Virginia Highlands Park 2018

We stayed with Janice, Darren, and Ellie, and Sunday morning we hit the splash park with them and Meghan and Evan. So cute and fun!

With Aunt Janice and cousin Ellie

Some kind of secret missin?

Ellie tempting fate.

 

Evan conducting experiments with the water streams

Joy!

All fun things must end.

Lunch party!

Brunch with Sarah, Donald, and Kids 2016

We met Sarah, Donald, William, and Robert for brunch at the Green Pig Bistro. So delicious! I was excited to see the whole family together. I saw Sarah, William, and Robert shortly after Robert was born, but I visited on a weekday so I'd missed Donald. The four of them are the cutest and I kind of failed to capture the magnitude of the cuteness in my photos. Next time I'm making you guys pose.

Law school besties- I'm probably texting her as you read this.

See what happens when I don't say "Say cheese!"? But they're still the cutest.

We were posing though that didn't stop Miranda from frowning on purpose.

Sarah is a foodie, so the food was all very delicious. And I was impressed that both DOnald and Sarah got the super chicken with waffle. It looked epic. The boys were all perfect little gentlemen at brunch. Miranda sat on the floor and pouted and refused to eat anything several times before eating everything.

Delicious brunch joy!

We trapped her in here.

Love you guys!

Breakfast with Brian, Roger, and Lina 2016

Brian, Roger, and Lina kindly came to meet us for breakfast without a lot of notice that we were in town because they are the best! I also got a chance to finally meet Ezra their littlest one, and also make a lot of jokes about running off with him because he's so cute. I'm funny?

Brian hugging Ezra, me, Miranda, and Roger

We went to Luna Grill in Shirlington which I've been going to since I lived in Crystal City after college. I don't have specific memories of who I went with in the past but the restaurant is full of a vague nostalgia for me.

Lina, and the boys Ezra, James, and Caleb

Even though the outing was brief, we had a lot of fun. The kids were all surprisingly good. And you know you're hanging out with your best friends when you can discuss religion, politics, and babies and everyone is comfortable. Haha.

Another one because Miranda actually smiled for a picture with Brian

Brian juggling four kids at the Shirlington fountain. Cute!

Perfect morning!

Visiting Janice and Darren 2016

So on the aforementioned whirlwind trip to DC, we stayed with Janice and Darren. We watched the opening of the Olympics with them, played with the kids and Fudgie, and had dinner together every night. She also spoiled the kids as always with tons of yummy healthy snacks and entertainment (see below). We did fail to visit their new local splash park, but I now we have a fun reason to return next summer. Though I might be doing a solo trip back soon.

Janice and Darren (at Megan's on Sunday)

Chilling in the family room

Chalk drawing with the kids

I think this is alien code?

Making scratch marks near Janice's Snoopy

Bubbles too!

Playing with Fudgie in the yard.

Visiting Jaime 2016

We had a whirlwind tour in NoVa and DC and I was going to do one long post but it will never happen. After 7 hours of driving with three very unhappy Irish people (see what I did there)... we met up with Jaime at her apartment and basically jumped right in her pool. Thank you Jaime! Then we all made our way to Janice's for the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics and Thai food.

Post-swim picture: Jaime, Janice, me

They both love "swimming" after their summer swim class

Miranda says she's a "pish" (fish)

Girls' Weekend in DC 2014

You guys, I am so pregnant and tired (8 months today!) that I can't write a proper post, but I had a lovely time with some of my college friends at Girls' Weekend Saturday and Sunday. (I only wish I had time to see all the new and not-so-new babies in the DC metro area- next time!

Laurie, Christina, Ash, Megan, Janice, me

Christina and I took Amtrak to DC which was quite the adventure for me in itself since last time I took the train was in 2004 (DC to Boston for the Democratic Convention). The train is over-priced but a much better way for a pregnant lady to travel than the bus (and probably better than flying too).  Christina and I had a lot of extra time to hang out, and used it mainly to repeat stories and snack. Haha.

 

Clockwise from top: on train, me inside Union Station, Christina outside it 

Ash and Janice picked us up and our first stop was lunch in Shirlington with Megan. We went to T.H.A.I. I think I've been there before and it's yummy as always.

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Megan and Christina at T.H.A.I.

Ash, me, and Janice at T.H.A.I

We had a lot of time to kill before dinner and it was unseasonable warm out so we grabbed some flip flops and got pedicures. Usually I go most of the cold part of the winter without one and it's not pretty. Especially since I can't even reach my feet right now!

This picture reminds me of a scene in Sex in the City, but we're nothing like the characters

Finally it was time for dinner. Laurie made reservations for us at Le Diplomate, and I really enjoyed it. Everything was delicious, and there was a somewhat casual atmosphere that made it really comfortable to be there. We all tried everyone else's food so I can say confidently that everything is good.

At dinner on Saturday

Outside Le Diplomate on Q Street

Laurie hosted us for brunch on Sunday, which was not only super nice but also super tasty. We had delicious quiche,waffles, and lots of fruit and fixings. We also had some of the more meaningful and also the weirdest conversation at brunch.  Long live Girls' Weekend!

Laurie making waffles

Digging in!

• Girls' Weekend in Warwick, NY 2012
• Pseudo-Girls'-Weekend for my birthday in Long Island 2013

Halloween 2013!

James didn't understand Halloween (or much of anything) the last two years. This year, however, thanks to some very Halloween-themed Disney cartoons, he was talking non-stop about bats, spiders, ghosts, and witches. He wished me a "Happy Halloween," on an almost daily basis. He talked about his pirate costume, and other costumes the cartoons were wearing. He heard "Trick-or-treat" a few times, but had no real sense of what that meant. Kevin played Halloween music for him to dance around to.

James trying out his pirate costume before Halloween

It is November 1st now, and even though we have told him several times that Halloween is over, he continues to wish us a Happy Halloween, ask us to wear his costume, and ask to go trick-or-treating. It's going to be a long November.

Adding to his confusion is that he was lucky enough to get to celebrate Halloween twice this year. First, he spent Saturday afternoon in Arlington, Virginia with Jaime, Janice, Darren, and Fudgie, wearing his costume at a local kids' Halloween festival.

Walking over with godmama Janice in Arlington, VA

I just love him so much.

I didn't want to be creepy and photograph kids I didn't know, but here's James and his favorite dog Fudgie.

Fudgie as a spider- James is showing him his parrot

We let him enjoy the playground in costume too, which resulted in some wear-and-tear on the costume. But whatever, pirates often look a little castaway.

Pirate on the swing

Digging for treasure in the sand pit

Enjoying Janice's candy stash with Darren, Janice, and Jaime

Then on the actual day of Halloween, James got to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood for the first time ever! We had a little practice run before we left the house, asking him to say "Trick-or-treat!", take only one piece of candy, and say "Thank you," but that's a lot of steps and he didn't get the whole system correct at any of the houses we went to in our neighborhood. We ended up saying it for him mostly.

He loved every minute of it though, and he had no complaints about the number of houses we visited. His main issue was that he was able to take the candy himself and put it in his bag without assistance. This sometimes took forever, but he had a little fit if we tried to help.

Practice run at our place

The careful art of putting candy in your bag

Heading out

James really enjoyed the decorations.

We lost his hat from Saturday, but since I used to be huge into Halloween myself, I had another hat from my costume in 2006. Kevin said, "It's a little disorienting that last time I saw this hat it was on a sexy pirate girl."

James leading the charge.

So cute, his bag hardly has anything in it but it's "too heavy"

He still didn't totally "get" candy. While he was pleased checking out and counting his little stash when he got home, he seemed to think the pieces of candy were actually toys. He understood the popcorn, pretzels, and the lollipop from past experience, but the chocolate was mostly a mystery, and his favorite item was a Halloween-themed Ziplock baggie.

Checking out his candy haul

Fell asleep early but didn't want to give up his lollipop before bed!

Happy Halloween from the 3.5 Clous!

See James's first Halloween 2011 and the Hurricane Sandy Halloween 2012.