Abingdon, VA

Last weekend, I tossed the kiddos in the car and we headed out to get in some quality time with Zack's folks. The destination: Abingdon, Virginia, home to the Virginia Creeper Trail. The plan was to bike it and take in some of the beautiful mountain scenery. We stopped in Boone on the way up to visit with some friends, but still arrived in Abingdon in time to check out some fishies and eat dinner before bed. 

We headed out the next morning to ride the trail. 

Grandpa took on the challenge of hauling the kiddos.  That adds somewhere between 50-60 lbs of weight, not counting the trailer, but the route is mostly downhill, so it didn't become an issue. 

And of course we stopped along the way to check out the scenery.  Ela loved watching the water and wanted to stop over and over again.  Lily just wanted out of her helmet. 

We stopped for lunch about 7 miles from Damascus (our final destination) and then booked it the last leg.  The bad thing about riding with kiddos: the grown ups are tired at the end of the ride, but the kids have done nothing but sit all day.  Ela was ready to wiggle so we took her to check out some trains.

She was sad that they didn't move, but she enjoyed climbing around in them. 

Grandpa was having so much fun with the girls that he volunteered to take them for the evening so Grandma and I could go see a show.  Tarzan was playing at the Barter Theater, so after dinner we headed out.  I enjoyed the break from my little sillies. 
We headed back to Winston after breakfast the next morning.  It was a lovely trip.  I bet it would be really amazing as the leaves change, and I hope we get to go back some time and ride again. 

Road Tripping

Apparently, my mom and I are gluttons for punishment, so last week, we decided to drive to Moline, IL with the girls to visit my great-aunt, among other people. It's a 16 hour drive, and we did entertain the notion of flying, but have you seen plane ticket prices recently? Ugh. The girls did really well on our trip to Pittsburgh, so we decided to see how far we could get them.

We started out Thursday afternoon, hoping they'd nap, and rolled merrily along until dinner time. We learned that Ela travels a lot like this:

And Lily travels a lot like this:

We stopped for dinner that night and then rolled on until we ran out of steam. The next day, we got up with the girls, and continued. We stopped in Effingham to visit one of Mom's cousins, which was a lot of fun. Then it was back in the car and we arrived in Moline in time to have a nice dinner with Aunt Margaret and my dad, who was in the city on business.

Saturday, we had a very fun day. We went swimming at the pool in the morning, then we went out for lunch at a lovely place owned by a friend of ours called Lagomarcino's. We got lucky and our friend was there, so we had a nice chat, too.

We had a little time, so we went down to the John Deere Pavilion to see the tractors, and instead we hit the jackpot. John Deere is celebrating it's 175th year, and they were having a "Farm Day", complete with animals...

...some of which wanted to eat the girls's skirts. But really, it was the very best petting zoo I've ever seen.

There were also games. Ela is still talking about milking a cow.

It was super fun.

After another lovely visit with some old friends, we headed back to my aunt's for another lovely dinner. The next day we went to see one more friend, had lunch with my aunt, and headed back onto the road. We drove until we hit Lawrenceville, where we stopped to visit Zack's Aunt, Uncle and cousins and have a quick dinner. Here are the girls with their second cousins. 

It was quick, but nice. We drove again until Lily ran out of steam, woke up a from a dead sleep and screamed until we stopped the car. So now we know exactly how far she can go before she's done. And it's really freakin far for a fourteen month old.

We had breakfast Monday morning with one more friend, and then it was back on the road for the day. We managed to make it to Winston in time to celebrate Zack's Dad's birthday with him and have another lovely dinner.

The girls liked the ice cream the best. After dinner it was a short drive home.   The whole trip went really fast, and we were busy non-stop.  It was actually a very good time.  I was really glad we could see so many people in such a short time.  And I'm also really glad the girls travel well.  I suspect it will come in very handy in the next several years. 

I Work Out

Before I was chasing kiddos around, I used to go to the gym in Japan.  I liked it for several reasons: 1) it was free  2) the yoga instructor was awesome 3) They had American TV, which I could watch on the eliptical when I needed a USA fix.  When I got pregnant, I had to take it easier, so the gym slipped out of my routine, but I totally meant to go back to yoga and/or a gym when we got to DC.  I even did the research to find one.  My conclusion: it was way too expensive.  I mean, membership was one cost, childcare another, and then you paid for the classes separately too.  I could handle just walking.  And on walking alone, I managed to lose my Ela-weight and get back to what Wii Fit called "normal"... just in time to get pregnant again. :::sigh:::
When we moved to Cary, I went on a gym hunt again.  This time, I found a place that had affordable membership fees that included both childcare and classes.  Win!  So I joined.   And I have to say I love it!
I love that the gym will watch my kids when I'm ready to pull all my hair out.  I love the girls.  They're good girls, but we all need a break from each other.  The gym provides that without me having to pay them huge sums and without any preplanning.  When I find myself resisting the urge to scream, I can  just go to the gym. 
Also, I can take a shower there without an audience.  I know, this is crazy, but I honestly look forward to the occasional shower at the gym.  Why?  Well, Ela has started showering with me on occasion in the morning.  And even when she isn't there, Lily freaks if she can't see me.  So there is always at least one little girl observing my cleaning routine.  It's no big deal, but it is nice to occasionally wash myself without the girls.  If you're a parent, you probably get this, right?   Anyone? 
So the fact that the gym has childcare actually is providing me with extra motivation to go, which means I'm making some serious progress on the whole get fit thing.  I have never been that strong or even remotely athletic.  I took a barbell class on a whim, since it was included anyway, and now I'm hooked.  I'm starting to get a little muscle tone.  I don't ever plan to be a body builder, but it is kind of cool that I can do it.  I feel much more comfortable around weight machines now.
In fact, the only class I've tried that I didn't enjoy was Zumba.  I know, I know, everyone loves Zumba.  Not me. I am not a dancer.  I never have been. And I don't want to shake any of me in front of anyone.  So Zumba is not my thing.  I'm glad the rest of you love it though.  Keep going!  :-)
Mom and I have also made plans to run an 8k with my sister (okay, may be not with so much as at the same time as) in November, so I downloaded the Couch to 10 k app, and we've been doing the runs.  Now that it's a million degrees out, the treadmill at the gym is the only reason I can keep going.  And I can now say that I can "run" (slowly) for 20 minutes straight and not drop dead at the end.  Never before in my life has that been true. 
With the membership to the gym, I got a heart rate montior kind of as a "thanks for joining" gift.  So now I have multiple ways to measure my improved health: the scale, the montior's numbers during runs, and how I generally feel.  All show improvement.  I feel really good about that.
Another thing I like about the gym is the people watching.  I recognize a lot of the people there now, because it's not that big of a place.  I make up names and back stories for them.  It's kind of fun.  Don't tell them, okay? 
I look forward to the prospect of going jogging with Zack when he gets home, and even just the look on his face when he sees me again.   He is a big factor in my whole getting fit mindset.  Somehow, the fact that he's gone makes it easier to do.  He loves me no matter what my scale says, but I feel a lot less like a sissy when he's not here running three miles a day.  It gives me a long time to focus and work towards his level.  And knowing how excited he'll be when he gets back is a great motivation for me. 
So despite the incredible odds against it, I've become a gym person.  I miss it when I can't go.  I look forward to it when I plan to go.  And it's starting to show. 

Ela is Three

That's right, people!  Ela turned three this week.  We celebrated with a trip to the zoo, which was lovely. I also gave her a little interview that I hope to make a yearly tradition. She was playing with a lot of her toys as she talked to me, so her focus was not entirely there, but I think that makes it all the more entertaining.  Here are the questions and her responses:

What is your name?  My name is Ela.
How old are you?  I am three.
What's your favorite animal?  My favorite animal is the cow.
Who is your best friend?  My best friend is the cow.  The cow is my friend.
What's your favorite thing to do? It's the firemens!
What's your favorite color? Blue
What's your favorite food? Chicken
What's your favorite book? My favorite book is the Kookaburra! (I see a Kookaburra!)
What makes you happy? A bear makes me happy.
What's the best part of your birthday?  Cupcakes after dinner!
What do you want to be when you grow up? (at this point she was playing with a firetruck, and had lost all interest in talking to me) The fire's got your finger.

Christmas: A Summary

We all had a very merry Christmas this year. Ela is just getting old enough to really be a part of it all, which makes it lots of fun. She got to help her Grandma make cookies for the first time.

Here's the results of her sprinkling duties on the first tray:

Of course, we went to church.  We opted for the children's service on Christmas eve, and the girls looked adorable as usual:

Ela loved the kid's performances, and made it a point to tell them all... loudly... when everyone else was done.  It was great to see all the other kids all decked out for the holiday, too. 

And, of course there were lots and lots of presents:

Santa came through with the blue train:

Zack's been telling everyone that all Lily wants is her two front teeth.  She has the bottom but she wants the top.  Well, she didn't get teeth, but she did get hair:

Ela has mastered the fine art of unwraping, and enjoyed both the unwrapping and the playing this year:

Zack and I got Ipads in preparation for his upcoming deployment. It's hard to pull myself away from this new toy, but there's a lot to accomplish around here. We intend to kind of ignore New Years as we prepare for our upcoming move. We hope all our friends out there had as merry a Christmas as we did!

She Remembers a little more...

This weekend, Santa was hanging out in the Eastern Market, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather to go see him.  Ela was excited to be going, and did her little happy dance when she saw him, but then we asked her to get on his lap.

She was less than thrilled. It was all we could do to get her to open her eyes and take her fingers out of her mouth for the picture.  Lily was highly tempted by that white beard, but didn't actually get up the nerve to pull on it.  We snapped our pictures, thanked Santa for his time, and went on our merry way.
All the way home, Ela talked about her blue train.  Apparently, Santa will just know that it's what she wants without her actually telling him. 

She Remembers...

We've started talking about Christmas in our house.  Ela is at the age where I never really know what she'll remember from holidays past.  We've also been working on days of the week, so at the beginning of this week, I told her that we'd be going to see Santa on Thursday or Friday (I learned no to delay this during her first Christmas).  Ever since I mentioned it, Ela has been talking of nothing else.  This is really surprising to me.  For one thing, she apparently remembers who Santa is.  For another, last year she was terrified of him.  Our picture from last year is of her looking absolutely miserable (but not actually crying) in his lap. 
Apparently, the fear is gone now, and every day she asks to go see Santa.  The funniest part is that I don't think she knows what Santa does.  She just knows that he's a part of Christmas.  I think she's seen him in some of her shows on TV, but she apparently doesn't associate him with presents yet.  In the car today, she was again asking to see Santa, so I decided to see what she knew.  The conversation went something like this:
Me: What are you going to ask Santa for for Christmas?
Ela: Please! 
Well, she's got good manners, right? 
Me: Ela, Santa brings good girls and boys a present on Christmas.  What will you ask him to bring you? [and then I started leading] Would you like a train, or a dolly, or...
Ela: Ela wants train.
At which point I'm relieved, since that's what Santa was planning to bring her.
Ela: Ela wants blue train.
Uh oh.  I guess Santa's shopping list just got a little more complicated.
Me: Okay, then you'll say 'Santa, I want a blue train please.'
Ela: Santa, Ela wants blue train please!

Now that our rehersals are complete, I guess I better take her to go see Santa soon! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We started our day out with an 8 K turkey trot.  Ela loved the Turkey.

The runners did great!

Now on to the food!

Colonial Williamsburg

Over the Veteran's Day weekend, Colonial Williamsburg offered free admission to all active duty military and their dependants. That comibined with a super good deal on a hotel room convinced us to go down and check it out. On the way, we stopped and picked up Zack's sister. We had a crazy night in the hotel room (Ela decided to skip sleep), and got up early enough to be there when the gates opened.
We were all very impressed with the people who worked there.  Every place we stopped, they were informative and intesting.  We found ourselves wanting to stay and hear more at every stop, but Ela kept us moving.  At the court house, we heard three mock trials. Amanda even got to be a judge.

We also visited the shoemaker, the weavers, a blacksmith and a silver worker, among others.  Ela's favorite part was the animals.  There were horses, sheep, and even two baby cows.

We had lunch at a tavern on the main road in town.  I had a really yummy peanut soup.  I've since found the recipe on the Colonial Williamsburg website.  I made a pretty good replica this week.  I'm curious to try a few others from the site, too. 
After lunch, there were lots of little reinactments in the streets.  We grown ups enjoyed watching the actors, while the kids found their own entertainment. 

 

At the end of the day, Zack marched in a Veteran's Day Parade down the main road.  It was a beautiful day that went by very quickly.   We had a fantastic trip.

Treats and Tricks

Our neighborhood is not exactly one that inspires trust, at least after dark.  In fact, my husband says we live in the ghetto.  I disagree.  It's really a very nice place to live, with good people all around.  It's just a neighborhood in the middle of a big city, and as such it's a little less safe than, say, the average suburb.  I feel perfectly safe playing with the girls outside all day long.  However, I think twice about going anywhere alone after dark.  This says much more about DC than it does about my neighbors. 

All the same, last year for Halloween, I decided to take Ela to North Carolina to trick-or-treat.  I did this for several reasons, one of which was that I didn't want to knock on strangers' door in DC.  I felt much more comfortable doing so in my parents' neighborhood, where at least they all knew each other.  It was Ela's first trip out, and I didn't want anything scary to happen.

This year, I decided to give DC a chance.  I know a few more people in my neighborhood, and I didn't figure that Ela would be up for a big run anyway, so I made plans to go out with Ela's best friend, Audrey, who lives up the street.  Zack found out last week that he'd be on a business trip, so I felt better going with at least one other adult.  We'd hit a few houses and call it a day.  After all, people do trick-or-treat here. I didn't want to be totally snooty when I know and like people around here and trust them to help my girls celebrate a fun holiday. 

So Halloween arrived and I managed to convince Ela to put on a costume.  She chose her lady bug one:

In the time it took me to get Lily into her outfit...

... Ela was ready to take the costume off again, but then I reminded her that we were going trick-or-treating (which she'd seen on Dora the Explorer), and that (more importantly) Audrey would be there, and she stuck it out until we got outside, only insisting on losing the headband.

We left the house around 5:45, with plans to meet a bigger group at six for a short trip up a few streets.  We met Princess Audrey at her house and then the rest of the group at a playground, which was nice because the girls got to play on the equipment before we headed out. 

As it turns out, Ela liked trick or treating this year.  She said the right words, and got her candy, and insisted on carrying her own bag.  She loved all of it except getting down steps, which was hard because she couldn't see her feet in her tutu.  We were out for roughly an hour, and it was getting dark when she announced that she was getting tired and wanted to go home.  As we were on our way home at the time, it worked out perfectly.  It was a super experience.  I was very glad I had decided to stay in the area.

I sent Ela inside with a piece of candy (her only one for the night) while I waited on the porch for another neighbor friend who was coming by to trick or treat, since we'd bought candy before I knew Zack wouldn't be home.  His mom was watching him from across the street.  Audrey and her mom were still hitting a few houses on our street.  I saw a police car pull up at the end of our street.  That alone didn't phase me. I'd seen them out and about while we were trick-or-treating, and I actually like that they were so visible on a night that begs for minor mischief.  Then I saw the cop come running down our street from the car.  That was when I decided it was probably time to call it a night.

Apparently, my neighbor decided the same thing, because she started hurring her son along. I met him on the sidewalk with a handful of candy and walked back up to the house to close up shop.  I was closing myself in the house when Fiona called.  She had just gotten home with Audrey and she informed me that the owner of one of the houses she and Audrey had been visiting on their way home had called the cops I'd seen.  Some men had been doing some work for him in his back yard and were held up at gunpoint. 

See? I knew there was a reason we didn't trick or treat in DC last year.

So I turned off the porch light, locked the doors, and pretended we weren't home.  I bathed the girls, and put them to bed, and when I came back downstairs, there was a cop car parked right outside the house.  I figured that meant I was pretty safe to take the dog out one more time, so I did.  My neighbor across the street informed me that they had put up crime scene tape at the end of our block.  I thanked her for the information, and hurried the dog back inside.  Then I set the alarm for the night.

Nothing else out of the ordinary happened, but I was glad we did our trick or treating earlier rather than later.   I'm also glad that next year we'll be in Cary, where the odds of running into a mugging are much much lower. 

A Day Trip

We've been planning to go to Gettysburg since we lived in DC. Last week, we finally managed it.   We left in the morning, and got there just in time to have a wonderful lunch down town.  Then we headed to the museum, which is new so none of us had seen it before. It was excellent. We took in their movie and cyclorama (a painting made of the battle with a narration done over it, but it's way cooler than it sounds).  Then we rushed through the museum itself to keep the kiddos happy.  Ela made a new friend.

Having gotten our history refreshed, we headed out to the fields. We drove a good bit of the auto tour while the girls slept in the back seat.  We were pressed for time, so we didn't get a chance to take nearly as many cool pictures as we could have, given the beauty of the day.

 

It was a lot of car time, but well worth it to see such a historically imporant site. 

Beach Week

Every year, my family gets together for a week on the beach. This year, my parents rented a house that not only was beach front, but also had a pool.   So here's how we spent our week:
Most mornings we spent our time by the pool.  Ela always wanted to go to the pool. when she woke up, but almost never would get in.  Note the death grip she's got on me in this shot:

She loved being near the water, though, and sat on the steps with her feet in for hours, playing with her toys.  Lily, on the other hand, was soothed by the water, as long as it wasn't too cold.  She only got in a few times, but seemed to like it when she did. 
If we weren't by the pool in the morning, we were out enjoying the perfect, post-hurricane weather.  We biked, walked the beach, hung out on the sand, or went jogging.  Those of us who managed to bike, walk/jog and swim all in one day claimed the honor of having completed our "vacation triathalon".  We took advantage of as much of the morning as we could before wandering in for a late lunch. 
After lunch, we'd put Ela down for a nap.  One of us would sit on the porch and read so she wasn't alone.  The rest of us tended to find our way out to the beach.  Things stayed quiet during the hottest part of the day, but before long Ela would be up again, and we'd all find our way out to the beach for some late afternoon games.  We played bocci ball, or just sat in the sand and tried to convince Ela that 1) the waves were not going to get her, and 2) the sand wasn't too hot to touch.  Sometimes we'd have success and Ela would play in the sand with us, or toss a ball around.  Again, Lily found the whole experience very relaxing.

In the evenings, we'd make dinner and some gormet popsicles.  When Ela started acting tired, we'd put her to bed (the clock didn't have a major role in our activities this week).  Then we'd play a card game or rock band or dominos until we were all worn out and wandered off to bed ourselves.
On our last day at the beach, we found the part that Ela enjoyed most for this year: crabbing.  Crabbing involves putting a piece of something bloody and gross (this year it was fish heads) on the end of a line and tossing it in the marshy water of the inlet, preferably at low tide.  This attracts crabs, which you lure slowly in until you can see them and catch them in a net. 

While, obviously not interested in throwing the line or standing in the murky water at the edge, Ela was fascinated by our few catches (all of whom we threw back when we were done). 

 

Ela loved watching the crabs swim frantically around the bucket and we had to keep a close watch on her to prevent her from trying to touch them.  She announced repeatedly, "Ela want to kiss crab!"  She settled for poking at them with some reeds, though. 
Obviously, I have tons more pictures, and even more good memories, from the last week.  I'll sort through them this week and may be post again with a few more.  It was an excellent vacation. 

A Special Date Night

In honor of my birthday, Zack took me out for a dinner cruise on the Potomac.  My advice to everyone: go do this!  We were a little worried because it was stormy in the afternoon, and Ela and Lily were both threatening to have a fussy night, but it turned out to be really nice.  Here's the ship we rode on.

I was learning to use a brand new camera (I love birthdays!), and my shots of the monuments were terrible, but I did get a few sunset shots that I liked. 


We ate a lovely dinner and watched the city float by, and then we came home again.  Ela and Lily were good for the babysitter.  It was a very lovely night. 

Celebrating

Over the Fourth of July Weekend, lots of people we love came to DC to sight see and celebrate. Ela got to spend some time with her second cousins bouncing...

... and playing in a sprinkler (which doesn't show up in this picture nearly as well as Ela's reaction to it does).

The kids also liked spending time with Lily.

And Ela got some advice on how to be a super big sister.

We had some friends from college visiting us as well, but I was having too much fun hanging out with them to remember to take pictures.  Sorry about that.  Anyway, we've been very busy and having entirely too much fun.