Easter Weekend..

...so I'll begin at the beginning. A good place to start.

We picked up Nana and Papa at the airport on Tuesday night. They were excited to be here and see our place for the first time, but I think the kids were more excited to see them when they woke up the next morning.

Wednesday was a day full of errands. We needed to get groceries, do some returns, a little shopping...just a few things to show them around town.

Thursday was a day to get ready for the rest of the weekend. We did laundry ALL DAY LONG which it does help having extra hands to fold and put away laundry. Then once the clothes were all clean, we packed for our trip to Washington DC.

Friday we all slept in....at least Keagan and I did. I don't know what time the kids have been getting up because Nana and Papa have been letting us sleep in every morning. Oh, it was great! Then we finally made a hotel reservation for that night, and loaded the van. What should have been a 2.5-3 hour drive turned into a 4.5 hour drive to DC due to lovely weekend/Spring Break/Cherry Blossom Festival traffic. I think next time we will take the Amtrak like we had talked about doing. We got to our hotel, the Hilton on Embassy Row, which was EXCELLENT. Checked in, and then walked a couple of blocks to eat at this great Thai Restaurant. Was it ever yummy!! Then we went to bed to be rested for the long day ahead.




Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast, and then walked to The National Mall. We didn't have too far to walk and it was a cool morning so we didn't mind. We visited as much as we could that day as you all do when you first visit. The kids did great for a long day of looking at buildings and statues. I know for the first half hour Q kept asking to go back to the hotel to watch cartoons. Once he got to get out of the stroller and run around he was better. The Cherry Blossoms were in full bloom and the pictures don't due them justice. It was gorgeous!! We had a great time walking around to all the monuments and memorials. It makes you proud to be an American after visiting such a place.




Sunday we woke up and went to church. The kids were able to have an Easter Egg hunt at the church. Q filled his bag so full that it was overflowing with eggs. The church did a great job not filling all the eggs with candy. Some were empty, some had a few pieces of candy and some had stickers. It was a great day for all of us. We enjoyed going to church as a family to celebrate our Christ's Resurrection!



Monday was a bitter sweet day. The weather couldn't get much better, but it was also the day Nana and Papa had to go back home. The kids did okay until bedtime tonight. We had already taken Nana and Papa to the airport, but the kids missed them putting them to bed. I think C was expecting Nana or Papa to come rock her to sleep and she didn't like me putting her to bed. Q wanted someone to sleep with him tonight because Nana and Papa had been camping out in his room while they were here.

To say the least we all had a great time. Hope you all had a blessed Easter!!

March Happenings!!!

So where do I begin ??

On March 1st, Quarton was able to start swimming lessons at the YMCA. This is something he has looked forward to for a long time. He's always been able to play in the water and flounder around, but nothing was done skillfully. So, once a week he is able to sharpen his swimming skills at the local YMCA.



A few weeks after swimming lessons began, I was able to celebrate my 30th birthday. The 30's so far have treated me well and I'm looking forward to what the next decade brings to me and my family :)



Now to the big news...Keagan is finishing his Masters classes this weekend!! WooHoo...

I will love having my weekends back with my husband. We are looking forward to getting the last few things done with the house and then we are free on the weekends. I know it will be good to have my husband back on the weekends, and I can't say how proud I am of him for accomplishing this task in such a short amount of time. Really he has done a great job and we all love him so much.

Since we have been in Virginia, the weather here has gotten better and better. This week we have seen 70+ degree weather and have got to spend a lot of time outside. Yesterday we were able to go to the park and Keagan was able to spend some time with the kids. Here is one of Carilyn's favorite things to do at the park.

Quarton the Trainer

Today after Quarton woke up from an early nap, I asked him if he wanted to ride his bike while I ran this afternoon. He said,"Sure, Mom, I'd love to do that." Little did he know that I had to run five miles this afternoon. Keagan even asked me if I thought he could ride his bike that long. I told him there was only one way to find out.

So I got ready to run and him ready to ride his bike and off we went. He was great company while we ran/rode. He told me many encouraging things like,"Keep it up, Mom, you're doing great!" He also carried my water bottle on his bike. We made many pit stops to take drinks most of which he did himself. I was impressed at how well he did. He rode his bike willingly the whole five miles!

It was a pretty windy/cool day too. When the wind would gust, he would say he was pushing the wind away on his bike. This also make his legs be very "burley" (a common word used between father and son).

I will say that this will be a memory for a lifetime. It was a great afternoon and a great way to end a weekend.

Signing off,
Dottie

Lately...

...we have had a rough couple of days with our four year old. It is all part of moving to a new house/state/base and getting adjusted. Even though we have had some adjustments here lately there have been a few shining moments! I will gladly share them with you all.


Spiderman lives here! He was swimming in our bathtub last night :)

We have signed Quarton up for swimming lessons starting on the 1st of March and he wanted to get goggles. Ever since we visited the Sailer's this past September and went swimming with them, Q thinks he needs goggles to be able to see under the water. He cannot wait to go to swimming lessons.



I've been able to meet a great group of ladies here and reunite with a few others. I'm proud to be a military wife and I appreciate the support and friendships I've made over the past seven years.


Little Carilyn is growing by the day. She has finally decided she would like to try to walk (at 15mo.), but if she wants to get somewhere fast she still prefers her hands and knees. If I could get around on my hands and knees as well as she does, then I would probably be doing the same. Still no teeth, though. They are waiting to break through those gums any day. You can see her top two teeth sitting up underneath her gums. It is just a thin layer holding them in. I'm afraid that once they do start coming in, she will have a mouth full before we know it. Hopefully it will be quick when they do decide to come in.

Signing off for now. Hope everyone is enjoying their Monday.

Still unpacking...

Well we have been here for a few weeks now and are still unpacking boxes. Things are getting back to normal though. We placed our membership at our church, training for a half marathon (again), Keagan is back to flying, and the kids are making new friends. We also are getting to know the area pretty well and are looking forward to exploring more of Virginia once we are finished with the house. Signing off for now...

2010 So far...

Well it has already been a busy time for us this year. We have arrived at Langley AFB, Virginia, and received a brand new base house once we got here. We are in a great location for Keagan to have a short drive to work, and are loving our new house so far. We are still waiting for our household goods to be delivered, but hopefully by the end of this week we will have them.

The kids are adjusting great to the warmer climate and new area. We have a great YMCA, Library, and church close to us. Quarton is looking forward to making new friends around the neighborhood and at "his church".

Keagan is finishing up his last two Master's classes and getting back to running. He is back to work as of last Thursday and hopefully will be flying again soon. His world doesn't get much better :)

We are excited to be here in Virginia. It is always fun to learn a new area, meet new people, and make great memories. Hope all is well with our friends and family. You all are more than welcome to come visit anytime!!