Pigtails!

I got inspired to try a new do for Noelle and this is what we came up with: PIGTAILS!

This is what they look like after mommy has combed and gathered and wrestled to get the mini rubber bands onto a constantly swiveling head.

And this is what they look after they've been slept in!

It's funny, because sometimes this little squirt comes across more introverted and mellow than the other two, but she's got plenty o' personality. She'll just decide when she's going to put it on display, thank you very much. She has also learned that she no longer needs to wince at the camera, but flirt with it.

"How cute am I?!"

Birthday bikes and hikes

On May 27th, I turned the big 3-6. But I'll have you know that one of my friends from church said her husband asked when I was going to be turning 30, so apparently, I've still got it. =) (My dad always says, "I've still got it, I just can't remember where I put it." =) I'm not there yet...)

Luke and I have started going for bike rides on our monthly date nights. We have a couple of other FWK (Friends With Kids) who we swap childcare with so we don't have to spend $20 an hour on a baby sitter. (Highway robbery! I think I got paid $5 bucks tops when I baby sat.)

So Luke tinkers our bikes up til their ready, we grab our handy 50% off groupon, and bike across one of the coolest cities in the world. This time we went to Tackle Box in Georgetown and ordered sustainably caught lobster shack faire. I had grilled bluefish with sweet potato fries (one of my new favorite foods) and Luke had grilled rainbow trout with fries and coleslaw. And then we split an order of fried oysters. This is why we have to bike there.

And we saw this lovely view right as we were biking past the Washington Monument. Kinda looks like Jesus is coming back, eh?

Then on Saturday, Luke planned a family hike and fro yo run for my birthday "party." See, he had to plan something special with the kids because John was saying how there will be "no girls allowed" at his next birthday party. (This has been a favorite statement since we read The Berenstein Bears book of the same name.) And I told him that his sisters will be there because our family always goes to each others' birthday parties. And he immediately retorted back with tears in his eyes, "But you didn't invite us to your birthday dinner!"

Ergo, the family birthday hike.

Luke once again tinkered with and packed backpacks and got us all ready to go and we drove to Scott's Run in McLean, VA.

If I look worn out its because we got a little more of a work out than expected. Despite consulting several maps and hikers along the way, we ended up taking the round about and sometimes steep route.

Despite multiple "are we there yet"s, the kids did a great job.

This water fall into the Potomac River was the destination.

Fortunately, the way back was twice as fast. This is one of those times where I advocate taking the wide road instead of the narrow one.

We ended our time at Tangysweet for some probiotic-rich fro-yo, also purchased with a beloved groupon. Because the hike took longer than we thought, we ended up having dessert before dinner. When I told them this (hey, I'm trying to score "cool mom" points whenever I can), Leah and John's eyes got big and wide and they both shoved another bite into their smiling faces.

This truly was a happy birthday and I'm grateful to God for another year of life!

Mother-Daughter Lunch

Every year a group of moms and administrators at Leah's school hosts this event. The auditorium was decorated and full of kids with their moms, aunts, sisters, guardians, etc.

The older grades did a cute poem presentation on mothers.

This is the kindergarten table. They had crayons, markers, stickers and butterfly coloring sheets that the girls decorated and hung up on the wall. They also went around and shared something that they appreciated about our moms. They were all food-related. =)

This is Leah's classmate, Alanna. Her mom died a couple years ago and she asked if she could sit next to me at the lunch. I was honored.

This is Erika and Amani,

Io and Ivy,

and Shale and her daughters, Zinnia and Lily.

This picture captures some "jockeying for the prime position" drama. Leah did not want to be in the back of the picture.

As well, even though Leah had talked about this for weeks and was thrilled that it was also on my birthday, when I took all the girls from their class to the table, she did not want to sit next to me. She explained that she wanted to sit next to her friends because she doesn't get to sit next to ALL of them very much.

We had a good conversation later that afternoon about how I was disappointed that we didn't sit next to each other at the lunch because I was looking forward to sharing that time with her as it was a special event for mothers. She seemed to understand.

I have to admit that it is sometimes hard to know how to handle Leah's extreme social desires as well as some other attitudinal issues that she has developed this year. We'd appreciate your prayers in this regard as we seek God for wisdom and direction in how to best parent her through them.

Regardless, I love her and (despite the fried chicken, mac and cheese, cookies and soda) it was a good experience to hang out with her and her sweet friends.

The Wyrtzens' visit

Our lovely Connecticut friends, the Wyrtzens, came for a weekend visit and much fun was had.

There was slipping and sliding.

There was slumbering...

and partying.

And there was a DELICIOUS dinner at Poste Moderne Brasserie for the birthday girls. Our May b-days are 10 days apart and it has become a tradition to dine at an upscale establishment that specifically focuses on local, sustainable foods.

We got a tour of the chef's garden that is located onsite and ordered the housemade charcuterie board, wood grilled capretto, truffle frites, and vegetable medley that included my first taste of fiddlehead ferns. Did I mention it was DELICIOUS?

And did I mention that we love the Wyrtzens?

Is there a magnet in his head?

Despite wearing a helmet, John had his first semi-serious head bonk with a stop sign pole while riding his bike (too fast). When Luke first brought him inside, there was blood everywhere (including on his beloved "Dodger uniform") but once we cleaned him up, we uncovered this delightful gash. It stopped bleeding right away and wasn't very deep so we were able to avoid a 5 hour $500 dollar emergency room trip.

Luke rode to the store to get butterfly stitches (which I now think should be in every family-with-young-children's first aid kit) and we patched him up with some healing balm and a big ol' band-aid. He seems to be doing well now and we're grateful it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

I'm a little nervous about what the scar will look like, but very thankful that Harry Potter is currently popular. He just needs some round black spectacles and a choir robe and we have our costume for next Halloween.

The Kitchen Cupboard Sisters

Leah loved the kitchen cupboard when she was a wee one...

And Noelle just discovered the delight of kitchen cupboard deconstruction.

How cute are they? =)

New York Bike Ride

(Sorry for the posting pause. Blogspot decided to change the way you can upload pictures with their amazing new editing program that is actually a step backward in technology. Bizarre. It was like doing dial-up again. After 4 failed attempts to upload pictures, I finally searched on their help pages and other bloggers suggested going back to the old editor. And, we're back...)

Luke, Leah and John did the New York City Boro bike ride while Noelle and I were at our church's women's retreat. Along with a group of friends, Luke chauffeured the kids for five hours and 42 miles (!) through the 5 well known 'hoods of NYC. They also got to see a Yankee game, ride on a ferry and eat lots of Clif bars. They were in heaven (and surprisingly compliant for being trapped with each other in the bike trailer's cramped quarters.)

Go, Luke! He saw a few other bike trailers, but no one who was dragging 2 kids, so I'm quite proud. It sounds like it was a good time, but they were wiped and we're all still catching up on sleep this week.