Just Hangin' Out...

The other night before bathtime, Craig & the girls went outside to play & burn some energy. They kicked around the ball & took a few rides down the slide. I couldn't resist taking some pictures of the three loves of my life!

Playing ball with Daddy!

Daddy & his girls!

This has to be one of my absolute favorite pictures! Kylie LOVES her Daddy!

Friday Nights @ Pop's!

A tradition that started a few years ago has been Friday nights @ Pop & Nana's house! It started with just my Mom & Aunt Linda going over late on Fridays, having some wine, & chatting. Since we moved back, I've tagged along & love every minute of it!! Pop usually just sits & takes it all in while the women sit around, drink wine (or water in my case!), snack, & laugh! He'll add his little stories or anecdotes, which I also LOVE! We usually leave kind of late, but it's worth it to spend quality time with them! I want to start writing down all the stories & jokes that Poppy tells so that I never forget them! Sometimes, I think I get more excited about Friday nights then anything else! :)

My Poppy - I love him so much!!

The glasses of wine he usually serves to the ladies!

My glass of water - he didn't want me to feel left out! :)

Our snacks of baked chips, pretzels, & cheese puffs!

Our Friday night crowd - this was late & we were all getting a bit tired!

Even though we can be a bit crazy sometimes, I love my family! They make me smile & are part of who I am! I wish these night could go on forever!! I love you all!

Fun & Quiet Moments

Yesterday after school, Kylie & I went outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather! Lately, she has been obsessed with picking "sunflowers" (better known as dandelions!) for all her friends. So, while she was doing that, I couldn't help, but catch some sweet pictures of her. She is such a sweet, generous, loving child & we feel so blessed to have her!

Picking just the right "sunflowers"

Making sure the bouquet is perfect!

Then, while we were out yesterday afternoon, Mom-Mom bought her a yo-yo! She had never used one before, so Daddy gave her a quick lesson on how to use it. I think Daddy had a bit more fun than Kylie! :)

She was so excited!!

Here's a video of their lesson:

These are the moments that I cherish the most! The quiet ones when the girls are discovering something new or just hanging out being little girls & the fun ones when we are all laughing & smiling & loving being with each other! It's during these moments that I realize just how blessed we truly are as a family!

A Gorgeous Day for the Park!

Today was a beautiful day!! I promised the girls that if they were good while I ran some errands, we would go to the park for a little bit. Well, they were REALLY good so I kept my promise! Aunt Nancy even came along with us, which was ALOT of fun!! I should preface the pictures by telling you that Jillian got a pair of butterfly wings at the dollar store during our trip to the mall & insisted on wearing them, even at the park! It was pretty cute!

Girls climbing around

Instead of flying, Jillian though she would drive! :)

Kylie trying to get down off the wall...

Down the slide she comes!

Jillian climbing up the steps to the curvy slide...unfortunately once she came down, she didn't want to do it again!

This slide was a little more her speed!

WHEEEEE!!!!

The girls loved the teeter-totter, Jillian's favorite was the chicken...

Kylie's was the whale!

Kylie at the top of the curvy slide.

Jillian on the big kid swings!

Kylie's turn on the swings! She kept wanting to go higher & higher!!

Now she's doing an airplane on the swings...

Jillian getting a peak from inside the rock wall.

Kylie having a blast!!

What a great day we had!! Couldn't think of a better way to spend the day when it was so gorgeous outside!! The girls loved having Aunt Nancy come along too! We'll definitely be doing this again!

A Budding Photographer??

Lately, Kylie is really into taking pictures with our digital camera & I have to say she is getting really good! The other day we were outside playing in the backyard & she got a hold of my camera & took a few shots. I couldn't help, but post them on here for all to see!

Even though I don't think I look the greatest, Kylie did take a good picture!

More of an artistic shot, she actally got really close & turned the camera a certain way to get this shot. It had to be perfect!

Keep checking back, you never know when she'll get a hold of the camera again & take some more fantastic shots!! Look for her in the future at a gallery near you! :)

Our Day at the Museums!

Yesterday was a beautiful day!! And, since Kylie is on Spring Break, Aunt Linda asked us if we wanted to join her & Nancy on a field trip to Washington D.C. to visit the Smithsonian for the day! Of course, we jumped at the invitation!! Kylie was talking about it for days & couldn't wait to see all the "bones & statues"! Another point of excitement was riding "the train" or the Metro into D.C.!

Kylie all smiles on the Metro heading to D.C.!

Kylie & Aunt Linda cuddling up for a quick picture!

A very cool shot of the U.S. Capitol Building from the center of the Mall.

A shot of the Washington Monument from the other end of the Mall.

After lots of walking & consulting a map, we headed to the National Museum of Natural History first. Kylie couldn't wait to see all the dinosaurs! She especially couldn't wait to see "Rexy" or the T-Rex, which she remembers from watching "Night at the Museum". She also thought she was going to see Larry, "the new night guard", but we told her he only works at night so we wouldn't be seeing him that day! :) I have to say this was my favorite museum by far! They also had a cool exhibit called "In the Bone" which was a forensic exhibit of bones discovered in the Chesapeake area that dated back to the time of the settlement at Jamestown! It was pretty cool!

The girls were in awe of the elephant in the entrance of the museum! Jillian let out a loud "WOW!"

Here's Rexy! I don't think I've ever seen Kylie's eyes get so big! She just couldn't believe it!!

Kylie getting a closer look at some dinosaur bones.

Kylie examining a Mammoth tooth!

Her exact words were: "Look, Mommy! I found Dory!"

Kylie coloring a butterfly picture in the Discovery Room - she loved it in there!

Examining a piece of pink quartz - she loved using the magnifying glass!

The Hope Diamond!!

Aunt Linda reading a part of the exhibit "In the Bone"

One of the skeletons on display in the exhibit - it was truly fascinating!

After our tour of the Natural History Museum, we headed out to find something to eat for lunch. We headed up 10th Avenue for "The Hard Rock Cafe"! Unfortunately, the wait was over 45 minutes. Nancy, Kylie, & I headed up a bit past the restaurant to Ford's Theatre to wander around to help kill the time. They recently renovated the Theatre & you need a timed tour ticket in order to tour the theatre & museum, so we just hung out in the lobby for a bit. Kylie talked the ears off a very nice couple that were also in the lobby before we headed back to the Hard Rock. By this time, we decided to try a different spot & we found a very yummy flatbread sandwich place called "Costi", which hit the spot!!

Flags outside the Hard Rock Cafe.

Ford's Theatre

The Peterson House across the street from Ford's Theater where President Lincoln died exactly 144 years ago!

Once our tummies were full, we headed back to the National Museum of American History. Sadly, it was a huge disappointment! They recently re-opened after a complete renovation of the museum. Thankfully, we remember the museum the way it used to be. Growing up, it was our favorite museum to go to because we got to see the Ruby Slippers, Archie & Edith Bunker's chairs, Fonzie's jacket, Mr. Rogers' sweater among others. After the renovation, all that remained were the Ruby Slippers. The others were replaced by exhibits that were nowhere near as exciting and the whole exhibit had been down-sized to about half the size it used to be. We were so sad! I was really looking forward to sharing that with the girls, but Kylie was excited to see the Ruby Slippers & Kermit the Frog. Seeing the American Flag Francis Scott Key saw flying over Ft. McHenry when he wrote "The Star Spangled Banner" was amazing though! Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed. :(

Entrance to the Museum.

My favorite part of the American History Museum - Julia Child's Kitchen!

The exact kitchen from her home - she bought that 6 burner stove for only $429 back in 1959 & it was a used one!

What a cool lady! Bon Appetit!!

One of the Dumbo cars from the ride at DisneyWorld in 1960s.

Kylie admiring the Dollhouse.

Portrait of Stephen Colbert at the entrance to the "Thanks for the Memories" exhibit! Loved it!

The Ruby Slippers - "There's No Place Like Home!"

Kermit the Frog! Kylie's favorite!!

C3PO & Dale Earnhardt's Racing Helmet!

An old voting machine with protest buttons along the bottom. Pretty cool!

Okay...I know they are going to kill me, but I had to put this picture on here because Kylie took it! We were amazed we all still had heads! We may have a budding photographer!!

From there we headed back to the Metro with a small stop at the Air & Space Museum! We weren't there long, but got to see some cool stuff & Kylie even had her turn at trying to fly a 1920s Bi Plane!

The Spirit of St. Louis!

1920s Bi Plane

Kylie trying her hand at flying a plane!!

The front end of a commercial airliner!

Jillian with a smile that sums up our great day in D.C.!

Even though our legs & feet were tired, we had a FANTASTIC day!! Thank you Aunt Linda & Nancy for inviting us & spending a great day with us! The weather was perfect & so was the company!! What a great way to spend the rest of spring break!! We love you!!