Perils of the Lost Jungle!

I'm a bit of a mini golf fan. So when I read in Newsweek awhile ago that one of the top 5 courses (in their opinion) in the country was here in Northern Virginia, I had to check it out. Ben and I went last year, but I really wanted to take Amelia so she could experience "the perils". This course is straight out of Indiana Jones. Surprises around every corner. Monkeys, alligators, spiders, and even Tarzan make an appearance. And a new addition this year...a large tomb that requires you to solve a puzzle to get the door to open. Unfortunately, I just wasn't on my game that day (I claim giant belly interference), although I did come up with one hole-in-one. But Ben took me in the end, and even managed two holes-in-one in a row.

Farewell to the best babysitting swap ever.

When Amelia was about 3 months old, we joined a fabulous babysitting swap with 3 other couples, each with one kid. We each took a turn babysitting all of the kids one Friday or Saturday each month, and we were able to go out the other 3. We never thought it would last this long, but for nearly 3 years, Ben and I have been able to go out nearly every weekend, and we have never paid for a sitter. Amelia has loved the swap. She gets so excited when it's time to get dropped off with her friends. Now that we are moving into the 2 kid world, we have kicked ourselves out, and I think we'll be going through some serious withdrawals. A huge thank you to our amazing friends who have been involved in the swap.

jumping on the bed.

The minute Ben walks in the door from work each evening, Amelia goes crazy. She follows him around the house, talking a mile a minute, telling him all about her day. She does not let him out of her sight. She usually ends up expelling all her pent up energy jumping on the bed and singing loudly, as demonstrated in the following video.

Udder confusion.

Amelia and I were playing a matching game today and when she saw this picture of a cow, she came to this conclusion:

"That cow has a baby pig stuck in his bottom. He needs to milk that pig out."

My feet thank you.

So after days of permanent swollen feet, the cure was discovered. Mother's Day. Ben and Amelia treated me to lots of time off my feet and it was great. Amelia was so excited about the sign she helped to make and would run up to me at random throughout the day (without prompting from her dad) and say "happy mother's day" and give me a big hug.



Ben worked hard on my requested Dutch Oven dinner and it was delicious.


Ben also crafted me a most fabulous chocolate trifle, which Amelia couldn't wait to dig into.

Ok. Just one more weekend getaway...

Ben and I couldn't resist squeezing in one more trip before baby #2. Micaela was kind enough (as always) to watch Amelia. We went to Annapolis and had a wonderfully relaxing time despite the stormy weather. We avoided rain and crowds Friday evening and were able to stroll around Main Street and the waterfront and even enjoy a private boat cruise of the area. We had some delicious seafood for dinner and made a stop at the fudge shop to cure my constant sweet tooth. We stayed in the historic Maryland Inn right in the heart of everything. Saturday morning, Ben found a great place for my Mother's Day brunch (a day early) at Cafe Normandie. The food was excellent. Before heading out of town, I couldn't resist a sign at an ice cream parlor that said "best hot chocolate in Annapolis" and I must agree, it was delicious.


We were even able to finish off the evening with a trip to the Washington D.C. temple. It looked so pretty at dusk. It's going to be hard to cut back on all these outings...

The week in photos.

Backyard fun with Emma.



Taking the metro to the frog exhibit at the National Geographic Museum with our friends Sharon and Taryn. We also got to see the trash people exhibit and meet Ben for lunch.






First backyard BBQ of the season. Finally.

weekend lessons learned...

Friday night, Ben and I ditched Amelia for a few hours for some quality time at Lowes. I needed to pick out flowers for my rock garden planters and Ben needed to do some serious calculations in the lumber department to purchase materials for my next project idea.
Lesson learned: Trying to make decisions at a store is so much easier without your child trying to "wash her hands" in all the fountains in the garden center.


Saturday we took the metro downtown with the Webbs to check out a baseball game at the new Nationals stadium. My plan was to get the cheapest tickets possible and enjoy the game as long as the kids could last. I didn't realize the cheapest seats would actually sell out. I was just too cheap to fork over the cash for the better seats so we quickly formulated a plan B. Amelia was not pleased when we left the ball park. We had been talking it up all morning since she really had no idea what a baseball game was. We decided to go to the National Building Museum instead. The kids (including the husbands) had fun building and playing in the kids zone and Ben and I were excited to check out an exhibit there about the architect Eero Saarinen.
Lesson learned: Buy tickets in advance or go to weeknight games.






Before heading home, we decided some food was in order. We walked by Chop't in Chinatown and it smelled so deliciously fresh. But the crowds and lack of seating forced us next door to Fuddruckers, where a chocolate milkshake sounded refreshing.
Lesson learned: Chop't = good for the stomach, Fuddruckers = not so good.
Bigger lesson learned: Don't leave your bag hanging over the back of your chair while you eat. A man who, in retrospect, was acting very suspiciously managed to steal all my cash ($25) and my debit card out of my bag, which he quickly used to charge over $500 at various locations (including $40 at Five Guys...that man likes himself a burger).

Final lesson learned: You might be better off just paying a lot for a baseball game.

We had a babysitter that night so we decided a cheap date was in order. We postponed our viewing of Iron Man and checked out the new National Harbor (new home to "The Awakening" statue). It was a lovely evening to stroll along the river and discuss the injustices of life.


We finished off the weekend with a quiet Sunday evening stroll through Huntley Meadows. Everything is so green there right now. By the time we left, it was dark outside and the trail was covered with gigantic spiders.

Good friends.

Sarah and Ethan came up from Williamsburg for a few days this past week and we had a great time. Amelia was so happy to see her friend Ethan again. She watched for him in the window all morning until he arrived. She cried when he left and throughout the day she kept saying "I need Ethan back at my house"...I think he is a better playmate than mom. Sarah and I were able to have a girls night and met up with some other friends at a little coffee shop near Old Town. We took the kids to the zoo and enjoyed a picnic lunch there while watching the turtles and lemurs and enjoying some great weather. I finally made it to the Dairy Godmother for some delicious custard, after hearing Sarah talk about this place all the time. I've already marked my calendar for the upcoming flavors that I must try. Since I grew up in the custard capital of Wisconsin, you would think I would have checked out this place sooner. We did a little shopping one morning and Ethan and Amelia had fun pushing their little carts around Trader Joes. We really miss you guys and hope for another visit soon!!