DC and Atlanta

Our 5th Anniversary. And our first vacation without the kids. 4 days in Washington DC. We visited monuments and museums. We walked until we couldn't feel our feet any more...and then we kept going. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe and bought another shirt for our collection. We had a blast.

Karen and Kirsten took turns watching the kids. They seem to have had a great time too.

Friday we took the kids to the Georgia Aquarium. Wyatt and Zoe were so excited. They seem to love it more every time we go. Zoe really liked the Beluga whales this time. Of course, the jellyfish are still her favorite. She said she wanted to touch the sharks, so we took her to the touch tank. She wasn't thrilled with the water. Later when we went to look at the Belugas again, she walked up and touched the glass. Then proclaimed that she had touched a shark. :) So cute. Wyatt liked the Whale Sharks and the Manta Rays. Friday night, Karen put the kids to bed so the boys and I could go see some high school football (I don't care how old they are...they act like boys at football games). Grayson didn't play very well at all. It was just a long long game with a million penalties.

Saturday morning, we took family pictures with my parents and siblings. I will post the link when I see that they are posted. I really hope there are some good ones. Zoe and Wyatt were much more well behaved than I thought they would be. Then ice cream (Grandma kept trying to bribe the kids to smile with ice cream). Then the long ride back home.

Now Kevin is at work. Josh is headed to work shortly. Life will go back to a normal rhythm. Whatever normal is. :)






The Washington Monument

The White House



Kevin at the Natural History Museum.


Zoe and Wyatt with Kaleb and Jacob in Commerce. I personally think my mom was nuts for driving them that far (and I think she felt she was nuts after doing it).



At Hard Rock Cafe Washington DC.


Zoe smashing walnuts for zucchini bread today. Toddlers really can be helpful...and it makes them a lot happier when they are involved.


Kevin and Steven. Kevin was so excited to see this.


On to the week ahead. Work, more work, Josh's first week of night work, play dates, school starting, volunteering, cooking, car pools, cleaning, laundry, and hopefully some sleep.

Play date

We hosted a play date today. And I have no pictures. Not really a surprise. I wish I did. But the play date was in my eyes a failure. Until I thought about it tonight.

Why was it a failure you ask?

I had to reschedule it from the previous week because I hadn't been feeling well. And I hate when the schedule suddenly changes (even though it constantly does).

My house wasn't clean. Turns out, other mom's don't like to host because they are worried about not having a clean enough house. Also, we all have toddlers. The toys aren't likely to all be put away at 3 in the afternoon. If they are, there might be a bigger issue.

I couldn't find paper place mats. I know what you are thinking...why would you need place mats for toddlers. We were supposed to color the place mats for Meals of Wheels. I did find them at Hobby Lobby, yesterday. And you know what...I think the people who receive them will be thrilled. They are covered in stickers and pretty colors.

Zoe was asleep when everyone arrived. "Hi, my name is Elizabeth and my kid is sleeping." Oh this is your kid, sorry there isn't anyone for him to play with yet. More kids showed up and Zoe did eventually join us. And they all had a good time.

When thinking about it now, I realized that no one really cares if my house is spotless. They actually feel better when it isn't. The kids could careless what they color on (Zoe has on the occasion taken up wall murals). Mom's just want something for their kids to enjoy. The kids learned about making something for others (and sharing toys/crayons). And Meals on Wheels will have colorful place mats to go with some of the meals. The play date was a success.

We plan to host many more in the future. Although, I am sure I will panic about the craft, the state of my house, and snack all over again. (if you live in the Upstate and want to come to a play date, let me know...we coordinate through a Meetup group for AP, but we are always glad to have friends tag along)

Starbucks, Story time and Kevin

Wyatt chillin' at story time.

I Stink! is a cute book. The kids all seemed to enjoy it.


Kevin came with us this week to story time. A Barista reads a few books. All the kids get mini Creme Fraps. Zoe took about 2 sips of her drink.


Zoe and Curious George going for a ride in the Jeep.

In other very exciting news, Zoe is completely potty trained. Well, at least in my opinion. Or maybe I am trained to remember and remind her. I think it is mostly a parental skill. Zoe always potties on the potty when I remember. And the last month, accidents have been much less frequent (mostly when we are out of the house). But Monday, we went to the play area at the mall and breakfast at Mabels. Later we went to Steak and Shake. All with no accidents.