Early nesting. I finally made these curtains for our front room. Remember--I am utterly craft-impaired, so this is quite a feat! (Ignore the foggy windows--they're custom-made vestiges from the 70s that our landlords would have to pay exorbitantly to replace, so we live with them). Thanks to Juliana Posey for lending me her sewing machine for way too long (don't laugh, Corey).
I even made a cushion with the leftover material.
I continued my curtain-making streak by modifying these IKEA curtains ($10 from the as-is section!) to fit our weirdly-sized playroom windows.
Now those of you who visit us will finally have curtains! (Don't laugh, Corey.) I actually made another set of curtains for the boys' room, but we don't have the right screws for the curtain rod. It'll probably be another month or two before we ever get to Home Depot and put them up. (Again, Corey, don't laugh.)
Note Sam's self-portrait on the left next to his rendition of Pres. Obama.
Note Sam's self-portrait on the left next to his rendition of Pres. Obama.We dyed Easter Eggs and I'll pretend we even did it before Easter. Oh, and that this wasn't the first time my kids ever dyed eggs.
Aunt Erin, Uncle Rob, and baby Emily came up on Saturday and we went to the Baltimore Museum of Art. Here are all the Charles boys thinking.
Our day-before-Easter dinner.
Ben must've been really tired to fall asleep like this.
The hotel lobby didn't have windows--it was just open to the outside b/c the weather is perpetually gorgeous.
I love pictures of my boys helping each other. They really get along well (most of the time).
These boys make me laugh. I love Sam in the background.
Aren't these photos amazing! Thanks, Uncle Adam.
Another cute brother-helping-brother moment.
Even though we were sad Uncle Adam had to leave, we were happy to welcome Aunt Celina the very same day. Here we are celebrating with our favorite Trader Joe's chocolate torte.
Aunt Celina kindly watched the boys so Steven and I could celebrate our 12th anniversary in Annapolis. We hadn't had an overnight trip since before William was born. Thanks, Aunt Celina! A stranger took this picture, which I think I'll call "romantic" rather than "fuzzy."
This was the first complete rainbow we've seen on the East Coast.
We all got to go to see George and Martha Washington in Mt. Vernon. Here's their family welcoming ours.
Pre-revolutionary chocolate making--Martha was a wise woman.
Hoop throwing was a hit.
How would you like this view from your back porch? For that matter, how would you like a back porch?
These baby goats were running around the grounds and our kids had a blast chasing them--especially William.
He added a zip line and a guard dog.
Ben had to make a house for the 3 Little Pigs' cousin. His has several levels.
I was so proud of him as he explained the "attributes" of his house to his Adv. Acad. teacher Mrs. Moore. He can be shy sometimes, so I know it takes a lot of courage for him to do something like this.
And here's Ben's good friend Leo's "Metal Trick House." I thought it was ingenious.
The kids' final violin club concert. This has been a great program at their school.
At the Winter concert, Ben was too nervous to even approach the stage, but this time around he went up with all the kids and played brilliantly. We were so proud of him!
For a lot of the year Sam was the only boy in his violin class, but he never lets that stop him. In fact, he's become quite the unintentional ladies' man this year.
Ben (yes, that's right. MY child) was awarded a perfect attendence prize. What? It must be some mistake. : )
It's always fun to see Ben interact with his friends. Here hw is with Charlotte and Stephanie.
We got up really early one morning to go take a tour of the Pimlico race track where the Preakness takes place each year. It was really fun seeing the horses practicing.
We met our kids' friends Olivia and William (who didn't want to be captured on film). Sam and Olivia were interviewed for Canadian TV. They think they're now famous in Canada. We'll have to ask Aunt Ursula.
This horse in the back is getting a bath at the stables.
I think the most fascinating part of the day was watching the souvenir guy fold T-shirts with a cool folding contraption that he let Ben try out. I need to get one for home so the kids are just as fascinted with folding their own laundry!
Our wonderful home and visiting teachers, Luke and Camille Mease, helped us out and brought us yummy dinner when Steven hurt his back one weekend. We're sad they're moving to DC. We will miss you!
Camille's brownies are famous at our house. This one makes Ben look a little dictatorial. Or maybe we should say Chaplinesque.
I finally remembered to take a picture at one of our bookgroup meetings. It's been a fun year.
Earlier this year, Ben and his good friend Stephanie discovered they both had birthdays in June and decided to have a double birthday party. Since I knew I'd be way too pregnant to put on a party solo, I thought it was a great idea. Plus, Stephanie's mom is amazing at planning.
The kids decided on a High School Musical theme (yes, that's right---they're Kindergartners! But it seemed a good gender-neutral compromise) and on a Pool Party and to invite the entire Kindergarten class (what?!). Luckily, with some finagling, we managed to cut the costs down from exorbitant to somewhat reasonable and here is the result. "The best birthday party ever" according to Ben.
Note the Troy and Gabriella cupcakes made by yours truly. You wouldn't believe how impressed people are around here when you make something "homemade!"
Pinata time.
Memorial Day indoor BBQ with Rob, Erin, and Emily. We love living so close to family!
Let's play "Where's Ben?" in this group of Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st graders at the school vocal concert. Hint: he's wearing a red shirt on the left. They sang "I Love America."
And here's the second grade singing "American Tears."
Aunt Erin, Uncle Rob, and baby Emily came up on Saturday and we went to the Baltimore Museum of Art. Here are all the Charles boys thinking. Our day-before-Easter dinner.
Ben must've been really tired to fall asleep like this.
Our really good friend Melissa Kemmerle (formerly Rohrer) came to visit for a conference. We had a great time staying up late talking night after night, and we even got to go to the Inner Harbor together and watch the "pirates" on this cool ship while eating Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Thanks, Melissa!
Steven then left for his conference in Hawaii. Here's where he stayed.
The hotel lobby didn't have windows--it was just open to the outside b/c the weather is perpetually gorgeous.The conference went well, and Steven even got to go snorkeling.
While Steven was still in Hawaii, the boys and I went to a Stake Primary Fiesta Night just for boys and their moms (it's as if they had our family in mind). We painted pottery, hit pinatas, ate yummy Mexican food, and our family team won a soccer ball in the goal-making tournament.
Uncle Adam came to visit. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to take any pictures of Adam, but he took many amazing pictures of our kids. He also played Scrabble Junior with them and even let Steven and me nap while he took the boys out to play baseball. What a great uncle! Sadly, he turned down our offer of a position as our unpaid nanny in favor of a trip to Africa. Can you believe it? : )
Uncle Adam was astute enough to record William's ability to raise one eyebrow (or lower one, as the case may be)--a skill I've been known to force my children to practice. : ) I'm so proud.
I love pictures of my boys helping each other. They really get along well (most of the time).
These boys make me laugh. I love Sam in the background.
Aren't these photos amazing! Thanks, Uncle Adam.
Another cute brother-helping-brother moment.
Even though we were sad Uncle Adam had to leave, we were happy to welcome Aunt Celina the very same day. Here we are celebrating with our favorite Trader Joe's chocolate torte.
Aunt Celina kindly watched the boys so Steven and I could celebrate our 12th anniversary in Annapolis. We hadn't had an overnight trip since before William was born. Thanks, Aunt Celina! A stranger took this picture, which I think I'll call "romantic" rather than "fuzzy."This was the first complete rainbow we've seen on the East Coast.We all got to go to see George and Martha Washington in Mt. Vernon. Here's their family welcoming ours. Pre-revolutionary chocolate making--Martha was a wise woman.Hoop throwing was a hit. How would you like this view from your back porch? For that matter, how would you like a back porch?These baby goats were running around the grounds and our kids had a blast chasing them--especially William.
Sam and Ben got to do a program called "Advanced Academics" at school this year. Here is their final assembly showing off their projects. Sam had to design make a tree house.
He added a zip line and a guard dog. Ben had to make a house for the 3 Little Pigs' cousin. His has several levels. I was so proud of him as he explained the "attributes" of his house to his Adv. Acad. teacher Mrs. Moore. He can be shy sometimes, so I know it takes a lot of courage for him to do something like this.And here's Ben's good friend Leo's "Metal Trick House." I thought it was ingenious.The kids' final violin club concert. This has been a great program at their school.
At the Winter concert, Ben was too nervous to even approach the stage, but this time around he went up with all the kids and played brilliantly. We were so proud of him!For a lot of the year Sam was the only boy in his violin class, but he never lets that stop him. In fact, he's become quite the unintentional ladies' man this year.
Ben (yes, that's right. MY child) was awarded a perfect attendence prize. What? It must be some mistake. : ) It's always fun to see Ben interact with his friends. Here hw is with Charlotte and Stephanie.
We got up really early one morning to go take a tour of the Pimlico race track where the Preakness takes place each year. It was really fun seeing the horses practicing.
We met our kids' friends Olivia and William (who didn't want to be captured on film). Sam and Olivia were interviewed for Canadian TV. They think they're now famous in Canada. We'll have to ask Aunt Ursula. This horse in the back is getting a bath at the stables.I think the most fascinating part of the day was watching the souvenir guy fold T-shirts with a cool folding contraption that he let Ben try out. I need to get one for home so the kids are just as fascinted with folding their own laundry!
Our wonderful home and visiting teachers, Luke and Camille Mease, helped us out and brought us yummy dinner when Steven hurt his back one weekend. We're sad they're moving to DC. We will miss you!
Camille's brownies are famous at our house. This one makes Ben look a little dictatorial. Or maybe we should say Chaplinesque. I finally remembered to take a picture at one of our bookgroup meetings. It's been a fun year.Earlier this year, Ben and his good friend Stephanie discovered they both had birthdays in June and decided to have a double birthday party. Since I knew I'd be way too pregnant to put on a party solo, I thought it was a great idea. Plus, Stephanie's mom is amazing at planning.
The kids decided on a High School Musical theme (yes, that's right---they're Kindergartners! But it seemed a good gender-neutral compromise) and on a Pool Party and to invite the entire Kindergarten class (what?!). Luckily, with some finagling, we managed to cut the costs down from exorbitant to somewhat reasonable and here is the result. "The best birthday party ever" according to Ben. Note the Troy and Gabriella cupcakes made by yours truly. You wouldn't believe how impressed people are around here when you make something "homemade!" Pinata time.Memorial Day indoor BBQ with Rob, Erin, and Emily. We love living so close to family!
Let's play "Where's Ben?" in this group of Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st graders at the school vocal concert. Hint: he's wearing a red shirt on the left. They sang "I Love America." And here's the second grade singing "American Tears." Phew! What a crazy few months. And I even forgot to take pictures of our girls' night out with Aimee Hickman and friends, spring break playdates, let alone all the church stuff we've been doing like choir programs and Steven's men's group activities. I'm tired just thinking about it.
