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!

Happy 2nd Birthday Abby!

I wrote a letter to baby girl over at The Chirping Moms today.  Click here to read!

Abby, Age 2

Favorite Food:  pasta, mac & cheese, candy, milk

Favorite Book:  Little People books, books with babies, baby animal books

Favorite Show:  Paw Patrol, Elmo, Mickey Mouse

Favorite Toys:  Whatever her brothers play with:)

Favorite Outfit:  Her Elmo pajamas & her brother's pajamas

Favorite Snuggles:  Pink blankey & her baba (pacifier)

Favorite Drink: Milk

Favorite Things to Do:  Anything:)  She's pretty happy all the time!

Loves:  Playing with her family, playing outside, being out & about around town

Does Not Like:  Going to bed or being around the vacumn

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  We love you!

Our February in Review!

February has come and gone (and half of March too)!  February was a snow-filled month.  I think we spent A LOT of time at home.  We have had 10 snow days this year (many this month), plus several late starts so that means lots of time at home.  Together, as a family.  Sometimes these are good times & sometimes these moments are completely exhausting!  

We spent a lot of our time doing this...

Housebound, toys strewn about the house, & time to break out the movies.

But we did manage to get out and enjoy the snow...

 Half marathon training continued.  And somehow I got talked into this crazy adventure.  Walking across icy rocks to run.  I think I may have gone crazy...

Chris had another birthday celebration!  

 Valentine's Day came and went with these cuties...

 Snow days also mean baking and more baking...

 We finally hit 100 days of school!

This month was filled with lots of fun moments at home.  We played many games, watched many movies, & have played with every toy we own!  We did manage to get out for some fun events:  Stop Hunger Now! meal packaging for Chris and Aiden, our favorite weekly swim lessons!, birthday parties, necessary mom's night outs for me:), Valentine parties at school & a fun visit from my friend Cassi!  We are definitely looking forward to some nicer weather and lots more adventures this spring!

Mr. Aiden Rogers

Anyone that knows Aiden knows that he LOVES school.  He wants to be a teacher when he grows up & already has his own little play school at home.  Almost every day, besides Tuesdays (swim lessons day) or days when we may have a playdate or the gym scheduled in the afternoon, he arrives home and plays school.  And not just for a few minutes...his school can seriously take over two hours.  It's crazy!  He LOVES to play school & has such a huge imagination.  I was cleaning his room out last week & came across all these papers stuffed in a drawer underneath his bed.  Before I threw them away, I had to take pictures & document just for our own family memories.  These are all pictures from Aiden's little school (kindergarten year).  

It's math time...

His students even get little tickets...

Doing some art...

Writing books...

Music time...

Language arts...

(You can see the bottom student didn't do as well as the top!  He even grades the papers!)

Birthday celebrations...

And his students even have take home folders...

I think he has 5 or 6 students:  Bin, Foo, Cases, Semmy, & at least one more.  He does morning meetings, brain breaks including Zumba, calendar, & so much more.  He just loves his school time so much & it's kind of like his wind down time from the busy school day.  He really plays the whole play school independently upstairs, with occasional visits from his brother & sister.  So here's to my school-loving six year old.  Let's just hope his love for school continues in the years to come!