Whitley's 3rd Birthday

My sweet and darling niece turned three on October 12th. Happy Birthday Whitley Grace! We celebrated by spending a couple of hours at a corn maze and then having a delicious dinner at my sister's house. The corn maze was fun and Drew thought it was a blast to be "lost in the corn." I overheard him tell a friend today about being lost. He said, "One time, I went to the corn maze with my Daddy and we were sooooo lost in there and my CC was lost in there too and so was my Day Day but then we found our way out and it was soooooo fun!" Afterward, we treated ourselves to ice cream. Who knew pumpkin ice cream was so yummy? Mmmm! Then we went back to Whitley's house to play and eat. Tom and Cristie fixed a great dinner and then we had cupcakes - always a hit! The kids had a blast playing together and nobody wanted the fun celebration to end! We love you Whitley!!!

Family pic at the corn maze.
David checks out the big pumpkins.

Hi sweet David!

Day Day and Drew share some delicious ice cream.

I tried to share with David but he wouldn't let me have any.

Look at those teeth!!!

The birthday girl!

Happy 3rd Birthday sweet Whitley!

My boy loves sweets!

Day Day watches Beauty and the Beast with the kids. They were enthralled with the ending!

A Memorable Weekend in the Nation's Capital

A couple of weekends ago we traveled to Washington DC for a wedding and fun family weekend. It was an absolute blast. The kids were great on the ride there and it took us only a little over four hours. Made us wonder why we've lived here three years and haven't visited the Nation's Capital sooner? The wedding was on Sunday, October 10th (10/10/10-fun date!) so we drove up Saturday morning and arrived early afternoon. We were thrilled to arrive at our downtown hotel and realize how close we were to all the sights! Day Day, CC, Cristie and Tom had just arrived as well and the boys were ecstatic to see them. We dropped our bags and went straight to the National Museum of Natural History. We couldn't wait for Drewby to see the dinosaurs! He was a huge fan of course and led us around the museum pointing out all of his favorites (which is pretty much all of them.) I'm amazed by his dino knowledge (and my own since we have quite the dinosaur library!). David enjoyed the museum as well and spent most of the time being spoiled by Day Day and CC's hugs and kisses. I took David back to the hotel after the museum in hopes of putting him down for a nap. What a joke! We should have just continued sight-seeing with George and Drew. David refused to sit down, much less fall asleep. Maybe he was as excited as the rest of us to be in DC! My birthday celebration continued that evening with great gifts from Mom and Dad and then dinner with the fam. George and I started Sunday with an awesome run admiring all of the incredible monuments. I wish I had that view on my regular runs! Then we went to the National Air & Space Museum, another huge hit! I could have stayed there for hours and hours. The day flew by and soon it was time to get ready for the wedding. I've mentioned our wonderful family friends, the Orbans, in past posts. Their son, Brian, was the groom. We grew up with their family, spending numerous vacations with them. Our family and theirs was stationed in Germany together when we were kids so I have many fond memories of good times together. They have two boys about the same age as my sister and I so we paired up and were good buddies for years. It was great to see Brian and Doug and to meet Brian's beautiful wife Becca. The wedding was lovely and the reception was incredible! It took place on a riverboat that cruised the Potomac River. We enjoyed a delicious meal, dancing, beautiful views and great company! What a night! On Monday we packed, said our goodbyes and headed home. Thank you to Becca and Brian for such a memorable weekend! We greatly appreciate your hospitality!

Drew, George and Day Day at the Museum of Natural Science.
CC and Drew stop to read a display.

Little David takes a ride!

Uncle Tom, George and Drew enjoying the Air & Space Museum.

This was the only photo where David wasn't pointing at the planes (and therefore blocking his own face!). He was in awe!

In the hotel lobby getting ready to board the bus for the church.

Doug, his girlfriend Colleen, Barb & Rog Orban, me, Cristie and Tom

The Orban boys and Whitley girls

David during the five minutes he wasn't screaming on the way home. Poor little guy didn't have a good ride!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm trying to recall what we've done the last couple of weeks. One thing that comes to mind is my birthday :) The celebration started early in the week with cupcakes at Cristie's house! I thought we were just going over to play so was pleasantly surprised when I saw the balloons and treats! I also went to the movies one night with a couple of girlfriends. On my actual birthday, the boys spoiled me rotten! The day started with the sweetest hugs and kisses and then the guys insisted I open my presents right away. Drew helped pick out perfume for me and he did a great job - I love it! Drew also wanted to get flowers for me so George put that on the list as well. Later in the day they made a yummy birthday cake! David even hummed to the tune when George and Drew say "Happy Birthday." George set up a sitter to watch the boys so he and I enjoyed a nice dinner out. That's always a special treat! I also got so many sweet cards and phone calls from family and friends. I definitely felt special this year!

I helped out my friend Leslie with her two kids one day because she was pretty sick. I got a taste of what having two sets of twins would be like. Wow!

All four of them played Mega Blocks for a while and had a good time.

Cupcakes at Cristie's for my birthday!!! The boys devoured them!

Whitley was a fan too!

George and Drew icing my cake.

Family pic!