The Ending of the Beginning

Today was the finale. I cried my way through the entirety of a staff meeting yesterday, and today I finished my packing, turned in my keys, my computer, etc. It's some weird times people. The day was capped off by celebrating our fifth grade class. Typically we do a formal ceremony, but today we had a car parade and it was about 500 times more fun - even though it was 95 and humid. It could have only been more perfect if the DJ played the graduation song they sing every year - The Ending of the Beginning. I have stated multiple times in the past few weeks how much I will truly miss my colleagues, my students, and the community, so I am keeping it short today with many pictures.

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter! We had lots of excitement today and many wardrobe changes. It was different from all our other Easters because we weren't with family, we didn't go to church in person, or have the typical Easter dinner, but it was also very much the same. The bunny still came. We still had church. We still did an egg hunt. We visited family electronically. And I made a different dinner (pasta carbonara - a first for me to make).

It has been a fun "Spring Break" and a very nice reprieve from the virtual learning madness. I'm truly dreading the relentless zooms and emails that tomorrow will bring. I'm not even going to get into all the other parts that go into this madness. I'll save that post for another day.

Peeps

Mad Libs

Sandals on the wrong feet with socks...battle I decided not to fight.

Locked upstairs while I frantically hid eggs in the yard so she would think the Easter bunny did it last night. 

A good kind of zooommm

100 Days of Summer, Week 12

Today was my last official day of summer...so sad. Tomorrow starts teacher work week, and the rest of the craziness that comes with two people working full-time jobs (plus a part-time one), raising a busy baby, and managing the rest of life. It's been so fun to be home with Quinn this summer. She has changed so much in seven or eight weeks we have been together. I am definitely lucky to get these bonus weeks. We have lots of changes in store the next couple of weeks and a big 10 month birthday tomorrow. 

{Day 78:August 15}

I was attempting to teach Q to use this snack cup and it went so well I decided to take it out and about the next day...when she proceeded to dump and eat all her Cheerios off the Bennett library floor...at least she was quiet during my meeting

{Day 79:August 16}

Because sometimes you just need to dry your hair.

{Day 80:August 17}

Parachute at Toddlin Time

{Day 81:August 18}

Taking one of our last trips to the pool

{Day 82:August 19}

Wild Friday night trying to find a baby gate to fit this...theres a lot of problems here. 

{Day 83:August 20}

Katerina's for dinner to close out summer.

{Day 84:August 21}

First goldfish :)

100 Days of Summer, Week 11

It's been an action packed week. We ventured to Toddlin' Time a few days and we went to the pool with our old friends from babysitting! Matt and I also celebrated our 4th anniversary and got to go out for the night. This coming week is my last week home with Quinn. I am beyond sad, but I am hoping to have another fun filled week before sucking it up and getting back into the school year routine. 

{Day 71:August 8}

Adventures at Toddlin' Time. Q loved playing with balls, watching the big kids, and doing the parachute

{Day 72:August 9}

Problem Solver! Crawling with a dress :)

{Day 73:August 10}

Watermelon Lover...she's going to be disappointed come fall. 

{Day 74:August 11}

Reunited with her friends at the pool!

{Day 75:August 12}

Anniversary Smores :)

{Day 76:August 13}

Then we went out for our anniversary to a train depot converted to a restaurant. 

{Day 77:August 14}

Greek turkey burgers!

Today vs. Four Years Ago

4 years ago

Four years ago, Matt and I got engaged on Skyline Drive! It was quite an adventure! We told Quinn the story today, and it only seemed fitting to point out both members of my family have tried to kill me. Just kidding (sort of!).

Today we decided to venture out to celebrate our four year anniversary, and the new member of our family. We had been wanting to try the new farm to table restaurant, Birch Kitchen and Bar, up the street, so we went for lunch. I had such high hopes for this place, but was so, so disappointed. Both Matt and I were. Quinn slept the whole time, so she was pleased. I mean maybe it will improve, but as of now I definitely would not go back. It was still nice to get out and about, and to be able to spend the day as a whole family :)

Today

New England

Matt and I have just returned from a trip up north. The week went so fast and now I'm really feeling like it's crunch time. After all that sneaky month called August starts on Saturday. Enough about that, though. This was a big trip for us! We got to visit with Matt's family, spend some peaceful vacation days as a party of two, and we had a baby shower!

We spent most of last Saturday driving up the east coast playing the license plate game (eventually we got all but nine states!) and finding out just how big the small state of Connecticut is...really I swear we were there all day. When we finally reached Massachusetts we had a nice dinner with Matt's parents, and then spent Sunday just visiting before driving to Maine late at night.

Monday we headed to Drake Island Beach and spent the day sitting in the sun and reading. It was a perfect beach day! The day was so perfect we ended up finishing it off at the pool after coming back from the beach. As great as Monday was, Tuesday left something to be desired. It was a little bit chilly out in the morning, but things warmed up for a few hours in the afternoon. We decided to make it a pool day, but it was short lived. The fog and cold temperatures rolled back in, but we made the best of it and went on an excursion to find lobsters for dinner. We had a tip that a place called Looney Lobster had the best lobsters around. We followed signs and directions, but could not find the place to save our lives. We looked everywhere. You would never guess it would be so hard to buy a lobster in Maine. After stopping at a gas station, and getting all the locals involved, it was determined that the place wasn't open. We got a referral to go see Brenda, after you make a left at the car wash, instead. Turns out Brenda owns the Yodeling Clam Lobster Pound. We enjoyed Brenda's company while she steamed our lobster friends and then headed back to the cottage to eat our lobsters. We also went to the Scoop Deck for ice cream cones that night.

Wednesday we returned to the beach for another perfect day. We had also made reservations at our favorite restaurant in Maine, Joshua's, for that evening. If you ever find yourself in Southern Maine I highly recommend this place. Both Matt and I agree that this is one of the greatest restaurants of all time. Thursday, I went to Congdon's Doughnuts for the first time. Apparently this is the place to be if you are a doughnut lover. For me it wasn't great, but I also don't love doughnuts. We headed to Ogunquit afterwards and walked the Marginal Way. It's a beautiful path along the coast and another must do if you are in the area. Afterwards we headed to the pool for the rest of the day before meeting Matt's parents in Massachusetts for dinner.

Friday was our last day in Maine and we wanted to go back to the beach. As we were packing up the car to head there it started thundering so we decided on just making it a pool day. The rain did hold off for a little but the temperatures dropped into the 60s and it did eventually start pouring down rain on us. Friday night we saw Nice Work If You Can Get It at the Ogunquit playhouse. It was a good show and was pretty funny.

Saturday afternoon was our Massachusetts baby shower. Matt's mom and sister did a fabulous job with the planning. The shower was bee themed and had so many cute little details. The food and desserts were also delicious. It was so nice to celebrate Baby K. with our family and friends in Massachusetts. We received so many nice things, our baby is already very lucky. I'm also happy to report that Matthew survived his first baby shower ever, with some beverages, and (as evidenced below) even participated in gift opening. I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Sunday we had to head south. It's always a longer/harder trip coming back, but again it's always nice to be back home. Like I said at the beginning, now it's crunch time before I have to go back to school. There's still a lot to do our our long list of getting ready for a baby, regular life, and prepping for the new school year. That being said, we are also very lucky to have a lot to prepare for and look forward to in the coming months.

Mount Vernon

This past weekend Matt and I visited Mount Vernon! I had been saying I wanted to go to Mount Vernon for YEARS. I'm not kidding. We would always talk about going, but then find something else to do, or just not go. We finally followed through on Sunday. 

My overall impression...Mount Vernon is HUGE. Seriously. I have never in my life seen so much space in all of Northern Virginia. All I could think the whole time is what that property would be worth to some property developer. Billions. It's all so pretty too. Lots of trees, and of course, the gorgeous view from the back of the house of the Potomac. 

We spent our time walking around the gardens and exploring the different buildings. We also toured the main house and visited Washington's tomb. One of the best parts of the day was when we went to visit Lady Washington. At first I was a little bored and wanted to get on our way, but naturally Matthew had to get his questions in. Martha did not like Matt's Yankee questions at all. She kept in her proper Southern lady character refusing to answer him. Matt was frustrated. After listening for a little longer we got up to leave. Martha stopped her whole banter with the crowd to tell Matt how much she enjoyed him, but he is obviously a New Englander with his progressive views. I thought that was hilarious, and Matt equated it to the Colonial middle finger. 

My trip to Mount Vernon made me like George Washington even more. I was intrigued about why everything/everyone referred to him as the General vs. the President, so I asked. Washington thought you should only have the title of president while in office (a view I share). Washington also wasn't a member of a political party...YES. There were many other facts I'm drawing a blank on right now, but in my book GW is a winner and so is a visit to Mount Vernon. I do think, though, that they should let you bring snacks so you can have a pretty picnic. No food allowed. Rude. 

After walking so much, and not having anything to eat, we took a little drive down the GW Parkway toward Alexandria. We landed upon District Taco, a place I had been wanting to try. Fate. My first experience was good, but not amazing. It's not somewhere I absolutely have to go back to, but I would. In summary, Mount Vernon is a YES, District Taco is a maybe. Get to it Virginia friends and tourists :) 

Staycation 101

This past week Matt and I have been on a 'Staycation.' We tried this a little last year, with a little trip to the beach in the middle, but this year we spent the whole week around here. This year our Staycation was awesome. We had the perfect mix of productivity and funsies. When I say productivity, I don't mean like cleaning the house, running errands, yard work, etc. The things we made progress with were big decisions that had been put off until we had more time (me being off for the summer, and Matt having only one job to worry about) to put thought into them. I'm going to do a little wrap up of what we did this week :)

Day One: Tuesday we got up and decided to conquer the baby registry process. I am pleased to say this was much more enjoyable than the wedding registry. No one got mad, no one was 'hangry,' we both hung in the whole time. Not only did we go to Target, we also visited Babies R Us. We took a very well planned break in the middle of the day for lunch and a dress fitting. We accidentally stumbled up a new-ish restaurant called The Bone, and we both loved it! Definite success.

Day Two: Wednesday we decided to lay low and just went to the pool during the day. I got the worst sunburn because after 31 years I still can't apply sunscreen correctly, and have to learn the same lesson every summer. After hanging out all day we had reservations at one of our favorite restaurants, Founding Farmers. We visited the newest location in Tysons Corner, which we hadn't been to before. It was great food as usual.

Day Three: Thursday we took care of some items on our to do list around town. Not the most exciting day, but things that needed to be done. Matt wanted to go to BJ's for dinner, so we did. I am not a BJ's lover. After this trip, BJ's is no longer allowed (probably). The night was saved, though, because we went by Safeway to get a RedBox movie (American Sniper) on the way home, and through great teamwork also came up with the great idea to make s'mores (on the gas stove - don't laugh until you've tried it)!

Day Four: Friday we each had our own thing to do in the morning. In the afternoon, I might have accidentally fallen asleep. We went out people watching after we had dinner and then watched Birdman when we got home. Matt thought this movie was great. I did not.

Day Five: Saturday it rained ALL day here. So disappointing because we had already made plans to go to The Capital Grille for lunch and spend the day in DC. We decided to still go downtown. After a delicious lunch we planned on going to a museum, but it was raining so hard and it was windy. We just walked next door to the National Archives and then decided to just go home after seeing the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. We stopped for a treat at Starbucks on the way home, and then started watching Rectify on Netflix Saturday night. Rectify is by the same producers as Breaking Bad, and was recommended for people who loved Mad Men. I'm not totally sold yet, but it's early.

Day Six: Sunday we got up early and headed to Harper's Ferry, WV. This was about an hour and fifteen minute ride from our house, but neither of us had ever been there. Matt was excited about the history, I was more excited about going somewhere I haven't been, and some pretty scenery. We got a pretty good mix of both, maybe a little heavier on the history side. We also ended up hiking many, many miles and saw a pretty waterfall and nice views of the Shenandoah as well. After driving back home, and relaxing for a short bit, we decided to go to the Stephens City Drive In about an hour from our house. This made for a long day, and a lot of driving, but it was all pretty cool. We stopped at Wegmans to get snacks and dinner to take with us. We stayed for both movies, Inside Out and Tomorrowland. We were really only wanting to see the first, which both of us liked. Tomorrowland left a lot to be desired in both our opinions.

Day Seven: We decided to make our last day a super chill day and mostly just hung out around the house, with the exception of one errand and a silly decision we have wavered for years on. I am so happy that's over. I will spare you the boring details. Really.

I think you can tell I highly recommend a Staycation, but know that maybe it wouldn't work everywhere. We live somewhere that there are SO MANY activities to do and places that are only a short drive away. Also, we do have a second vacation planned this summer. I don't know if I would be so happy about staying home if I didn't know I was getting out of town in a few weeks. But, really, I think everyone should try it!