Mother's Day

What a special Mother's Day. The day began with Matt taking Madeline up to Harris Teeter. They returned with many surprises. Madeline had picked out purple tulips for Mommy and Daddy had ordered a venti, skim, extra hot chai from Starbucks for Mommy. Madeline also saved a quarter of her Harris Teeter cookie to share with me, gave me her dollar store ring to wear for the day, lent me one of her pennies from her piggy bank and let me wear her purple headband. Her sweet gestures almost brought me to tears. She is so thoughtful and sweet. The Lord has blessed me with such a sweet daughter. I am so thankful to the Lord for the gift of motherhood and so grateful for my husband and his leadership of our family. Thank you Jesus.

After church we enjoyed a yummy lunch at 5 Guys, Mommy's favorite lunch spot.

Fun Times with GG

The Town of Herndon, Virginia opened up its Public Works vehicles for preschoolers to investigate. As you can imagine, Ryan was in his glory and Madeline also really enjoyed it (honestly, I think Madeline was won over by the free cookies and lemonade :)). Though an awesome experience, it was also quite stressful. Lines were long and Ryan did not understand why he had to exit the vehicle only minutes after he had entered. Thankfully, our next stop was Chick fil A to meet Grandma for lunch.

Ryan loved his plastic hardhat and was not willing to separate from it once it adorned his head.

As a special treat, GG took us to Glen Echo Park. GG took Madeline to a very special Cinderella puppet show and Ryan and I got some special quality time together on the playground. I love one on one time with my babies. While Madeline was having a ball, Ryan and I got to chat and play together. Afterwards GG treated us all to a special carousel ride. Mommy did not know that this carousel was particularly fast. Boy was I grateful when we stopped moving and the contents of my stomach were still in my stomach.

Me and my babies.

Time with GG and Grandpa Steve

I LOVE spending time at my mamma's house! We always have so much fun and embark on many adventures. And we eat VERY well (my mom's Italian. . .enough said). Steve also let's my mom and me go out and have girl time after the kids go to bed, which is always a treat.

Though Matt has always enjoyed my mom and Steve, he could not wait to get to their house on Sunday. Why??? Because Grandpa Steve got Guitar Hero for his birthday. Though my honey loves TV, I have never seen him as engrossed by the television, as when he plays Guitar Hero. Our neighbor has it, and there was a time that he was playing it so much that I would ask him if he was going to see his girlfriend (aka Guitar Hero) as he walked out the door to Jeff's. :)

RyRy and Grandpa Steve jamming it!

Maddie and Daddy enjoy some quality time together. :)

On Monday we took a wonderful trip to the zoo. The highlight was watching the elephant get a bath. The bath was actually a high pressure hose. It was especially fun to watch the zoo keeper feed the elephant treats to keep him still during his bath. The way an elephant manipulates its nose to bring food to its mouth is just incredible!

I love my sweet family!

Oh. . .there was one downfall to our trip. On the way there, we passed some city of DC workers cutting down trees and using a stump grinder. As we sat at a red light, something popped out of the stump grinder and flew onto my mom's windshield (her car is only a few months old), leaving a crack. I hate to say this mom, but I am so grateful we were not driving our minivan. Thanks for taking one for us! :)

Time with Grandma

Our trips to Virginia always begin with a weekend at Grandma's house. A few hours after we arrived, we headed to Mediterranean Breeze for our favorite pizza and then to Herndon's Friday night Concert on the lawn. Since Daddy grew up in Herndon, every time we go to this Friday night concert series, he spends his time scanning the crowd, looking for old friends/familiar faces. It is fun when he spots someone he knows and shares a story from his past. One of my highlights of our time with Grandma, was the blessing she bestowed upon us by watching the children so that we could go on a 11/12 mile run. Matt and I LOVE working out together. Of course we did it almost daily before children, but now we stagger our workouts. Matt gave me a grand foot tour of Herndon, showing me where he would hang out as a child, where he played baseball and soccer, where his friends lived. . . It was really special.

Before our run, we took Grandma out for a special Mother's Day brunch. Thankfully, Grandma was very gracious because it was horrible. Our sweet boy threw the worst tantrum we had ever witnessed. It all started because he did not like the way his pancakes were cut. He sprawled himself face down on the floor numerous times and we took many trips to the "bathroom" with him. I think the poor boy was just exhausted from our event packed weekend.

RyRy enjoying a much needed nap!

Special time with Grandma.

The Cousins

One of Madeline's favorite things to do when we go to Virginia is see her cousins Emily and Zachary. Though their time together was short, they enjoyed every moment of it, and Ryan got a new summer wardrobe (thank you Zachary!).

Sitting together on Grandma's deck. Can you tell which one is ready for a nap???

Maddie and Emily enthusiastically hug each other before they say goodbye.