Raystown Lake

Camping trip #2 of the season was to Raystown Lake, PA. Getting there was a hike after a full day of work, but it was worth it. The mountains were beautiful!  We joined another set of cousins this time, and had fun playing at the beach and in the water.

The morning was cool and cloudy, but when the sun came out, it was gorgeous!

 Did Madeline want to try out the water trampoline? What do you think?

Sooo, I suffer from daily back pain. It's not really sleeping on the hard ground that bothers it, but the standing at a less than a 180 degree angle when getting in or out of the tent that is painful. So, while we have that lovely tent to the left, I really think I'd like that pop-up to our right. Unfortunately, our pocketbook says to just take some advil.

The Cardboard Boat Regatta

We love the annual boat race!  Last year, Madeline vowed to enter, and luckily, our school's SACC program entered the contest and built a boat.  It even won "Pride of the Regatta," the best pre-race award given.  Most of the decorated pieces were removed for the actual race.

The boat participated in three different categories. Madeline is in the back in the above picture (you can't see her) and in the middle in the bottom picture.

What a memorable day!

Memorial Day Camping

Just like last year, we spent Memorial Day camping at Burke Lake with our cousins.  We played at the campground's park, rode bikes, enjoyed icecream from the parlor, and took a walk around the lake.

5K! We did it!

Last night was our much anticipated Clifton Caboose 5K! Madeline and I have spent the last couple of months running after school with the running club and through our neighborhood on the weekends.  We've enjoyed this special time together! Above, we are ready to head to the race, and below we are at the starting line.

Madeline ran into in her very best friend. Since he is not in the after school club, this was a total surprise!

Here we are at the finish! Madeline finished a couple minutes ahead of me. The coarse was very hilly, and I was surprised to see so many Clifton residents lounging in lawn chairs and sipping wine at the ends of their driveways as the runners ran by. Are all races like this or just ones in Clifton?

We headed over to Peterson's (maybe my favorite place) for cool drinks and ice cream.We had a great day! I am thinking this running thing will be a great activity for Madeline and I to pursue together. We'll see . . .

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was beautiful. It was a super sunny day with a nice breeze, and we wanted to spend it outdoors.  As it turned out, the rest of the DC area had the same idea. There was lots of traffic and lots of crowds. I hate crowds, so we changed our Great Falls plans to a picnic lunch at a small park in Mclean followed by late afternoon drinks and ice cream at a small Mexican restaurant with outdoor dining. Perfect.

Mother's Day 2013 marks the seven year birthday of my blog!

Our Garden!

I always planned to have a garden once we got settled into a new home. However, Kent doubted my growing ability (I do have a brown thumb) and would only commit to a container garden. He didn't want to tear up part of our grassy yard for a garden that likely wouldn't produce anything. Well, after a nice warm weekend, he spent six hours mowing the lawn and decided tearing up part of our grassy yard might not be a bad idea after all.

It was a nice family project. Kent and Maddie dug up an area by our woodpile. We bought some compost and soil, borrowed Ralph's tiller, and made the garden.

Here is the first plant we planted, a tomato! Madeline was a huge help having just finished a unit on plants at school and helping to create a garden at school, as well.

We also planted basil, oregano, cilantro, peppers, cucumber, lettuce, squash, and strawberries. We've had the garden for over a week, and everything is still green.  So far, so good. :)

Kent built this small fence to keep the deer, foxes, and rabbits out.

Voila! We have a garden. Hopefully, we'll have some produce this summer, too.

Whirlwind Weekend!

We had a very busy weekend!  Friday night, the girls wanted to attend a cultural event at our school. So, after dismissal, we hung out until 6:00 when the festivities started. We watched a world festival of fashion modeled by students, listened to music from around the world, and sampled many booths of ethnic foods. We came home around 8, and I decided to freshen up the house and start the weekend laundry. I was exhausted! Sophie woke up with  a tummy ache around 2 am which made for quite a long night after a long week!

Saturday, I woke up early to join Shirley, Jen, and Dawn for a day at the spa!!! I enjoyed an eighty minute facial, an hour massage, a manicure, a pedicure, and a delicious catered lunch. What a beautiful day we enjoyed in historic Occoquan!!

Saturday evening, we hosted Kent's family for ribs and movies! The kids had a blast and didn't go to bed until after midnight.

Sunday brought a swim class for Maddie, the Circus, and a play-date for Sophie. Whew! Sophie was stressed about the loud noises and needed some persuading to attend the "Greatest Show on Earth." After some headphones and popcorn, she successfully enjoyed the event!

Sunday evening, Madeline took a long nap while Kent and I worked in the yard to top off our whirlwind weekend!

 Next week, we have nothing planned, and it it going to be just as glorious.

Spring Has Sprung!

The weather has warmed! It is officially spring!  We headed over to Maryland so we come spend some time with Grandma and put our toes in the sand!

The dog ran and swam, the children played, and the grown-ups sat and relaxed!