We had a great Memorial Day weekend with family. We spent the time down at Hartfield with my parents and in Gloucester at Garland’s parents’ house. To see the pictures and read the captions from our weekend, click “view slide show” below.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Some Good News for Virginia
This week, Virginia took a major step in it’s legislative fight on human trafficking. Our lawmakers passed three laws to combat human trafficking and aid victims in our state. To read the article, go to: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/05/mcdonnell-signs-three-bills-to-combat-human-trafficking-aid-victims-61591.html
For a more in depth look at trafficking here in the US, take a look at this article in Vanity Fair that my friend, Mary, passed on. It’s a long article, but if you have some time, I think it’s well worth a read for those wondering what human trafficking can look like right here in our own country. http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/05/sex-trafficking-201105
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Birthday and Tired Lyla
Since we did a lot of celebrating on the Saturday before Nina's birthday, so on Monday we just enjoyed some simple things for her birthday. Of course, she and Lyla started the morning off with her favorite donuts. 
She was excited to go to preschool on her birthday because she got to bring in special birthday cookies for the class. Then, she got to pick where we ate for dinner that night, and she picked Chick Fil-A, so we went out for dinner and then to a playground to finish off the rest of her day.
Mark snapped these two pictures today because we had to catch how cute Lyla was. She had been outside this afternoon playing in the little pool and came in pretty worn out. I sat down with them to read some of the new books we got from the library this morning, and Lyla fell asleep with her head on my leg. She's adorable while she's sleeping, but she turns into an angry bear when you wake her up. We elected to not take pictures of that!
She was excited to go to preschool on her birthday because she got to bring in special birthday cookies for the class. Then, she got to pick where we ate for dinner that night, and she picked Chick Fil-A, so we went out for dinner and then to a playground to finish off the rest of her day.
Mark snapped these two pictures today because we had to catch how cute Lyla was. She had been outside this afternoon playing in the little pool and came in pretty worn out. I sat down with them to read some of the new books we got from the library this morning, and Lyla fell asleep with her head on my leg. She's adorable while she's sleeping, but she turns into an angry bear when you wake her up. We elected to not take pictures of that! 
Monday, May 23, 2011
Happy Birthday, Nina!
Well, it’s official. We have a 5 year old! While that’s still hard for us to believe, she has been seeming so grown up for awhile now. She loves to hear the story of when she was born, so last night we sat down and told her about when she was born and showed her the pictures from that day and each birthday she’s had so far. It’s amazing how much she’s changed! Since she had a big celebration on Saturday, we’ll have a pretty low key, but still special, day today. Here are some favorite pictures of Nina over the past year. You can click on the collage to see it bigger.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Nina’s 5th Birthday Party
Yesterday, we had Nina’s birthday party. The entire week last week had at least one thunderstorm each day, but Saturday was perfect. It was sunny and hot and a great day for an outdoor party. As we all know, Nina loves dogs. She has been asking for one forever! So, we decided to give her a dog party this year.
When the kids arrived, they started by painting the big doghouse we made for Nina. It was messy, but fun.
After that, we had all the “puppies” run an obstacle course in two teams – the Golden Retrievers and the Poodles. They had a great time racing and cheering on their team. As you can see from the look of determination on Nina’s face, she’s not at all competitive. I wonder who she gets that from….hmmm…. Mark?
After the obstacle course portion of the party, I lost the ability to take pictures. It’s busy being a dog trainer! Thankfully, my mom helped run the games with me while Mark grilled some food. We had the kids playing all kinds of dog games for over an hour, then after everyone was tired and hungry, we fed them lunch, ate some cake, and the party was done. Nina really had a great time!
Thankfully, the fun didn’t end after the party. Jill, Mark, Jonathan, and Kate stayed to hang out and the guys and the kids did some fishing. They all caught fish, and had fun playing by the water and climbing on the rocks.
After catching this 3 pounder, we finished up at the pond. We thought it would be fun to throw the filthy kids in the bath at our house and eat some dinner before the Rumples had to head back, so Jill and I took the kids home while the guys went to Target (to get clean clothes for Jonathan and Kate) and pick up some pizza. With baths, clean clothes, and pizza, the kids were happy and tired, and the adults were happy and tired as well. It was a really fun day and a great time with friends and family!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Family Day at the Fire House
After P and Jeff left today, we were thinking about what to do with the afternoon and evening. We didn’t have anything planned, so we decided to head over to the local fire house for the family fun day. We had never been before, and it ended up being a great decision to go. The whole event was geared towards kids and families, everything was free, and the kids had had a great time while learning some really good safety lessons.
One of their favorite activities was getting to spray the real fire hoses on wooden houses with “fire” in the windows. They had to aim the hose at the windows and knock out the fire with the water. It was a really neat activity that both of them enjoyed!
After more activities and some cotton candy, we all got in line to ride the fire engine. The line was long to get on, but it was well worth the wait. We actually got to sit in the open air on the back of the fire truck while it whizzed us through some of the streets in Ashburn. We thought it was going to be a slow little ride, but we were quite wrong! Nina, of course, had a lot to ask the firemen sitting in the back of the truck with us, and Lyla even chimed in on a few questions herself. It ended up being a surprisingly fun afternoon!
Fun Visit
P, Jeff, and Abby were in the DC area yesterday or a baby shower, so after the shower, P and Abby came over to hang out for the evening and to spend the night. Jeff joined in the fun this morning, and we all had a great time visiting before they had to get back on the road to NJ. Nina and Lyla really enjoyed playing with Abby. Nina wanted to take on the role of “babysitter” and really enjoyed being the older/wiser one out of the three! Nina and Abby have birthdays just two days apart, so they’ll be turning 5 and 1 in just about a week.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Field Trip
On Wednesday, Nina had her second (and last) preschool field trip. The trip was to Temple Hall Farm which is a small, working farm out in Leesburg. To be honest, the farm wasn't as fun as our trips to Frying Pan Park, but it was fun for Nina to be there with all her preschool friends. Little siblings got to come also, so Lyla joined in the fun. The only downer of the day occured when Nina took off running down a gravel road, tripped on a rock, and skidded hard on her hands and knees. Her one leg took the brunt of the fall, and it looked like it was really sore, but, by Nina standards, she was brave and managed to enjoy the rest of the time on the field trip.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Mother’s Day
After lunch, Nina went on a serious stink bug hunt. Out in Haymarket, there are lots of stink bugs, and some find their way inside the house. Every time Nina sees a stink bug, she calls on Poppy to catch it and flush it down the toilet. She kept Poppy pretty busy as she was hunting all over the house for stink bugs. She drew a little picture of the ones she found, and Poppy even collected a few in a Gatorade bottle for her.
It was a gorgeous day, so after lunch, the girls changed and spent the rest of the day playing outside. They had a lot of fun doing simple things like racing with buckets, jumping, and making beds for the little animals my parents gave them. It was a great day for getting treated special and spending time with family!
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