NATS GAME WITH DAD

Sterling took Dellin and Sterling Henry to a National baseball game. They went with Matt, Theo, and Ida. The boys had been looking forward to this all weekend and were so excited to go. They got ice cream and new hats at the game. I think Little Man's face in the picture sums it up.

I stayed home with the two babies. Gouverneur was pretty sad when he realized that he wasn't going, so we went and got frozen yogurt. He was pretty happy with that arrangement. The babies went to bed early, and I spent the night sewing. Everyone had a great time.

Mt. Vernon with Josh and Laura

The last thing we did with Josh and Laura was visit Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. This is our number one favorite thing to so in the DC area. The house itself is beautiful and the grounds are amazing and there is lots to do and see. We spent the day here with Josh and Laura and had a great time.

They have lots of animals to see. The sheep are usually the favorite. Sterling Henry, Dellin and Bryn had a lot of fun trying to feed and pet them.

We sat here and ate lunch and relaxed for a bit. The Potomac river is behind us.

Dad showing the boys grain and making big plans for the future.

All the kids took turns in the stroller.

Israel and Mya. Sterling Henry and Bryn

Uncle Josh is a lot of fun.

We had such a great trip with Josh and Laura. My boys were in heaven to be with family and have cousins staying at our house.We all were in a a bit of a funk for a few days after they left.

 Thank you for coming to see us.  We love you and miss you!

ZOO TO SPACE, ALL IN ONE DAY.

The National Zoo is always one of my favorite things to do with my kids. It's free, fun and super educational. We love it when our visitors want to go there with us. We had a great time with Josh, Laura, Bryn, and Mya.

The big kids.

It gets pretty hot walking around and my boys love the water misters. They ran through this one with Bryn and got pretty drenched. They also got to touch a zebra skull. Pretty cool.

The sea otters and seals.

After a long, hot day at the zoo, we headed home to cool off and let the babies nap a bit. After naps, we headed out to the Dulles Air and Space Museum. We never get tired of seeing the space shuttle.

 

Josh and I being matchy-matchy again. I think my boys were in both of the strollers half of the time.

Another great day.

Great Falls.

After an afternoon in the pool, we stopped by the EQ social for dinner and then headed to Great Falls in Maryland. This is probably one of my most favorite places to take visitors. It's close and really beautiful. Josh and Laura had heard about it from a friend so we were all excited to go. The weather had cooled off a bit and the sun was going down. Perfect evening.

The falls are part of the Potomac river. They have a nice board walk out to the falls, with one bridge that always freaks me out with kids. Bryn and Sterling Henry held hands which was really cute.

 

Josh, Laura, Bryn, and Mya. It's hard to believe my baby brother is this grown up. Cutest family. 

After looking at the falls, we walk along the canal. Josh and I with our matchy-matchy strollers. And Sterling and Little Man. 

The sunset was perfect on the way back to the cars.

 

Perfect ending to a perfect day!

AUNT MARILEE COMES TO VISIT

My sister Marilee came to visit us this last week and we had such a great time. She is three years older than me and has five kids. Last time she came to see us was 5 1/2 years ago. A lot has changed since then. She got in on Tuesday afternoon, and Sterling left on a boys trip with his dad and brothers the next day, so it was perfect timing for me to have her out here.

We hit up all the fun stuff while she was here, including The Ribbon Outlet, Lucketts Antique Store, Georgetown Cupcake, and many other girly things.

We got frozen yogurt everyday, went shopping, and ate lots of yummy good. We cut. colored, and straightened each others hair, and watched lots of girly movies. I introduced her to my love of thrifting and yard sales. She spent lots of time reading and playing with the boys. The adore her. Obviously.

Us.

We were all in tears as we dropped her off at the airport. I kept telling my boys that we were lucky to have her for five days. Now her kiddos need her too.

Thanks for coming to see us Mar. I know that your family all made sacrifices for you to be here. Thanks Brandon for sharing her with us. Can't wait to see you all this summer.

I am so lucky to have three beautiful sisters who I love, admire, and look up to.Being the youngest girl in my family has always had it's perks, but having three sisters for best friends is the best by far.

Aunt Amy Comes to Visit

We were lucky enough to have aunt Amy come and visit. She was originally going to come with Sterling's parents, but they pushed back their trip, and so we got Amy all to ourselves. Aunt Amy is fun with a capital F. The boys had a blast all weekend long. This first picture below says it all. She couldn't even sit down to eat without all the boys wanting to dance on the table right by her.

It was Amy's first trip out here to see us, but she'd been to D.C. before, so we took her to all our favorites. Mount Vernon is always on the top of our list. It was a super cold day, so we bundle up.

Checking out the livestock.

We went on two monument walks at night with Amy. Sterling and I each went on one of the walks and left the boys home with the other one since it was so cold. Here's Amy with Thomas Jefferson.

We spent a day at the museums, ate lots of yummy food, and I introduced Amy to the amazing thrift stores out here. But most of her time was spent reading, playing, and snuggling the boys. We all have a great time.

Thanks for coming to see us and for being so good to our boys. We're missing you already!

OUT AND ABOUT WITH A 1-TO-1 ADULT-T0-CHILD RATIO = HEAVENLY

On the first night that Jen and Eliza got in, we headed to the monuments. We had a great time. The boys were all strapped into strollers which made the whole thing pretty easy.

The next morning, we headed straight to the Museum of Natural History. This is always a favorite. It's fun to go on the off season when it's not super crowded. It's even more fun to go with four adults.

I tried to convince the girls to cover their heads for this picture. Funny. Right? Little Man had a blast walking with aunt Jen.

On Friday night we headed to the mall. I haven't been to the mall with girls in a while. It was fun to shop and look at lots of girly things. Gouverneur wanted to be held towards the ends so I strapped him into the Ergo carrier. I need to do this more, he loved it!

All set and ready to shop.

On Saturday, we hit up Georgetown Cupcake first thing. We then headed to the zoo. It was super cold, so we hit all the highlights and headed home.

That night, my good friend Sarah came over to watch the boys while we went out. We ate at a yummy Thai restaurant. We got Mr. Yogato for old times sake. Still the best frozen yogurt around. We then headed to Target, looking at nail polish and clothes for a good two hours. It was a fun night!

Temple Christmas Lights 2012

The Washington DC temple is absolutely beautiful. It is especially beautiful during Christmas, when they have all the Christmas lights up.  We visit the temple every year during the holidays and I'm always amazed at how amazing it looks. 

We went up on a Sunday evening this year. The weather was cold, but not freezing. It was a really fun evening. The boys really enjoyed it this year.

I love pictures of my boys. They are so handsome.

 

They use to have a live nativity when we first moved here but started using this one 4 or 5 years ago. The boys always love to see it. 

Family shot 2012 with the temple. I love this one. 

We met up with our friends, the Greens. We have done this with them for a couple of years now. Our camera died after one picture, so they saved us big time. Me and Marjorie (and Israel all bundled). 

 I love trying to get a bunch of kids together for a picture. This one turned out pretty good.

Hot cocoa is a must!

Dellin enjoying his.

  Gouverneur fell down face first while running around looking at lights. We now have our very own little "Rudolph",

We really love to take the kids to the temple. We're so grateful for the blessing of the temple in our lives. We love our eternal family!