Rub A Dub Dub

Well today when I got home Karen told me that the kids were fantastically good today and earned a long play bath. Then she told me she had to go to the mall and I was to run the bath !#(&@*%

Well the kids stayed in good form for most of the bath and bed time.



Now see why Faith is missing in the above picture...

Mad Scientists

More tomorrow from the zoo. Karen must like the new camera, she's already taken more than 200 pictures!

Visit to Meadowlark Gardens

Today Camp Karen and Stephanie paid a visit to Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna. From the pictures it really looks like a beautiful place. Jacob was a little off his game today; woke up on the wrong the side of the bed. I'm think it may be worthwhile turning his bed around ;-)

Karen's New Camera - Take II

Yesterday Karen got a new camera that was purse'able. You may recall we tried this a month ago with a casio, but it took very poor movies. This time we went back to a Kodak which we have liked in the past. This unit is the M753 and so far so good, though the battery life may be a little weak; something to watch. Here are its first pictures and videos courtesy of Karen: And a video: And a test of Blogger's new video upload feature didn't work. Will try again tomorrow.

Oppressively hot today

So Reuben, Faith and I made an apple pie. Its pretty good too. Unfortunately it wasn't ready when they went to bed. I'm sure they will ask for it for breakfast. This morning we went and saw Underdog. It was pretty cute and the kids liked it too. - Karen

Fun In The Sun - Finally

I've been planning on taking off from work one day this week since Tuesday to take the kids to a local water park. The weather never cooperated, that is until today. So this morning we hit breakfast at IHOP and then off to Lake Fairfax Water Mine in Reston. The park opens at 11am and we got there at 11:20 and still had to wait on a 20 minute line to get in. Can't imagine what a weekend is like. We wound up spending 4 great hours there; the kids loved!! Upon departing everyone wanted to know when we could come back.
They had many slides appropriate for the little ones. Two of the medium sized ones are above. There were a couple of other smaller ones and two big ones – Little Pete and Big Pete. Big Pete was for 48” and taller, but the boys really loved Little Pete. No pictures of that one as I had to watch them from the water. If you followed the link to Water Mine, the picture on the web page is of Little and Big Pete.
As Karen said, “you know it must be fun place if I had fun and it involved me in bathing suit.”
We did at least take a short break for lunch at the park. A Papa John's pizza runs the snack stand. Naturally, on the way home Reuben and Jacob fell asleep about 1 mile from our house. I did stop off to get a Crystal Light Slurpee at 7-11 and they slept through that, so they had about 15 minute power nap. Going to bed we noticed that the boys got sunburned under their eyes. I think a combination of trying to avoid getting sunscreen in their eyes and that they often rub their eyes really makes it hard to get that area protected.

Kids Museum In Woodbridge

Explore and Moore in Woodbridge was a fun day out for the kids. Karen and her Mom friends headed South to try out this museum. The verdict was "eh". Kids liked it, but it was pretty rundown. Faith had a great time because her best friend Maryn was there. That's the blonde girl in the first picture. I can just tell why they like each other. They are both such girly girls. How Faith became a girly girl I have no clue? With two brothers only a year older and Karen who hasn't worn a dress since our wedding (slight exaggeration), you wouldn't think that she would demand to wear a dress everyday, tell us how excited she is to get married, and of course hog the camera with those cutesy looks. Looks like the next 15 years are going to be tough with her ;-)

Faith The Reluctant Swimmer

Boys had their swim class today. I also decided it was time for Faith start preparing to take a class. So today I was her instructor. Oy vay, what a pain she is!!!!

After lots of high pitch screaming, she finally goes in and has great time that is until... you try something new.

Soon she realizes that it's fine and starts having a good time again. She was pretty good swimming with my help and the noodle, but will be awfully difficult student. She hates doing anything different.


As for the boys, they had another great class. They are starting swim a few feet with no barbell.

After lunch, Karen went off to see our friend Susan for the day and evening. I had the crew. The kids and I went out for a hike on our nature trail, but we had a late start and couldn't go that far, only to the bridge. Still, I think I really tired them out and they were asleep minutes after hitting the pillow at 8:00 (a little later than normal due to the late start of the hike).

Not Your Typical August Day

What a beautiful day. Opened the sliding door to let Tipper in the back this morning and I was struck by how cool it was and the nice lack of sound of the air conditioner. I left the door open to get in some fresh air. Our neighbor was invited to a Bat Mitzvah of a girl in the neighborhood at our synagogue. So we promised her that we would go with her and take her there. Well, the place was packed. Not only was it a Bat Mitzvah, but there were two baby namings as well. It was also a bit awkward when Karen gave her congratulations to the Bat Mitzvah girl's mother and then was asked why we didn't RSVP. We never got the invitation, nor would have expected to be invited. We don't know them too well even though they live just around the corner. Even still we felt bad. Now we'll have to get her a gift, but I'm glad we didn't have to go the party.

Because there were so many people there for all the celebratory events, we met up with people we don't usually see... like our pediatrician, my brother's college friend, and many of our neighbors. We didn't get home until about 2pm, after getting there a little earlier than normal (10 am) because our neighbor was afraid of being late.

After a quick naptime the moonbounce came out and we played a lot in the backyard.


Meanwhile, Karen went out to the supermarket to get some chopped meat and hot dogs and I bbq'd dinner. Three cheers to Faith who ate 5 large pieces of hamburger. Jacob must have built up a big appetite in the moonbounce. He ate a hamburger, a hot dog (both on buns), some french fries, and all his broccoli. Reuben did pretty well also. Italian ices desert for all!!



Tipper was waiting a long time for the squirrel to slip up. Never happened.

Out On The Town

Karen was not feeling too well today, so I came home a little early and took the kids out to dinner, leaving Karen home to rest. I was feeling a bit adventurous and decided to take all the kids to Joe's Pizza and Pasta for spaghetti.

We had a nice time and enjoyed our spaghetti. Even Faith ate pretty well. Jacob devoured his. I should have taken pictures; the waiter kept coming by to see how red with sauce Jacob's face was. All the kids left with balloons.

This evening Jacob and Reuben negotiated for the tent tonight with somehow Reuben getting it without a fight. This time Reuben fell right asleep and seems to be enjoying it.

Visit To Stacy's Turf

Yesterday Karen, her helper Stacy, and the kids ventured into Maryland. They hit a butterfly garden and then a park. Tomorrow is Stacy's last day with us, so this is a bit of an ode to her. I hardly got a chance to meet her since she left our house typically before I got home. But, the kids seemed to have really liked her and speak of her often.
Gotta to love the mix of faces. the best of the bunch.	Believe it or not these two were
This is hip-hop Jacob with baggy pants and oversized shirt.
I have no clue what was going on here.	You're invited to create your own caption.
.

The Sting

Jacob got stung by a bee today. He took it like a man and was very brave. They were at a park near Wegman's. When he got stung, they immediately went to the store to get some ice and some benedryl; not too long afterwards he was feeling better. He told me all about it when I got home from work. Jacob did get to enjoy his freshly painted room. Did I mention that it's green ;-) And since Jacob got to sleep in the tent last night, tonight it was Reuben's turn. Though after about a half hour with him fidgeting a bunch in the tent, Karen asked him if he'd rather sleep in his room. He jumped at that opportunity and quickly fell asleep in his own bed.