A Beautiful Day to be a Tourist

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in the DC area!  

(I heard about and saw pictures of the snow they got in Utah--crazy!)  

Anyway, we took advantage of the nice weather to be tourists again.  

We first went to the Washington National Cathedral.

Some Fun as of Late

I like to post just random pictures too that don't necessarily have a certain story or anything to go along with them.  We've been having fun around the house and I want to share.

Halloween night Glenn and Paul built a fort.  Pretty fun!

Joy School Party

Due to the treat of Hurricane Sandy, the schools were out until Wednesday, the government workers--and probably most other workers too--had Monday and Tuesday off, and so we canceled Joy School on Tuesday.  It was supposed to be my first time teaching and we were supposed to have a Halloween party.  The kids had learned some songs and were going to give a little program for their moms and siblings.  So we decided to combine the lessons and Halloween party for the Thursday class.  So my first time teaching was a bit crazy because I had to fit a lot in, or at least I couldn't follow the lesson plan because I was combining lessons.  But it went well anyway.  The kids had fun doing the program--one of the moms recorded their songs, I believe.  I should get the video from her.  

So the kids got to wear their costumes one more time.  We also had some fun treats.  Glenn and I bought some cookies and Norah's mom made fingers.  They looked pretty real!  And they tasted good too!

I wish I had gotten a picture with all of them, but I was pretty busy doing the program and such.  But I know they had a fun time, and really isn't that what matters?

But we sure had fun with extending Halloween one more day!

Happy Halloween!

Last year I picked up some Halloween decorations after Halloween for a really good price.  I was excited to get them out this year and out them up.  Glenn too was excited to help decorate!

Hurricane Sandy

So the week of Halloween the East Coast was hit by Hurricane Sandy.  They weren't sure exactly where the storm would hit, but they had a big area of where there would be some potential damage.  Our city was in the Red Zone, and so we felt the need to prepare.  Sunday night it started raining.  

Pre-Halloween Fun

Friday October 26th, Glenn and I went to Graisen's neighborhood where they had a few bounce houses and other fun things set up. 

One Last BBQ

This week the weather has been gorgeous!  I even got sunburned at Cox Farms because it was so sunny and warm!  Who would've guessed that it would be in the high 70's and low 80's at the end of October?!  We'll take it, that's for sure!

Since it was so nice, Melanie and I planned a BBQ--probably the last one for awhile.  There is a nice picnic area right near their building here at the complex.  So we brought our food and stuff out there and enjoyed the perfect evening.

 Glenn and Maya had fun with the magnifying glass, looking at bugs and leaves and all sorts of things.

Some of Glenn's Favorites

One of Glenn's favorite things to do is this:

Cox Farms

On Tuesday we went on another field trip with our Joy School group (plus another Mom and her son).  We went out to Cox Farms--just about 20 or so minutes from where we live.

We paid $9 for each person 3 and above, and I thought it was kind of expensive.  But once inside I realized that it was a good price!  The place was big and had several activities for the kids.

"Sleepy" Joes

Last week we made Sloppy Joes for dinner.  Glenn was so tired that he started falling asleep.  We had to help him eat because he literally couldn't do it on his own.

Silly Glenn

"Silly Glenn."  
Those are words that I say so many times a day.

Glenn really is a silly kid.  Here are some of his latest silly moments.

"Exercising"

I mentioned awhile ago that we bought a bike rack for our car.  After Paul got it out, put it together and such, Glenn saw it and thought it looked like an exercising machine.  We asked him what he was doing with it and he said, "I'm exercising."  

Camping and Air Show

On October 12, we went camping with some new friends of ours.  We packed up our stuff and fit it all, and us in their vehicle.  We left later than we had planned, got stuck in traffic, had to stop to get dinner and fill up the car with gas...so we didn't get to the campsite until after dark.  We went to the same campground that we had gone to a couple weeks before.  We didn't even bother bringing wood.  We set up our tents and sleeping bags and then we piled into our tent to play games.

More Historical Visits

On Monday October 8, Paul had the day off.  We decided that we would like to see Mount Vernon.  

Well we didn't think very well...or I guess we had the same idea as every once else in the area who also had the day off.  We drove down to Mount Vernon and saw how busy the parking lot was...and decided to go on another day.  Thankfully there were other things to see in that same area.

George Washington's Distillery and Gristmill

Just down the road was George Washington's Distillery and Gristmill.

Pillow Fun

Glenn loves playing with our pillows.

He likes to put them in different configurations and pretend he is doing so many different things.

One time they were a swimming pool, another time they were a dog house...the possibilities are endless!

 

Joy School Field Trip

The first week of October Glenn's Joy School class went on a field trip to the Kidwell Farm, or Frying Pan Farm Park.  I went along to help and to be the photographer.

Norah. Emma. (Samuel). Reagan. Glenn.

The Dentist

We finally made dentist appointments here!  It had been almost a year since our last visit--it was before Paul left for Virginia actually, so back in December of last year.

Anyway, we went to one less than a mile away.  They were a small little place, but they were nice.  They really adored Glenn.  The assistants, and even the dentist, couldn't help but ooh and ahh over him, it seemed.  They just thought he was so cute!

Seeing Double

Glenn was watching Wall-E the other day and when Paul got home from work, he joined him.  

I love that they are in the same position!  They are so alike in some ways!

(This video is kind of dark and I zoom in and out a few times--I was trying to find good lighting...but I just like how Glenn laughs at Wall-E.)

Happiness Is...

Happiness is making green lights!

Friends and Fun

We have had a lot of fun with our Virginia friends lately.  We sure are blessed to have such wonderful people surrounding us.  Glenn loves having friends.

The other day though he came up to me, with a few tears in his eyes.  I asked what was wrong and he said, "I miss my cousins."

I know he misses his cousins in Utah and elsewhere, but I also know that he is having lots of fun here too!

Glenn. Samuel. Reagan.

A German Dinner

The last week of September Glenn and I were hanging out at the park just across from our apartment complex.  There was another mom there and when I heard her talking to her daughter, I knew she wasn't speaking English.  Her daughter and Glenn soon began 'playing' with each other and chasing around.  I saw the mom and really wanted to say something to her, so finally I said something about how kids play.  That sparked a conversation that went really well.  We talked a lot and I found out she had just moved into our apartment complex 3 weeks ago.  She was from Germany and hadn't made any friends here yet.  Paul soon joined us after work and he mentioned this German restaurant in nearby Leesburg that he wanted to try.  We asked if she would be interested in coming with us.  She said yes, and that she had been wanting a little piece of home.  So we set up a dinner date with her family for Friday September 28.  

So Friday evening they followed us to Doner Bistro.