My Kind of Morning

I had such a great morning. First I walked for 45 minutes with the kids in the double jogging stroller. It is a great workout pushing 75 pounds up the big hill in our neighborhood. The stroller weighs about 25 pounds plus the weight of the kids.

Wesley and his best buddy, Hunter, started Tumbling for Threes today. Last year they were in a toddler class from July to December. Parents had to participate in the class and by December Lydia was sick of sitting in her infant carrier and missing all the action so we had to take a break until Wesley was old enough to go to class by himself.

During our walk this morning, Wesley actually remembered the name of his gymnastics teacher from last fall/winter. Her name is Michelle so maybe that made it easy for him to remember. She is also his teacher this summer.

It was so much fun for the mommies to sit in the balcony and watch the kids participate in the gymnastic class. Both boys did such a good job listening and following directions. The teacher said this was the best opening day class she has had! There were three boys and two girls in the class today. (I hope the good behavior continues. In his first soccer class, Wesley was an angel but the second week, he did not follow directions.)

After gymnastics, we went to meet another friend and her two girls at a spray park in Arlington. This was a blast. My kids are obsessed with water so they loved all the sprayers. They also played on the playground. Wesley spent some time in the sandbox but I managed to keep Lydia out of it. I knew it was time to go when she started saying, “all done” and “bye bye”. The poor girl was exhausted and fell asleep on the way home eating her lunch.

Look how excited Lydia is in this photo.

Wesley spent a lot of time playing with this digger toy in the sandbox.

Isn't baby Colten so cute in this swing? Wesley wanted to push him but, of course, we didn't let him.
Here is Wesley pushing Lydia in the baby swing.

Turning Two Again?

Wesley moved to the three year old room at his school this week. Today on the way home I was asking about his day and if he saw Miss Anne, the teacher for the two year olds. He said, “When I turn two again, I will be in Miss Anne’s class again.”

Let’s see…When I turn 25 again I will not have to color my gray hair, I will not have wrinkles, and I will not have a post-two-babies-body.

Met-My-Mate Mondays, Part Two

My friend LL over at vitafamiliae started telling her story about meeting her husband and I decided to join in. If you want to read her story or play along, click the button below.



If you want to read the beginning of my story from last week click here.

I finished my undergraduate degree in December 1994. My parents paid for the first three years of college, but I had to borrow the money for the last year. Thankfully, Virginia Tech lowered the number of credits (by four I think) needed to graduate and I was able to graduate a semester early. I had a very good time as an undergraduate and I didn’t study as much as I should have. My 3.2 GPA was not good enough to get into physical therapy school at the time. After receiving all the rejection letters, I applied to Tech for graduate school. I started out in the Cardiac Therapy Program in the Human Nutrition, Food, and Exercise department. I really didn’t mind having to be at the gym or pool three days a week at 5:30 AM; I just found it extremely boring so after two semesters I dropped the cardiac program and started preparing to do my thesis research on sports nutrition. I loved my advisor, Dr. Rankin.

How does this relate to “Met My Mate” Chris? I am getting to it. The point is that I stayed at Tech because the idea of entering into the real world job market with a biology degree did not appeal to me at all.

At some point during my first year of graduate school, I got a new job in the library as a Science Reference Desk Assistant. I loved this job. I helped fellow students and sometime professors find research articles or other texts. When it wasn’t busy, I studied. I liked this job so much that I thought about getting my Masters in Library Science if I didn’t get into PT school. (Have I mentioned how much I loved college?)

After not seeing (or hearing from or hearing about) Chris since March 1995, I saw him again in the summer of 1996. I was sitting at the Science Reference Desk one Friday afternoon and Jeff (our former coworker) and Chris got off the elevator and walked over to say hello. As soon I as I saw Chris get off the elevator I thought, “Oh no, I have a crush on him.” I don’t’ know why I immediately thought I had a crush on him. I was dating someone else at the time and we hadn’t said a word to each other for a long time. He was very cute though (and still is). .

Chris and Jeff walked over and started talking to me. Somehow we decided to go out when I was finished with work at 5:00. I don’t know where my boyfriend was but he didn’t go. I think it was Chris, Jeff, and Natasha (one of my roommates from undergrad who had come for a visit). We had a great evening but I didn’t consider it a date. I don’t think I saw him the next night.

I knew something was wrong with my relationship with the guy I had been dating for a year if I could hang out with another guy for an evening and have a wonderful time. I was a little confused about this but I didn’t expect to see Chris again. In fact, I didn’t see him again the rest of the summer. At one point, he called and asked if I wanted to drive up to Northern Virginia (a four hour drive) the next day for a Sting concert. For some reason I couldn’t go. Maybe I had to work. At least I didn’t go at the last minute which would have showed too much eagerness on my part. I didn’t hear from him the rest of the summer.

Basement Camping

Chris plans to take Wesley camping with some other dads and sons from our church in a couple of weeks. He decided to do a practice run in our basement last night. They didn't exactly rough it. Before going to sleep they watched the movie Cars. This is only the second movie Wesley has seen. I could hear him downstairs asking questions near the end of the movie. This was around 10:15, over two hours after his normal bedtime. Of course, he was still up before 7:30. I bet he takes a long nap today.

Happy Fourth of July

We started our holiday weekend with a bike ride to Old Town Alexandria and then south on the George Washington Parkway. We saw lots of flags flying in Old Town and families had already staked their claims on the picnic tables by the river.

Wesley and I really love the bike trailer. I like it because it slows Chris down enough that I can keep up but he still gets a great workout. Wesley likes riding low to the ground and going fast. Lydia doesn't always love it. After about 15 miles, she started crying and messing with her helmet. We stopped for the kids to play at a playground after 18 miles and she did much better on the last 2.5 miles home.

Riding to Old Town is always easy. It seems flat until it is time to turn around and come home. On Eisenhower, the wind is always blowing in our faces on the way back and today it rained some. And the last two miles are uphill. Granted it isn't a steep incline and I never really notice it except when I am on my bike. But it makes for invigorating finish.

When we got home we let Wesley ride his scooter a little. We needed him to go down for an early nap so we can go visit friends for a cookout. He did really well on the scooter for the brief time he actually rode it. He was riding down a slight hill and lifting his right foot off the ground so his left hip was doing a lot of work to help him balance. He was pretty wobbly but he managed not to fall. He is often rather fearless when it comes to physical activities.

Going Under Ground

I wanted to go on a family bike ride last Saturday morning, but at 8 AM it was 80° and very humid. Chris nixed the biking idea and started looking on the internet for something for the family to do on a hot, humid day. Most people would probably choose the pool or a water park, but not my husband. He decided to go underground to beat the heat. We packed up the kids and headed for Luray Caverns.

First off, I need to apologize to one of my dear friends. She and I spent a weekend sight seeing in DC in August 1995. On the way back to Southwest Virginia, she really wanted to stop at Luray Caverns, but I didn’t want to because I thought it would be too cold. Over the years I have occasionally thought about this and how selfish it was for me not to agree to go. I have also thought about the fact that it probably wouldn’t have been as cold I imagined it to be. Then the trip last Saturday confirmed how foolish I was.

I carried a bag with a jean jacket for me, a sweater for Lydia, and a long sleeve shirt for Wesley in case it was cold. Keep in mind that I am often cold and Wesley wants to wear socks year around because his feet are cold. Well, it is an average temperature of 54° down there but with all those people, the caverns warm up quickly. So, we didn’t need the warmer clothes.



My favorite part of the caverns was the mirror lake. This picture doesn’t do it justice. The water reflects a mirror image of what is above it. The water appears very deep in parts but it is in fact very shallow. It was incredibly beautiful.

Wesley's favorite part was the stalacpipe organ.

Here is a picture of one of the solenoids that strikes a stalactite.
Wesley was very interested in this.



After the caverns we went through the car museum. Chris and I are both car fanatics (him more so, of course) and we would have enjoyed looking at all of the cars and reading all the signs but that is hard to do with two very mobile little ones. I was impressed with this car.
Not so much as the looks but the stats. This sign is angled because I was trying to avoid photographing the glare.

Like every good tourist attraction, the exit pushes you right into the gift shop. Wesley immediately spotted these and kept asking, “What is this?” I guess boys will be boys …

Achievement Ceremony

Last week, Wesley’s daycare had an achievement ceremony. The kids paraded to the front of the sanctuary. The pastor of the church said a prayer. The music teacher played her guitar and the four year olds started singing. Some of the three year olds were also singing. But none of the two year olds were singing. Just like at the Christmas service and Children’s service in the spring, Wesley and his classmates were mostly mute. One cried, two of them played with their shirts, and some just looked around. Wesley knows all the songs and often sings them at dinner, but he only joined in on one song. Never the less, it was very cute and funny to watch. I will spare you the videos.




Wesley received an achievement certificate for completing the two year old program. This coming week he will move to the three year old class. One of his friends joined the other three year olds last week and Wesley and one of the girls from his class will transition this week. Unfortunately, he did miss bike day for the three years old this week, but he didn’t seem to notice. He will get to participate in Vacation Bible School in a couple of weeks. For this reason, I am very glad that he gets to move up this summer rather than wait until September (the two year old class doesn’t participate in VBS and at our church you have to be four to attend VBS).

Lydia was able to amuse herself during most of the ceremony by drawing on this “Little Methodist” note paper. She did become more restless near the end and she tried to run up where Wesley was a few time.

After the ceremony we went down to Wesley’s class for the reception. The week before we were there for his birhtday and a couple of months ago we were there for the Children's Service. Lydia loves getting to sit at the table with the older kids. She insists on her own chair, plate, fork, and food just like the big kids. I will cry my eyes out when she has to leave Joan’s house, but Lydia will be ready to go to school like her big bother next year.
Last summer, I agonized over what to do when Wesley had to move on from Joan’s. It was such a hard decision to make. Chris and I prayed about it and visited the different options and we still weren’t sure. Slowly the Lord made the way seem a little clearer and now, almost a year later, I am so grateful for his school and the staff there. I feel like we really made the best decision.