Memorial Day Weekend

This year we were able to head up to Wintergreen for the long Memorial Day Weekend! We definitely needed a mini-vacation, so it was perfect. We got up Saturday morning, loaded up the car and we were on the road! It was exciting to turn Olivia's car seat around so she could see everybody and enjoy the ride!

She was definitely thrilled and had a great time.  We thought she would nap, but that never happened.  She just talked and sang the whole time.  Kept us laughing!  Despite some congestion in Charlottesville, we made it in pretty decent time.  We got Olivia fed and put her down for a nap and headed out to Devil's Backbone for some great beer (root beer for Andrew and wings for Lee) and we filled up a growler for the afternoon!  After our little afternoon brew, we headed back up to the house to discover Olivia was still napping!  She was a tired monkey for sure. 

We enjoyed our growler of beer and a wonderful dinner before it was time to hit the hey for the night.  Sunday morning was filled with a lot of funny faces from our girl!

We decided to head out for a little hike and check out the festivities on the top of the mountain.  Our little hike was just that.....little!  It's very hard to find trails that are stroller accessible and we didn't bring the hiking backpack for this trip, so we had to carry Olivia.  Well, good thing this was an easy and short trail because this kid is heavy!  We headed over to Raven's Roost which is a nice overlook and would've been even nicer if it wasn't so hazy!

After our little hike, we headed over to the Mountain Inn to walk through the shops and check out the Wine and Food Festival and see about the Blues and Brews Festival we read about.  We decided not to go to the Wine and Food Festival and instead we would head back down to Devil's Backbone for another beer and, of course, more wings for Lee and Andrew!  Before we did that, we walked around the ski slopes to get a little exercise before indulging in more adult beverages!!

O likes to hold on for the ride!

After our walk and going through the shops, we went back to the house, fed O her lunch and put her down for a nap so we could head back down to Devil's Backbone.  She took a pretty decent nap but was up and playing when we got back.  I took the opportunity to snap some pics of her!

And then there was a pretty fun game of Hide 'N Seek between Adam and Olivia!

This kept them occupied for a long time!  Back and forth up and down the hall......fun stuff!  We also got a few random pictures of both the kids as well!

 The evening went on with lots of card games, Blackjack, Texas Hold 'Em, etc!  Great meal, great beverages and, most of all, great company!!  It was sad to know Monday was the end of our relaxing weekend, but it was time to head back to reality!  We got Olivia all dressed up in her Memorial Day duds and got a few pictures with Grandma and Grandpa and of just her before heading out for the day.

 We headed out around 10 and got to Lee's parent's house in Warrenton just in time to feed O her lunch.  She didn't nap all morning and was such a sweetie all afternoon!  We had a blast with all the family then jumped in the car to head home.  This was Olivia 3 minutes after we left Nana and Papa's house!

What a wonderful weekend!  Can't wait for the 4th of July!!

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Our Little Musician

Yesterday we got home and Andrew had been practicing his bell piece for band and left his bells on the couch. So, what's a baby to do??

Fun at the Park

This afternoon, I picked Olivia up from school after working from home. We got home and I put her in the stroller and headed out for a walk. I've had a small cold for the past couple days, so we didn't go far, but we did head over to Trailside Park to enjoy a little swing time!

After fun at the park, we came home, had dinner and got all cleaned up before bedtime!

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was my second one and it was wonderful! It really started on Friday when we picked Olivia up from school.  She made me the most wonderful Mother's Day card!

Then on Saturday night, Lee cooked me a fabulous meal! (Not really much different from most nights) We had salmon, risotto and asparagus and it was washed down with a wonderful Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA!  My favorite brew!

Sunday morning, Lee took on Olivia duty and got up and played with her for a while so I could sleep in.  I think I got up at 7, which is sleeping in, but I was hoping for a little more snoozing!  Oh well!  Lee made me french toast with warmed strawberries and a dusting of powdered sugar on top.  Delicious!  I didn't get any pictures of that creation, but just take my word for it!

Once Andrew got up, they gave me my Mother's Day gift!  What a surprise!  Andrew and Olivia got me some charms for my Pandora bracelet my sister-in-law, Danielle, got me for Christmas! 

My little bunny from my little Olivia

My drum from my drummer, Andrew

What an awesome and thoughtful gift from my great kids!!! 

The rest of the day was very relaxing and then it was over to mom and dad's house for a nice Mother's Day BBQ!  We didn't bring our cameras, so Maureen snapped a few while we were there.  The kids played great together and even posed for a few pictures!

What a wonderful Mother's Day!  Thanks to everyone for making it so special!

3rd Annual Tommy's Run for a Reason

 

Saturday was the 3rd Annual Tommy's Run for a Reason.  3 years ago, my friend from high school, Andy, lost his 2 1/2 year old Tommy unexpectedly.  Nobody knows why he passed away, so with all the research they did, they found out that there was a disorder called Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood, or SUDC.  Being a mother, I cannot imagine the tragedy Andy and Beth had to endure.  I have participated in this event for the past 3 years and blogged about it last year here!  Lee volunteered his photography services and will donate all proceeds from photo purchases to SUDC in Tommy's memory.  One of the great parts of this event was getting to see so many people I grew up with.  Matt, who I've known since kindergarten was the emcee for the event.  He is a local celebrity.....well, he broadcasts a podcast and, well, it's hilarious!  (This is a NSFW - not safe for work - broadcast mom and dad, so, um, maybe you shouldn't listen).

Anyway, what a beautiful day with beautiful weather!  Olivia and I got there around 9:15, got registered and started walking around and meeting up with people.  We ran into Shelley and Jason first.  You can read all about them here!  They drove all the way from Baltimore, what troopers!  Shelley ran the 5K and Jason was a pal and walked with Olivia and me.  I do plan on running next year!  Now that I wrote it down, I guess I better deliver!  Anyway, we made our way over to the kid area and met up with Stefany and Leslie!  But, not before getting stopped by a lot of people along the way who wanted to see Miss Olivia!  She was only 2 weeks old at the event last year, so people were pretty excited to see her!  Who cares about seeing me!?! 

Lee showed up with his camera gear and started capturing the day.  Of course, he started with our little munchkin!

After hanging out for a while, the race was about to begin!  The women from Mommy Bootcamp were there to kick off the warm up.  They warmed all the racers up and got them on their way!

A few minutes after the 5K kicked off, the 2K family fun walk began.  Shelley's husband Jason and I did the walk with Olivia.  Wasn't exactly tough!  But, I'm just not ready to run a 5K quite yet!

Here are a few pictures of some of the kids that rocked the 2K fun run/walk!

As we finished up the walk, some of the runners were coming into the Finish!  We got back just in time to see Shelley finish up!

 

After the race was finished, Lee had to leave to head out to Andrew's baseball game, so he handed one of his cameras over to me.  So, I got a few pictures (mostly of Olivia) :)

Then it was time for Andy to speak about Tommy and what SUDC has done for their family.

My friend Leslie recruited some of her students and friends from her school to help with the days' events.  She even brought somebody along who dressed up like Snow White!  Fun for the kids!

After all was said and done, it was time to eat!  Carolina Bros. Barbeque was there to feed the troops.  What a wonderful meal!  They are right down the street from us and we have always enjoyed their food!

What a great event!  Can't wait to do it all again next year, only next year, I will be running!  :)