Whose my pretty...boy?

I can explain. You see, in the hours Lauren is not in school, she's stuck with Cole. Rather than fighting, Lauren has found a way to include Cole in her "play" time that seems to very much entertain them both. Okay, so Cole may grow up and have some issues with me displaying these pics at his rehersal dinner, but he is too cute! Gotta love 2!Enjoy :)

O' Tannenbaum, O' Tannenbaum

After our anniversary, we took an expedition all the way up to the Shenandoah Valley to get our Christmas tree! Joe wanted to see some country and the mountains. The fall leaves are almost gone and it’s beginning to look like winter. After the kids raced through all the trees, we found one to suit, an 8ft. Canaan Fir, so we cut it down for our own. Okay, well Joe did the sawing, but we watched in amazement ;) The kids got to see some farm animas and sipped on hot mulled apple cider while the tree was being baled and placed in back of our truck. So, we now have our tree! Now, I just to need finish up my shopping!

8th Anniversary in Old Town Alexandria

Joe and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on the 30th in Old Town Alexandria. For those of you not in Virginia, this is a little, quaint, historic town just on the other side of the Potomac River from D.C. full of wonderful restaurants, bars, and shops. We ate at O'Connell's (which I highly recommend - it's pricey, but worth it) and then we headed over to Ireland's Own (Pat Troy's Ireland's Own- this is where Ronald and Nancy use to go for drinks and listen to Irish music), which is what greeted us when we arrived (music that is, not ron & nancy ;)! I've been there many times and it's always full of merry people! It's known as the "Cheers" of Old Town. And, Pat Troy is famous for his rendition of the Unicorn song! The next morning, Joe had to go to the airport, and I went down to King St. to shop! But, there was a Scottish parade in full gear, I managed to find parking and walked, and walked, I got to see the parade which was very cool and actually see inside the shops which I usually don't get to do since we're typically only there at night. Nonetheless, it was nice to be able to get out of the house, kid-free for a while! Just wish Joe could have seen the Scottish parade, he loves bagpipes ;)

Turkey, anyone?

We went to my sister’s in-laws house, Mickey and Mike’s for Thanksgiving this year! The food was great and for most of the day it was unusually warm. I managed to take some pictures of the kids playing in the leaves, but forgot to take some at Mickey’s that evening!! Too busy enjoying the food, I guess. Oh well, I’ll do better next year! Above in the picture, Lauren is refusing to turn around, but she too was playing in the leaves, just being stubborn like her daddy ;) We all enjoyed our meal and I think the whole family enjoyed all the desserts I made!

BALTIMORE a.k.a. "Bawlmer!"

Last Saturday, we went to the Inner Harbor to see the National Baltimore Aquarium along with a few other hundred girl and boys scouts. The outing was sponsored by Lauren's Brownie Troop. The kids had a great time and Cole saw his first dolphin show! He giggled with delight seeing them swim around prior to the show starting and then 15 minutes in; off he wanted to go, attempting to climb over the stadium seating. No, not even a multiple dolphin performance can keep my 2-year-old seated. Prior to parking at the aquarium, we were treated to having the main street closed (which of course is where the aquarium is) for their Thanksgiving parade, so we got to see lots of the inn harbor sites along with the streets that are parallel and perpendicular, back and forth we went until finally we just parked by the pavilion with our fingers crossed and our parking frustrations gone. After visiting our marine friends, we walked around and toured a shipped called the USS Constellation, which is where the picture above was taken. After wards, we went to Uncle Ron & Aunt Carole’s for a visit and as always, a great meal with dessert!

Amish Country

The kids and I went to visit the Fowlkes Family out in Dover, PA aka my bff, Dawn. We got to see a little bit of Amish Country and went for a guided buggy ride on various Amish farms in Bird-in-Hand, PA. There, we watched Amish riding in their own horse and buggies and got to know a little bit about their unique, humble, and self-sacrificing culture. Later, we went back to York to watch Justin's hockey practice at the ice rink and went back to Dawn's for dinner! It was a nice visit and we didn't have to leave until Monday due the the Veterans Day holiday!

Trick-or-Treat

Cole was my little cowboy on his horse and Lauren a witch, a candy corn one no less! They had a blast trick-or-treating in the neighborhood and Cole figured out how you get candy very quickly, when he got a door, we’d hold out his bucket and say “trik-treat”. And, of course, he received extra handfuls of goodies. Being two on Halloween has its perks :) They also enjoyed handing out candy to the other trick-or-treaters and eating as much of their own as possible before bedtime! Luckily our kids were feeling somewhat generous and shared some of their candy with us! Joe and I can never say no to sweets :) The other witch below, is Grandma aka my mom! Of course, my parents came along with Falon, Alan & Tristan! Next year, we're thinking about going as the three bears and Lauren as goldie locks!