A little bit {tinky}

Caroline has known what she wanted to be for Halloween since summer.  Months ago out of the blue she said, "I want to be Tinkerbell for Halloween."  

I get really excited for Halloween, and Adam and I, well I LOVE dressing up and Adam is always a good sport.  

I was not excited about the Tinkerbell idea for some reason.  I had in mind a cute little Bo-Peep and Olive a sheep or some other cute combo.

Caroline was off and rolling with the Peter Pan theme, however.  She assigned Adam to be Peter Pan.  We suggested Captain Hook, but she insisted on a tight wearing character :)  I was to be Wendy and at first she wanted Olive to be Captain Hook.  A few weeks later she had a grand vision of Olive being Nanna, the dog, which I loved.

Now the fun began.  My super sew savvy friend said I should make the costumes.  I was hesitant at first, but after a trip to the fabric store, I was becoming more excited.  She basically gave me sewing lessons to get the costumes done. (Except I ended up finding the dog costume at a consignment store, only the Nanna hat was made.)  Even if they wouldn't have turned out, Caroline's reaction the morning she saw her costume made it all worth it!  She went out to the living room and I could hear her say very enthusiastically, "Oh, WOW!" (spin around) "Wow!  Mom, it's sooo TINKY!  Thank you for making my costume mom!" 

Later when she put the costume on she grinned and said in a sassy voice, "I feel soo tinky!"

This week has been a hot one!  Our apartment complex thought it was time to shut off the cool air so we 

are sitting in some serious humid and muggy conditions when in our place.  It has been mid-70s and has been melting the candy corns in my vases.  Yesterday it felt like I was sitting in the sauna with a thick layer of sweaty, shiny film over my face.  Then it started to pour.  We couldn't pass up this opportunity to play in the very warm rain and cool off.  So out we went.  

Caroline was hesitant to get anything but her feet wet at first and she just stood there for a while.

Then she looked up at me with a huge grin and said, "Can I get my clothes wet!?" like it was a crazy idea.

So she put down the umbrella and started to get soaked.

And then she was off, running up and down the sidewalk at full speed, laughing hysterically.

It was a perfect summer, I mean end-of-October fall day.

A little bit {tinky}

Caroline has known what she wanted to be for Halloween since summer.  Months ago out of the blue she said, "I want to be Tinkerbell for Halloween."  

I get really excited for Halloween, and Adam and I, well I LOVE dressing up and Adam is always a good sport.  

I was not excited about the Tinkerbell idea for some reason.  I had in mind a cute little Bo-Peep and Olive a sheep or some other cute combo.

Caroline was off and rolling with the Peter Pan theme, however.  She assigned Adam to be Peter Pan.  We suggested Captain Hook, but she insisted on a tight wearing character :)  I was to be Wendy and at first she wanted Olive to be Captain Hook.  A few weeks later she had a grand vision of Olive being Nanna, the dog, which I loved.

Now the fun began.  My super sew savvy friend said I should make the costumes.  I was hesitant at first, but after a trip to the fabric store, I was becoming more excited.  She basically gave me sewing lessons to get the costumes done. Even if they wouldn't have turned out, Caroline's reaction the morning she saw her costume made it all worth it!  She went out to the living room and I could here her say very enthusiastically, "Oh, WOW!" (spin around) "Wow!  Mom, it's sooo TINKY!  Thank you for making my costume mom!" 

    This past week two of my dearest friends came to visit.  Their trips were planned separately from each other, but they ended up being here on the same days!  Exactly five years ago, Hailey and I visited Jess (in the middle) and her husband who lived in D.C. at the time.  Now two more weddings and SIX kids later, we all met up again and had a refreshing dose of hanging out with the girls.  I was friends with both of these ladies before nursing school, but then we all were in the nursing program together.  It made school very enjoyable.

When Hailey arrived, the airport lost her carseat so they gave her a brand new one to use (and keep) while they found hers.  We didn't fit in our very compact car with a toddler carseat and two baby seats, so Adam used his sawsall and zapped the handle right off of the carseat.  Whala!  It fit!  Then we hit the town.

We checked out just about every baby boutique that you could at a very mild pace.  

It was a very different trip than our past ones as we catered to our sweet babes.  We would go out and sometimes the babies got naps, and other times they let us know they were so done with the fun.

Georgetown made for a perfect afternoon.  Adam was home with Caroline while she napped and I had a lovely date with Olive.  What a dreamboat, truly.  I felt a little guilty at how free I felt.  Not having to call out to Caroline to come out of the clothing racks.  Not playing hide and seek while trying to shop.  It was nice, I'm not gonna lie.  The comical thing is we made it to one store, yes only one, but a great one- H &M.  We took our time, let the babies play and lie on the floor while we tried on clothes and laughed at how some of the items looked on.

Lunch was divine and we sat right by the windows and just people watched as we chatted and ate.  Again, the babies were content on our laps.  We had many stares and full on laughs at us as we walked around with our little ones strapped to our front.  I guess the three of us in line was kindof a sight.  One lady full on stopped and just stared.  After a minute she said, "Wow, you must be joking!"

We hit Old Town a couple of times, and ate at an old time favorite restaurant, Cosi, where the bread is addictive and you can roast marshmellows and make s'mores at your table. We hit the Eastern Market where Hailey scored a stylish purse and Jess found a juicy apple and some earrings.  That is a risky place to go with a 3 year old!

When we weren't out on the town we cooked, crafted, and Adam, Hai, and I talked for hours.  

She was such a good sport to even come to our trunk or treat.

We are so glad that you both came to visit and can't wait for you to come again!!

Playing tourist

D.C. is proving to be a mecca for non-stop entertainment!  There are endless things to do with the kids and also incredible settings for date nights.  I heart this city!

Our dear neighbors offered to "monitor sit" the other night (which is the greatest thing that we do ever!) and so Adam and I went out on the town.

We went to the Lincoln Memorial which is lit up and so majestic at night.  We cuddled up in a blanket and enjoyed our rich ice cream as we sat on the steps.  As we were sitting there, fireworks went off over by the Jefferson Memorial.  Fireworks are the best. thing. ever.  So are date nights.  

On a side note, the other day Adam and I were talking about how when you live somewhere with incredible things, often its hard to get away to take advantage of them.  Many times in Utah, people from out of town would say, "You must go skiing ALL the time, like every week."  Sadly, that didn't happen nor did driving up the canyon every week.  So while we are here in our Nation's Capital, we plan to play tourist often.  

The Korean War Memorial is a hidden little jem, tucked away to the side of the Lincoln Memorial.  It is one of my favorites because you feel like you are right there on the battle ground with the soldiers.  It evokes some intense emotions.

The Iwo Jima, or Marine Corps Memorial, depicts one of the most famous incidents of World War II, when the U.S. raised the flag on Mount Suribachi.  

The girls can never get enough of a cozy picnic in any of the picturesque settings around.  But watch out for little Olive, she will dip her little fingers in your Clementine soda faster than you can grab it! 

Whenever we are in Old Town Alexandria I want to call everyone I know and tell them to book their plane tickets!  Could there be anything more charming with ivy, red brick sidewalks, cobblestone roads, and candlelit lanterns?

And it's like this little one is in the womb again because in all our travels she is strapped to my front in the Baby Bjorn.  She happily kicks her feet and munches on snacks as we sightsee.  When out of the Bjorn, however, she is stepping from the coffee table to the couch and from chair to chair.  Caroline's little rocking chair also comes in handy for a walker.  I need good tips on how to slow time down.  Until then, I will just kiss my two little ones 20 chubby little fingers each day.

A festive day at Pumpkinville

A few days ago my neighbor called at 8:30 and said she had some plans in the works to head to Pumpkinville.  She was leaving at 8:50 and I was so in.  So with me still in workout clothes, Olive in jammies, and Caroline dressed for a royal ball, we had some serious hurrying to do!  We quickly dressed, made lunches, grabbed the camera and headed out the door.  (It ended up I didn't have enough hands for Olive and the camera so Miranda was great to take some incredible pictures of the morning.)

The rush was so worth it!  We were pleasantly surprised by the endless fun we had, and not to mention, some random things we saw (like monkeys and zebras!)

The kids were just dying to get in the pens with the animals, but luckily couldn't quite figure out how to do it.

So a little smoochin' and feeding,

and waving  to the animals from outside the pens sufficed.

This little one jumped right on the slide and headed down by herself.  I thought it was going to end in tears, but it was the complete opposite.  

The slides were so appealing, we all had to take a turn!

Olive was strapped in the front pack the entire time, but loved a little bounce house time.  These things were all over and Caroline broke in every one.

We all enjoyed the relaxing, long hay ride toward the end of our festive morning.  

If all of these activities don't lure us back to Pumpkinville (which they will) then maybe the all-you-can-eat apples and sweet cider will! 

A very {sweet} day

This was a particularly favorite Saturday of mine.  I love when there are lots of fun things to do, and this day was not lacking in that department.  We went to our first Nationals, or Nats, game.  I don't really even care if I see any of the game to be honest, which I didn't.  I just love the atmosphere.  I do not like hot dogs, but at a major league baseball game, somehow they taste DIVINE to me!  

No baseball game is complete without the fine stories of Amelia Bedelia.  

During the game, they had a mascot bobble head race with big heads of Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Jefferson.  Caroline enjoyed watching it, and she was especially excited to see them saying hello to people as we left the game.  She pointed at them and said, "There is President Monson!"  We laughed and explained that they were presidents of the United States.  She thought about this and then said, "Well, where is President Eyring?!"

After the game we went to our little friend Afton's party.  She was turning one, and it was a perfect little event.  

To see the darling birthday girl and more details of this palate pleasing party go here.

Down on the farm!

Apple picking was especially sweet this year because Adam was able to come with us!  We have seen a lot more of him this year (so far, which is sadly going to change) and he has seen a lot more than just the law school library.  It was especially fun to go to Maryland and enjoy all the animals, piles of hay to climb on, apple orchards, and wide open space for Caroline to run and run and run in.

Caroline holding this apple without any little nibbles out of it is nothing short of a miracle.  All of our freshly picked apples had tiny little teeth marks in almost all of them.  She was just making sure that we picked ripe and juicy apples, which we did :)

Little O's favorite part was of course the animals.  Just look at how giddy she is, pure delight.