Park time

Lots of things around here suffer when I am not feeling like myself, including updating my blog. We had a really nice day on Saturday and then Neil and I got another cold. It's still hanging on, although I'm feeling a little better after sleeping in until about noon today thanks to Chris.

Chris went on a campout with the scouts on Friday night, and when he got home we headed out to explore Burke Lake Park. It's a big lake area with trails for walking/biking/running, boat rentals, fishing, playgrounds, an overpriced ice cream shop, carousel, and a train. It was a nice way to kill a few hours on a lazy Saturday afternoon. We indulged in the ice cream and took a ride on the train.

The trees here are finally starting to get their leaves. I'm so excited to finally see some green. A beautiful day.

Time for your check up

One of the annoying things about moving is finding new dentists and doctors to take the family to. I decided to try out a pediatric dentist around here because I knew it was well past time for Neil to start going. I am still a little traumatized from our experience with Grace and her cavity. Anyway, I took the girls in a couple days ago and it was such a fun visit. The office is decorated with disney wall art everywhere and each exam area is themed. On the ceiling above the chairs were of course tv's playing the disney channel. Claire was even impressed and can't wait to go back. Grace, unfortunately has a small cavity... Shoot me now. I think hope it will be much different this time. She is older, and she didn't seem too upset about it. Fingers crossed.

Today it was Neil's turn. A day I had been dreading. I was prepared for the worst. The office has a fun lobby area with miniature furniture and cartoons, books, games, etc. He thought it was pretty great. We walked back to the chair and he was a little hesitant at first, but once I pointed out the tv on the ceiling we were golden. He did amazing!! They were able to do a full cleaning and everything including fluoride. I was shocked. He really has made some big strides in the last several months. No protesting at all. I can still hardly believe it really happened. Thankfully, no tooth problems for him, so it could remain a positive first experience.

Easter fun

On Saturday we dyed our eggs to leave out for the Easter bunny. The kids enjoyed it, and our sanity barely survived another let's try to keep the kids from breaking eggs and getting dye everywhere. We finished with only 2 egg casualties. Of course Neil did all of his eggs green. He has somewhat of an obsession right now.

The kids set out their baskets and water color paintings for the Easter bunny. They also insisted he needed carrots and celery. I guess that's healthier than what santa eats.

Easter morning was relaxing, well as much as it could be considering all the candy that everyone was consuming. We made tasty pancakes and got ourselves ready for Church. The outfit I had planned for Neil, totally did not fit anymore. He must have hit a growth spurt. Anyway, it was the only snaffu of the day.

We are so grateful for Easter and remembering what Christ did for all of us. #BecauseofHim  Happy Easter everyone!

Whirlwind

It's been spring break around here, and we were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Phillips come see us. The week before they came Chris was in San Francisco. He caught the red eye on Thursday night to be home on Friday morning. They flew in on Friday night. I was so glad to have him back! We had been fighting bad colds and pink eye.

Sat 4/12:
We made a big pancake and bacon breakfast and then headed out to see the Air and Space Museum at Dulles. We got to go up in the observation tower which was at the same level as the real air traffic control tower at the airport. We could hear pilots talking with the tower and could see planes landing and taking off. It was pretty neato.

After the museum, I started feeling pretty sick. I still had my cough/cold and now I felt worse. With it being Saturday I couldn't get into a doctor yet. We spent the rest of the day hanging out, playing on the playground, and playing games.

Sun 4/13:

I woke up on Sunday feeling even worse. Now on top of everything, I also had pink eye. Grr! I spent most of the day in bed. Everyone else managed to get out of the house and visited the Air Force Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. They had a really nice time, and Neil was even quiet and reverent for the changing of the guard. 

Unfortunately, we picked the wrong day to miss Church. President Uchtdorf attended our ward that day. I guess he has come a handful of times, so maybe we'll see him next time.

The kids also made Easter cookies with Grandma which was really fun. They really got into the sprinkles!

Mon 4/14:

I was finally able to get in to see a doctor on Monday morning. Yay for some antibiotics. Now I could maybe start feeling better. Once I got home we headed to DC to check out the tidal basin and the famous cherry blossoms. It was pretty hot out, almost 80 degrees, but really really windy. Since it's spring break here, the place was crazy busy. We kinda missed the peak bloom. Oh well. Maybe another year. This is tourist season now too. I guess we'll have to stay away from the city for the next few months. We walked to the Jefferson Memorial and drove around looking at all the sights. I was pretty worn out after that so we headed home for more playground time and games. 

Tues 4/15:

I was starting to feel better, but I still had the pink eye (now in both eyes). It was pouring rain all day. We decided to hit up the movies to see the Muppets Most Wanted. We had all really loved the last muppet movie, so this one was a little disappointing. Oh well, we managed to kill a few rainy hours. On the way out of the theater it was particularly stormy and the kids were running to get to the van. I ran after them trying to keep up. Unfortunately, I totally biffed it on some stone steps. It hurt so bad, but I had no choice but to get up and limp after the kids to make sure they were ok. I had gravel stuck in my fingertips and lots of bruises. It really wasn't my week. 

Afterwards, we headed to a local cupcake shop for interesting but overpriced creations. Glad we tried it, but we won't need to go back.

Tuesday was also date night. The kids and the grandparents headed to Bob Evans for dinner and then dessert and a movie at home. Chris and I took the metro back to DC to eat at Founding Farmers. It was delicious! It was so great to be able to get out on our own. We had the beignets for dessert. Amazing!! 

Wed 4/16:

This was our last full day together. I was feeling even better, but still fighting my eyes. Dang viral infections. We headed out to breakfast at our favorite pancake place. Then we headed to Great Falls Park for a nice walk with great views. It's along the Potomac River and was pretty amazing. There were three overlooks, a visitors center, and lots of picnicking areas and trails.

Afterwards we stopped at Nielsen's Frozen Custard for a yummy treat. Then spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside, and hanging out. We ordered pizza for dinner and played lots of games.

Thurs 4/17;

It was so great to have Grandma and Grandpa come visit us! Poor Neil woke up on Thursday wondering where they were. We all miss having them around. I feel really bad about being so sick all week. We could have done so much more. Oh well, we managed to have a good time. 

Thursday was all about relaxing, getting homework done, and play dates for the kids. I tried to just finish recovering. 

The kids stayed up late with Chris and "camped" in our living room. It was cute to see them all sprawled out over the floor. Even Neil participated this time. Yay for a fun dad willing to sleep on the couch!

Fri 4/18:

Today is the last day of our spring break. We started off with a fun egg hunt in the field across the street. A bunch of moms got together to pull it off. We all filled up 12 eggs per kid. Then distributed them all over the field and let the kids go at it. Each kid was allowed to take 12 so it all worked out. 

The day's not over yet, we'll see what else we can do...