Washington DC

A few weekends ago we took a trip to Virginia to see your friends the Gray's. We lived just 2 houses down in our old neighborhood, but they moved to DC 2 years ago. Emily and Katelyn have pretty much been friends since they were born. Even though they only get to see each other every few months now, they still love playing together.

Saturday we headed to downtown DC for a day of sightseeing.

We decided the kids would like the musuems the best. We went to the Natural History musuem first. Emily's favorite exhibit was the "jewels." The Hope Diamond didn't really excite her, but she loved the ruby, sappahire and emerald jewelry. Her eyes were so big and she kept asking if she could get that for her birthday. Sadly, I told her she was born in the wrong family for bling like that.

 

We ate lunch on the lawn and the kids just loved running around and having fun!

Next we visited the American History museum.

 

After the museums, we decided to stop at Arlington Cemetery. We wanted to see the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and the eternal flame at the grave of John F Kennedy. Andy took ALOT of pictures here, but I will just post a few.

It was such a nice little trip. We had fun sightseeing in DC. We wore the kids out, but honestly the adults may have been a little more worn out. And of course it was great spending the weekend with the Grays. The kids got along great and it was nice hanging out with Laura and Avery. Sadly they just moved even farther way to CT. But we are making plans to meet in the middle next time! 

Beach!

We decided to be a little spontaneous on Labor Day and made a last minute trip to the beach. We managed to leave the house by 9:30... which was amazing since we decided to go about 7:30.

We usually go to Wrightsville, but decided to try Atlantic Beach this time since we always have parking issues at Wrightsville on holidays. Atlantic was definitely further away, but we found a spot right away and it was free!

The girls were SO excited to be going to the beach. They played in the sand for awhile, ate a lunch we packed and then hit the ocean. Andy tried to take Sarah out, but she is still not a fan of the water. Emily loves jumping over the waves. She squeals in delight everytime. Every once in awhile she would get water in her face and run back to dry it off and then run right back in the ocean.

 

 

Emily and I sat on the boogie board right at the edge of the ocean for a really long time. We just talked and told each other stories about princesses and unicorns. She really had me laughing with her imagination!

These pictures could have been a lot cuter if her hair wasn't in her face, but it was windy and she hates me doing her hair, so I couldn't fix it. And we don't worry about things like that when we are at the beach, right??!

Neverending Summer

I would like to say these are pictures of us enjoying the last days of summer. However, with the temps in the 90's this past week, I am not sure fall is ever going to get here.

The girls love to ride on the lawn mower with Andy. At first, Emily didn't even want to be outside when he was mowing because it was too loud. But I think she changed her mind after she watched Sarah ride with him a few times. Now they race to get there shoes on when they hear the mower.

Look what's cooking!

You know what that picture means.... Baby #3 is on the way. I am about 14 weeks along and due March 26th. To be honest, it happened a little quicker than planned. However I am slowly trying to prepare myself for life with 3. It should be interesting!

Emily is pretty excited and keeps asking if my belly is big yet. She knows we have to get through her birthday and Christmas first and then we will start getting ready for the baby. At first she was pretty sure it was a girl, but now she is just anxious to see the baby on the screen and find out if it is a boy or girl.

Of course, Andy is feeling like it is a boy this time. However I am doubtful. This pregnancy feels just like my others, so that leads me to believe it is a girl. Luckily, my pregnancies don't really feel like much of anything since I never have morning sickness (please don't hate me). My ultrasound is scheduled for October 2oth, so tune in then!

We already made our first step toward a bigger family and bought ... a mini van! I love it and will have to post pictures, once I post the the million other posts I am behind on.

Dance

The girls started dance recently. This is Emily's second year and she is doing a tap/ballet combo class again with the same teacher, Ms. Dawn. Dawn is also the owner and we LOVE her! Emily's class is perfect for her. There is about 5 girls and Emily is one of the older ones. Dawn said Emily really talks alot this year in class and often takes the lead in class. That is exactly why we started her in dance, so that makes me happy.

I decided to start Sarah in dance too. She just loves music and dancing and was pretty much banging on the door to get in Emily's class last year. She actually even knew some of the moves to the dances Emily did in the recital, so I figured she was ready.

Sarah really likes her teacher, Ms. Amy. She is kind of the teacher's pet. :) She didn't cry the first week, but just kind of stood there like the picture below. She eventually started dancing. However she has been a little more clingy the last 2 weeks. She gets jealous when Ms. Amy has to hold another sad girl because she wants Amy's attention. She sure is a cute little ballerina though!