Weekend Stuff

Gosh I am so behind on posting! So 2 weekends ago...after Fun Friday after the school...I was worn out. I did end up cooking spaghetti though and we watched "The Greatest Showman" once austin got home. He got in around 7 and it was so nice for him to be home and for things to feel "normal" again. 
Saturday morning...life didn't stop. I had a Ladies Brunch to be at. I hated to run off right after Austin got back in, but this was also something I couldn't miss. It was really nice. I got to visit with some friends and just enjoy the "me" time. I got in around lunch. We mostly just hung out the rest of the day. Colby had homework and we worked on getting the house back in order. 
Sunday we went to church. We got to sleep in though and go to 2nd service which was nice. I honestly now enjoy 2nd service better b/c most of my "Teacher" friends go to that one. Its always nice to see them and catch up. That afternoon we again worked more on Colby's stuff and just hung around the house. It was a pretty relaxing and nice weekend! 

Back to Reality & Back to Work

So after getting in from Washington I feel like we all really hit the ground running. austin left bright and early Monday morning for Chicago. The kids and I were up early b/c I was subbing at Calvary that day. Wendy was there for the morning, but went home after lunch. It was a good and fun day. I could tell she was quickly worn out though so I was happy to relieve her. I had a good afternoon with the class though. It felt so good and so natural to be back up there. That night the kids and I came home. I made tacos and we did homework. We had a good first day without dad! 
Tuesday we were back up for the teacher thing. I once again was filling in for Lindsay's teacher. Again she showed up for the first half of the day then left at lunch. I enjoyed just being up there with her though. She's such a great teacher and we just get along and work so well together. When she left at lunch once again though we had a great afternoon. I mean I really feel like I got the easy part. After lunch they go to recess and their enrichment and all I really had left was snack, science, and nap time ;). not a bad gig! Anyway Colby had art that afternoon after school so we just stayed up there and cleaned up her room while we were there. We got in that evening and ate dinner and worked on homework. I was quite ready for bed that night! 
Wednesday was another full day! I brought the kids to school then I was able to come home for a little while. I was thankful for even a short time at home alone. Next up I had a hair appointment. That of course is always a couple hours. After that I had promised Lindsay's teacher I would come up to help so she wouldn't overdo it. It was fun just hanging out once again. I got there while they were working on stuff in their class. They had snack then went down for a nap. During nap she and I discussed graduation stuff. Once they woke up we practiced a song for it that I have been teaching them. We stayed for church that night as well. That meant a full hour of still getting to hang out/visit with her teacher which I enjoyed. Its so funny b/c no matter how long we are together we still come up with plenty to talk about. That night we went to church. I was completely exhausted after all that though. I was definitely ready to get in and get my littles to bed that night! 
Thursday I taught music at Aurora. That afternoon I was able to enjoy a little time home alone which was nice too. Lindsay had art class after school so I brought Colby to my parents. They were going to keep him and bring him to Scouts since austin was out of town. Lindsay and I had plans to meet her teacher and kids at Chickfila b/c her husband too was out of town. We ended up staying probably about an hour and a half. We had the best time. She had her son and his girlfriend there, her daughter who sat with Lindsay and she and I. By the time we got home I was ready to get Lindsay bathed and ready for bed. We were able to chill out a tiny bit before Austin got home. I honestly couldn't believe how fast the week went by! 
Friday I was busy again. I had breakfast with Virginia at Panera and ran a couple errands. I ended up going up to the school though after lunch to spend the afternoon with kindergarten. Lindsay's teacher planned a fun Friday and since she was still recovering from surgery I told her I would come help. Plus just hanging out with her and the class is so much fun I don't really mind it. We had a really good time! 

Washington DC Day 5

Well by the time Day 5 rolled around I think we were all a little ready to head home. We took our time getting moving that morning b/c it was cold and we had seen mostly all that we wanted. We took the Subway down to the Smithsonians though b/c that was our main goal of the day. We saw the line for the Natural History one and quickly decided on American History. We got in pretty quickly. We were able to do the highlights and get out of there by the time it was getting crowded! the kids really enjoyed the transportation exhibits. We spent a lot of time in there. After that we quickly headed upstairs to see The Star Spangled Banner exhibit and then to the 3rd floor to see the Presidential and First Lady stuff. That was all we did in the museum. By that point the kids were kinda over it and hungry. It was nice though. i think what they did see they really liked. I wish we could have spent more time though. So after we left we set out to find a place for lunch. We ended up finding this local restaurant that turned out to be really good. We ate then went to the Spy Museum. Now this museum we had heard great things about and bought tickets for, but honestly I wasn't that into it. Maybe we were just tired by that point and it was crowded and hot in there. Anyway I think Colby enjoyed a lot of it, but it was over Lindsay's head. We spent about 2 hours there then we took the Subway back to the hotel. We got in early that afternoon. We were just tired and over the crowds. We went back to the hotel and all rested and watched tv. We also ate dinner in that night b/c we had left overs from the night before. It was nice to just kinda gear down from our travels that way. 
We were up early that morning to get ready to head home. We were all anxious by that point. It was a long day though. We ate breakfast at the hotel then packed up and took an UBER to the airport. We arrived at our gate about 2 hours early. My hopes were we could get there and enjoy a nice lunch, but they unfortunately really didn't have any eating places. We snacked and just waited on the plane. We got home about 4 that afternoon. We went into unpacking and settling in for a new week mode! Look for an update on our first week back! 

Washington DC Day 4

So Friday was our 4th day in DC. And honestly this was my favorite day. It was also probably the busiest. Well we started the morning early b/c we wanted to get down to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to get tickets. Well we got there about 8:30 and we had 3:15 as our come back time. We were glad we rushed out there though. Afterwards we decided to spend some more time in the National Mall. We went to see the Lincoln Memorial and enjoy the Reflecting Pool and such.  It was a long walk down there, but the kids were troopers. We took our time in that area then went to see some of the War memorials. After that we took an Uber down to the Zoo. Lindsay's teacher had told the class all about the panda bears and Lindsay was insistent that we go see them. I also really wanted to go since I had never done that before. We got right in and headed to the pandas. We saw a few other animals on the way, but our main goal was panda bears. We spent about 15-20 min just soaking that up. They were so cute! Afterwards we went to the gift shop to buy a couple things. We then ended up taking another Uber down to the Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot. The middle school from Calvary was also in DC this week and they had extra tickets and told us to come join them. It was so neat seeing familiar faces. We had a blast with them. It was also nice to check another thing off our list. After the tour we went on to eat lunch. We had thought about having lunch with them, but the Food Court they chose was super crowded so we stopped at McDonald's instead. After that we made our way to see the White House. It was neat checking that out. I hated we couldn't get an inside tour, but it was neat nonetheless just for the kids to see it in person. We went to the front and back sides. After that we were all getting pretty weary so we found a nice bench near there and sat down for about 30 min. It was nice just to refresh and let the kids have a snack and relax. Afterwards we started walking closer to where the Bureau of Printing and Engraving is. We parked it again on a bench and took it easy before our tour. We got there and only had to wait in line a few minutes. I think everyone enjoyed the tour there. It lasted about an hour. After that I think we were all ready to head back to the hotel. We walked to the nearest Subway and rode back. We had a little while to relax and chill before heading out to dinner. We were tired of all the restaurants close by so we decided to do something different and take an UBER back into the city and eat at a Family Italian place called Carmine's. The food was super yummy and it was nice to have that nice dinner like that. I think this contributed to it being my favorite day. After dinner we walked a little bit and just enjoyed that part of town before heading back to the hotel. 

Washington DC Day 3

Thursday was our 3rd day of the trip. We woke up early this day and got going. We had 2 major goals for the day. Austin got up and rented a car while I fed the kids breakfast in the lobby. Soon we were off in our car to go to Arlington. It was nice having a car for the day. Even though it was only our 3rd day it was just overwhelming constantly having to walk/ride subways/ubers/and taxis. It just felt good to have our own "ride". Anyway we got to Arlington and it was FREEZING! It was in the low 40s. We went on and did the entire tour though. I think the kids liked it. Colby seemed to get into it. Lindsay enjoyed the pretty flowers and such. It was about a 2 hour tour so once we got back I think we were all quite ready to go. We did enjoy the highlights though: we got to see the Kennedy burial sight, The Tomb of the unknown soldier, the Lee House among many other things. Once we got back to the car we drove into the town of Mt. Vernon and stopped at Firehouse Subs for lunch. Again it was nice to have that little break from the tourist action. We then made our way to Mt. Vernon. It was a beautiful day and had really warmed up by that point. We stood in line to get tickets, but were told our tour wouldn't be until like 5:30. We knew there was no way we would stick around that long. We went ahead though and bought them so we could see all the outside stuff. We probably spent about 2 hours just enjoying the grounds and seeing the sights. The kids got the biggest kick out of the live animals. Once we finished up there we made our way back into town to return the rental car. Well traffic was awful and it probably took us well over an hour to get back! We finally got there and took the subway back to our hotel. Well by that point we were all quite spent. We went back to the room and relaxed for a bit then decided on a simple dinner at Chipotle which was right next door. It really wasn't that great, but it filled an empty spot and we were able to stay close. We walked across to CVS afterwards though and picked up a few things before heading back to the hotel and getting ready for baths and bed. 

Washington DC Day 2

Wednesday we woke up and we were ready too start our first full day in DC. We had tickets to the Bible museum first thing that morning. We got dressed and headed out to eat breakfast in the lobby. We made our way to the Bible museum. We had to wait in line about 20 min before going in. Once we were in we really enjoyed ourselves. There was so much to look at. I felt like we breezed through some of the areas, but trying to keep 2 kids interested isn't always easy. I think Colby could have lasted longer, but Lindsay would get impatient. We stopped around 12 and went to the cafe to eat. The food wasn't great, but its pretty much what you would expect from museum food. After that we were ready to hit the rest of the museum. By 2 I think we were all ready to move on. We knew there was more we wanted to see. We stopped for Starbucks then made our way to the Air and Space Museum. It was nice getting that shot of caffeine. On the walk there we saw a lot of pretty trees and flowers. I honestly just enjoyed the walking outside and seeing the sights. I think the kids did too! We got to the museum and it was SO crowded! That has always been my least favorite anyway. There were so many people it was hard to get the kids involved and interested in any exhibits. We only lasted about an hour before we were all ready to go!! After that we decided to go to the Tidal Basin and see the Jefferson Memorial and the cherry blossoms. We ended up taking an Uber there b/c it had been a long day. Anyway I think that refreshed us all. After getting there I think we all felt revived and enjoyed the walk around outside. We took our time just exploring that little area. We even sat down a little while and let the kids take a snack break. we decided we would try the walk back though. It was a SUPER long walk, but we made it! I was so proud of how well the kids did walking on this trip. We went back to the hotel and freshened up and ended up going to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. It honestly wouldn't be my first choice, but it was close and I knew the kids could find something they would eat there. It was nice getting out. It was about a 2 hour affair so by the time we got back to the hotel it was time to get everyone ready for bed. 

Washington DC Day 1

So we just got back from a Family Trip over Spring Break to DC. We had so much fun! So Tuesday was the day we left. We had a later flight...it wasn't until about 12:50. We were able to take it slow that morning packing and getting ready which was nice. The kids were up early though and ready to go! We left about 10 so we could grab an early lunch before getting on the plane. Our flight went well...we arrived in DC a little later than expected though. By the time we got to the hotel it was after 5. We got checked in and put our stuff in the room and freshened up a bit and set out to find dinner. Luckily there was a Shake Shack near our hotel. I think we were all starving and we all enjoyed the meal! After that we knew we wanted to go explore a bit. Our original plan was to go see the monuments that night. Well we had contemplated a HOP on HOP off tour but we discovered how costly that would be that we decided to just walk. We got on the Subway and got off near downtown. We walked a LONG way. We were able to get glimpses though of the Capital Building and White House though which were cool. The only monument we saw though was the Washington Monument. Oh but we also got our first glimpses of cherry blossoms and Lindsay was in love! They were so beautiful! By the time we got there it was getting cold and it was starting to rain. We made it back to the hotel room and we were all ready to crash that evening! It was a great first day though and the kids got to see what Washington was all about! 

EASTER 2018

So last weekend was of course Easter. Friday the kids were off school. I knew I needed to get them out the house to enjoy the nice weather. We slept in then went to the park and hung out with some friends. It was nice having that little escape with them. That evening we had our Good Friday service at church. It was a beautiful church service. It was such a sweet time to gather with family and friends. After church we ended up going out to eat with Randall and Elizabeth. It was a late night but so much fun! Now that the kids are getting older I like doing stuff like that. Some of my fondest memories are going out to eat with groups of people after Sunday night church. Anyway we knew we had Saturday to sleep in so that was good. 
Saturday was a fairly low key day for us. We pretty much stayed home most of the day. I did take the kids to the library and grocery early that morning, but otherwise we stayed in and worked on Easter prep. It was a nice low key family day. 
Sunday was Easter! the kids were excited to see what the Easter bunny had left. They also enjoyed hunting their eggs. We quickly moved on though and started getting ready for church. This year we were there for both services. Now that the kids are older and we are in a season of life where we are able I knew I wanted to serve. We also had invited Morgan from Lindsay's class her family to church. They were coming to first service so I promised the mom we would sit with them. It worked out well and we were able to visit with them a bit. We also got to hang out with their teacher for a little while. It was such a sweet morning. Such a powerful morning. I then had signed up to teach in second service. I taught 2nd and 3rd grade. I enjoyed being upstairs for my first Easter ever. It was such a break from the downstairs chaos. I really enjoyed it. I had a classroom full of kids so I don't feel like I really got to teach much or get to know them, but they were a sweet bunch and I feel like kinder-3rd grade is my sweet spot. Anyway once church was out we quickly headed over to my parent's house for lunch. We did our usual Easter lunch over there. It was pretty low key though. Just us, them, and Randall & Elizabeth, and then Mr. Ryan. We had a good time though. Ofcourse we didn't get back home until almost 5 though! We just relaxed the rest of the day. I always find Sunday holidays to be so tiring! 

Walk-A-Thon & Easter Fun

So this week has been pretty busy. It was a pretty routine week. The only main stand outs were Tuesday I had beignets and coffee with some of the ladies from Bible study. It was nice to get out and have a girls morning like that. I definitely enjoyed the company. Wednesday I baked cookies with my mom for the kid's classes. 

Thursday was our busiest day! It was Walk-A-Thon and Easter Party day for the kiddos. I of course was signed up to help with the Walk-A-Thon...I also knew I would probably end up spending the entire day. Since teaching in Lindsay's class and being that her teacher and I are pretty much great friends now I knew it would be fun to spend the day with them. I got there and spent a few minutes in their room before it was time to head over to assembly. Wendy and I just work really well together. I think she was happy to have my help for the day. We are able to just really work together as a team. I think and hope I was a lot of help to her. Right after assembly the kids went right to walking. They were all trying to beat the rain since there was 100% chance that day. They walked for probably 45 min. I was in charge of marking the kids as they did their laps. I also got to visit with one of the dads and Mrs. Schifflin during this time. After they walked the kids rotated to different stations. Lindsay's class first played a kickball game. I just mostly tried to hang close and help corral the class from station to station. They also did a work out station. Oh and they had snack and free play as well. It was just fun being out there enjoying the time with the kids. Once they finished up all that we went out to the playgrounds for the obstacle courses. I had also suggested to her teacher that we go ahead and try to knock out the egg hunt while we were out as well. Anyway it worked out wonderfully...we got all the outdoor activities in before the rain. After the egg hunt the kids went back to class for a few minutes before lunch. I enjoyed eating lunch with Lindsay and all the other kids again. I even helped serve drinks..felt like old times. After lunch they went back to class and we did Resurrection Eggs with them and they watched a bit of a movie. After that they went to computer. It was nice to get a break during that point and get to visit with Mrs. Schifflin. We got everything ready for their "party" so when they got back the kids ate their snacks and then watched another movie. It was kind of a long afternoon, but we made it. I think we had all checked out. By one point the kids were building forts with their nap mats and Wendy and I looked at each other and just shrugged our shoulders. It was hilarious. Anyway we got through the day. The kids went to carpool. I hung out the entire time since Lindsay had art class after school. Colby and I just hung out in the cafe while they drew. 

It was so nice to finally get home at 5! I was exhausted and done!! I cooked spaghetti though and we let the kids stay up and watch a movie to kick off spring break! I was so happy to finally be in vacation mode!!