Beach!

This week, Sydney, Cole, my friend Carolann, and I were lucky enough to be invited to the infamous Chabot beach house for an awesome beach vacation! We spent our days on the beach and our evenings chilling out in front of the TV. It was incredibly relaxing, full of good Pat Chabot cooking, and beer-garitas! Cole even took his naps on the beach so we could enjoy many hours at the beach (one day, we spent more than five hours on the beach - with a 1-year-old! Are you kidding?). We went out for ice cream, Cole chased seagulls on the beach, Sydney swam in the ocean, and - did I mention - we had beer-garitas? Beer-garitas are Mrs. Chabot's new famous drink: half a glass of Mexican beer with a frozen margarita on top. It doesn't sound delicious, but let me tell you - they are spectacular... think Corona with lime, but frozen. We laughed, we vegged out, and we got tan!

No Cavities!

We had another spectacular trip to the dentist. This time, we tried a new dentist that our mommy friends had really raved about. And - now we know why! The most awesome part of the visit was that Sydney got to pick out her very own movie to watch during the cleaning. Then, she got to lay back, relax, and watch the show while the hygienist did her work. Sydney was very impressed and couldn't really be bothered to pay any attention to anything other than the Backyardigans (her movie). Before she knew it, she had cleaned and flossed teeth and was on her way!

Happy Birthday America!

This fourth of July was a blast. I was in Leesburg's Independence Day parade in the morning (as part of NOVA Roller Derby), and then we came back to the house for a barbecue and pool party. For as long as we've lived in Loudoun County, we've never attended the fourth of July parade, let alone participated. I was amazed at the amount of people and all the friends I saw along the parade route. With all the excitement and swimming, Syd was in bed asleep by 5:30 pm. Maybe next year, she'll finally get to watch the fireworks!

Pre-parade group photo

My personal cheering section

Three generations

Mommy and Cole chillin in the shade

Lazy Day at the Pool

Yesterday, we had a wonderfully lazy day at the pool. We had visitors come and go. Sarah Fram stopped by in the morning. Mom rode her new bike to the house around lunch, and Grandma, Big Papa, and Sarah stopped by in the afternoon. Tom and I have said many times that we're so thankful to have the pool. It attracts all our friends and family, and we end up spending more quality time with them over the summer because of it. We're really looking forward to tomorrow's festivities. I'll be walking in the Leesburg parade in the morning, and then everyone is coming over for a big barbecue in the afternoon. Stay tuned for pictures.

Mommy's Beach Vacation

This past weekend, I was the luckiest mommy on earth: I got to enjoy a mommy's beach vacation! Jodi, Nina, Becca, and I headed to Bethany Beach for a spectacularly relaxing weekend. We ate, we drank, we sat on the beach, we read, we played Scrabble, and we got pedicures. We did not have to take anyone to the potty, cut anyone's food, forget to drink our coffee, eat our food cold, or have to wake up in the middle of the night to help someone go back to sleep. My only worry was whether the tide was going to reach my chair. I enjoyed every minute of it, and the time away made my heart grow even fonder of my two darling children and wonderfully supportive husband. I'm a lucky gal!

Doing Papa's Hair

When Lorraine and I were little, we loved to "do" my dad's hair. I don't know how it came to be, but we had an understanding: if we were quiet while dad watched football, we could do his hair. We would comb it, put in barrettes, put in little pony tails - the possibilities were endless! I'm pleased to announce that the tradition of doing hair has continued to the next generation. Check out this picture of Sydney doing Mustache Papa's hair! Unfortunately, he has much less hair now than when I was little, but she still got to do some serious combing.

Best Daddy Ever

We celebrated all the wonderful dads in our lives on Father's Day! Sydney was especially excited to help her daddy celebrate. She made him a special card and got him a gift card to Best Buy. Cole contributed by letting daddy take him for a dip in the pool. Even Mustache Papa got in on the Father's Day action with a poolside nap. I'm not sure, but I think Big Papa celebrated by sneaking a real beer! We love all our dads - thank you so much for all you do and for being there when we need you most.