.002-04:00

So look at these pictures, and think of how pretty they are, then times the prettiness by 10! These pictures do not do it justice! They were all taken so randomly, usually with my phone, and they really do just show a fraction of how gorgeous it is here in the Fall.

obviously taken from our car! on the way to church....

view from my bedroom window

view from dining room window. I LOVE this tree!

This is just across the river in Vermont. These colorful hills go on forever!

view of our house....with the gorgeous pink tree! It's been a beautiful fall! (We had 6 inches of snow yesterday.) :(

Damon and Maddie...sitting in a tree.....

2011-10-31T20:27:00.003-04:00

When we came to New Hampshire in April we met a fantastic family....who happened to have a 5 year old daughter Maddie. .... her sweet mom, my good friend, Tiffany, and I started to joke about how our kids would fall in "love" when they met.....Little did we know....that they actually would!

okay okay....really....they are 6 years old now, and love may be a strong word...but they're definitely in "like". They used to sneak out into the forest together, they started a club in our back yard..made signs, secret codes words, and maddie may or may not have given Damon his first kiss! ;)

Damon and Maddie @ Mascoma Lake

digging in the rocks....

on the way to the bus stop, last Friday....1st snow storm

August, 2011. Dr. Seuss Museum

car drive home from the museum....they were making each other laugh so hard...they were also fighting like a married couple on this drive home. It was hysterical.

first day of school....I don't think she was mad at Damon....I think another kid said she couldn't play on the play ground.....I just love this picture though!

a lovely hike to Boston Lot Lake

the best thing about Maddie is how well rounded she is! She's as sassy and sweet as a princess....yet, definitely keeps up with these boys! She's such a tom boy, always collecting bugs, chasing butterflies, playing in dirt...etc...while looking like a mini-super model!

We are so glad that Damon has a friend his age here (they are the two oldest kids in the neighborhood) - and I don't think we could have ended up with better friends!

October!

2011-10-14T08:19:00.003-04:00

We all know that October means it's time to pick pumpkins! We met up with a bunch of friends at Riverview Farms, and chose our pumpkins, ran through the corn maze...and ate some apples. yum! This is definitely starting to become one of our favorite places!

I love this picture

love this one too.

Things we do.....3

2011-09-14T10:23:00.004-04:00

We see Dad a little more often than we used to.

We make amazing new friends

We have block parties. Yes. I love it.

We hang out on a lot of porches, every single day, for hours at a time. (the kids play, the moms sit on porches)

We go to antique shows, and buy awesome jewelry

We go to many Tuck events, and EVERYONE now knows Damon. Not kidding. It's a little weird.

We also go to a lot of Tuck events, and hang out. We love Livy

We wear rain boots, a lot.

Things we do....2

2011-09-14T10:14:00.002-04:00

We go to lakes

A family from church invited us over for dinner, and they have this awesome pond (miniature lake if you ask me) in their backyard. It was so much fun.

view from their deck

Mike had fun too. :)

Things we do in New Hampshire....1

2011-09-14T09:44:00.005-04:00

We go berry picking

apple picking too, but no pics of that

The boys catch frogs. GROSS

Friends.....

2011-09-12T14:59:00.002-04:00

Just a few of my new, amazing, thoughtful, beautiful, fantastic New Hampshire friends.

After only a few weeks we already let ourselves into each other's houses, have each other over for dinners, football games, playdates, girls nights, to borrow ingredients, or whatever else. Can't wait to spend the next two years adding to that list!

Family Pictures....

2011-09-12T12:22:00.008-04:00

While we were in Utah, it was time for another family picture. You just don't realize how quickly kids grow up until you look back at pictures. Mike and I were looking at pictures of Damon from only a year ago, and he seemed so small back then compared to now. I'm always up for getting new family pics taken!

These pictures were taken at the house and barn where my grandpa grew up. My Uncle Frank continued to live in my grandpa's childhood home until last December when he passed away. This barn is very near and dear to my families heart. It's where my dad spent most of his childhood, working on the dairy farm. It was a lot of fun to be there to take pictures and to think about all of the amazing memories that my dad has there.

We aren't sure if we even got one picture where everyone is looking at the camera....but this was as close as I could find. Between closed eyes, wiggly kids, and girls fixing their hair....it was hard to find one!

My parents with all the grandkids. This was ROUGH. Thanks to Brixton, who recruited Max to have a freak out session with him.

Then a plane flew by and cheered the little guys right up.

this is the corral, where the cows used to eat. My dad thought it'd be cute to get all the kids in the corral for a picture. The shadows made it a little tough to get a good one, but the kids had fun climbing around.

My little sis and her fam

My big sis and her fam

My big bro and his fam

another one of us.

my sweet parents. I just love them.

Our new place....

2011-09-04T10:32:00.004-04:00

So...some of you know how small our previous apartment was....some of you don't. I tried not to brag about it for fear of embarrassment, but if you knew how small it was, then you'll be very excited to see pictures of our new place. It is a duplex, but it still more than twice the size of our previous place.

This picture has a good view of the neighborhood behind us, and the porch that we love. There's also a lot more grass on the other side of this sidewalk and fun neighbors with lots of kids. I'll have to do a blog about our daily playdates with the neighbors.

We can actually have people over now! These are pics from Mike's birthday dinner

yea for a new house, and new awesome friends!

Uintah's....again

2011-09-02T07:17:00.002-04:00

Mike, Damon, and Mike's brother Daniel went on a little backpacking trip while we were in Utah. They hiked 4 miles in and camped by a lake. I'll admit I was a little impressed with Damon's ability to hike 4 miles in one day, then 4 miles out the next. They only took a couple of pictures.....

Grandpa's Little Helper

2011-09-02T06:58:00.002-04:00

It's moments like these that put a big smile on my face.

We stayed with my family for a few weeks during out trip to Utah, and during that time we were able to help my Dad, who most of you know is blind, work in his garden.

I absolutely loved to see Damon's excitement and willingness to help his Grandpa. Damon talked about how it was such hard work, how much he enjoyed it, and most importantly how he loved helping his grandpa.

Damon also helped pick raspberries, he picked peas, and helped me weed the garden. He loved finding slugs, spiders, and snails! gross.

I just hope and pray that he'll be offering to help when he's 15!

Utah Part 3. Uintahs

2011-08-24T21:04:00.003-04:00

The second week that we were in Utah we took our two boys and went camping in the Uintah's. Mike and I LOVE it up there. It was fun to be there with our two kids, even if Brixton woke up in the middle of the night, and refused to go back to sleep for 4, yes 4 hours. It really was fun. I promise. :)

Brixton and Mike @ Mirror Lake

look closely...those are BEAR TRACKS....everywhere!

an actual picture of me with my two boys!

i love them

marshmallows!

yea!

Utah Part 2. Family Family Family

2011-08-24T20:27:00.007-04:00

In the 6 1/2 years that we spent in the DC area, our trips back to Utah were 2 weeks long, max. This summer because of our unique situation, of Mike quitting his job, and us moving to New Hampshire for grad school...we were able to spend a fantastic 5 weeks in Utah. That meant LOTS of time to spend with family. Lucky for me, my sister Tara and her kids were in town with their boys at the same time. My sister Rachel also came over a few extra times so that our boys could hang out together.

My mom and Brixton. haha, love it!

relaxing after a big dinner, i'm assuming....

My parents got these 4 boys hats from Cabelas.

craziness in the backyard.

My mom. Don't you just love her!

Made a visit to Kennecott Copper Mine

games! Hollie's seriously the best aunt.

Me and T. Why do I look so short?!

Daria and Damon

probably one of my all time favorite pictures. My dad and my boy

Helping husk corn. It was so fun to see the boys be so willing to help out.

A little break after running through the fountains at Gateway

all 6 grandsons! Really, this almost NEVER happens. It was so much fun

Damon and his cute cousin Brayden helping pick raspberries.

Brixton and Brayden sitting in papa's chair.

This was one of the best summers that I can remember. It was so fun to spend so much time with family. We also spent a week with Mike's family in Park City....(I just have to go through LOTS of pictures to do a blog about that week).

Utah...Part 1. Southern Utah

2011-08-24T20:09:00.008-04:00

Okay....so I keep delaying blogging because the thought of blogging about 5 weeks in Utah is overwhelming me...so I'm going to do my best to keep it somewhat organized.

We landed in Utah on the 4th of July, and a couple of days later Mike and Damon headed to Southern Utah for a little Father / Son bonding / camping / biking time.

such a boy

@ Cove Fort

The Narrows, Zion Natl Park

uh...grumpy?

and off he goes!

My 6 year old riding on Slick Rock, Moab, UT

breakfast in the jeep? Sure!

oh gorgeous Utah!

cute kid. :)

2011-08-18T10:57:00.001-04:00

After 5 weeks in Utah, and a couple long days of travel....flying back east, and driving from DC to New Hampshire....we are here, and finally have internet! I'll have lots of pictures to blog as soon as our house is organized.......to be continued!

We love the National Zoo!

2011-06-30T20:41:00.003-04:00

We especially love it when the animals are out in full force! It was so great! We saw so many animals that were actually being very entertaining! (I should have taken more pictures). We decided to go the zoo very last minute, and I texted a bunch of friends to see if anyone wanted to join us but no one could. Then as the day went on I realized that it was actually a lot of fun to just be there with my two little guys. It was a day at the zoo that I'll always remember.

Damon was such a good brother, always right there with Brixton ready to show him the next animal, and always wanting to hold his hand. (This picture is really them in full motion running up the hill)

snakes....can you see the dead rat?

This tiger walked back and forth for 5 minutes growling really loudly...it was cool

Had to stop for a cotton candy and sno-cone on our way back up. I love that this Zoo is free (since the definitely food isn't)

@ the pizza playground, pointing at the fake cow, and saying "mooooo"

got him. :)

The elephants were amazing! There were two out walking around, throwing dirt on themselves, playing with giant toys....Damon got bored, but I made him stay there for at least 20 minutes. What amazing animals!

Damon was an amazing sport. It's a walk from our apartment to the metro, then a walk from the metro to the zoo....then walking around the zoo for 4, yes 4, hours...then the walk back to the metro, and back home....it was such a long day....but I LOVED it.

See ya!

Picnic

2011-06-29T07:48:00.007-04:00

Since we took down our dining table weeks ago (to make room for stacking boxes) - Damon's been planning a picnic for us. We finally got around to it the other day.

Brixton will FINALLY kind of look at the camera

not shy

Mike doesn't really like this "scrunchy" face....but I LOVE IT!

donuts...

2011-06-24T08:09:00.004-04:00

just waiting for Costco to open.....these pictures just make me laugh. Who doesn't love mini powdered donuts!

Seems like yesterday....

2011-06-20T21:24:00.005-04:00

It seriously seems like yesterday that Damon was headed into his new Elementary School, starting his first day of Kindergarten......

(first day of school) - August 2010

9 months later, June 2011, with his beautiful teacher

here he is with his morning crew of boys waiting for the bus (it's an interesting group)

Damon and I are down there early every morning, and the boys come running in from different directions, asking if Damon brought down his soccer ball. It sure would have been a boring year of waiting for the bus if we didn't bring the soccer ball down every day!

Damon, Leo, and George....just a sample of how the last day of school went!

Then walking back to the car a butterfly landed right on Brixton's leg. It stayed there for a while. It was so strange, but cool I guess.

Damon had a fantastic year with so many amazing friends. It broke my heart to pick him up from his last day of school and think about how far away we'll be moving. He and I have made some dear friends through his class this year, and we are so sad to be leaving Bethesda. You know who you are. :)

A Love / Hate Relationship

2011-06-18T07:26:00.002-04:00

So if you know Brixton, you know that he loves stuffed animals, or basically anything with fur. But we have this small problem with our little friend Tickle Me Elmo. Well, he loves him....because he's little, and furry....but if Elmo's button gets switched to "ON" - it is another story. It literally is one of the saddest things I've ever seen. The look on his face when Elmo starts talking or moving is pure terror. It is seriously heart breaking.

Yes, those are tears in his eyes. We try every once in a while to turn him on and see if he'll grow out of this terror stage, but nothing so far. The crazy part is, that he really loves Elmo! He brings me Elmo books, he points him out if we are at the store/mall and he see's pictures of him...etc...He just can't handle the toys that laugh in your face I guess. If I was a bad mom I'd get the total breakdown on video....hhmmmm...

love

2011-06-13T20:10:00.001-04:00

no words needed.....

(Thanks for the pic Shannon)

oh, and no, this is not our dog

One down....

2011-06-05T08:44:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we were able to check one of our "to do before we move" things off of our list. We have gone down to the National Mall many times over the last 6 1/2 years, but it was definitely something that we wanted to do one more time before we leave DC.

It was really hot, but we didn't care. Damon brought his soccer ball, and we played pass all the way along the grass fields

see his kick?

what? a picture of Mike and I? weird. I think it was last year around Memorial Day that we had a picture taken together. (Thanks Damon!)

at the FDR Memorial

climbing trees around the Tidal Basin

whoa! What are the odds that the two states we are going to have lived in were right next to each other at the WWII Memorial?! Had to take a pic.

I love nice people who offer to take pictures for us. :)

the boys - Washington Monument

Living here has been amazing, and we have been so lucky to be 15 minutes away from downtown DC. Awh, we're definitely going to miss it. (but not the humidity, nope)

Soccer!

2011-05-25T17:30:00.005-04:00

Damon is finally old enough to be on a soccer team, where they actually play against other kids. He is LOVING it. It started out rough with the first three games being cancelled because of rain, but once they actually got playing....every Saturday has been a blast! It's such a fun thing for our family to go out and do together. (We usually end up split up on Saturday's running different errands, or just doing different things).

some quick advice from Dad....

I thought the ball was in this picture...whoops

very intense

fancy feet

go team!

The Hunt....

2011-05-09T20:36:00.008-04:00

just some cute pics from a little Easter egg hunt....

I love Brixton's look of pure joy, and Damon's look of sweet brotherly love

shaking up his eggs!

I love this one.

sweet B

Damon was on spring break, so he was the oldest kid there...he didn't mind. We had such a fun time! Thanks Chevy Chase girls for the invite!

AAWWHH.....

2011-04-25T15:32:00.001-04:00

Damon was a little sad at the park today....but don't worry....his little brother was there to make it better. I just love these boys.

Lately we've had some....

2011-04-21T19:20:00.005-04:00

play dates :)

major crashes (one in particular off of a railing, onto a concrete wall, ouch)

Sunday naps....

major rain storms....

sweet sweet snuggles....

jogs / bike rides / sore knees....(Damon's such a faker)

story time.

Hope you're all having a great April!

Skate Night!

2011-03-24T14:50:00.003-04:00

Last weekend Damon's school had a "Skate Night" at the ice skating rink. Damon had never been ice skating before, and was a actually kind of nervous. He had been talking about it for over a month, and was so excited that his cute teacher was going to be there. All day long he was asking us questions about ice skating, and really wanted to know how to stop! It was hilarious. He had a rough start (first trying to learn in hockey skates) - that WAS NOT going very well, so we switched him to regular ice skates, and he did so much better. Here are just a couple of pictures that his teacher emailed me.

He now asks me everyday to take him ice skating. Typical.

Wizards!!!!!

2011-03-12T20:07:00.007-05:00

Thanks to our super awesome friends, Shannon and her son Trey, I was able to take Damon to a Washington Wizards game. Shannon has got some major connections and got a bunch of tickets....So Shannon, Trey, Me, Damon, Rebecca, her son Miles, and two more little friends Pete, and Nick all headed downtown to the game.

Nick, Damon, Trey, Pete, and Miles

Yes. We got there early. After the total chaos of getting 5 hyper little boys from the parking garage into the arena...they actually totally behaved!

dinner. :)

we had some awesome seats. (Thanks Shan!)

dessert time....cotton candy, or dippin dots?

um..cotton candy please

mmmmmm....

If you can't tell...Damon was in total heaven the entire time.

Every mascot from every team in the DC area was at this game. Since the kids were some of the only little kids in the lower part of the arena, they got a lot of attention from them.

and yes...Damon might have punched George Washington in the crotch.

I think this is the mascot from the WNBA team...??

We had such a great time. Thanks again to our awesome friends for such a fun night! I finally got to be the "fun parent"!

p.s. they even actually won the game!

I love that.....

2011-02-22T10:33:00.002-05:00

I LOVE THAT.....

....Damon was so excited for school this morning that he got his shoes on, brushed his teeth, put his jacket on, and was waiting at the door, without being asked!

.....I can turn around in my friends (sweet Karissa) car, and at any given moment...these two might just be holding hands.

....it's been warming up and we've actually been getting to the park

....these two love each other. Damon holds Brixton's hand all the time, just cause....

.....every once in a while, Damon can easily entertain himself.

....last week it was 68 degrees and we went to the zoo. (I love Brookey's little bum in this picture! )

Just lovin' stuff lately. That's all.

Next stop.... New Hampshire....

2011-02-04T18:09:00.007-05:00

For the first time in a while....we have some very exciting news!!! Mike was accepted into the Dartmouth (Tuck) Class of 2013. This is a Masters of Business program that he has been wanting to get into for years. The timing never seemed to be right, and we found out yesterday that he was accepted. We are still a little in shock, and can't believe that it is real. We went up to visit the school a few years ago, and fell in love with the small town, right up in the mountains, right along the Connecticut River.

A little canoe trip while we were visiting Dartmouth....(2006)

I'm so proud of Mike, his hard work, and his determination to further his education. We'll move sometime this Summer....woo hoo!!!!!!!

Christmas....a whirlwind!

2011-01-22T20:36:00.005-05:00

So I'm realizing that I've become a "once a month" blogger, and I don't like that, not at all. I promise, for those of you who care, to be better. Here are some pics from our trip to Utah. In no particular order....

My dad and Brixton (sorry for the blurriness, this was taken with my phone)

I know this is a weird picture...but I love what my mom noticed about Brixton and I while we were in town....he has my eyes! exactly!

Brixton with his cute cousin Brayden

Damon on the chair lift

Damon getting ready to ski, and begging me not to take a picture.

@ Grandma and Grandpa Holbrooks, showing us his Leapster game.

Christmas morning at the Holbrooks, Mike showing us his Christmas gift from Damon

Christmas Eve, leaving my parents house...Damon loving his loot! Especially his coon skin cap from his awesome cousin Cooper!

Mike and my mom. I just love them!

How?

2011-01-11T10:14:00.001-05:00

I had to laugh when I went in to get Brixton up from his nap, and this is what I walked into.

A month?

2011-01-03T18:33:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted last! Talk about SLACKER!!!!

Here's just one picture from our trip back to Utah for Christmas. As always, I wish I had taken more pictures.....

the 7 Andrus grandkids

Brayden, Max, Carter, Daria, Brixton, Damon, Cooper

Lucky

2010-12-02T08:55:00.005-05:00

Lately I've been feeling pretty lucky to have these two little guys in my life. I realize that I have those days when I take things for granted...but I've been trying to appreciate every hug, conversation, snuggle, kiss, "love you's" and moment that I get to hang out and care for my little guys.

Oh sweet Damon. You are hilarious, fun, brave, caring, and have an infectious personality.

Obviously.....

You are oh so sweet....sure do love you.

You are so much fun, and extremely photogenic

Your brother LOVES you so much, and wants to be wherever you are, and doing whatever you are doing....

I love how much these two love each other.

My darling Brixton.....you are the HAPPIEST kid I have ever known. You find so much happiness in any stuffed animal, book, bite of food, toy, or anything else for that matter. You love to cuddle, dance, hum, growl, and laugh at your big brother....

I love that EVERY morning when I sit down to eat my cereal, I suddenly have a little friend trying to climb on my lap to enjoy it with me. (picture taken this morning)

And even with an ongoing ear infection (going on for more than 2 months, seeing an ENT next week) - you are still the most pleasant, well behaved, mellow, happy, child. You even smile at me while pulling on both ears...just dealing with the pain. I sure do love you too.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T20:38:00.002-04:00

Just a few pics from our Halloween festivities....We had a Trunk or Treat, trick or treating at Mike's office, and a fun Halloween dinner with friends at Heather's house. These are just a couple of pics from the weekend.

Damon went crazy on this donut! (Trunk or Treat)

at his classroom Halloween party

My sweet little skeleton

at the Kindergarten party.

A Weekend....

2010-10-29T20:50:00.004-04:00

A few weekends ago Brixton and I joined a big group of friends (Thank you Heather, Jeff, Dana, Richard, Amy, Larry...etc...) for a fabulous day out at Cox Farms.....

I like Brixton's little profile.

While we were there.... Mike took Damon were here for a couple of days, so that he could do this.....

This was the first day. After the second day...Damon could barely walk (I'm not kidding) ! It amazes me how naturally this comes to him. The video works better if you can make it full screen since it is taken vertically....Check out how he catches air after going down the first ramp.

Etsy...

2010-10-07T19:40:00.008-04:00

I wish I was creative, crafty, cute, dedicated, ambitious, and as talented as those of you who have etsy shops. I thought I'd do a little post to pass on a few of my friends etsy sites.... You really really should look these up. They have such cute stuff at really really great prices!

Siena.... makes gorgeous clutches, wallets..and other cute little things......she just added a bunch of new ones! I need to order one of these!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sienahansen

A long long time friend of mine, Celia, makes AMAZING hats! So adorable! I love these.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/janehenry

A very good friend of mine, Chantel, makes amazing jewelry with a friend of hers ....here's the link.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/crystalbeutler

When I had the idea to do this post, I thought I'd have more links to share with you.....I'll find them....

Love them...

2010-09-27T09:13:00.000-04:00

I just love my little Primary class

Brixton's traumatic haircut.....

2010-09-21T16:14:00.003-04:00

For those of you who have not seen the pics on face book....Here are some pics of my sweet little Brixton before the....duh duh duh.....HAIRCUT. I knew Mike was going to cut it, and I knew he was going to use his shaver thing....(but we NEVER did this to Damon, so I honestly had no clue how short those things actually cut, how naive of me) -

the wispy look....

the sweepy look....

and my favorite....the sweet little curls!

(I have a bad feeling that they will NEVER grow back) - I think that is what breaks my heart the most.

Here is our boy, with a buzzed head.

Even though he is still the exact same little boy, I look at him and feel like he is a different person! Am I nuts?!

When did this happen?!

2010-09-08T11:54:00.007-04:00

damon @ 2 months old....

(picture taken almost exactly 5 years before his first day of school)

Seriously....where have the last 5 years of my life gone?! Damon started kindergarten last week, which in Maryland is all day long. (Is it all day in Utah?) He is gone from 8:20 until 3:30. This has been a life changing experience for me, obviously as it should be, and is for everyone. It's hard not to know what he is doing all day, if kids are being nice, if he is listening, if he is having fun, if he's worried, scared, or just fine (which I know is how he feels).

After his second day of school I told him that I missed him, I asked if he missed me too, and he seriously said "No, I forgot about you". I'm not sure I want him to like school that much!

If I knew how to do one of those collages I would...these are the many faces of my Damon....

Ready to roll

Made it there

Damon tries every morning to get in the soccer game with all the big kids. He has no fear.

Lining up....

One last pep talk from Dad

say bye to your brother! so sad.

life. is. changing.

Job Hunt

2010-09-03T14:14:00.001-04:00

No..No...not for us. But my brother-in-law, David, is on a job hunt. The following is a summary of his resume:

Education
B.S. in Business Management with an emphasis in Supply Chain Management.

Work Experience
I have completed a Purchasing Internship and worked on contract as a Supply Chain Analyst.
I served a mission in Hong Kong where I learned to speak Cantonese.

Objective
Seeking employment within the Supply Chain Field: purchasing, logistics, forecasting, and operations. Also open to any field or industry that would give me experience.

Talk to your husbands, dads, friends, neighbors, uncles, aunts, cousins... etc.....if you know of any type of job opportunity that would fit his please let me know and I will get the info to David. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!!!!!

I do have his full resume if anyone is interested.

Trip to Myrtle Beach....duh duh duh....

2010-08-29T19:34:00.007-04:00

The following are the ONLY pictures that I have from our week long trip to Myrtle Beach.....as most of you know....I had a bit of bad luck during the trip, with my diaper bag being stolen right off of my beach chair....which of course, had my camera in it. So here are the only pics from the trip....(taken from cell phone)

Is blogger being funky for anyone else? I upload the pictures....and then just see the jibberish codes in the posting page.

Mike :)

ROAD TRIP NAPS

This was a really good golf shot that Mike made and he was so happy with it, that he took a picture to show me. Since it's one of the only pics from the entire trip, I couldn't NOT post it. :)

So far....

2010-08-08T21:44:00.005-04:00

blogger is being super funky.....so I'm just putting pics up for now, and will hopefully write a little about them later. The point of this blog is that....so far...it's been a fun Summer!

The Bowl

2010-07-28T16:03:00.004-04:00

Damon's Skate Park Birthday Party

2010-07-23T07:23:00.006-04:00

Damon's birthday was at the end of June, but his party was a little delayed, and we just celebrated with his friends last weekend. We rented out a skate park (not my idea, although it all worked out fine), and all of his little friends brought bikes, scooters, skate boards, and whatever else they wanted to ride around on.....

It was ridiculously hot and humid....as expected in mid-July in Washington DC....but the kids didn't seem to mind!

Yes, we got all the kids in a picture. Crazy

Can you find Brixton?

Go Cindy! Our sweet sweet neighbor

Ellie was such a good sport!

Andrew is so awesome

The Davis fam

Go Peter!

This kid is two! I love it!

The sweet mamma's! Kate, Deb, and Tiana

Tiana and Allie with their babies, braving the heat!

Heather and Gavin!

Go Ches!

Go Bobby!

Everett and Riley

Everett looks a little nervous under the match!

Heather, Gavin and Dana

birthday boy!

Realization

2010-07-14T18:47:00.003-04:00

I've recently had a realization, and a good chat with someone special in my life, that I can not expect happiness to find me. I need to work for it, make better choices, be more patient, be a better mom, wife, friend, and human being.

I need to take care of me, find my path, remember that I am a worth it, and take everything with a grain of salt.

I need to work harder, be more real, and love more.

That's all

Happy Family!

2010-07-06T11:35:00.001-04:00

HAPPY FAMILY

FOOD BLOGS!

2010-06-29T17:09:00.005-04:00

I know there are hundreds and hundreds of food blogs out there....but I feel very privileged to have two good friends who have really AMAZING food blogs.

The first is one of my closest and dearest friends. We were college roommates, and she means the world to me. DEBORAH! She has even been on TV a couple of times to do some cooking clips...(I think on KSL). She's amazing!

I think that I've made more of her dessert recipes than anything else, because they look so dang good! Deborah has literally HUNDREDS of recipes on her blog.....just check her "recipe archives" on her site to see the list.

Her blog is www.tasteandtellblog.com

Cookies n' Cream Cake (I just made this Sunday for Damon's birthday)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie - to die for

My other friend, I only knew in person for a couple of months, but in that short amount of time she became one of my favorite people, and has become an inspiration to me in more ways than one. JENNA!

Her food blog is www.just-cook-already.blogspot.com

Many people contribute to this blog, and I've made some super delicious, yet, ridiculously EASY recipes from this blog.

My favorites being the Big Sky Chili, and Crock pot chicken taco's- which you later make into chicken tortilla soup with the leftover chicken (cooking on my stove right now!)

Big Sky Chili

Peach Cobbler - which I can't wait to make!

I will never be an avid enough cook to have my own food blog, which is why i am super grateful for good friends who can share their delicious recipes with me!

Love it!

2010-06-25T08:26:00.001-04:00

So Brixton has curly hair! I love it! It's only curly in the back, and some day soon we'll probably be giving him a hair cut...and I'm afraid the curls won't ever grow back! I'll enjoy it while it lasts!

Playseum....

2010-06-23T19:11:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago we went to a new place in Bethesda called "The Playseum". There are 14 different rooms....a cooking room, ball room, animal room, space room, music room,...etc...the list goes on and on. It only costs $5 per person (even babies). There are additional things inside you can spend money on inside.. (cookie dough your kids makes, ceramic plates your kids can paint on..etc...) , but you can easily go without spending any additional money.

Damon got to pet a lizard, and a couple different bunnies. We met our friend Kelli there with her son Lauten, and he was OBSESSED with the bunnies! It was hilarious!

It was not busy at all when we went, so I let Damon make the cookie dough....He had so much fun

I even got Brixton out of the stroller (for once) to let him play around in this big room

getting a ride from his brother

Lauten and Damon playing some music

I totally recommend this place to anyone in the area!

Pre-School Ends...

2010-06-22T18:47:00.003-04:00

A quick post.....

Damon's pre-school class put on an adorable little musical called "Caps for Sale"....Damon played one of the boys selling the "caps".....The music teacher, Mrs. Collins, had also interviewed each child and asked them all kinds of questions...favorite thing about school, at home, what they want to be when they grow up...etc...and she did a program and read about each child. It was so much fun to hear about all the kids in his class, and made us really sad that we are all done with Bannockburn Nursery School.

I thought I had taken more pictures of his class...but they were videos. That is his class, and teacher on the stairs.

A week later we went to a going away party for his sweet little cute friend Laura. They are moving back to Germany after two years in DC. These two spent two years together in pre-school. They used to sit and hold hands in circle time. Such cute friends! We will miss her!

Damon just playing in the fountains at Turtle Park (at Laura's party)

Brixton 1 year old

2010-06-20T21:12:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago our little (or not so little) Brixton turned 1. We went to dinner with our good friends, Scott and Jenny, then came home and did a little birthday cake for our little chunk. He LOVED it. As most kids do. I can not believe how quickly this year has gone....He started out soooo tiny, and just became such a big kid so quickly. He loves to dance, jabber, smile, eat, sleep, laugh, chew on my wallet, play with his big brother, and make all of us smile.

(I wouldn't have these pictures without wonderful Jenny lending me her camera for the night! thank you! )

Damon was only patient for so long before needing his piece of cake.....

even after all the sugar....he still fell right to sleep....

We sure do love this little chunk

Vacation - Camping in the Adirondack Mountains

2010-06-03T15:29:00.005-04:00

We continued north to camp up in the Adirondacks. This was a big deal for us because we have not been on a family vacation (besides our trips to Utah) in years! We couldn't believe it when we really figured that out. It was a great trip, the weather was phenomenal. It was probably in the 70's during the day, and in the 60's at night. Damon was in heaven with endless sticks to find, rocks to throw, fires to build,and lakes to play in.

This picture and the one below are just at a random stop we made on our way through upstate New York

Damon needed some rocks to climb!

Damon was playing in a lake, and Brixton thought it was a perfect time for a nap

This was Damon's play ground when we were hanging around the camp site

Brixton just continued to be his happy little self, hanging in the stroller, tent or in our arms. He amazes me daily at how content and happy he is. It is sometimes unbelievable.

Brixton was loving hanging out in the tent....nice comfy sleeping bags, blankets...he loved it

Of course, had to pick up the marshmallows.....I will brag that Mike makes THE best roasted marshmallows that I have ever had in my entire life. He's so patient! I just stick it in, burn the top, and pop it in my mouth. Not Mike...he's got the skills1

Damon loved being Daddy's little helper with the fire.

I love this one

We definitely enjoyed the Adirondack Mountains....but they don't quite compare to the Uintahs! Especially since they are 9 hours away! As opposed to the Uintah's which now feel like they were in our backyard when we lived in Utah! We'll be back one day!

Videos - Camp Woodward

2010-06-03T15:13:00.003-04:00

Vacation - Camp Woodward

2010-06-03T14:28:00.003-04:00

Most of you have probably never heard of Camp Woodward....I never had until we were planning this trip. It is a giant place for skate boarding / bike riding / gymnastics...and a bunch of other sports. With Damon's recent obsession of riding his bike like a maniac...Mike thought this would be a fun place to take him, and it worked out perfectly go to over Mem. Day weekend because it wasn't open yet for it's super crowded Summer Camps (1500 kids come to this place each week in the Summer). It was such beautiful weather, and a really fun place to visit.

I wish I would have taken pictures of all of the outdoor stuff they had there. It was amazing.

The Lodge that we stayed in

had to make sure Brixton didn't feel left out.

Damon was going up and down every ramp in every gym....but didn't do much on the half pipes (I was okay with that) - He rode into foam pits, and got both tires off the ground going up a couple of ramps. I'll try to post some videos....

Trik - A - Thon

2010-05-27T14:20:00.003-04:00

Last week at Damon's pre-school they had their annual Trike (bike for Damon) - a Thon! It is a fundraiser, and money is donated for how many laps the kids can go around the track. There is a little bike wash, little restaurant, little repair shop...etc...it's a lot of fun.

This is Damon and his awesome little friend Jack. When they are together they are...well....insane. To put it nicely. Just ask the poor lobster that they mutilated when we went to dinner with Jack's parents....Although they are nuts, they have so much fun together. Here they are getting ready to run out the door.....watch out!

Awesome pictures, provided by Jack's sweet mom, Dina. Thanks!!!!

This one cracks me up....he is sooo serious. Jack is cruising in the background

Soccer (last Fall)

2010-05-19T19:39:00.007-04:00

I forgot to do a post about Damon's little soccer class that he took at Pre-school last Fall. It's nothing too serious, just practicing skills, playing around...etc.. Not the typical team setting where you actually play against other teams...but either way, he loved it. These are some pics that my good friend Colleen took.

I really just wanted to post these because she has the most awesome camera

love this one

Damon with Colleen's son Brendan

PhotoBooth

2010-05-14T08:49:00.005-04:00

PHOTOBOOTH = a new random favorite family activity, that makes us laugh harder than I have laughed in a long time. Damon gets laughing so hard he is out of control. I'm sure we'll be posting more soon....

I think the boys were about to take a shower

It is also sometimes the only way I get pics of myself with my kids!

The Jumps

2010-05-04T20:48:00.003-04:00

A couple of Saturdays ago Mike and Damon went for a bike ride down our favorite Capital Crescent Trail. They found a little side trail, and Damon was in his little "biking heaven". Damon demanded that I see this place so we went back that evening as a little family. Just imagine my anxiety as I watched him go down this trail over, and over, and over....

For some reason part of the video kind of gets cut off when I put it on my blog, so you can also go here to view it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9r0Z1UR7ls

Three Things....

2010-04-09T20:16:00.007-04:00

MY KIDS

A CAMERA

SPRINGTIME

We love these kids so much

Damon- Daddy Day!

2010-04-05T13:16:00.010-04:00

So for the past year or so Saturdays have been referred to around here as "Damon Daddy Days". Mike works very hard for our little family, which results in us not seeing him as often as we would like to during the week....so the weekends are a big deal, especially for Damon now that he is able to join Mike in most of his hobbies....skiing, golfing, biking, and just playing like a kid (or big kid) does! Mike always prefers to do these hobbies with Damon right along side him.

Last Saturday Mike, Damon, and a group of close friends rode their bikes down to DC to enjoy the AMAZING weather, and see the cherry blossoms.

(Damon, Sienna, Dana, Heather, Gavin)

Mike and Damon downtown, Washington Monument

Damon, Lincoln Memorial

Damon & Sienna, ice cream break!

This was about mile 4 for Damon, and he loved getting a little push on the neck from his Dad

I just love this picture

Our good friends....Mike, Richard, Damon, Dana, Heather, and Gavin and Sienna in the comfy trailer.

Yes, we all think Mike and Richard look so cute in this picture!

Everyone had so much fun...and I sat home with my Brixton...I couldn't complain much about that!

National Kite Festival!

2010-04-01T07:39:00.006-04:00

Some friends of ours told us that the National Kite Festival was going on last weekend, so we actually decided to be head down. We have been really bad about taking advantage of all the fun things that go on in DC, so we were happy to join the crowds down at the National Mall. We left early in the morning to take Damon to a skate park in Arlington to ride his bike....then drove to the city.

This must have been a good gust of wind for there to be that many kites in the air. It was NOT a very windy day....

but still fun to be out together

Mike and Damon setting up their kite

Damon and sweet little Hannah. It was great to meet up with such a big group of friends....(no pictures to prove it...but we had 5 or 6 families in our group)

Unfortunately, this was what the sky looked like for most of the day....notice...2 kites in the air.

Randomness....

2010-03-17T22:33:00.005-04:00

I noticed today that it has been a long time since I blogged about anything....so here is just the randomness that we've been up to lately....

I finally took a picture of the lovely street sign that inspired my little guys name (no , his name is not Fernwood)....Although, Mike was inspired by his name because it is the name of a city outside of his mission in London. I still like the street sign!

Notice - NO MORE CAST! Yeah! He got it off last week, and the doc said he is "substantially healed". We'll go back next week for more x-rays...he's still trying and trying and trying to crawl! He's mastered rolling when he wants to get to something, and he's got a mean army crawl.

How Damon eats a mango...I cut off all the chunks that I can...and he still takes the core and chews off anything else he can get his teeth into!

My boys were all cuddling on the couch the other day and I noticed that they kind of matched! (Mike's shirt has green stripes)... Any excuse for a picture!

That's all for now....

Hoping...

2010-02-25T22:00:00.001-05:00

Here's to hoping that these two boys will always love each other as much as they do in this picture.

An Incident....

2010-02-20T16:45:00.003-05:00

So....how many of your kids have rolled off of your bed? and....how many of them BROKE THEIR LEG because of it? Okay, Brixton didn't actually break his leg...it just looks like he did because of the cast. He has what's called a "bone buckle". It's just a little bend in his bone (femur) and he can't put any pressure on it without major pain. I'm grateful for my husband who, according to the nurses at the Emergency Room, had "great daddy instincts", and didn't really agree with them when they said that he was fine. So they took an x-ray, and he was right! There was definitely something wrong.

He just had a splint (which he wiggled his leg out of twice) for the first couple of days until we got into see the orthopedic pediatrician.

By this point...you'd really never know that anything was wrong with this kid unless you saw the cast on his leg. He's isn't fussy at all, and if he's uncomfortable, he definitely keeps it to himself. He's such a good kid.

He is still trying to crawl even with a cast on.

The best part of it all....I think this cast is weighing him down enough that he's sleeping through the night again! Have you ever seen a kid so happy to have a big old cast on his leg! It should be off in a month.

Finally! A video of Damon skiing

2010-02-16T23:17:00.006-05:00

Mike and Damon went skiing with some of our good friends last Saturday. Mike couldn't stand not

skiing after the huge storm out East and although the "hills" are not comparable to the mountains in Utah..they still had a great a time. (Except for waiting in super long lines).

Mike said this hill is actually much steeper than it looks in the video. Go Damon!

I'm ready....

2010-02-11T12:53:00.004-05:00

okay, now this is my getting down to business face....

I am ready. Ready to say goodbye to sugar.

I've been frustrated. I've been depressed.

But something hit me last night, and now I am ready.

Being a mother of two has not been that big of an adjustment,

except for the fact that I don't take as much time to take care of myself as I should.

So here I go.

Back to the diabetic diet that caused me to only weigh 6 lbs more when I gave birth, than I weighed before getting pregnant.

Back to the (more expensive) sugar free pudding, protein with every meal and snack, looking at the clock to know if it's time to eat,

and not randomly grabbing a stupid pack of fruit snacks just because.

I'm ready.

Wish me luck

My thought process is that if I blog about this, than I hold myself much more accountable for actually following through. Let's hope I'm right.

BLIZZARD OF 2010

2010-02-08T09:10:00.003-05:00

The snow storm that hit us over the weekend was the biggest snow storm EVER in Washington DC.

The pictures speak for themselves....

snow! snow! snow! - Damon really is in his little heaven

look closely - That is a car's side mirror right next to Damon. He played with his sweet friend Cindy for 4 hours out there!

our lovely parking lot. Love how the snow plow blocks all the cars in?

The pics of Damon and I were taken Saturday morning - it continued to snow for another 9 hours after this

this pine tree outside our door made a cool little tunnel

snow up to my thigh

the view out of our doorway

church cancelled (2 weeks in a row), schools cancelled for days, grocery stores closed, post offices closed, 200,000 people in the area without power, (we were very lucky).....it has been pretty insane around here. This morning I went out to warm the car up for Mike, and all the car doors were frozen shut. I finally got one of the back doors open, crawled into the front seat, and still couldn't open either front door from inside the car.

Mike also had a good time yesterday heading up a huge snow removal project with the snow plow truck guys, and a bunch of neighbors. We were knocking on doors to get people to move cars so the truck could move snow.... I wish I had a video of him. It was hilarious. People were so grateful for him. I felt like I should have been out helping, but Brixton has had a bad cold...so we just stayed warm inside.

For as much drama as these storms cause around here, it is exciting that we lived here during such a historic storm!

We're supposed to get another 5 inches tomorrow.

8 months...already?

2010-01-27T21:36:00.002-05:00

So I know I just did a post about Brixton...but he turned 8 months yesterday, and I couldn't help but do another one.....

Here's what he's up to lately....

Look what I learned to do at Grandma's house last month (7 months old) ! That's right....I'm sitting up! (it's about time!)

Obsessed with the jumper. Pure joy on that little face. (Thanks to my friend Colleen for lending it to us!) He has stayed in that thing for an hour (multiple times!)

He is also trying SO SO hard to crawl. It's so cute to watch...until he gets mad about it. He uses every little ounce of energy, and every little muscle to try to really move around. He can roll, and wiggle around on his belly like it's nobodies business....he gets up on his hands and knees, and rocks back and forth...but isn't quite there yet. I'm actually fine with it....We are in no rush for this kid to grow up!

He's also figured out SPITTING, and thinks it is the greatest thing ever. Has almost got the pincer grasp down, is noticing when we're eating and he isn't, loves to hang out in just his diaper, is sleeping well,and overall seems to be a pretty happy kid. We're so lucky that he's ours.

Little Chat with Damon

2010-01-22T17:13:00.003-05:00

So a friend of mine (Rachelle) periodically does little "interviews" with her kids - to find out what kind of things they are loving at that stage of life. I think they are hilarious, and have been meaning for at least a year to copy her. So she did one recently which reminded me....

Favorite Color : Green

Favorite Book : Roger the Racer

Favorite Game: Memory Match

Favorite Toy: Remote Control Optimus Prime

Favorite Movie: Mr. Incredibles

Favorite Song: Rock A Bye Baby

Favorite Breakfast Foods: eggs

Favorite Dinner Foods: mac & cheese (how embarassing!)

Other kids think that I am : nice and helpful

What do you like about your mom? she's wonderful, she does great things for me (I promise that is a direct quote)

" " " your dad? Takes me like to football stadiums and goes to work and gets money done.

" " " Brixton? That he eats healthy, that he makes me feel good, and he smiles at me.

" " " yourself? that I get to go places with my dad

When I grow up I want to be : I want to be a football guy that plays football

I like learning about: skiing, biking

I want to go to : Football stadium

That's all for now. (yes, Rachelle, I copied every question). I tried to come up with my own...but wasn't too creative.

What I've Learned...

2010-01-17T21:14:00.008-05:00

In the past 8 months .....I have learned ....that...

It's incredibly easy to eat super super healthy, when it is for the health of your growing baby....but that once the healthy baby is born...it is very hard to eat super super healthy, when it is just for me.

that I can function off of 3 hours of sleep.....

It really is possible (and natural and easy) - to love your second child as much as your first....

that doubling the number of kids you have, also doubles the amount of love in a home....

how much I love these huge blue eyes.....

that it is absolutely just fine if you don't feel like moving around that much....take your time! I love your mellow, but very happy, little personality

what an amazing, helpful, overbearing, loud, rough, but sweet big brother Damon can be

Boy - do I love you. Every chubby little roll of you

More!

2010-01-12T17:33:00.003-05:00

For those of you who read Tara's blog, I'll apologize. ALL of these pics were stolen from her. Thanks T!

Brixton and Carter....cute little baby cousins

Damon and Brayden in their handsome matching little suits. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Christmas morning, Daria, Cooper, Damon and Brayden

My sister Rach, and Mike....cheese!

Nothing cuter than my dad with his two new grandsons! Brixton's smile looks a little evil!

4 of the grandkids....Daria (the only granddaughter), Brayden, Damon, and Carter

Sweet Daria

Carter and Brixton in their cute hats from our good friend Judie. She is so talented!

My sister Tara, her husband, and their oldest boy, Brayden.

That's my boy...

2010-01-07T22:18:00.002-05:00

Damon - on the lift. I heard that he is quite the little skier. Mike slacked at taking pictures, which he feels horrible about so I won't go on about how bugged I was...but here are the few that he did take. And no...no video's either. :(

I love this one

Break time - time for a snack

So Mike really did give up a lot of his own ski time to go and ski with Damon, which I'm sure Damon will one day be very grateful for. (What a good Daddy)

Since we got back from Utah Damon has told us repeatedly that he doesn't want to live in Maryland, he wants to live in Utah so that he can ski. He also cried when Mike finally had to return his rental ski's. Oh how sweet...

A Few More....

2010-01-07T22:09:00.004-05:00

The best part of the trip for me was Brixton getting to meet his grandpa's. Both Grandma's came out this Summer....(even though he's basically a totally different kid now) - it was great to see my dad hold one of his new little grandson's for the first time

My dad with my two boys

Love it. I love how Brixton grasps onto my dad's fingers.

We ventured out on a FREEZING cold night to check out the lights. Luckily you can make it around the grounds in about 15 min.

Utah Trip Christmas 2009

2010-01-06T15:44:00.006-05:00

Well...I will start out as I always do after our trips to Utah...mad at myself for my lack of picture taking! What was I thinking!? Seriously....couldn't be more bugged at myself...so here's a little glimpse into our Christmas morning at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Just before all the madness...

Damon was actually very patient, considering that he of course woke up at 5:30 am - obviously still on east coast time....and had to wait a couple of hours until everyone was awake...

me with my parents....felt like such a kid!

We were also able to spend Christmas morning with my little sister and her cute little family, who were also staying at my parents house. Here's a random pic of them. It was so much fun to watch our little kids open presents together.

Yeah for Seinfeld Trivia...I failed at this game, but my mom, sister, and bro-in-law sure didn't! My mom is so cute

classic face

Damon was hilarious all morning, saying things like "OOOHH!!! Just what I always wanted! " - "This is what I've been wishing for!", "This what I've always needed!"...each gift (including new socks) was treated as if it was a pot of gold. It was so much fun to watch his little face light up.

need I say more?

Later in the morning my other two siblings came over with their little families, we had a big brunch, opened more gifts, and spent some fun times together. I'll have more pics from the trip to come....

East Coast Storm 2009

2010-01-05T23:25:00.005-05:00

Mike and Damon were invited to our friends cabin (second home) down at the Wintergreen Resort in Virginia, to break in their ski's during the massive East Coast storm that hit the weekend before Christmas. They drove for 5 hours (would have normally been about 3 hours without the storm) - and skied the next day in the blizzard. Not the best weather for skiing (white out conditions) - but they all still had a good time.

Because of how bad the roads were the night before, the friends that invited Mike and Damon over, didn't even make it to their own house. They stayed in another city on the way down in a hotel, while Mike and Damon were sleeping in their house. This picture was taken when they finally all met up with each other Saturday afternoon....Such cute little friends

deep snow. As for you Utahn's, I know this is not that big of a deal to you...but this much snow is HUGE deal around here!

game time

the trail they dug out to the hot tub...yes, the little boys did cannon balls into the hot tub...in FREEZING weather

the house

snow piling up....

By the way - Brixton and I also had a wonderful, relaxing weekend....spent sleeping, cuddling, and making Christmas cards. It was actually really relaxing not being able to leave our house.