City Life at a Glance, Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

So far we had had 2 very full and very awesome days of adventures together. Sunday would be a little different, but we still wanted to fill it.
We played for a bit in the morning before heading over to Matt's new church for a service. The kids each went into their own class. Micah, excited! Judah, slightly hesitant. Isaiah, wailed for a bit. It's hard to know my kid is going to cry when I hand them over to someone else. I thought he was out of this stage, but possibly the changes recently have escalated it again. Either way, it's a bit easier if I at least know the person. Here, I didn't. He cried hard for a bit. Long enough for me to question whether I should go back and get him. But just then it let up. And afterward, they all seemed to have had a good class.
We went home and played some more before nap time.  We played outside for a bit but it was SO hot already. We needed to find something WET to do today!
We had plans to go to a pool but Matt's friend called and said he and some others would be doing dinner in Georgetown. They didn't know exactly when, so we decided we would find more to do in Georgetown and meet up with them whenever they came in. We went back to the KidFriendly DC blog and found the Georgetown Waterfront Park.
It was nice, but our least favorite so far of the weekend. Maybe because we had to park farther away. Or because it was so stinkin' hot. Or because it was more crowded. And less shaded...It was nice and we loved getting to see more of the surrounding area, but it probably won't go on our "we are definitely going back there" list.

 (boys. waiting for snacks)

 (snack time)

 (pure enjoyment)

 (i don't endorse this. but this is what Matt told Micah to do when he said he had to pee and we saw no toilets in site.)

 (and the high-five he got when he said he did it)

The boys played hard for a bit. But then hit a wall. Not sure if this is all kids this age, or just our 3 boys, but there is a small window of opportunity that can close quite quickly when they are hungry or tired or both. This window was closing quickly around the same time we found out Matt's friends were not even on their way to Georgetown yet. I saw a Johnny Rockets balloon and we quickly found one nearby. It's weird to think about life before smart phones. It makes finding things spontaneously so much easier!

Burgers and shakes hit the spot and helped revive our tired and hot boys.

We got home a little late, but they were tired and slept hard!
We knew the next day was going to be even hotter, so we decided we would go to a waterpark. We got a good recommendation for Atlantis Waterpark and we were NOT disappointed. It was cheap for the area (cheaper than the closest one to us down here) and there was much more for the boys to do. A whole baby pool area, a giant sand box, a big splash area with slides, and more slides in the big, main pool too. They played hard. We were there for about 4 hours, and would have stayed longer except for the heat and I was worried about the sun on the boys.

 the baby pool part

 Micah waiting for the big dump bucket

 Micah hard core under the bucket

 proud of himself

 Judah tried to do the bucket with Micah but freaked a bit when it started.

 the big sand box

 Isaiah getting buried

 Judah getting so brave at going under water

 treats before leaving. and maybe bribes too.

 definitely a bribe for this one

 sounds asleep while we were still in the parking lot

shortly down the road. 

We will definitely be going back to Atlantis. We went home and packed the car for me to bring the boys home. It was a decent trip home, and a fabulous trip for the weekend!

The. End.

Finally.

City Life at a Glance, Part 2

Part 1 can be found over here.

We had a great Friday. A long Friday.

The boys slept good. Saturday morning was a bit lazy. Matt went to breakfast with a friend. We sort of talked about doing something, but were a bit indecisive. We found a great blog about all sorts of things to do in and around the DC area. We wanted to do something outside, and Matt found something called The Yards Park. It wasn't until later that night that I was reading more about it on the internet and found out that the fountains had JUST reopened the day before. SO great for us!
This was a great post and description of the park. I'll just agree and post some of our pictures.

 We had a little picnic. Stayed cool in the water. Played with frisbees and balls. And just had a great afternoon. As a reminder to myself and any other moms with kids in water diapers: they don't hold things well. If your kid poops, get it changed quickly. Or it becomes a really big mess. And it's gross. And it may get on your clothes. Or thankfully, your husband's...
Later in the day Matt went to the Saturday church service and then we all went in for a farewell reception. This might have gone better if the boys weren't so tired. And if they weren't trying to show off for everyone. And if they weren't egged on by other boys of similar age. And if they weren't in a stage where they all seem to be wanting to be extra defiant and play off of each others reactions when they do get in trouble...but alas...it was bad. And I sent them home with Matt. So I could have some alone time at Walmart!

City Life at a Glance

In the past 3 1/2 months of living mostly separate lives, i recently took the boys up to visit Matt for 4 nights and 4 full days. It was the most time we have spent together since his move. And it was awesome!
We didn't do much research before we went about things we could do, but it's NOVA. There's tons of things to choose from. And Matt and I both individually and together have been trying to have more "adventures" with the boys. To have more experiences we can enjoy together as a family. The weather the first couple days was a little wet. And then it got HOT! A glimpse at our adventurous weekend.

We arrived Thursday afternoon. There was minimal sleeping in the car (by the boys, not me!) on the way, but they were still full of energy upon arrival. We picked Matt up and then went to "his" house for a quick visit with the 2 elementary-aged boys Matt lives with before they were leaving town on their own adventure. A little time playing, a bath, and to bed for the boys. Time to get some sleep!

The next day was rainy, so we decided to find something to do inside. We chose the National Air and Space Museum, Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. We paid for parking, but not for entrance. It was a fun experience. And I think they did well even thought they are young. Micah kind of zoomed through everything and the rest of us tried to keep up.

It was Friday, July 12, and also happened to be Cow Appreciation Day at Chick Fil A. It's the boy's favorite place to eat. How it works is you dress like a cow and get free food. How can you go wrong? I took everything with us and we assembled our cowness in the van. The first one we stopped at, we couldn't even get in the parking lot, so we found another one on the way home. It was perfect timing.

We went home for late naps and a deep breath for Matt and I.
We still wanted to find more adventures for the evening. The weather was still unpredictable, so we were looking indoors. We didn't fully end up inside, but found Fairfax Corner. One of the perks was supposed to be a miniature train we could ride around. Must have been the questionable weather, but we never saw it running...
But we highly enjoyed the walk, the "climbing rocks" inside of REI (although this created a meltdown when Isaiah was in love and didn't want to leave), fountains, and cupcakes!

 (Team meeting to talk about whether we will get ice cream or cupcakes)

(we each wanted our own flavor, and then they told us the 6th was free. can't beat that!)

Isaiah was upset about leaving to go home. But overall, it was a great day full of adventures with our boys. Since this is all day 1, I think I will have to split into separate posts.

Taste and See...

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Ps 34:8

We are over 3 months in to this whole "move" thing.
We have had 3 "views" of our house in over 3 months. We have no real prospects. There are so many things that will make it hard to finalize this whole thing and actually make the move. And when I say things, I mostly mean people. But it is so hard to live this day-to-day of not knowing. Not being able to truly plan for the future. For preschool. For housing. For long-term planning. And it's so hard to live separate as a family. 
This "move" thing is where we know God has called us out of our comfort zone. Into something bigger than ourselves.
Things have not totally gone as we would have expected. Or at least as we would have liked. But we have to take refuge in Him. We have to taste and see. What He has to offer. And we have to take refuge in Him. So. That is what we do.
And so we wait.
We long to be together as a family.
We seek.
We pray.
We cry (by we, i mean me).
We ask.
We spend time apart.
We travel.
We are growing.
We are learning.
And we take refuge in Him.
It's all we can do.