Chincoteague Island

Grandma and Grandpa came to town!!! 

We were so luck to have them come,

 and LOVED our beach trip to Chincoteague that we took with them! 

Its really quite the sleepy little town, but SO charming! We rented a beach house, where we celebrated our 9 YEAR anniversary, and a splendid Mothers Day! 

We had a glorious time exploring this little island, and loved being there with Mel and Karma! 

While Mel and Karma were here, they spend the day with the kids and I down in Alexandria! 

It was the PERFECT day to feed the ducks, picnic on the lawn, and soak up the beauty of this historical town. 

Out and About

The Blue Bombers!! 

A few girlfriends and I ran in a 'mud race' 

We were feeling good, up until the point when the temperatures the 

day before dropped below 50 degrees!! 

The sun peeked just as be began, which was a welcome sight, but I guess we signed ourselves up for punishment in the first place! 

Through lakes, tires, over walls, mud pits and rope courses.

Such a fun thing to do as a group! Thanks Gals! 

Not so little Lucy playing with her sweet babies. She loves these two babies, 

and treats them with such tenderness and kindness. 

Its so fun to watch her love babies, as I did as well when I was little. 

The Baltimore Aquarium. 

We went with some friends, on a Tuesday, and it was EMPTY!! 

Such a fun place to see, and explore! 

I will say this. They had a dolphin show, which could have been spectacular, but the ladies were the stars of the show, not the animals. 

Oh well, my children didn't know the difference! 

The Zoo. 

It was a BEAUTIFUL day, we headed off, not sure where we were bound,

and found ourself here. 

It was so nice to just run around, and get wet from the shower sprayers. 

 I had to take a picture here, since I have the exact same one from a few years back. 

Cannot believe my babies are all so big! :( 

We love this little bench, as just above is the ape's rope, where they can climb over head, and its a GREAT spot for people watching!!! 

A fond farewell!!! (to diapers)

And just like that, Hank wears underwear!!! 

Who would have thought potty training this determined, self dependent, huggable, confident kid would have been so easy! I'm SUPER fortunate (both to not have to buy diapers again, and that it was a breeze!) Hank, you've make up for a lot! Thanks bud! 

 One of the perks of little to no tv time, is when I do turn it on, 

its like this foreign invader. I thought Elmo (in fact a potty ELMO!!) would help, 

but it just distracted him. 

We had our cherished friends over, the Hamilton for a back yard picnic and fire!!! 

It is so fun to not only have such a great time, but to watch your children enjoy them selfs as well!! 

Thanks Hamiltons!!! 

Love these little stink pots!!! 

My heck!! 

These are their Easter duds. 

I make Lucys dress, and the ties to match. 

What a squeezable bunch of little people!!!!

Easter Morn, we did our traditional friends Brunch and egg Hunt! 

It is always super fun, and the food is a favorite!!! 

Enjoying the beautiful weather after the hunt  

This is the back of Lucys dress that I made. 

Not quite the vision I had, but in my book, 'done is better then perfect!!!!!'

Our great friends and neighbors put on a neighborhood egg hunt for the kids. 

'Nuf said!!! 

(It looks like eggs weren't the only treasures found that day!) 

Easter is such a beautiful time of year for so many reasons, and this year was no exception!!! 

Thank you everyone who enjoyed it with us!! 

All Aboard!!!

Prepare Yourself!!!!

This was a journey, and this post is sure to be one as well!!!

Some girlfriends and I had this crazy idea that

'wouldn't it be fun if we went to NYC for a weekend, AND ran a half marathon!!!!"

This all sounds perfect, with the exception that 2 weeks prior to this grand event, playing b-ball a sprained my ankle.

Well, to make a long story short, I ran the blasted race, got close to my time (7 seconds over) and had a KILLER/CRAZY/UNPRECEDENTED amounts of fun weekend!!!!

On the journey, Em took up knitting, again. On the 3 hr bus ride, look what we accomplished!!

Oh dear Em, you've got some work to do.

I simply cannot tell ALL we did, but a glymps, the MET, the MOMA, the Guggenheim, Brooklyn Bridge, Newsies (the broadway), the Highline Trail, The Dead Sea Scrolls, Central Park....

Yes, that is the REAL 'starry night' !

You GOTTA eat a NYC pretzel (oh, and skip the mustard, it was nasty!) (( come to think of it, skip the pretzel.....IT was nasty!))

This picture must have been before drugs were administered.

I look a bit spent.

Me, Becky, Emily, Marci and Reece!!!

Perfect girls to travel with, and beyond fantastic trip!

You need not wonder how late its getting! I think this picture was taken at 2am, the NIGHT BEFORE OUR RACE!!!!

FINISHERS!!!!

This race was KILLER! I had trained up to 13 miles,

but taking those 2 weeks off really did me in!

Once cross the finish line, I downed 3 egg rolls, 5 gatorades, 1 naan bread, 1 banana, 2 bagle, all with in a matter of minutes. Really!

I think I was in shock, and great pain, but HECK YES it was worth it!!!

(Oh, and as far as the ankle, I was given crazy amounts of drugs from these ladies, I may have well run to the moon. I have no recollection of much about the race, perhaps those drugs are to thank!!!)

Yup. Sure did. I tripped on the race. About 1/2 mile before the finish.

Thank heavens it wasn't across the line.

And we even caught ourselves a parade!!! Who would have though!!

Happy independence day, Greece!

Are you KIDDING Me!!?!?!?!

Washington Crossing the Delaware, and I paid $1.00?

(ok, I do feel really bad that $1.00 was my 'donation amount' I'll make it up to you, NYC!!)

Sure did! Gotta have a HOT DOG!

Locked and loaded, ready to begin our trip to the Bus, late Sunday night!

This trip was out of this world!!

I would do everything again, in a heart beet. The race, the girls, the destination, the weekend, it was just SPLENDID!!!