national zoo trip

after the early service at church we headed home for a quick lunch and to pack the car for a road trip.  the children had monday off from school so we wanted to have some family fun (instead of my usual monday routine of laundry, changing beds and chores).   bethesda, maryland was where we stayed sunday night.  sunday afternoon we watched the end of the masters and then ate dinner in the hotel restaurant (great deal on kids meals).  monday morning we took the back roads into d.c. and 15 minutes later were at the zoo.

m1 and i ~ yeah i know she's only seven i might be looking up at her in a few years. 

last trip we were able to see the orangutans climbing overhead but not today.  they were still fun to watch as they played about. 

little man was enthralled with the large gorilla.  the smaller monkeys climbing around and jumping from rope to rope also captured his attention... he is much like a monkey on the playground.  the small monkeys are also john david's favorite to watch.

yes, m2 is milking the cow.

we all love the large animals that make up the zoo but our favorite part of any large zoo is usually the rain forest area.  there are plants and animals that you just don't get to see at every zoo.  it's filled with loud birds and a monkey or two overhead... make sure you don't get pooped on! 

we had a great family day and the children were tuckered out from all the walking!  we got there early and left late ~ and then got caught in the traffic that makes up the area around d.c.  this was m2 within about five minutes of being in the car... completely sound asleep.  the others also slept about an hour before we stopped for dinner.  of course that hour was spent only moving about 20 miles or so. 

after dinner the children were well rested and well fed.  john david surprised them by popping a movie into the computer and setting it up on the cooler so they could all view the screen.  that was certainly a treat since we don't have any fancy dvd players in our vehicle.  next time though we should bring bungee cords to keep the computer still on the turns. 

easter eggstravaganza

our church has it's annual easter egg hunt, along with pony rides, a small petting zoo area, crafts and face painting and multiple bounce things.  the black-light puppet show was great also.  hearing puppets rock to "God's not dead he's surely alive" and my kids singing along was amazing.  i didn't take many pictures since the children were all over the place. 

a new obsession

this game, qwirkle, is our newest obsession ~ we play about five nights a week!  the kids love it and are learning to be strategic in their moves to block others.  we have been keeping the score sheets and see much improvement in their skills.  for those with smarty-pants kids this game is mensa approved.  so what does m2 do while we are playing?  webkinz junior is her screen time.  fun that we are all around the table at the same time!

fancy hair

i need to work on my bobby-pin placement but m1's hair is getting long enough to do some fun styles with.  the goal was four little buns closer together... maybe next time.  oh, and the added bonus?  this girl with stick straight hair had some curls once we took the buns out.  

i love butter

I am determined to raise girls who are not afraid of butter. With all the challenges that face them, I don’t want them to have to waste their energy on butter angst. Everywhere I turn, there are butter substitutes, diet regimens of dry toast, and errant comments about the caloric dangers of butter. If my girls can continue to taste the treats that make them happy with as much joy as they have now, unmarred by guilt or fear that the bite will ruin their beauty, then I feel I have done something right. And if, somehow IF! I can help them to transfer all the energy they might spend hating their own bodies or feeling guilty about what they had for lunch? Well, with all of that energy, world, watch out. My girls are taking over.

i love this paragraph... the original post can be found at this site. 

snow skiing with mommy

my family grew up skiing ~ we started around age six and went every year until college.  it's something i have always wanted to teach our children.  wednesday morning after breakfast john david and i helped little man into his first pair of boots and skis from the rental shop.  after a rough 15 minutes we got on the lift and headed to the top.  the slopes were nearly empty!  little man fell getting off the lift but he had a great attitude.  after a few instructions we started slowly down ~ he fell about five times ~ but we laughed and i kept it upbeat.  the third and fourth time down he was moving along great!  we graduated to the harder beginner slope and even went down the intermediate several times before his half day session was up.  john david and the girls called on their way to the lodge; we stopped and waved half way down so they could see his improvement from the morning. 

after lunch at the lodge it was sweet m1's turn on the slopes.  instead of a quick lesson on the flat ground at the bottom (i learned my lesson from the morning) we headed straight to the lift and talked about what to do while riding up.  m1 fell also her first time off the lift.  she struggled a bit at the top so i let her put her skis between mine and hang on to my waist from the back.  luckily we made it down without falling!  instead of the nice big *s* turns that little man learned quickly, she just wanted her skis pointing down and decided that falling when she got going too fast was her better option.  she got upset because i would not immediately take her to the intermediate slopes.  finally she learned how to make some turns and more importantly stop so i thought she was ready for a harder slope.  just like little man she did great by the end of our time.   john david and the children showed up a few minutes before the slopes closed so they could see how she was doing.  they both want to go again next year! 

it was so fun spending undivided attention with each child!  i was able to do one black diamond run before the day ended which was nice after spending all day on the easier slopes.  but it was a little scary also since i had not been on skis since little man was born. 

snow tubing

tuesday morning was snow tubing day!  last year nana was with us so she and m2 sat together at the bottom and watched.  this year we thought m2 would like it.  she went down one time in a tube attached to mine ~ it was a little fast for her and she was less than delighted at the bottom.  john david sat with her for a few runs and then it was my turn.  little man and m1 had a blast!  after about an hour the sun started slowing the track down so i convinced m2 to try again ~ this time she wanted to go by herself.  oh, my.  at the top we all five got side by side but before we went down, one of the children started screaming her head off.  a worker picked her up and tried to comfort her and when it was time for us to go she quickly put her in the tube and shoved her down the hill.  oh, my.  i was in the lane beside her and could only see the top of her hat.  at the bottom john david jumped out and grabbed her to comfort her.   she was content to sit in the snow at the bottom and play until our time was up.  maybe next year! 

 little man

 m1

 mommy

 john david and the children

 m2 by herself 

 happy to play at the bottom in the snow!

on tuesday evening we went back to chris and christy's home to enjoy dinner with their family.  so nice of them to host us twice while we were in town.  it was a school night for their kids so we had to make it an early evening.  but we still had a wonderful time enjoying their company!  plus we needed to rest up for skiing tomorrow!