We're Off...

to visit some family tomorrow morning! Keep us in your prayers as the kids and I travel, Bryant will be keepin' down the homefront. We're SO excited!

The National Museum of Natural History...

Today was a dreary day here and we were tired of being couped up inside all week. So, we decided to head into DC and take advantage of our weekend.

We chose to take the kids to The National Museum of Natural History. I am convinced that is where everyone takes their kids around here (besides the zoo). It was SO busy, but then it is the National Cherry Blossom Festival... Today we also saw lots of kites on the grounds of the Washington Monument taking part in the Smithsonian Kite Festival. Nathan really wanted to fly his kite! We told him maybe next weekend... we'll see.

A Tinker Bouncey Day...

Gracie got a Tinker Bell for her birthday today. When she opened it both her and Nathan were jumping up and down cheering, "Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell!"

She also got a Jumpoline... it's definitely one way to jump all the crazies out!

And because she Loves ice cream cones SO much, she had cake cones for her birthday along with a small cake that I made. She didn't realize that it was frosting not ice cream until she took that first lick. And all she ate was the frosting, once she got to the cake... well, apparently cake doesn't belong in an ice cream cone... according to Gracie.

But, we did give her the good stuff too!

She's 2!

Happy Birthday Gracie Rose!

Our morning began with Nathan telling Gracie, "Happy Birthday Grace Grace. You have a present in mommy and daddy's room!"

Some fun facts about Gracie at 2:
- Her favorite color is pink
-She loves playing with her baby dolls, and pretend play food
-She LOVES to read books
-She'll eat just about anything... anytime
-Her favorite snack is an ice cream cone
-She's mastered the art of sneakiness
-Her favorite movie is Cinderella
-She says just about everything, most recently "uh huh" and "uh uh"
-She LOVES shoes
-She pats my back and says, "I love you mom"
-She takes one 3 hour nap every afternoon
-She can jump with both feet off the ground
-She can be occupied with a coloring book for what seems like hours
-She loves to walk when we're out (like a big girl)
-She still sleeps in her crib (because she hasn't attempted to break out)
-And every morning she ask, "Where's Dada, mom?"

It's hard to believe it's been 2 years since she was born! I remember that day so vividly.
-It was a beautiful Sunday
-I made so many phone calls that morning; the Dr., my sister, Elizabeth...
-Gracie was born at 7:34pm
-8 lbs, 14 oz. and 22 inches long
-My sister was there
-It was wonderful
-I told Bryant I would have lots more babies if they could all be that great

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Over the Past Couple of Days...

Nothing much has happened around here. So, I'll share a few pictures with you.


Wait, that's right! Batman showed up one evening after dinner and saved me from doing dishes! Well, until his accomplice showed up soon thereafter... then I kicked them both out of the kitchen and Bryant and I cleaned up their mess!

And here are a couple of pictures from tonight before bed...

Good Morning...

Currently it is just after 8 in the morning, and typically I am not at the computer! On a typical day I am crawling out of bed and into the shower at this time, Gracie is reading books in her crib and Nathan is either watching TV upstairs, or playing in his room. However, this morning I was awoken at 6:45 by a crying child who had wiggled her way into the corner of her crib and couldn't move. Then just after getting back into bed the phone rings. When the phone rings at 6:48am you know it's never good! I answer expecting it to be the voice of someone I know, because it is way too early for telemarketing! However, it's AT&T and they have a text message for me, on my home phone! Did anyone know that you can get a text message read to you by a computer over your phone!? Well, I didn't! Here's the message: "You did it! Congrats! First Sergeant ... (I'll leave his name out)". Are you puzzled? Well, I wasn't. I immediately handed the phone to Bryant and pushed 3 to replay the message. He couldn't believe it, and I couldn't go back to sleep. He has made the "unofficial" list for E-7! The "unofficial" list came out yesterday, and all night he was making phone calls to his old command in recruiting to find out if his name was on it. You must understand that only a few people are privileged to see the "unofficial" list (before it's made official and public), and he had no one to contact here so instead he was all over those guys in Indianapolis. The official list comes out on Monday with his sequence number, that gives us an idea of when he's pinned. Anyways, it was a good way to start the day!

Trying to Find a Good Park...

There are a lot of things that we miss about Indianapolis but, a BIG one is the great parks there! So, if anyone reading this gets a chance to visit Holliday Park, West Park or Coxhall Gardens anytime soon, we wish we were there with you! You lucky duck! We've been searching and searching for something that can compare around here... and the search is still on. We do have the privilege of Lee High Park within walking distance and the playground at the Elementary school is real close too. Last night after dinner, we went to Lake Accotink Park. And it was nice but wasn't what we were hoping for... maybe come closer to summer when the carousel and put-put open up it will become a favorite. They also have paddle boat and canoe rentals, now that would be fun! But, we did enjoy our break from the house! We played on the playground, the sand beach and hiked a little on a trail that goes around the lake.


Here's Bryant swinging with Gracie. He did get off so that a child could swing...

This is the closest Nathan has EVER gotten to Geese before. Apparently he has forgotten how often he had seen Geese at our old house... and how nasty they would get. These ones were fine though!

In this picture, I had no idea what the sign said (Please Do Not Feed Wildlife). Bryant kept telling me to stand here and open my mouth...

And this was on our hike around the lake. We didn't go too far...