STAYCATION: Smallmans

Sunday night the Smallmans came to visit. It was so nice to catch up and watch the kids play together.

Maisie and Louisa (and Rock and Geneva) were like two peas in a pod.

STAYCATION: Anniversary

Day three of our Staycation was Rocket and Juju's 40th wedding anniversary. Can you believe these two young things have been married that long?!

We let them celebrate by taking us out to lunch. Louisa was happy to be there so she put on her happy face.
Not really sure what face this is.

STAYCATION: Memorial Day

On Staycation day number two, we really stayed close to home. It was Memorial Day weekend so we tossed the kids in our wagon and crossed 450 to join our neighbors (not pictured) in viewing the Bowie Memorial Day parade.

I was very excited that we had an excuse to wear matching outfits for the second day of Staycation. For some reason we are usually out of town on Memorial Day weekend so this year was our first time to see the parade.

And oh whatta parade it was! Things started with the essential flags...

And a patriotic band.

Then all sorts of things went by! There were airplanes...

And a really cute Boy Scout group "fishing" off the end of their float.

When the waving beauty queens passed by...

Louisa waved right back. Okay so she waved at everyone.

I was THRILLED to see my alma mater's Pep Band looking just as scraggly and fun as when I left ERHS (almost 15 years ago!).
There was a stilt walker who high-fived an incredibly cute 3.5 year old boy. For the record, I was so proud of Rock for being brave enough to run out there on his own.
There were people in unflattering yellow outfits...

And horses...

And a gang of tricked-out Chryslers. Or is that a Dodge?

There was a fantastic steel drum band...

And of COURSE the fantastic Bowie Fire Department.

Rock was very pleased with the parade.

Louisa was very pleased with the Fritos.

I was very pleased with the free Chick-fil-A coupons (not pictured). After the parade, we went to John and Misty's house for a yummy BBQ lunch. For dinner we ate free Chick-fil-A.

STAYCATION: Baltimore

This year instead of traveling, we decided to stay put; a Staycation for just the four (five if you count the babe within) of us.

Day one was in Baltimore. In support of the Orioles, we all wore orange. We started by dropping our car at BWI...

And catching the light rail into the city.
Our destination was this little gem. The USS Constellation, has a long history of service to our nation, and we thought Rock would really enjoy it.

Rock and Rachel at the helm.

Despite our efforts, we were unable to sail away.

I'm not sure if these were "We're trying to move the cannon" faces or "We're blowing things up" faces or "Fix and Rock were confused about which emotion to portray" faces.

Just another gorgeous girl with a sippy cup and a cannon.

They were both tempted to stay and sleep on the hammocks, but we opted for lunch instead. Fix and I had read online all about the historic Lexington Market and while I can't find the exact description of this food market, it sounded something like this:"Old as the nation itself, Baltimore's fragrant, gleaming Lexington Market has been a wonderful epicurean tradition since 1782." Sounds picturesque, no? So we walked several long hot blocks over to the Market. But the closer we got, the area got sketchier and sketchier, and there were more and more people who looked like this:By the time we got the Market, we had seen enough sketchiness and heard enough yelling by people with burnt faces (seriously!) to convince us to dine elsewhere.
After a quick light rail trip to the Jimmy John's by Camden Yards, we felt safe again. After a quick lunch and another quick light rail trip back to our house, day one of Staycation was done. Not a smashing success, but fun nonetheless.

Pancake Makers

These days, when Daddy's making pancakes, he's got TWO helpers.

But in this case, having two many cooks in the kitchen isn't a bad thing. They're delicious and of course, gluten free!

Literature

Not sure why they are both concentrating so hard on a Sweet Pickles book, but it's good to have Miss Becky back in Maryland where she belongs.

Monday Mornings

As the weather gets warmer, we've been having a lot of fun relaxing outside on Monday mornings. We eat some breakfast, brew some coffee and take our mugs out to the backyard.
We wake up slowly as we blow bubbles for Rock and Louisa....

And hang out in our pajamas under the canopy in our backyard. Sometimes our pajamas match.

It's a nice time to plan our day, but apparently not a nice time to get cute family pictures.

At least Fix looks good.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, Rock made me a cake (with Nana Kerry's help). Now, to the untrained eye, it might look like Rock just poked a bunch of dents in the icing.

In fact, as he told me, the dots are a sweet message that read "You are the greatest Mommy in the world and I love you." I'm not making this stuff up. While I was watching he added some text about his great Daddy but since it was MOTHER'S Day, we won't focus on that.

Instead let's focus on the two cuties who made me a Mother. Aren't they precious?

I am very blessed indeed.

Popeyes, Cokie, and Friends

Do you "love that chicken from Popeyes?" What about the biscuits? I personally LOVE their biscuits. In high school, my friend Allison and I referred to ourselves as "The Biscuit Avengers" and made it our mission to buy Popeyes biscuits for any of our friends who had never had them before.

All of this is to say, when my college friend Zinah invited me to meet up at her dad's Popeyes restaurant, I obliged. Of course it didn't hurt that my college roommate Kirsten was coming up from Virginia Beach to visit too. In fact, that was the whole reason for the get together.

But once there, I discovered a true gem! Zinah's dad's Coke machine "Cokie." It was made by Ferrari, it was incredibly sleek, and it offers ONE HUNDRED AND SIX different flavors of soda and water. Do you want Orange Coke? Perhaps Raspberry Lime Sparkling Water? Cherry Sprite? Cokie's got it all!

Louisa loved it too, she was just really tired from running around the restaurant while waiting for her mom to finish up some bonding time with her long-lost buddies. It was great to eat Popeyes and get a few different drinks from Cokie, but picking up right where you left off with your college friends? PRICELESS.

PAUL

Remember when we were in London and PAUL was our favorite spot for tea? Well after we got back, Fix continued to pine after their Earl Grey. In fact, when Juju and Rocket brought him a box of bags in October, he officially changed his favorite tea allegiance -- from Twinings Earl Grey to PAUL's Earl Grey.

Shocking I know! When the October box ran out, Zuni brought him two more boxes at Christmas time. But still, Fix was having to ration himself and it was painful to not enjoy his favorite tea all the time.

But then we heard the good news, PAUL was coming to AMERICA! And not just anywhere in America - it was coming to WASHINGTON, DC! So like any (un)sane person would, Fix planned a trip to the DC location on the day it opened.
It was right next to the US Navy Memorial which is a perfect spot to let little children run around...
So we invited the Colemans to join us (and once again that crazy child in the Princeton shirt showed up too!).
The decor was lovely,
The high chairs were the classiest we'd ever seen,
And of course, the TEA was fantastic. His thirst was quenched. And he a box of Earl Grey to keep it that way.

Molly also enjoyed a fruit tea that she said was "quite lovely"... or something like that. After we sipped and nibbled on (YUMMY) sandwiches, it was time to head outside and let our children run wild.

We sat down (and got up and chased them and sat down and got up and chased them) and watched the kids run free. Louisa explored the bronze relief sculptures on the outside ring...

While Rock darted in and out.

Then they both realized there was a huge space in the middle to run free.
It was hot. There were water fights. Oliver took off his shirt...

So of course Rock did too. I can't wait until he gets a tan. All in all, it was good tea, good kids, and good times.
p.s. I apologize to Carrie and Charlotte for not getting a picture of them!