Washington DC, Part Deux

Last weekend we went up to DC again to visit Brett's aunt and uncle.  We started the day by heading to the National Zoo, where we were promptly rained on.  And I have to tell you, Kennedy walks amazingly slowly under an unbrella.

Although we didn't stay long, we got to see the pandas, birds (including Kennedy's favorite, the pink flamingos), elephants, and some zebras playing.

It was obviously enough to wear a certain someone out.

He was dead to the world for about 2 and a half hours.  But we were able to have dinner with Brett's aunt and uncle, and take a tour of the mosaics that his aunt Dianne has created.  She's very talented.  The next day, after saying our goodbyes, we headed to church.

But we went to see the temple first and walk on the grounds.  It's even more impressive in person than in pictures.

Based on the care that the baby needs, we've decided that the kids and I are going to head to Denver next week and have Brett join us later once his class ends.  So, the blog will probably be out of commission for a while, but here's a sneak peak of the little baby bub we are waiting on.



Busch Gardens

We planned to use our free military passes to Busch Gardens on Saturday.  Unfortunately, we picked the worst day possible to go.  But we had fun anyway.  The day began with Noah waking up and coming in our room.

Brett isn't often home in the morning when the kids wake up, so they love to play when he is.  Noah was taking the opportunity to head butt Brett.

When we got to Busch Gardens, early, I started the day off right by forgetting my military ID in the car.  So Brett ran back to get it while approximately a million people walked into the park.  Once we got inside, Brett ran to get on the new roller coaster before it was too crowded, and I took the kids into Sesame Street land.  The thing is, I was sweating already from just sitting in the heat.  And it turned out that Kennedy and Noah are still short enough that they couldn't really go on anything without an adult.  But I couldn't go on anything.  So they went on the one ride they could.

They seemed to have fun, but it was kind of a lame ride.  Then we went to the Grover roller coaster and walked right on.  Noah and I couldn't ride, so Kennedy was very brave to try and go on it herself.  She was SO excited!

Unfortunately, at this point, the staff got a weather warning and had to get everyone off the ride.  Kennedy was so sad.  Brett called and said he was coming back to meet us.  When he found us he said they were shutting down all the rides and outdoor shops/attractions.  He was next in line for the coaster when the weather warning hit, so he didn't even get to ride.  We went and saw a sub par 4D movie while we waited out the rain. 

Please excuse my pregnant-ness.  I was so swollen from then heat and humidity it isn't even funny.

Then we ate lunch.  Then there was another weather warning.  Finally we were able to get the kids on the rest of the rides in Sesame Street land.

Brett really wanted me to get a picture, but this thing was moving way too fast.

Noah got to meet Elmo and Big Bird.  Kennedy, who is terrified of these costumes, wouldn't get anywhere near them.

On our way to the Italy area, we stopped at the splash bridge for the water ride.  We got soaked!  Then we walked to the Italy area, stood in line for a ride only to find out that Kennedy was too short to go on.  We got in line for another one and guess what, weather warning again.  This time though, we could see the clouds.  We tried to wait it out in shops, but it was pouring, and thundering, and there was lightning everywhere.

Needless to say, after about an hour, we left.  Getting even more soaked in the process because we were on the complete opposite side of the park when the rain started.  We missed almost everything there, but we ended up having some fun anyway.  And I was able to get a picture of Noah's awesome hair after the splash bridge.

Saturday Stuff

Pretty much this is the cutest picture of Noah ever.

This week I passed the 31 week pregnant mark.  That means 8 more to go, if this baby doesn't decide to come early, which the doctors seem to think it will.  Here's what I've been doing to get my mind off of it.

I have been addicted to THIS.  Not that I haven't always been.  It's been my favorite for years.  It's just that I don't usually buy it because it's expensive.  But I'm buying it now.  And having to force myself to not eat the whole thing in one sitting.

OH MY GOSH.  I have finally found the THING that will motivate me into exercising.  I will be doing this next year in Denver.

I totally made THESE yesterday.  They're very cute.  And yummy too.

We are going HERE today, and I really hope I don't die in the process.  Thankfully it has cooled down to a balmy 85 and humid.  Believe me, this is much better than it's been the last 3 weeks.  But Kennedy has been begging to go to the "fair" since we got here, so we have to go before we leave.

THIS is the song of choice for singing in the car.  Which means that we all sing.  Even Noah, who has picked up on some of the words.  That and Man or Muppet.  We are all over the place with our music choices.

My Kids Make Me Laugh

I wish I knew how to do one of those cool collages.  Unfortunately, I am not that savvy.  But here are some of the entertaining things that the kids have done lately.

Usually at Chick-fil-A, but pretty much anywhere that these open bottomed advertisements can be found, the kids end up running around with them on their heads.  Noah also really loves to put stickers on random places on his face and hair and walk around with them.

A good example of the sticker.

If you didn't know, Kennedy is obsessed with Hello Kitty (and Barbie, and My Little Pony, but I'm more inclined to indulge in the Hello Kitty).  Of course, Vans decided to come out with a Hello Kitty line.  It was love at first sight.

Decorating cookies with massive amounts of frosting.

Actually sitting together quietly for more than 10 seconds.

Noah trying to buck Kennedy out of the chair.  He was having a T-Rex day.

Noah came to me and told me that his puppy was in time out.  He wouldn't say what for, but subsequent puppy time outs have shown that usually the reason is because he hit.  Guess who else gets time out for hitting.

Playing train in a Costco box.

Noah decided that the T-Rex needed his teeth brushed.  He must have had other dinosaurs in his teeth.



Night Wanderer

I've been slightly obsessed with Instagram since downloading it a few days ago.  This was taken last night.  All of their jammies were dirty (because a certain pregnant lady didn't do laundry...) so they wore my shirts to bed.

Noah has taken to night wandering.  Lately we have been waking up in the morning and finding him asleep in random spots.  In front of the TV.  At the foot of our bed.  In the hall in front of his room.  But he's always got his whole bed set up with him - two blankets, pillow, and puppy.

Last night at about 2:30 I woke up to him walking into our bedroom with all of the aforementioned items.  I told him he needed to go back to bed, picked up all of his things, and followed him to his room.  He was standing in front of his closed door, but not going in, so I tried to open the door.

It was locked.  From the inside.  He had locked the door and closed it behind him.  And all I got out of it from him was "Whoopsie!"

So I had to wake Brett up to take the handle off the door.  This required much noise and lights on.  He got Noah back in bed though, and miraculously Kennedy didn't wake up through that whole ordeal.  That girl would sleep through a zombie invasion.

Washington, DC

A couple of weeks ago we went up to Washington, DC for a day.  We started out in Fort Meade, MD - a potential place for us to be after school.  The Cryptological Museum was closed, so we just wandered around this memorial with a bunch of airplanes in it.  Noah really liked them.

The highlight of the day came at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum though.  They had a live butterfly pavilion that we were able to go into and play around in.  Kennedy and Noah had so much fun!

Kennedy loves to pose like this lately.  I have no idea why.

Apparently butterflies really like fruit.

These butterflies really liked us.  One landed on Noah's head (although he didn't like it and it didn't stay for long), and one landed on Brett's shorts and stayed for about 15 minutes.  When we were ready to leave the room, Brett had to pry it off of him.  Gently, of course.

Noah really liked learning about the different kinds of butterflies in the room.

After the museum, we took the kids to the merry-go-round before heading home.  Kennedy had been talking about it ALL day, and it was right behind the museum, so we took them on.

It was a long and hectic day, squeezing in as much as possible, but it was fun for sure.



Patriotic Summer Berry Cake

One of my favorite food blogs is Bakingdom.  Darla is so cute and creative with her treats, and she's also super nerdy.  She makes Harry Potter and Doctor Who treats all the time, as well as pretty and whimsical things.  Her husband is also in the Coast Guard, so I feel like we are very similar.  Except that her treats are amazing and I just copy her.

This cake is time consuming but soooo easy and super impressive!  Check out the Bakingdom post about the Patriotic Summer Berry Cake to find out the secret of the frosting.  :)