Skiing Fun

The first "family lift ride". I'm there too but I'm taking the picture.

Happy Holidays

Cold as Ice!

We had a great time at the Ice! show at the National Harbor.

Race for the Kids

The tradition continues. For the fourth year in a row, the girls ran in the "Race for the Kids with Alan Webb". Neighborhood friends, Anna and Sam, joined the fun this year. Great job kids!





Alan is in the top picture watching Lauren and a fellow competitor race it out.

Thank You, Mom!

Happy Thanksgiving!!
Mom made a fabulous spread for us and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Monkeying around at the tournament

Kristen had fun at the tournament too!

Seven Straight Wins!

Congrats to Lauren's SYSA U8 Girls All-Star Team. They were undefeated in the Herndon All Star Cup! Great Job Ladies and hats off to assistant coach Bill aka "Juice Box".

Fall Ball 2009

Fall Ball 2009 came to a close yesterday. Lauren had a great scrimmage and even scored a goal.

Kristen wasn't feeling well this week. :( Hopefully I'll get some great shots of her shortly.

Anne of Green Gables

Lauren dressed up as "Anne of Green Gables" for Favorite Book Character Day aka Halloween at school.

We're still trying to get the last red streak out of her hair. ha!

Happy Birthday, Bill!

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

Today I'll count my blessings....

I'm happy that my father is home and recovering...thank you Washington Hospital Center

I'm thrilled and proud of Lauren. She entered a patch contest for SYSA (the soccer league) and WON! Now the patch with her design will be distributed to all coaches and players in the rec league. Way to go Lauren!

New Addition

Introducing...SCOUT!

I don't think we could have predicted how much joy Ursa would bring to our daily lives and how empty it felt around the house without him. We decided to rescue another dog and again fill up the corners that seem so empty without Ursa.

So far, Scout has proven to be a playful, smart, well-behaved, little gal who worships the ground that Astro walks on. Astro's never had so much fun and is slowly embracing his new role of "alpha dog".

First Day of Kindergarten

This is how happy I was on Kristen's first day of kindergarten.	Fortunately, Kristen was happy too.

We miss Ursa...

After 11 years as our constant companion, Ursa succumbed to liver cancer on Saturday August 29th. He was dear to our hearts and will be sorely missed.

This is Ursa enjoying a hike on the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls (before they banned dogs on the trail).

What a Difference a Week Makes...

Thunder Hole was more like Gurgle Hole when we were there...

Lauren the LumberJill...

Yo Ho! to "The Great Maine Lumberjack Show".


Lauren learned a few lumberjacking skills during our trip to Maine. She was also selected to participate in the lumberjack call contest.
Yo Ho!
She had a great deal of fan support but was narrowly beaten by the young man to her left.

Next time we're in the area, we plan to check out the log rolling lessons.

Destined for greatness...

"Some of the best athletes in the world, in crucial times, will stick out their tongue: Kobe Bryant of the Lakers always does it; Tiger Woods always does it; Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, six months ago on the cover of Sports Illustrated, had his tongue out while he was throwing the ball." Dr. Anil Makkar

Hanging Out in Maine

To be continued...

Sand Crab Busters on Assateague Island

"I ain't afraid of no sand crab..."

Girl Scout Camp - Take 2

My second try at volunteering for Girl Scout camp was much more successful than year one. Kristen didn't shed a single tear and my aides didn't disappear for hours unexpectedly. I learned some new songs and successfully guided my campers in creating their own skit. We made it to every center and no one drown in the pool on "swim day". I did have one camper who wished to lodge a formal complaint against me because I would not allow her to swim in the deep pool. I recommended asking Mommy to bring her back another time. There was much pouting but eventually she decided to have fun. I guess she realized she wasn't dealing with a jackleg volunteer...I'm a second year veteran. ha!

The Glen Heather Gang

Ride Our Wake!!

Happy Independence Day

Happy 7th Birthday!

No...we did not get Lauren a horse!!

Lauren went on a 1.5 hour trail ride as a special birthday surprise. She loved every minute of it.

Happy 5th Birthday

Comets cheer the Washington Freedom

Lauren and a few fellow soccer teammates roadtripped to the Discovery Sportsplex to cheer on the Washington Freedom. The thundersticks were a big hit. ha!


yes, yes...you busted me. I've back-dated this post because I've fallen so far behind in my posting.

The Most Horrible, Terrible Invention Ever Created by Man...

I must have been on Punk'd or This is Howie Do it or Hidden Camera or some similar show. What I experienced could not have been "real". As you probably know, I live in a fairly noisy, rowdy household. I grew up in a large family, I have two young kids, two loud dogs...you get the picture. I don't freak out about noise (particularly when my children aren't the source).

I was waiting in the lobby of the children's swim school with about 30 other moms, siblings, and swimmers preparing for their lesson. I'd say the decibal level was about 60 - 70dB. No big deal. A mom rushes in and ushers her 3 year old to her lesson a few minutes late. Next, she parks her stroller next to me and frees her 14 month old from it and smiles proudly as the child races around the lobby area. I return to my book. The mother really seemed to need to socialize with someone so she moved around the room until she could find someone to verbally admire her little angel. Maybe we were all too focused on our own children becasue before I could register what happened, this woman decided to "up the ante". She slipped on her toddler's new shoes as she gushed about how cute they were. These were NOT cute shoes. They were the devil's invention. Each time that little girl took a step (which was often because she was running all over the small lobby) the shoes let out a bloodcurdling squeak. It was not a sweet little squeak, it was loud and horrible!

The worst part...the mother thought this was so adorable and would encourage her little one to squeak all over the place for a ridiculously long period of time. At one point, I grabbed my cell phone so I could leave a message for Bill because I knew I would not be able to adequately describe just how annoying this sound was.

Move over Dumb and Dumber - "Most Annoying Sound Ever"...there's a new champion in town.

Thank God swim lessons only last 30 minutes.

Our team is RED HOT...

Photo: Memories by Michelle
Kristen is ready to go for gold in her gymnastics team photo. It is our only sports team that does not wear orange.

Good Clean Fun

Bill and I traveled to Richmond over the weekend to compete in our second "Muddy Buddy" race. In the race, you alternate mountain biking and trail running with obstacles in between and then the big finale...slither through the mud pit together to reach the finish line. Thank You! to the clean, kind stranger who agreed to take this picture after the race.

But...slithering through the mud was not enough for us this year. We decided to add a camping twist to our adventure. Bill and I are very inexperienced campers but we seemed to have the right gear and attitude for the rainy camping challenge. Thank goodness for the rain fly and I highly recommend camping cots if they will fit in your tent and you don't have to "backpack" them to your campsite.

Steph and Scott treated us to a fabulous lunch at Lift Coffee Shop and Cafe after the race. I was so excited to see their coffee shop and we had a great time visiting with them and their super-adorable kids who displayed monumental patience enduring the grown-ups' gabfest. The food was great and they even had diet coke for the freaks like me who don't drink coffee.

Last, but not least, a huge thanks to Grandma Linda for watching our kids and taking care of our dogs so Bill and I could roll in the mud together!

The Orange Family

Orange is very popular in our part of town...



Here's Lauren rockin' the orange at her very first lacrosse game.

Kristen spent the time sucking the juice from about 30 orange slices that were left over from the halftime snack. She maintains that she does NOT like orange juice in a glass.

Roar like a Lion, shine like a Comet

We had a beautiful weekend and were able to kick off our soccer season.


Kristen's team, the Lions, love to play "Shoot the Alien". Here, Kristen fires off a shot at the "alien" a.k.a. Coach Mom.


Lauren's team, the Comets, had their first game of the spring. Here, Lauren celebrates teammate Maggie's goal.


Lauren and Coach Dad share a halftime moment. Lauren and her fellow Comets had a great match.

Father-Daughter Dance

Bill and Lauren attended the Girl Scouts' Father-Daughter Dance on Friday night.

Kristen was not about to be left out of the photo.

Happy Spring

Spring is coming!

Our weeping cherry promises.

Fun and Sun on Difficult Run

The girls and I hiked a portion of Difficult Run yesterday. The rock bridge is the highlight of this section of trail. Once I convinced the girls that there were no sharks in the 4 inch deep "run", my little adventurers crossed the bridge with hardly any assistance. Lauren danced across several times.

Retro Spring Break

Lauren and Kristen experienced rollerskating for the first time on Tuesday. A group of about 16 of us took over the rollerrink and tried to see how many bruises we could create in a single session. I think we broke the world record. Incidentally, Lauren's front teeth were missing before we started rollerskating.

Kristen never stopped long enough to be photographed but thanks to Stephanie W., Lauren and I were captured along with our friend Hannah. The girls LOVED it and want to go every Tuesday.

Escape #6

The stats don't lie, but we are honestly trying to keep Astro from escaping. I think he was embarrassed by his low escape numbers in 2008 and has kicked it into high gear. Fortunately, no dog bath was required.

On a different note...I attempted to take the girls to Mount Vernon today.
Lesson #1: buy tickets online beforehand
Lesson #2: 5 and under are free for a reason! Kristen was not impressed, except for the goats and sheep.
Lesson #3: plan to spend the day. a couple of hours is just a tease.
Lesson #4: There are no horses at "The Stable". Lauren was VERY upset by this. Saddles and carriages did not cut it.

It is definitely worth the trip and I plan to take them again when we can spend more time checking out the estate and gardens.

And, in case you were wondering, we did not take Astro to Mount Vernon.

Out of the fog...

Last week is a bit of a blur. I had the flu, it was the final week of Odyssey of the Mind and the big performance, my mom's b-day, Bill's mom's b-day, Astro escaped again, girl scout cookie deliveries, a swim meet, etc. The craziest thing of all...I lost my desire to drink diet coke. I think I went a whole week without taking more than a few sips. I kept thinking I'd want one and then open it only to discover it repulsive. I'm still not too interested in drinking it but old habits are hard to break.

Go #15!

Lauren got her lacrosse uniform today. She is lucky number 15!!!

Unfortunately, she was too sick to make it to practice. Our household has been plagued with illness this month. We seem to be passing it back and forth among ourselves. I'm crossing my fingers that we will all be healthy for the big Odyssey of the Mind performance on Friday. Today was our last meeting and poor Lauren was miserable. She sat curled up in a blanket counting down the minutes until she could return to the couch at home.

Then...Astro escaped again. I was handing a bag of donations to the pick-up driver and he slipped past us both. Ugh!!!

The cookies are IN!!

We have the girl scout cookies!!!

FINALLY!!!!!!

Wonder Twin powers - ACTIVATE...

Form of U4/U5 Soccer Coach...
Shape of U7 Girls Soccer Coach...

(obscure reference to cartoon from our youth. You'll see it again at the end)

Bill and I got our team assignments last week and we're ready to sport our whistles and clipboards or hula hoops and orange cones in my case. We've been issued our arrestingly bright orange "Coach" shirts so there is no turning back now. ha!

I might get crazy this season and ditch the name tags. Don't give me too much credit though. I've got 6 returning players and another little girl that I've known for years so I'll only have 3 new names to learn.

If I screw it up...it's straight to The Hall of Doom for me.

Whacky Wednesdays...

Kristen was invited to join a gymnastics pre-team called Hot Shots. Today was her first team practice. She seemed to really enjoy the practice, her teammates, her coach, and especially the team uniform. It was also team photo day so she was thrilled to pose for the cameras in her new red leo. I can't wait to see how they turned out.

Earlier this afternoon, we entered the final month of Odyssey of the Mind meetings for Lauren's team. The team hammered out the script and made some animal modifications. Bunny out, puppy in. Duck out, monkey in. I think it might have been the most productive meeting to date. Eventually I'll get this coaching thing down. ha! There was a sharp reduction in the number of times I needed to ask the children to stop crawling under the table and running down the halls.

Next week we add Lauren's lacrosse practice to the mix. Lauren joined "The Tribe" and will be playing on a U9 team this spring. This is our first foray into the world of youth lacrosse so there is no predicting how things will go. The mouthguard shaping was a bit dicey but eventually it fit in her mouth and she doesn't seem to mind the protective eye goggles. Fortunately for everyone, I am not the coach.

Breakfast with Vinny

I guess this was "Spot a Redskin" month for us. Today, we decided to grab a quick bite to eat mid-morning while we were running errands. A man decked in Redskin apparrel and accompanied by his two children were sitting at a table when we ordered our food. As we sat down, Bill informed me that the man was Vinny Cerrato. He then went on to explain who Vinny Cerrato was.

Sorry Vinny.

The proprietor of this breakfast establishment certainly recognized him based on the amount of time he spent fawning all over him and his children. The kids were very cute and were taking turns saying hi to their mom on the cell phone.

The Cookie Connection

Lauren's first Girl Scout cookie season is in full swing. She seems to be enjoying her first sales gig. She is also carefully tracking which incentive items she has earned. So far, she's earned her cookie participation badge and a cute bandana.

Thanks to all our relatives who endured her lengthy sales pitch. ha!

Watch D.O.G.

A big WOOF WOOF to Poppy! Last week, he volunteered at Lauren's elementary school as a "Watch D.O.G."

WATCH D.O.G.S.®(Dads Of Great Students) is the safe school initiative of the National Center for Fathering that involves fathers and father figures to help create a more safe and secure learning environment in our nation's schools.

Who are WatchDOGS? Fathers, grandfathers, step-fathers, uncles, and other father figures who volunteer to serve at least one day each year in a variety of school activities as assigned by the school principal or other administrator.

Lauren and Poppy appeared on the morning announcements show and had their photo taken. I'm told that the photo is displayed on the Watch D.O.G. bulletin board at the school. Lauren was absolutely thrilled to have him there.

Thanks, Poppy!

Adventures in Grocery Shopping

We were snaking our way through the aisles of the grocery store. A tall, relatively thin man with a hoodie covering his head and earphones in his ears passed by our aisle. Bill immediately recognized him as Jason Campbell. I noticed our paths crossing several more times as we continued to do our shopping. At one point, Bill was taking Lauren to the restroom and I found myself shoulder to shoulder with Jason in the shredded cheese section. Instantly, Kristen needed to use the restroom and we proceeded to have a scintilating conversation discussing the severity of her bathroom emergency. Could it wait until Daddy came back with Lauren? Did we need to drop everything and run? I'm sure Jason was fascinated.

Bill and I exchanged kids and Jason must have made his shredded cheese selection because he was no longer sharing the space with me.

I arrived at the checkout line and discovered that he had just gone through the same line. The clerk mentioned to the bagging guy that he had just met Jason Campbell. The bagging guy was unimpressed because he had recently rented a Rug Doctor to Jason which was apparently a bigger honor. As I finished up my grocery transaction, I asked the clerk if I was using the same pen as Jason had used.

I was.

Bubbles the Cat

The girls each had a friend over today. I volunteered to bring the friends home after the playdate before I did the math on number of kids to number of available booster seats. No problem. One of the friends lives a short distance (1/4 mile) away so I decided the five of us could walk over. And since we are walking, why not let the dogs get a nice walk too?

Rookie mistake!

Early into our journey, Astro spots "Bubbles". Bubbles is the wandering cat that patrols the neighborhood. We don't really know his/her name but another little girl in the neighborhood named him/her Bubbles. Before I even knew what was happening, Astro released himself from the leash and bolted off to show Bubbles who's boss. Did I mention one of the friends is very afraid of Astro's hyper, jumpy personality?

Lots of screaming
Astro and Bubbles playing a rousing game of hide and seek
Ursa not pleased to be left out of the festivities

I was concerned for Bubbles but I was more afraid of the kids running off the sidewalk into the street. Luckily, Bubbles has experience surviving in the wild and eluded Astro. Astro soon allowed himself to be reharnessed and the walk continued. Eventually everyone was delivered safely home and I promised a round of hot chocolate for our next get together.

Adventure Stats: One dog escape & recapture one minor injury sustained while racing mailbox to mailbox two bags worth of dog poop scooped 2 children and 2 plates of brownies delivered safely several tears shed when big sister continually frustrates younger sister 1 round of hot chocolate promised for future get together

Ski Bunny

This is the look for all your apres-ski adventures. You saw it here first!

Suzy Snow Plow

Since we can't seem to get enough snow around here to make a single measly snow meatball, I decided to escape to the mountains on Tuesday. I thought I was being clever because it seemed like everyone in the world was heading Downtown for the Inauguration. I figured we'd have the whole mountain to ourselves.

Several hundred other people thought the same thing.




Bill and I are still hobbled by our soccer injuries so we stuck to snow tubing and wildly gesturing "thumbs up" while the girls embarked on their first skiing lessons. Lauren absolutely loved it and was disappointed to learn that ski school doesn't "meet again" next week -- same time, same place. Kristen had a great time but was slightly disappointed because her group did not advance as quickly as Lauren's group. She felt that she was ready to tackle "the big mountain", a.k.a. the bunny slope.

But...the happiest man on the bunny slope had to be Ski Instructor "Joe". He was teaching a motley crew of 4 -- "Justin", "I Need Help" (I.N.H), "Ryan", and "Girl in Pink Jacket". I know this because I.N.H. whined "I need help" about 400 times during a one hour lesson. She believed that she needed help for just about any task that might increase her heart rate a beat. Justin was more interested in knocking over the obstacles and tumbling into a heap then learning how to ski. It would not be a stretch to think he was deaf because he did not even acknowledge Ski Instructor Joe's repeated requests. "Girl in Pink Jacket" was the golden child of the group and that is why I don't know her name. She performed all the tasks flawlessly and didn't give Joe a moment's pause. Ryan was trying hard but couldn't quite get it. Eventually he slid down the hill and face planted in the snow and remained there motionless for about 3 minutes. Of course, this would be the time Ryan's mom decided to check in on him at the lesson. I could hear the slight panic in her voice at arriving on the scene with her young son face-down, motionless in the snow and Ski Instructor Joe in the distance trying to persuade Justin to stop pulling down the "limbo" bar.

This Bud's for you, Ski Instructor Joe.