Our Weekend Trip

Back in 2009 Bill took an 18 month temporary duty for his job in northern Virginia.  The kids and I joined him in the midst of his time there from June 2009 to June 2010.*  That move could be it's own blog post, full of ups and downs for sure.  I will save that for another time. 

This past weekend we headed back to the same area, where Bill again has been spending a lot of his time with work related goings-on.  The kids and I packed up the car and headed for Alexandria, VA for the weekend to visit him.

On Friday, after a very calm, non-eventful ride, complete with trail mix and Coolatas, the kids were thrilled to see where Dad spends his time away from home.  Very cool digs, indeed!

Saturday's first stop was at the "coolest playground ever" that the kids insisted on visiting again.  The only problem was now that they are a full 3 years older, it's not as exciting as they remembered.  Matt enjoyed it though since he doesn't remember it from before when he was only a one year old.

Clemyjontri is the name of the park in McLean, VA.  It is an all access playground for children with all different kinds of abilities.  It is really nice and boy is it ever big!

 

 

 

 

After that, we stopped in the neighborhood we used to live in.*  This is the house we rented.

 

We stalked our neighbors a bit before they saw us lurking and came outside and gave us the warmest welcome.  I am kicking myself for not getting a picture with them!!

We had packed lunch and found a cool picnic spot right near the river and the runway for Reagan National Airport.  The planes flew right above our heads before landing.  Loud, but totally cool.

We went back to the apartment and went for a swim before heading out to dinner at my favorite restaurant.

 

 

We walked around Alexandria a bit and then headed to D.C.

 

 

 

Sunday morning we went to mass here.

 

I dare you to sit in this church, listen to the pipe organ, take in the beauty, and NOT cry.

 

Breathtaking and powerful.

After lunch it was impossible to convince the kids to do the D.C. museums, so we got an early start on our drive home.  (and that's the nicest way I can put it)

Just like Forrest Gump says:

I'm glad we were here together in our nation's capital.

 

 

 

New Tractor Cart

Our new tractor came with a free cart.

 

I'm pretty sure that's not what it was meant for, but boy did they have fun.

Great idea, Dad!

Carpe Tuesday!

One of the many blessings of my Catholic faith is the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.   Each Tuesday and every first Friday of the month my parish offers Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  I have only been able to attend this on first Fridays while Matthew was at preschool.  Now that Billy is getting older, I am able to leave him "in charge" for short periods of time.  Today I decided I would Carpe Tuesday.....Seize the "day of Adoration."

I left all the children with strict instructions to call me only in an emergency, placed my cell phone on vibrate, and headed to church.  I usually will bring my rosary and a book to read, but today I brought a pamphlet that I acquired in a special way.

About 5 years ago I went to mass at my childhood parish, St. Laurence.  It was at a time that I had grown in my devotion to the Blessed Mother, but felt that I really needed to work on my relationship with Jesus.  While at mass that Saturday night I prayed about this.  After mass I came across some pamphlets in the back of church.  One in particular caught my eye.

It was just what I needed.  Inside are words that can jumpstart a conversation between you and Jesus.  It is a great tool to take with you to Adoration, or simply any corner where you spend your quiet time.

Today I was able to read through the whole thing before my phone started vibrating.  No emergency, just a wrong number. 

I did end up leaving church though, and going home to order 50 pamphlets.  It is my hope that some of you would like to have one.  If this is so, contact me by email (found on my profile on my sidebar) and send me your home address.

So, Carpe Diem
        Carpe Pamphlet
           and Seize the Lord!

Everyday Happenings

~ Even though it may have seemed like I was off on some exotic vacation because of the lack of posts recently, I was really just home here in good ol' Pennsylvania.

Not me.

~ The Fourth of July was awesome.  I love holidays like these.  They give you the excuse to chillax.

Tommy and I went for a bike ride.

Bill beat me in Scrabble.

 We got out the sprinkler and hose.

We got the kids sparklers for the first time.  We had them gather in a circle with their sparklers together.  Bill lit them all at once and since the kids didn't know what to expect, they dropped them and ran off screaming.  Most of them got over the fright, but poor Ann never recovered and only watched from the sidelines.

 

~ The kids' dinner-making has been slow this summer.  However,  Billy made empanadas last week and they were delicious.

4 out of 5 kids approved.

~ random shots of....

 

Basketball

Haircuts

Tempers

Silliness

Hideouts

Illness

Creativity

Vader

~ I'm getting my haircut tomorrow.  I had tried to do the "color in a box" thing, but I seem to be missing all of the gray!  I'm going to a new salon so this is the picture I'm bringing with me. 

Any thoughts?  Mary Kate doesn't like it, which is a little hurtful since I think it's my current style but longer.


~ If you're still with me, I would just like to mention that on my sidebar there is a spot to sign up to receive these riveting posts in your email inbox.  I know it's frustrating to check here and find I have not updated in a while.  Also, I've been hoping the count for my followers reaches 40 sometime before the year 2020.  So, if you'll notice, I'm following myself now, thank you very much.

~ I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get my new background to go all the way to the top.  It's driving me CA-RAZY!

 **It's fixed!!  Thanks to Casey from Hot Bliggity Blog for coming to my aid.

~I hope your summer is going well.  Keep in mind, this post is 25% of what we are doing these days.  The other 75% is complaining, boredom, fresh talk, and me wishing it was August 26th!  Just wanted to keep it real, people.  Please tell me I'm not the only one.