back in OH

Another quick trip to Ohio where I got some good nephew buddy time... Cameron's art show at sculpture camp was fun! Tacos at Barrio and Candyland too ;)

my dad

Happy Father’s Day! True story: My dad is not a huge Sondheim fan, but he is the type of dad who will drive 13 hours round trip in 24 hours to see his grandson’s solo in Merrily We Roll Along. He is the type of dad who brings me loaves of my favorite bread from Ohio. He is the type of dad who has driven my car across the country for me. He is the type of dad who will sit in a bouncey house with his grandsons. He is the type of dad you feel lucky to have and even luckier to share with your kids. Love you Dad!

air and space

A fun visit to the Air and Space with some first time visitors.  I feel like I see something new every time I visit this fun spot.

az buddies

It was so fun to see our old AZ friends in VA for a fun visit!

old and new friends

Felix turned 7 visiting us and is there anything better than sushi, legos, and monster mini golf to celebrate?!

scruffy can see

Puppy before and after first hair cut:

cutie puppy

Some before and afters her little trim...

old town carnival

Old Town hosted a Carnival with games at a bunch of the shops, including favorites like fibre space and stitch. 

last day of school

These guys on the last day of school 2019

tidbits

Kicking off the first day of summer with nearly six hours hanging out at the pool - with a  DJ, conga line complete!

Aiden brought home this gem from his "make a gargoyle" unit in art class. It's a crazy chicken holding a cattle skull and hamburger, that would appear on the side of a Chicfila?!  Ha!

A last lunch at Founding Farmer's with some of my favorites right before the last day of school. 

k's class party

Such a fun bunch of games at Keaton's class party... They were missing their teacher (who had a bad motorcycle accident the week before school let out), but it was a fun morning.

a's class party

The off campus class parties are a big hit even with the big kids. J is especially good at playing with them. I managed to curl up under a shady tree and teach a few kids how to knit... a big win in my mind ;)

mosaic

National Knit in Public Day during Cartoons in the Park at Mosaic... then small plate brunch at Matchbox which is amazing!  Yummm

pool

Cousin buddies and popsicles at the pool!  With a peep beach ball - theme!

donuts

National Donut Day celebrated with my favorite donut lovers!  Games and smiles with the cousin buddies...

dinos

Dinos make the zoo even more fun!

zoo

Nephews at the zoo!  So fun when the cousin buddies get to come to town while David has a conference in DC...

tidbits

The last two weeks of school are a big blur where you feel like it's already summer (nights at the pool!) but there is so much going on...

The chorus concert with music from around the world.  This guy played along with the master recorders too.

Medieval Day included all sorts of fun for the fifth graders, including plate rubbing, mosaics, juggling... I somehow helped with juggling - even tho I can't juggle ;)

Field Day with daddy in charge of both class groups was a big hit! Two beautiful days made it even more fun.

Thanks to G&P we had a chance to go out on our actual anniversary to small plates at Jaleo... yum!

aladdin jr

So many expressions from Iago, Jafar's evil parrot sidekick and comedic relief... Favorite line at the end as they are trying to arrest Iago, "Jafar and I were never what I'd really call close, he's more of a work friend, and I'm allergic to mildew... ahhhh"

agrabah adventures

Keaton, Ollie the Genie from the oil lamp, worked together to build a new house outside of the lamp (along with Genies from the lava lamp, neon lamp, and table lamp - ha!) Aladdin and Jasmine were portrayed as adults in this fun take on Aladdin with a fun Disney montage at the end.

aladdin fans

Aiden gets to watch Keaton's show in full costume... Keaton had some special friends come to the shows too ;)  Thanks to G&P for coming to the shows!

scruffster

Someone learned to play fetch!  Check out how she carries that tennis ball ;)

garden party

J’s band played at a backyard party for a neighbor’s bday. They rocked and it was a fun evening for everyone, even Zoe!

good list

Who wouldn’t want a big Charmander Pokemon cake for Mother’s Day?!

The Pokémon craze has begun with the cousin buddies too!

The bounce house in the basement is always a hit.

That homemade frosting on those cinnamon buns - droool!

pool is open

The pool is open for the season! It was pretty chilly but perfect weather for s refreshing dip! The boys carry each other around playing a quiz game that involves a dunk backwards if you get it wrong.

tidbits

The teacher appreciation luncheon included a big special cake treat - yum! It’s always a fun day of rotating lunches from 10 to nearly 2pm!

The band concert were Aiden and his percussion section are so far away we could hardly see him. But I could hear his cow bell!

A birthday lunch at a nearby winery with this fun crew for my sweet neighbor, Amy!

J saying hi on the live cam during graduation, aka goofy robe or toaster bag day!

tennis

Tennis started up! Zoe is the biggest fan - so many friends to cuddle and balls to watch! The first day she rounded the corner and saw everyone up on her favorite hill at the pool club and couldn’t scramble up there fast enough.

good list

I can’t get over that I won this bounty of six skeins and yarns and four coveted pins from the Wish You Were Here MD Sheep and Wool Weekend giveaway. Such a fun surprise!

I didn’t know I needed a special peanut butter spoon but thanks to my sweet friend now I have one made just for Lovia (my college email handle which my stats prof used as my nickname).

I enjoyed going into the fifth grade and helping them with some botanical illustration of bird during their Watershed day. So many talented kids!

poppy

Everyone got together in Ohio to celebrate Poppy with plenty of kites, bunnies, and smiles...

mother's day

It was fun to be with my mom and be spoiled by Liz’s homemade cinnamon buns (along with all our brunch treats - French toast casserole and sausage strata). It was also nice to spend more time with the family - it felt like Xmas! Found this fun popcorn out my mom enjoyed and shared... The giant Rocky the Raccoon is a legend who moved in with my sister recently as my parents try to clear out their house of extra stuff.

my mom

A gift for my mom:

Happy Mother’s Day!

I think my mom will like this explanation of the meanings given to an iris flower:

In Greek, the name “Iris” translates as “rainbow” from which you can share messages from one end to the other. In Japanese culture, the iris flower is revered for its purifying properties which protect those who wear it. In Chinese art, the iris relates to butterflies. The petals of iris blooms easily move in the wind, mimicking the fluttering of butterfly wings. In the Victorian era, iris flowers represent faith, hope, courage, wisdom and admiration.

My mother and her mother love irises, which is what I attempted to “paint with wool” as a gift to thank her for everything she does to connect and protect our family with her signature flexibility and grace.... she’s pretty much defined like an iris in my mind. Love you mom!

cuddles

This cuddler is still small enough to fit in her coming home sweater.  Her last vet visit she was up to 5 and a half whole pounds! She loves to lounge. She loves a gentle breeze or fan in her face that gives her scruff just enough lift. She loves to help, especially if some new big boxes show up.

scruffy puppy

merrily

Aiden auditioned with a group of much older kids (many of which still looked young enough to portray someone Aiden's age) for the roll of Frank Jr. in Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along. He rehearsed with the wonderful college kids at Mason alongside some of the directors he knew from his Saturday acting program. It was such a rewarding experience for him. His solo was awesome and you'd never know he's in the biggest theater he'd ever performed in...

more patio

Gimme more beautiful patio nights with the whole family... 

mosaic

Mosaic patio dinners are becoming our favorites with Zoe meeting all sorts of new friends every time.

good list

Field trips (to see Junie B. Jones in concert), cake walk bear cakes, pringles beaks, and a new book (featuring Zoes' lookalike Dogg)!

photo booth

The pet store grand opening at Mosaic (which is a brilliant place to have a fancy pet store) had a photo booth with props, because of course! (Aiden not pictured because he was at rehearsal, but wished he was there.)

hammock

My girl loves a good hammock nap.

scruffy

The puppy coat is getting longer and scruffy!

spring fling

It was a true spring day for the school's Spring Fling this year (previous years it has snowed or sleeted).  Keaton was hyped to get over there to dunk his teacher in the dunk tank, which instead of water was full of balls this year ;)  Aiden missed it by just a bit for rehearsal, since this is such a busy time of year.  It was a really fun afternoon!