Pet Sitting

We pet sat my mom's class guinea pig on her last track out so she could spend some time up at my sister's house.  Let's just say that Abby has a little obsession with guinea pigs.  That guinea pig may have had more love in the few weeks at our house than it gets from the fourth grade students in Raleigh!  Here's a few of my favorite pics of Abby & Oreo, the guinea pig: 

Our March In Review!

I know, I know.  It's almost the end of April.  But I have to recap March more for my own life records than for anyone else.  March was another crazy month in the Rogers household!  

We did a lot of errands & enjoyed lots of extra guests.  We had a fun visit from my Connecticut friend, Cassi & her little daughter.  My dad came to visit before he headed off to Iceland for several weeks.  My mom was here for a few days on her short track out from school.  Olivia flew in from Colorado for a weekend. This means a little more food in our house & a lot more love and fun!

 Olivia came and went and we conquered the half marathon!

 We had yet another snow day.  And A LOT of snow for our area.  I'm pretty sure we had a few days off school.  I lost count!

 But spring finally arrived & the snow has melted away for this winter.  One final sledding adventure for us.  Awesome!

 With spring here, we have finally managed to get back out to the parks!  Three little ones with lots of energy, the park is the perfect place to be!

 Someone celebrated Dr. Seuss Day at school.  It's not often that I get to volunteer at school, but I was excited to join in & help for the big day so I could help celebrate this fun day with Aiden!

The biggest excitement of the month was Abby's birthday on St. Patrick's Day.  Our big two year old!

She also had our two year appointment.  She was happy as can be until she received those shots.  Ouch!

 At the end of the month, Abby & I joined Andrew for his big Easter celebration at school.  They both were so excited to be together on this fun day!

 And last, but not least, we headed off on Spring Break.  Chris stayed behind for work while the kids & I loaded up and headed south to North Carolina to Grandma's house.  So much fun and adventure!

In addition to the fun we have had, we are also excited to have joined our new church here in Vienna and become members this month.  We had lots of "snow days" or "no school" days (seriously, we have only had one full week of school since Christmas break!).  We have enjoyed fun play dates, MOPS, playgrups, & nights out for mom.  The boys are loving their swim lessons & we got to finally do a family swim one Friday night at their swim school.  So far, April has kept up busy but it has been another fun & exciting month with more fun on the horizon!

Fun in DC

Just sharing a few more pictures of our adventure into DC.  It's funny that we live so close but don't manage to get in as much as we would like.  I guess that's what happens when you have three little ones.  We had so much fun & look forward to hopefully another fun trip soon!

The boys waiting for the train.  The Metro is definitely the highlight of the adventure!

 Aiden & me:)

 Chris & the crew

 Someone offered to take our family picture.  The pressure is on as we only get a full family shot only every six months or so.  We didn't quite nail this family shot! 

 Hello Washington Monument!

 Hello Reflecting Pool with no water!

 Hello Lincoln Memorial!

I am excited to take more adventures into DC, especially now as we are settling down for at least the next few years in the metro DC area!  

Cherry Blossoms 2015

 One of my most favorite times to be in DC is when the cherry blossoms bloom.  Seriously, it's awesome.  We debated back & forth if it was worth taking the kids in despite the chaotic crowds yesterday, but it was totally worth it.  We parked at the Metro after church & hopped on the train.  The kids love the train ride & it was so much easier than dealing with traffic in town.  We grabbed lunch on our walk to the trees & then enjoyed a fun afternoon downtown before heading home.  It was crazy, but lots of fun!  Here are a few pictures from our gorgeous Sunday Funday...

Daddy & trio

Mommy & trio (somehow they didn't smile as good with me!)

 Baby girl...

 Chris & his mini-me (ignore his busted lip!)

 Sweet Abby

 Just Andrew and me (& my necklace!)

 Hugs for baby sister!

 And now a return hug:)

 Silly girl!

 This is my wild crew!

 Chris & Aiden

 Sweet daddy & me

 My big boy!

 Her look...

 Pretty cherry blossoms all over DC

 My sweet boy & me

Half Marathon Fun with Olivia

This is usually a place to only talk about our kids, but I have to share about an exciting adult adventure last month!  I decided last November that I was going to sign up for the Rock & Roll Half Marathon here in DC.  Since having children, I haven't attempted any sort of long distance (a far cry from several marathons & half marathons in college).  Having three little kids close in age, I have never had time to fully devote to training but this was my new challenge to help stay somewhat in shape this winter & pass the long winter months.  I texted my friend Olivia (dear friend since high school) & she immediately joined the fun, signed up, and bought a ticket to come visit from Colorado!

We had such a fun visit with Olivia for a nice long weekend.  It's nice to have friends that no matter how far away or how infrequent you see each other, life is always fun & awesome when you are together!

She survived the chaos of our house & my three little rugrats.  She tagged along with my daily schedule, helping me get kids to school & manage the wild crew!

 The day of the race came & it was cold.  And wet.  Like super wet & cold.  We prepared ourselves with a quick trip to REI the day before & picking up some super awesome matching rain coats to help us fend off the rain just a bit.  We woke up at like 5 am, picked up a few friends from here, & took the Metro on in to start the race.  It was a super cold wait, but somehow we are still smiling...

Two hours later & we successfully finished the race with one of my dear friends here, Kadie.

 We look so happy in that picture above, but as soon we realized how cold & wet we were (and super sore!), it was a long walk to the Metro & an even longer ride on the always delayed Metro home.  I started to feel super nauseous on the way home & I totally was that crazy person that nobody wanted to sit by on the Metro...

But after a hot shower & spending the rest of the day lounging on the couch under a heated blanket, life was pretty awesome.  I'm so happy to have done the race & it was just that much more special to have Olivia here to visit.  We hope that she comes again soon!