Our Own Little Sledding Spot

Although our house backs up to a wide open spot with lots of hills, we've realized that getting the kids back up the big hills after sledding down is quite a workout, so with this snowstorm Matt used the abundance of snow to build our own little hill in the back yard. He actually built it up so that it ramps off of our brick wall that separates the side of the house with the back. He then spent a considerable amount of time building up walls/barriers on either side of the hill so the kids wouldn't veer off track and so they wouldn't run into the wooden beams under the deck (that wouldn't be pretty if they ran into those). The videos below give you a nice view of his work.

First, Carson going down on his belly.

Carson sitting up on the tube.

Madison's turn.

Carson going for a ride on the double innertube.

A different view....I love hearing Carson's giggles in this one as he comes down.

Jason's turn.

Daddy and Jason.

Here Daddy takes Jason down the big hill....what fun.

Blizzard of 2009

Once again we've been blessed with an abundance of snow here in the Washington DC area. This would be my third big storm since moving here in 1995...the blizzard of 1996 when I was snowed in as a nanny for 4 days, the Presidents Day Storm of 2003 when I got one full week off of snow, and now the blizzard of 2009.

A picture of our deck on Sunday morning once all the snowfall had ceased. Matt got out there on Saturday night and cleared some of it up but there was quite a bit of wind which caused a lot of drifts. Another view from our deck of the winter wonderland.

This picture is a little deceiving because you can see the grass....there were just such strong winds that this area remained virtually free from snow.

A view from our our front porch.

Another cool demonstration of the wind's effects. Our van was completely uncovered when we arrived home yesterday. This is the snow build up on one side of the front of our van and some very cool carving effects of the wind.

Our car was completely snowed in by the drifts on the right and the snow plow on the left.

Another view of the car.

A view looking up our street.

And down the street.

Our front/side yard before the children were let loose.

The children enjoyed the huge pile of snow that daddy had built up in his efforts to clean off the driveway.

And Madison and Carson enjoyed trying to walk in the snow.

And finally a video to capture their efforts.

We will have more pictures and videos later when we take the kids out for some sledding fun.

5 Year Anniversary Trip

Matt and I were blessed to be able to get away for a short anniversary trip on Friday. We were able to go back to Gramercy Mansion...the place we stayed 5 years ago on our wedding night. Matt was able to book the exact same room so that was really special. Although we knew a huge snowstorm was headed our way we went ahead with our plans. Here are a few pictures outside the mansion prior to any snow falling.

After arriving we got all dressed up and headed to a lovely dinner at the Milton Inn...a large old home turned into a restaurant. Unfortuneately the picture of us taken by the Christmas tree turned out very blurry. Here is the lovely dessert (apple cobbler) we shared and how they blessed us with a little message written in chocolate.

We arrived back to our room to find it filled with rose petals and candles.

By 10 pm it had not begun to snow yet but we knew it was coming. Both Matt and I woke up around 4 am and peeked out the windows to find a few inches already on the ground. We finally got up around 6:30....nervousness of the ride home kept us from sleeping in. We snapped a few pictures from the little balconies off our room.

Here I am reading the journal that the guests of this room can choose to write in...5 years ago I wrote in it so I added a short note this time as well.

The little snow-covered patio off of our room which would be lovely in the summer as well.

One last picture before heading out and braving the snow-covered roads.

Our trip home wasn't too bad. We took it slow while we watched others going to fast and spinning out in the conditions. We stopped about half way home, got a Starbucks and actually went into the mall, which was a ghost town with many stores not even open. We made it home by noon, 4 hours before we had intended to, but Sandra who was watching our kids needed to get home as well.

We can't wait to go back here again sometime.

Peaceful...for the Moment

Just recently I was able to find another great deal on Craigslist for another toddler bed. Eventually we will get bunk beds for the boys' room but we are not eager for either of them to be climbing to a top bunk, so we decided that it would be best to get another toddler bed for now. We tried the new arrangement out for the first time last night. We put the two down at 7:30pm and cautiously left the room. Every time Jason would get out of his bed Carson would begin screaming for us and when I would report to their room Carson would inform me how many times Jason had gotten out of bed. I think they were finally asleep around 9:15pm! And that is when this picture was captured! And peaceful they remained...until around 3:30 am when Jason decided it was a good time to get up and play with toys. After numerous visits by Matt and I, and after he had woken up Carson, I removed Jason from the bed, plopped the mattress back in his crib and put him in it, and then told them that they needed to go back asleep. They finally did! Since Matt and I are going away for one night this coming Friday we're going to postpone any additional transitions until afterwards. Hopefully they will eventually sleep this peacefully through the night!

Singing Happy Birthday

No birthday party is complete without a little singing of "Happy Birthday". Here we are singing and then Madison blowing out her candles. Unfortuneately I was the one holding the camera so I am the loudest.

Madison's 4th Birthday Party

Although Madison actually turned 4 on November 29th we didn't have her party until December 12th after we had to cancel it on Novembre 28th due to slight illnesses in the family. But despite the rescheduling 6 of Madison's friends were able to attend yesterday: Grace (a friend she's "known" since birth), James, Dalton, Dorothy, Derek, and Dylana.

It took me 3 hours to decorate her Dora cake on Friday night...something I don't think I would've had the energy for the day after Thanksgiving. Even though the process was tedious at first and I was very tempted to give up, I stuck it out and was happy with the results...so was Madison!
Here's Madison prior to guests arriving at the table with her Dora balloon...picked out that morning by Daddy, Sam, and the boys.

Madison and her very good friend Grace getting ready to make their own pizzas in the kitchen.

Madison with her cake.

A few of the presents she received.

A very special treat...holding Madelene, her preschool teacher's baby who was born in the front seat of their van on the way to the hospital. She is just 3 1/2 weeks old here.

Fun in the Snow

After Carson awoke from his nap he was eager to get outside and play in the snow. So he and I got all bundled up with snow pants, coats, hats, boots, and gloves and headed outside. He wasn't interested in taking the large innertube over to the big hill so we just hung out in the yard and played. We made snow angels, a snowman, and lots of snowballs. Carson realized quickly that this snow was good for the eating.
Here's our first snowman! Up until today we have never had enough snow or the right kind of snow to make a snowman. What a memory! Daddy brought us a large carrot, 2 grapes, and a hat for the snowman and we broke some branches to form the arms. When we were done Carson actually walked up to him and acted like he was shaking his hand saying, "hi, how are you?"

Once Madison woke up Daddy got her all dressed and ready to go and she joined us for a picture with our friend the snowman.

Matt's covered car...we probably had about 3 inches by this point...yes, Jodi I know, that's nothing!

In this short video clip I got Carson to talk (well, answer a few questions) about his time outside.

And then a visit to the snowman.

Snow Day

The first snow day of winter 2009 occurred today, 12-5-09. Interesting fact...In 2005 and in 2007 the first inch of snow fell on December 5th ...interesting 2005, 2007, 2009!

Well, we are getting a little more than anticipated and it is beautiful. Here are a few pictures from deck...we'll have plenty more as we take the kids out later! The snow really started coming down and sticking around 9am and these pictures were taken at noon...more to come...

Matt and Sam are Baptized

This past Sunday, November 22nd, Matt and Sam were both baptized at our church, Covenant Life Church. While Matt had been baptized as an infant, he had never been baptized since becoming a Christian in 2000. Sam recently accepted Jesus as her Savior in August and was also baptized. They both gave short testimonies but I haven't had a chance to download those yet. Here are the videos of the actual baptisms.

Sneaky Boy

Our youngest is trying to outsmart us before he even turns 2. He knows enough to know that you won't get that special snack or dessert if you haven't eaten most or all of your meal. Jason's technique for clearing his plate....move all remaining uneaten food to a small compartment on highchair tray.

"See mom, my plate is clean!" He's so proud of himself! How do you resist a smile like that one?

No Room

When there's no room left on the bed to take a nap.....
...just get underneath the bed and fall asleep....

I happened upon this sight just last week as I went to check on Madison during her quiet time/nap time. She had filled her bed with books and stuffed animals and even the family dog, and I guess she was too tired to make room for herself so she slept on the floor under the bed. Target (the dog) doesn't seem to feel bad at all about the arrangements.

Fun with Lollipops

Who can ever have enough lollipops?
Great for playing peek-a-boo.

Jason's just as content with a little one.

Or maybe not...

They seem to be making Madison a little crazy.

And Carson a lot messy.

Baseball and Soccer Practice

The other morning Carson decided to have some batting practice...

And Madison had some kicking practice....

First Day of Preschool

Madison attended her first day of preschool today, September 1, 2009. A friend from our church invited Madison to join her preschool that she started last year in her home. 5 other children (2 boys, 3 girls) make up the class. They range in age from almost 3 to almost 4 (Madison). She thoroughly enjoyed her time and looks forward to the days to come. I don't know how Debbie has the energy to run it. They switch activities about every 10 minutes due to the attention span of these youngsters and she's pregnant...due in November. She plans on taking a short (6 week) break from mid-November until January and then re-starting preschool after Christmas break.

Here's Madison on her first day.

100th post....A NEW DRIVER!

Watch out world...she's got her license. On August 14th, Sam officially passed her driving test after having her permit for almost one year. She did very well....a year ago she passed the written part on the first try and this year after taking a 2 week driver's ed class she passed the driving part on the first try. And she did it in the mini-van...a 3 point turn in a very tight spot and parallel parking...without any prior practice in the mini-van.

This past Saturday she drove away from the house to work for the first time alone....
A little video to capture the moment.

Perhaps a Pool Membership Next Year?

This little pool just doesn't give Matt the opportuntity to do laps that a larger pool may allow in the future. However, Madison sure does love the tidal waves that Daddy creates. She gets carried around in his wake and she loves it.

Fun at the Pool

Yesterday we went to a local county pool for some play time with some friends. I'm so happy that our kids love the water. Madison and Carson became much more comfortable in the water after 2 weeks of swimming lessons and Jason is just a daredevil willing to try just about anything. Here are some pictures from our time there.

Jason wasn't as interested in the water initially. He walked around a lot and played with rocks.

During swimming lessons Madison would barely try anything especially anything involving getting her face wet, then the first time we went to the pool she submerged herself and realized it was actually fun. Here is a little video clip of her showing off her skills.

And this slide is great. It's a huge frog with it's mouth open so you're basically sliding down it's tongue. Madison can't get enough. She has gone down it feet first, head first, on her stomach and on her back. I can't wait until she really learns to swim and can join a swim team!

Carson is a little more apprehensive and he doesn't like to be made to do anything, but let him do his own thing and he does pretty well. He doesn't go under yet but gets pretty close. He's not interested in the slide at all!

Once we got Jason going yesterday, he was unstoppable. He'd go down, I'd catch him and then he'd immediately say "more, more" although it sounds more like "Ma, Ma" Here are a few videos of Jason on the slide.

At first Matt acted as if he was going to put Jason down head first. I immediately said "NO!" He turned him around and sent him down.