G, chillin'

Happy New Year, 2018!

It has been such a long time since I've posted...so here are an array of photos of the children. 

In the first one, in Perugia last summer, the children are basically gritting their teeth and teasing me under their breath...but at least I got my NY card photo! 

So much to catch up on...

 Graham and Julia, Porto Ercole, August 2017

 2016

 Spring 2016 or 2017

 Sweet girl, snow storm two or three years ago

Fishing with Chris Cook in Michigan, July 2017

Dominoes

An oldie, but goodie

Graham and Julia

Photos, California June 2016 & 8th Birthday and more

Graham took this photo while in California in June

 We were so lucky! While on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, we ran into Graham's 'cousin' Jordan Bush. Jordan is an extremely talented musician who plays at the Hollywood Bowl, and with some well known musicians. And...he's only 19 or 20.

 Graham has an ear for piano, and likes to compose his own music.

 Julia holds court at her birthday party

Birthday cake. 

 Julia loves to cook

Jumping waves in Bethany Beach, DE

During 2016, we've done a bit of traveling and just enjoying life.

One not-so-fun event was Graham's emergency appendectomy in April--poor guy. Missed his own birthday party, spent a night in the hospital, and -- his favorite part -- spent a week away from school.

He was such an impressive patient, and received amazing care at Georgetown Hospital. When asked if he had any questions--what I took as a formality, and something the doctors didn't expect Graham to answer--Graham said: "What is the recovery time for this particular surgery?"

Forever a physician's son.

In June, we headed out to Aunt Annie's in LA, where we spent time in her gorgeous garden (photos to come), at Disneyland (where I feel I'm still recovering from Hyper Space Mountain), Santa Monica (Lovely little hotel at the beach, the Standard), and Zuma Beach and...a meal at one of my favorite fish restaurants from way back when, The Reel Inn.

I miss California, the beach, the mountains. DC is 'real life' in a bubble--all of this hot political air swirling around, going nowhere, and just creating unnecessary tension.

 Something about the Pacific air blowing off the ocean truly chills one out in California.

It's been awhile, quite awhile

So much has happened in the past year. Good things! Posting one photo now, to see if this still works, and will upload more later -- Therese

Beach boy Thanksgiving Weekend 2015

Pied Piper Graham

Last week, while Julia went to her ballet class, Graham and I went to the Beauvoir playground. The building blocks had been tossed into a 'swamp' area, but that did not deter Graham. He took the blocks and, without even getting muddy or wet, built a bridge.

Soon, smaller boys were coming up to walk across the bridge...it was an amazing construction--and reminded me of bridges in movies that were were built over rivers and that you took your life in your hands to walk over...but somehow, in Graham's engineering brain, he built a solid bridge that held all of the little boys (whose nannies -- god forbid you ever see a mom at most parks in Washington, DC, or at least one who is not on a phone or iPod -- were calling warnings out to their charges).

See for yourself! 

 

 

 

New posts...testing

Ha. For some reason I haven't been able to post in forEVER...but it looks like my photos may be uploading...for family reading this, stay tuned...I have many more photos to load up...

Halloween 2014 -- so happy, so fun!

Halloween was truly fun, as always...we had friends over for Chili that was so delicious--Thank You Megan! Megan took my mom, Gracie's old recipe and pumped it up ... me, a pescetarian...had 2-3 bowls...it was that good. I thought my vegetarian days were over, but alas, the next day meat and chicken smells made me nauseous once again...but I am contemplating having chili again every Halloween -- only my/our/Grace's/Megan's chili ! So yummy.

 

Mary and Walter and Nancy, dear friends for years (well, 40 years plus if you count T's  association with them!) came over to help hand out candy, chat, and just have a great time at home. Gracie came over too--thank you mom! And er...we somehow got Grace down the steps to the little "Parisian" room downstairs to spend the night...but the stairs proved too daunting the next morning (how the heck did we even get mom down those steep steps? A bit of spirits in the mix?) ... but mom did get out through the basement stairs and make it home to her humble abode...it was fun to have mom here over night (something repeated at Thanksgiving--this time, on the couch upstairs! ... photos to come).

 

But I digress...there are more pictures to be put up, from the Nikon, as always...

 

This little pumpkin of Graham's design caved in the morning after...awwww.

 The Golden Ninja had had enough of Halloween by the end of the school day (children have a parade and wear their costumes all day)...so he  opted out of trick or treating and handed out candy instead...until he got tired of it, ditched the candy, and ran inside to play piano (his way to cool off and handle being overwhelmed!)...The upside? We had NO candy the following day from the children trick or treating...and that was just fine with all of us ;)

When we rean out of candy, Graham made a sign that basically told people the house was haunted, or something along those lines, and to go away! It didn't work--the bell rang until all hours of the night. Teenagers!

Front row seat: Megan, Grace, and Terence, just before the crowds hit

 The Halloween display...spider webs and spiders...and a pretty pumpkin on the left, which Julia painted with her fingernail polish ...

 OK, this was the best...Julia had this AMAZING Elsa costume with a very long train ... so, the children at school made a game about 'carrying her train' (Queen Elsa, right?)...well, right after taking this photo, the children were going to 'play their game' and show me how they carried Julia's train...One little girl got so incredibly seethingly jealous that she said "I'm Not Going To Carry Julia's Train" and she stomped off to the side and folded her arms and glared at the other children...OMG! It was so amazing to watch such obvious jealousy...one thing about children, they don't hide it!

 Julia and the 3 Elsas...and the sweetest little girl from her class standing in front.

Julia, at school, pointing to the 'parade' route...carrying her train...ahem. I stayed up late ironing up the hem. Hoping I didn't do it inside out...as my children know: I Did Not Earn The Girl Scout Sewing Badge...useless back then, but boy would it be helpful now!

Mt. Vernon, October 25, 2014

This time of year is one of my favorites...the time leading up to Halloween (photos to come in another post), which is festive and launches the "Holiday Spirit" of Thanksgiving then Christmas...

One of the most festive weekends (and exhausting!) is the one just before Halloween. We went to Mount Vernon for its Harvest Days festival...and oh, what a difference 2 years makes!

The last time we went, Graham and Julia were 4 years old. Graham donned his Astronaut costume--getting salutes from many retired and active military men and women, and 'ooos and ahhhhs' from others (N. Virginia has many military families, as there's Ft. Myers as well as the Pentagon). Julia had dressed as a fairy that year, and she flitted around in her fairy costume.

 

Fast forward to 2014: The children didn't wear their costumes, and they were more sure-footed when we sat along the wall on the river, soaking up the rays...we roasted apples on a stick, then dipped those apples in honey (yum!), listened to music, and...oh, just look below. It was fun.

 

Julia in front of the horses...we took a short hayride. The horses are Enormous!!

Graham, doing one of the things he loves most: Tucking into small spaces.

Graham gathered snail shells--and oyster shells. Apparently, there was an algae in the water that killed off most of the snails--I believe they are harvested normally. So, there were dead snails along the shore at Mt. Vernon, where you take the boats to Alexandria, and the 'boat keeper' told us that it stunk to high Heaven all summer long ;)

Listening to music...well, over the LOUD sheep that are just beyond the fence behind the musicians...it was funny!

Hoedown! Listening to even more music...

Fall Fun: Cox Farm 2014

Cox Farm gets better every year, as the children are able to do more of the activities ... It's around 40 minutes outside of Washington ... It's always fun, even though my heart beats a bit too quickly when Graham disappears into something called a Hay Stack 'maze' ... because it involves going into a door and seemingly never coming out...as there are corners and places that an adult can not get into ... plus, it's smelly and kind of gross...and the fact that Cox Farm moved the PIGS next to the Hay Stack 'maze' didn't help the stink one bit ;)

 

 Going through the Corn Maze, and catching the water splurting up just after a pirate's cannon shot into the pond.

 Julia, deciding whether or not to follow Graham into a scary cave

 Just me and the martians!

 Oh yeah, good idea to spin something and make you all dizzy after drinking lemonade and eating a hot pretzel! I had to look away...the more the children spun the wheel, the dizzier I became.

 May I help you?

What a delectable little boy you are...

 Look how tall I am!

 Hay slide!

 Graham's going so fast his face is squishing! Oh, no--he just doesn't want his photo taken ;)

 Pretty girl

 Graham pumped so much water...he'd be helpful if Terence and I ever buy a farm

 Feeding the goats

 Graham and the Llama became good friends...until the food pellets ran out.

 Hayride!

 Hey--what's that in the distance? Over there!

 Just...martians...

Wishing the hayride wouldn't end...(It really was a good one!)