Wrapping Up Summer

Grandma and Papa came in for a visit, and we had a full week of summer fun!

Despite the heat, we spent a lot of time outside, exploring parks and trying to soak up the last bit of summer. We got a good amount of rain too, but thankfully it didn't interfere with any of our plans. We tried to pack in some fun things, without completely overloading our days, since the kiddos started swim lessons in the afternoons {post to come later}.

Waiting to pickup Grandma and Papa at the airport

Playing at the elementary school playground before school starts

Racing Grandma, dripping with sweat :)

There was no shortage of books read

We spent a morning at Jeff Stein Playground. The kids were more than happy to play and run and run wild, and Grandma and Papa were more than happy to enjoy their laughter and joy.

When we weren't out at a park, we were at home reading books, playing games, drawing pictures, and practicing our writing {something Maddie requests to do all the time}. We were also helping Grandma and Papa find a new house via zoom calls!

Aiden wasn't impressed with this house haha

Papa's birthday is coming up, so we celebrated with him early! I made him his favorite German chocolate cake, and the kiddos were excited to sing to him {and eat his cake haha}.

We found a mini golf place nearby; it was literally in the middle of a parking lot haha. But it was reasonably priced and the perfect setup for the kiddos. Watching them putt putt is nothing short of hilarious, as they all make up their own rules and have their own techniques. But they had a blast, and Grandma and Papa weren't complaining :)

We decided to check out Clemyjontri Park, and it was so fun! It is a playground where children of all abilities can play, and it was just a fun setup with lots of play structures and activities. 

We also went on multiple walks, made a trip to Udvar-Hazy, and got to take Grandma and Papa to church with us. It was such a fun week, and we are so thankful for the time we had to play all week. Kind of fun that we got to kick off the summer and now wrap it up with Grandma and Papa!

{iPhone Rewind} :: July

Maddie did her own hair :)

Superhero Aiden! In his words, he was "Super Pooh Bear"

I love that he still goes running when the garbage truck comes by...

Eli and Maddie had another check up with the eye doctor. Maddie graduated from eye patching, and Eli is seeing slow and steady progress. So proud of these two!

While Eli and Maddie were getting their eyes checked, Aiden and Daddy got to have a fun pool date :)

Learning the hard lesson of cheap party treat toys haha

Reading to Mickey and Minnie :)

We sent in our Notice of Intent to homeschool for Kindergarten! #homeschoolinginVirginia

An afternoon of reading in our sleeping bags

They make their own rules haha

Summer Days :)

"Mommy, why don't we have crackers and M&M's for snack?" Asking ever so sweetly, as if it's a perfectly reasonable suggestion ;)

If we drive by this intersection between the hours of 9am and 10am, we are greeted with line after line of UPS trucks traveling from all directions {the warehouse is around the corner}, and it's the best source of entertainment for my kiddos #mommywin

Got to have dessert with one of the staff wives :)

I love that they love dressing up!

Granny and Grumpz send us table-sized coloring pages and it's the BEST :)

We had some pretty hot days...but still not quiet as miserable as Texas ;)

Celebrating 11 Years

This past weekend, we were able to celebrate our 11th anniversary! 

It actually started earlier in the week when Mike came home a few days with some fun gifts...flowers one day, a cookie another day, and chocolates another. Just sweet surprises when he came home to let me know he was thinking of me :)

We exchanged our gifts on our actual anniversary {a whiskey sampler for Mike, and a Mama getaway for me}, but went out to celebrate on Sunday. We decided to try a sushi place in Arlington; its fancy-ness was probably lost on us, but we still enjoyed it. 

Bluefin tuna with hokkaido uni

We then went around the corner to The Little City, an arts and humanities district in Falls Church, where we got some ice cream at Lil City Creamery. 

Mike asked me if, when we got married 11 years ago, I could have imagined celebrating our 11th anniversary at a sushi restaurant in Virginia...and I can't say that I could have haha. When we got married, I signed up for McKinney, TX. Virginia was not anywhere on the radar. Nothing outside of Texas was. But God had different plans, and I wouldn't change any of it. I love our life together, and I'm grateful that God knows better than we do.

We're so thankful for one of our elders and his wife for volunteering to watch our kiddos while we got a fun date night out. The kiddos were having the time of their lives building paper airplanes the whole evening! :)

Maddie Lost Her First Tooth!

Today was a big day in our house...Maddie lost her first tooth!

A few days ago, Maddie called out to me during nap/rest time, really worried and upset about something. When I went to see what was the matter, she showed me that she had a loose tooth!

She was really nervous about it, unsure of what was going to happen. We talked through what she could expect, as I tried to reassure her that it was not going to hurt, that not all of her teeth would fall out at the same time, and that she would, in fact, be able to eat after she lost just the one tooth :)

It came up several times over those couple of days, but today it was mostly forgotten. And then all of a sudden, I heard Mike say "go show Mommy!" and Maddie came around the corner with a big smile on her face, holding out her lost tooth! She was BEYOND excited. I asked her if it hurt or felt funny, and she was so relieved to say, "Mommy, I thought it would hurt to lose my tooth, but it didn't!"

We are not going to do the Tooth Fairy, but I wanted to have a little surprise to celebrate this big milestone. Unfortunately, I thought we had some more time before it came out, so she is patiently waiting for her surprise to arrive in our Amazon delivery haha. 

Losing her tooth is all she can talk about now! She keeps talking about how it happened, when it happened, and what she thinks her fun surprise will be. She is also offering her brothers all the advice on how to lose a first tooth :)

So proud of this brave, beautiful girl! Now I'm off to shed a few tears over how big she's getting so fast...

Dancing With Mickey

This weekend we went to a birthday party for a sweet neighbor. Their little boy was turning 1 year old, and they had a fun Mickey Mouse party for him! They hired a Mickey entertainer, and my kids had the time of their lives haha. 

Aiden had a BLAST. He had zero hesitation in dancing with Mickey Mouse, and loved every minute of the party. He even had a chance to challenge Mickey to a sword fight :)

Maddie was a little hesitant at first, but once she saw how much fun Aiden was having, she didn't want to be left out! She was right up there dancing with Mickey too. But then she was sad that Eli wasn't having fun, so she went to check on him. Mickey came over and she got to dance all by herself with the big mouse. She was grinning from ear to ear!

And then there was our sweet, reserved Eli. He was pretty nervous at first {not expecting Mickey to be as big as he was}, so he hung back during the dance party. But toward the end of the party, he eventually warmed up {just a little} for a few, brief interactions with the big mouse ;)

We had such a fun time with sweet friends, and we are so thankful for the relationships we are building in our neighborhood. It was such a fun bonus to have a dance party with Mickey Mouse!