May 22: Joe haircut

When my boys start receiving "mullet" comments, I know it's time for a haircut. He's needed one for a little while...

Anyway, I started this at the end of Joe's sicky day and Ben actually did most of the clipping. We just clipped the back and left the top alone. He was so good and so unlike his older brother who struggles with haircuts. What a sweet boy!

After shots:

May 22: Town festivities

This is our third year in town and our third year attending this annual event. Lots of vendors, food, a couple of inflateables, and a car show. There was a new addition this year: the Tram. Ben was home with a sick Joe, so i took the kids over for a very quick visit. The kids talk about this event all year -- it's a great way to start our summer.

Pajama passport pictures

I needed to send off applications for the kids' passport cards and took quick pictures with pajamas and uncombed hair yesterday morning. Check out Joe.. I crack-up every time I see the picture. And when I realized that he'll be using the card until he's over six years old, I really laughed. Obviously, he wasn't being very cooperative and I really couldn't take the time to wait for a better moment.

We're headed to Niagara Falls, Ontario in July for one day. I hope it was worth the hassle. :)

May 4: Gettysburg

More fun with preschool friends. We spent a good part of the day in Gettysburg on Tuesday. Lots of rocks to climb, history to appreciate and then shopping afterwards. During our picnic lunch, poor Carolina stepped on a big bumble bee and got stung. She was such a trooper about all of it. She insisted on continuing on to the outlets and then ended up completely passed out in a stroller (we gave her half a benadryl, wow!).

You know, even with the struggle to keep my three young'uns corralled and safe, I was still able to feel the solemnity and spirit of Gettysburg. It is a beautiful and hallowed ground.

May 2: Sheep & Wool Festival

Just a picture to say we were there. I skipped last year because it's not to so easy to enjoy all the vendors with three kids in tow. I should have remembered my sentiments and made alternate plans this year. I'm glad we went, but next year it will be me solo or perhaps I can convince a friend to come. It was hot.

May 1: Gunpowder State Park

We're here with our preschool friends. Freezing cold water, but a beautiful day. Carolina was the only that would actually go out in the water and really enjoy it. Joe really, really liked the mud.

April 24: Redskins Draft Day

Free admittance + Free parking
We took the kids down the draft day party a couple Saturdays ago. I'm glad it was free. There were obstacles courses and tours of the locker room. Lots of Redskins love.

Three Super Bowl trophies. Tim just about knocked over the middle one. Ben caught it real quick and we got a chuckle out of the armed PG county cop standing guard.

Spring fun

The kids and I have really been enjoying spring lately. Fresh air really is very satisfying, especially after this last winter. I kind of liked all that snow, but I still feel like I'm still recovering.

We went twice to Oregon Ridge Nature Center/playground within a week. Once, just me and the kids and the other with our preschool co-op friends.





Little Carolina is the only girl in our regular bunch of kids. They range in age from 19 months to 5 years old and come from three families. My three are the two in the middle and the boy with the furrowed brows up front. Good news, we have a new mom with two little girls (3 & 4) that has recently joined us.

Egg hunt!

We have some wonderful people at church that host an Easter egg hunt every year. This year, we had some really great weather. Made for a really nice event.

Ready and waiting at the starting line:



Carolina only picked up the purple eggs. She had her pick because there were a total of 975 eggs out there!

Way too interested in candy than looking up at poor old mom.

Our little happy flowers!

Tim turned 5!

Before any springy/Easter posts, here's a quick late Happy Birthday to my five-year old Timothy! This kid is seriously his own person. I'm hoping public school in September doesn't take that from him. A couple examples of his "uniqueness:" He made up a word -- "machala" and he uses it every day. The catch is, it means something different every time he uses it. Hmmm.... He also has some different sort of favorite foods. Here's his list: pickles, tomatoes, green beans, and V-8. Not too much complaining from me.

We had a little party for him a week before his birthday, inviting his 3 best buds and their families. The kids just ran around and played in the backyard (glad for nice weather!). Not so organized, but they had fun. Tim helped make the invitations (Ben wanted me to be sure to tell people that so no one questions my crafting skills!)

I'm really terrible at icing cakes. I definitely need a lesson or two. This is the cake after my mother-in-law fixed my disaster. If you aren't sure, it's supposed to be a lego.

On the actual big day (a week later), we took Tim over to Lowe's for the first time and he and dad built a kaleidoscope at their Build and Grow clinic. Highly recommend it!

18 months old

Little Joseph is 18 months old yesterday. Such a sweet little guy. He seriously keeps me hopping though. He gets into everything and climbs up anything he can.

The picture below is the remains of Joe's breakfast yesterday. While I was sleeping in, Ben fed him some "tootie fruities." He opted not to eat all the yellow and orange ones. Really strange. I don't know if it is the color or taste. I guess the blue, red, purple, and green ones are okay. Really, he probably shouldn't be eating them anyway, I guess.

Serious Snow

Absolutely amazing. I can't even tell you how many inches we've received over the last week. Ben missed work yesterday because of the blizzard and then ended up working this afternoon. We walked him up to his job because the plow hadn't finished our little road.


Here's his little acura (on the left, under a pile). He hasn't driven it since last Friday. I guess he'll be taking the camry again tomorrow.



Our front sidewalks: