Father's Day Fun

Father's Day started off with breakfast and presents for Dad!

See last year's DAD photos here.

Then Mommy took Danica and McKenzie to get their nails painted, lunch and dropped them off at a movie.

McKenzie's Toes

Meanwhile, in the heat of the day (approx. 94 degrees) Nick mowed the yard, then set up the slip in slide for the little ones!
Then Nick took the girls to Michaels after their movie and they bought some things to paint...
Addison and Trevor also got to paint on paper plates, so they wouldn't feel left out!

I hope all you Dad's had a wonderful Father's Day!

Evening Parade at the Marine Barracks- Washington D.C.

Nick's sister-in-law is in town with her band, performing at various location in the D.C. area this weekend. She was able to get our family some tickets to the Marine Barracks Evening Parade that goes on every Friday night during the summer. I WAS SO EXCITED!!!!!

When we lived in Pensacola 7 years ago, we got to see them perform there. This event, however, is a much different scene. It's held at the oldest active post of the marine corps. This site was personally selected by President Thomas Jefferson and completed by 1801.

We got to the barracks ar 7:15PM when the gates open. They file you in on bleachers as you arrive. It was hot and the sun was blazing. The show didn't start until 8:45, so Nick took the kids to a shady area and struck up a conversation with one of the Marine's seating people. Before we knew it, Nick was calling us down from our bleachers for some 'better seats'. I was escorted by a sharp looking Marine in uniform, outside the barracks, and across the street to the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer's Club for the nightly briefing. The brief was given by Gunnery Sergeant Dickson, Marine of the Year. Very neat to hear!

We were then escorted back to the barracks and seated front and center on cushioned bleachers! Isn't it nice having 'connections'.

"The President's Own" United States Marine Band

Joined by "The Commandant's Own" The United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps.

We got to see Lance Corporal Chesty XIII, the official mascot of Marine Barracks Washington. A pedigree English bulldog, he was enlisted in 2008 , is the youngest marine, and is named in honor of the most decorated Marine in history, Lieutenant General Lewis B. "Chest" Puller.

My favorite part, The United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon

Don't they look sharp!!!!
Every time they slap their rifles...
it just gives me goosebumps!!!

Addison and Trevor sat in the isle right at the edge of the grass and bounced and even marched along with the band as the passed back and forth in front of us!!!!

It was late when the parade was over, but the kids stayed awake and enjoyed it! Here, Danica (Nick's niece), Trevor and McKenzie pose on the street while we waited for Valet to bring us our car.
Danica will be spending the weekend with us while her mom plays this weekend!

*Videos will be posted soon*

How Does Your Garden Grow?

My tomatoes plants are crazy big and starting to sprout tomatoes all over the place!!!
Even my cherry tomatoes are popping up by the thousands!
And just last week, the cucumbers showed up and are starting to get some size to them! Nick had to reinforce my trellis because they had grown so heavy!

Here are the flowers in my front yard...
And the funny bush growing in the front that started out looking like a hydrangea, but has small different blooms in the middle of the flowers. I've never seen anything like it!
And the flowers in the back.

Aloha

Some friends of ours who we first met while we were stationed in Hawaii have been at HMX for the past 4 years. And now, they are headed BACK to Hawaii again! They have 2 boys and stayed with our neighbors for a short time until they flew out!

Trevor had a great time playing with them. He and Adam and Cameron made quite a team. Here are the boys yesterday on Cameron's last day:

Trevor, Adam & Cameron

I think their grins were extra big because they couldn't wait for THIS picture:

We wish them the best on their new tour in beautiful Hawaii!

Picnic

We've had some really beautiful weather lately. At times is just downright HOT! But the other day Trevor asked me if we could have a picnic outside for lunch. How could I say no?

He wanted to have it out in the front of the house, so that "everyone will see us having a picnic and want to have a picnic too!"

So we set out a blanket just outside the front door on the porch. Even Tyler got to have his baby food outside with us.
Addison was very particular about keeping the corners of the blanket pulled out. If the wind blew your corner back, she immediately told you and bugged you until you fixed it!



It was a fun picnic! Thank you Trevor for planning it all out and picking a great spot!

Grandma's Magic Touch

We took Grandma to the airport this afternoon. She's on her way back to Iowa... But not before enduring another HOT and STICKY and HOT... did I mention HOT softball game of McKenzie's at high noon today. Holy Hotness!!!

We had to bug out a little early in order for Grandma to make her flight, so the outcome of that game is yet to be heard. We were 5-5 after the 2nd inning. But McKenzie played 1st base and had the first hit on her team. The pitcher was walking all the others.

We had lots of fun with Grandma the last few days. We ate watermelon...
And more watermelon...
a little sweet corn, and tried out some cupcakes from a new bakery down the road... as you can see, little hands got a hold of some before I could snap some pics.
Tyler is very good about laying down for naps and bedtime, so we rarely 'have to' rock him to sleep. But when grandma starts humming and rocking Tyler, he just drifts off to la la land.

Doesn't he look so sweet?

Grandma also brought the kids "The Giving Tree" and she has read it several times during her visit. So last night, before the kids went to bed, she read it to them one more time.

With Nick gone on a lift, it's just me and the kids again for a few days...

Fieldtrip to D.C.

McKenzie's 6th grade class took a fieldtrip to D.C. yesterday. My Mom and I chaperoned! It was a super hot day, but we had fun running around D.C. with our 5 kids for the day. Yup! It was just me, my mom, a map and 5 6th graders.... on our own.... seeing the sites. Crazy, huh? At least the kids we had were well behaved!

We started by seeing all the memorials and monuments:

Korean War Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

At the base of the steps at the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Monument sticking out of McKenzie's head. (One of the kids took this pic for us!)

Vietnam Memorial

WWII MemorialWorld War Memorial

The squirrels came out of the trees practically begging for food. So the kids gladly shared their chex mix.

Lunch Break under the tree by the Washington Monument

Washington MonumentMe & McKenzie

McKenzie & Grandma

Then we walked over to the Smithsonian Museum of American History as well as the Museum of Natural History.

And what's a fieldtrip to D.C. without buying a very important Washington D.C. souvenir... like a cute little stuffed giraffe with great big puppy dog eyes!
Then it was back to the charter buses for the ride home. Mom and I drove up on our own, so as soon as we loaded the kids on their bus (1 of 9), we walked back to our truck and had a nice quiet drive home. :)

Happy 32nd Birthday Nick!

Nick turned 32 today! After he got home from work, we had a quick high energy thunderstorm that caused McKenzie's softball game to be canceled, so we decided to take advantage of that and head to Fredericksburg to Nick's favorite restaurant: Famous Dave's.

Tyler enjoyed gnawing on Nick's BBQ Rib bones.
Earlier in the day, Addison assisted Dad in opening up his gifts, which she was just as excited about as he was:

Then it was time to fan Daddy with Mommy's garden knee pad. The only thing missing was... grapes!
Just before bed, as if we weren't gorged enough from Famous Dave's... we all enjoyed a super delicious Mint Chip Ice Cream Cake Roll with Mint Chocolate Ganache.
Made by McKenzie! (With the supervision of Grandma "Bob") Daddy, you have chocolate on your nose...
Trust me, it was just as good as it looks!

Happy Birthday Honey!!!