Snapshot

We're enjoying a bit of respite from the 100 degree days that have plagued us this summer. The children have the pre-dinner munchies, and when they noticed I was snacking on an apple, they decided to follow suit. In a cooperative moment, they washed each others' apples and headed off to the porch to consume. Sure, they left the fridge door open, but I find that a minor offense when I discover them looking like this...

Bethany Beach

Yesterday was on the calendar as a normal, summery Friday. Nothing planned, nothing scheduled. Then our plans changed, all because this lovely sister of mine wanted to go to the beach. And so we have Heather to thank for what turned out to be one of the most glorious days ever!

Heather is home from college for the summer, and she has this week off from her job as a most amazing nanny to four kiddos (newborn twins included in the mix). She and the Cummings fam had a beach trip planned last weekend, but plans were foiled when La Derecha brought crazy winds and power outages to our area. We were out of town last weekend and would have missed the beach outing, so we benefited from the change of date. It ended up being just Heather and our little family off to Bethany Beach. We left just after 6AM and arrived just before 10AM. With a stop in the middle, that means we made great time. There was NO traffic on the beltway (unbelievable), and we sailed along the Bay Bridge, arriving just in time to roll easily into a parking space and hit the sand and surf. I drove while Adam worked remotely. Parking was a mere $1.50 per hour, and Bethany Beach needs to win some awards for being the most darling beach town ever. There are lots of cute little shops along the boardwalk, and it refrains from being strip mall-ish; the entire area is very family friendly and maintains a small-town feel, which you know I love.

 We spent the day digging...

Jumping the waves...

And this fellow discovered a new passion for boogie boarding. 

The kids started the day building castles, trenches, and a fort in the sand but quickly discovered the water. All three of my offspring wanted to spend as much time as possible in the depths. Good thing we had a 1:1 ratio of adults to children. (Thank you, Heather!) John is an absolute fish, very adamant in his requests to return to the "wawa" when we took the occasional break up by the beach umbrella. Emma was introduced to the "part of your world" game by Adam (think "Little Mermaid") and would joyfully exclaim her line as each wave approached and we helped lift her over the swell. She also came home with 10 treasures (seashell tidbits). I put a limit on the number so other families can find treasures too. That was logical enough to make our take-home haul manageable. 

We were having so much fun that when 4:00 came and our parking was due to run out, we sent Adam to put more money in the meter, and I brought a boogie board out for Spencer, thinking he might like to hold onto it in the deep water since Heather and I were outnumbered in our efforts to keep all 3 kids afloat. John came with me on the boogie board errand and quickly claimed it for his own once we got back in the water. Cute boy pulled his little body up, held on with both hands and set the standard for the rest of our trip. Before we exited the water, all three kids were on boogie boards floating over the swells and having a grand time.

Spencer and Adam stayed in the water playing "motorcycle" where Adam guides the board up and over breaking waves, letting Spencer catch a little air in the process. Spencer even rode his first wave into shore at the end. 

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of our time in the water; can't risk dropping the iPhone in the ocean, I'm afraid. 

Recipe for our perfect beach day: 90 degree weather, perfect water temperature (refreshing, but not freezing), gorgeous water color, lovely sand, a good lunch (sandwiches, chilled watermelon, and Sun Chips), Gatorade, a cooler full of water, loads of snacks (peanut M&M's and string cheese being favorites), an awesome van that plays DVDs as we drive, no traffic coming OR going, a foot wash station that enabled us to leave nearly all of the sand at the beach, and pleasant children willing to take on an adventure. 

p.s. I saw dolphins swimming off the shore. Yep, pure magic. 

The perfect day. 

Happy 4th of July

This year's celebration of America's birthday was pretty much perfect. The fellas (Gpa, Dad/Adam, and Spencer) headed off to a Nationals Baseball game on the eve of this big holiday, so Emma, John, and I headed over to Grammy's house to make good on a puffy paint plan. Trina and Emma had spent a good part of Monday designing red, white, and blue t-shirts. The girls got super artistic. John "helped" make Spencer's shirt, and I did some firework bursts on a onesie for a complete set of patriotic puffy painted t-shirts. 

The next morning, we were off to the Leesburg parade. Favorites this year included Kylerok (a boy in a neighboring ward who is launching his music career), lots of fire trucks ("wee-ooohs" according to John), and the Bolivian dancers who win for best costume. Love that they are a standard in the local parade circuit. Randomly, when Adam and I were in Argentina a few years back, there was a big parade going on in downtown Buenos Aires. Bolivian dancers? You got it. Different country, different culture, but some things remain the same. John and Emma were perched on shoulders for parts of the parade - best seats in the house.

Spencer was up late, late, late the night before since the Nats game was in the evening. He was a willing participant but opted to sit on the curb or in the shade of the too-small stroller to reserve his energy. He caught snippets of the passings by. 

We stood with Gma, Gpa, and Laura, all of whom took turns holding Johnny up so he could see. Parades are serious stuff, and he was taking it all in.

Favorite quote of the day: There was a float for the Battle of Balls Bluff, a local Civil War battlefield. There were a few men dressed as Yankee soldiers shouting "Go Yanks" and an older gentleman dressed in Confederate uniform. He shouted out "Down with the Yankees...Up with the Red Socks." I was dying. A perfectly diffused situation. So sad I don't have a picture to better color the anecdote. Too busy holding small children and enjoying the parade this year to photograph it. 

 We left a bit early from the parade to beat the crowds to an event I was SUPER excited to learn about - free tours at Dodona Manor, the home of George C. Marshall (author of the Marshall Plan, secretary of state, secretary of defense, emissary to China). I had toured the home once before with Gpa Bezzant, but it had been a few years, and I was happy for a reason to return. This beautiful home is located in downtown Leesburg and was the Marshalls respite from D.C. It was only the second home they had ever owned since Marshall was career army, and they moved frequently. Parts of the home date back to the 1800's. It was, at one point, a girls school and was also pressed into service as a hospital for a time during the Civil War. 

Fun fact about George Marshall: according to the docent, he was a very poor student in high school (although he read widely from the classics even at that age). His older brother was an accomplished student at VMI and was overheard by George telling their mother that George had better not attend VMI or he would tarnish the family name. That sealed his ambition, and to VMI he went upon graduation. I think it fair to say that he did okay by the family name in the long run. 

The friendly folks at Dodona Manor hosted an ice cream social. We took the tour and then enjoyed lounging in the backyard/patio area with other locals enjoying freeze pops and ice cream sandwiches. Love my cute town!  I even saw a few friends from high school, one of whom was performing in the barbershop quartet that was featured at the social. My 3 kiddos feasting on frozen confections.

Here is my cute family, posing in front of the house.

A shot of the extended group. Love this family I married into. Also, do take a moment to notice John cheesing it up in this photo. That kid is pretty darling these days.

Spencer called Gma over to take a photo. Here's the pose he had in mind. Spence is one cool kid.

Observant John, whose main goal in life is to do what Spencer does, was not far behind. He beckoned Laura to another pillar and struck his pose.

Laura was basically a celebrity with our crowd. Everyone wanted to get in on the photo action with her. HAD to post this photo of these beauties. Emma and Laura look absolutely stunning here!

It was a perfect morning with big time small town appeal. We retired to the respite of our home (air conditioning is a beautiful thing) for lunch and naps. Afterward, it was time for some red, white, and blue food crafting. 

The kids did an awesome job putting these together: watermelon, mini marshmallows, and blueberries. 

We took the end product over to Gma and Gpa's house for a barbecue. There, we watched "The Music Man" and enjoyed a leisurely evening until it was time for fireworks. We watched from the church parking lot, thereby avoiding all the traffic and as a bonus we got to sit by loads of friends. The evening ended without any major meltdowns and only minimal arguing from the two kids in the backseat. I call that a holiday success. 

Happy Birthday, America!!

Legomaniac part 2

From Spencer:

Today I Made the best lego thing I have made.

My note:
Spence figured out a way to attach his 2 escape pods to a larger vehicle. Quite the impressive creation.

New Year's 2012

In a stroke of genius, Gma Valerie had the idea of creating a Google doc for families to sign up for meals and activities. Nothing had to be a big production, just a way of having something planned and someone in charge of some family fun each day. Some days we played "Minute to Win it," other days it was Wii tournaments. On our day, we took everyone over to the Potomac Club game room and enjoyed air hockey, football, ping pong, and pool. Good times. 

New Year's Eve, we spent some time over at Papa's and Grammy's house. My dad found this Little People set, I believe at a garage sale, and Trina became the steward of it. It has been a favorite toy for all the grandkids and was much played with over the holidays. *In her latest room cleaning, Trina bequeathed the Little People set to Emma, which has her pretty much thrilled. 

Here are John and Isaac playing with the Little People. Papa is looking on with crutch in hand. He suffered a pretty severe ankle sprain when playing wally-ball with the fam at the local rec center. Couldn't keep him down, though. He was off to a movie with the fellas the same night with a stool in hand for proper ankle elevation. 

Here we are getting ready for the traditional round of White Elephant gifts. We joke that it is basically a chance for my dad to offload some of the "treasures" he picks up through the year. He always puts in way more than his fair share of the gifts. Lots of laughs as they get opened.  

What could be inside this package, Papa?

Spencer got the yearly regift of the sponge "Family Heirloom Fruitcake." Best white elephant ever. It remains in the circle year after year. There used to be a Mr. T chia pet that was also a repeat offender, but I believe that got gifted to (and maybe even used by) my Aunt Carol and Uncle Geary a few years back. 

After an afternoon of fun at the Cummings, we were back at the Wride's for the fondue feast. Lots of deliciousness dipped in chocolate, caramel, and cheese concoctions. LOVE this tradition.

One final memory. It may even have been New Year's Day. Brock, Valerie, and I had a jam session. Basically, Brock comes up with a really fun, unique way of playing a Christmas carol or hymn, and we try to blend in. We came up with a really cool "Good King Wenceslas" if memory serves correctly. 

Cousin fun over Christmas

I thought it would be fun to post a few pictures of what the cousins were up to over Christmas vacation. There were many, many rounds of "Mr. Fox, what time is it?" You know...the game where someone stands at one side of the yard acting as Mr. Fox and everyone else poses the question. When Mr. Fox replies "4 o' clock," you take 4 big steps and repeat getting closer, and closer until Mr. Fox yells "Dinner time!" and chases after you. If you make it back to the baseline, you are safe. If you are caught, you become the fox. (I had actually never heard of this game, but was happy to be introduced and even played a few rounds. Kudos to the uncles, Gpa, and all-star Adam who joined in with the kiddos on numerous occasions). Here's a shot of some of the group taking a break from playing. There were also lots of rounds of tag with trees as base. And yes, Spencer is still in his pajamas...just in case you were wondering. Vacation is about relaxation and schedule-free living. 

Spencer quickly claimed the dining room table as Lego central after opening gifts on Christmas morning and was happy that there were many interested helpers. 

The girls painted their nails with some new nail polish.  

The boys (Ryan, John, Daniel) built a basement fort. John was SO proud and happy to be playing with the big boys. I was happy he was happy but quickly swept him off the top of the table. This fella has an inclination toward head wounds and had split the back of his head open earlier in the month at a playground. (John - that's where your scar comes from, buddy.)

Maddie wrote a Christmas play. We have it on video. It had a special appearance of a ninja in it to keep the boys engaged. Here are the cousins rehearsing their parts (which were copied, stapled, and highlighted). 

Here is the performance. Good entertainment, I tell ya. 

Harrison and Bridget were super nice to share their awesome puppet theater. John is peeking above the curtain, but the other cousins are hiding for effect. Good chance Aunt Leslie is back there helping out too. She's pretty awesome that way.

We also had some major fun with all of THESE cousins. Here's Papa with all of his grandkids (at the time). From L to R: Isaac, Emma, John, Hannah, Miriam, Spencer, Reuben, and Lily. 

Christmas Day 2011

We celebrated Christmas in 2011, and now that it's been 6 months, it's probably time to document it for posterity. This was on "on" year for the Wride clan. All of Adam's siblings plus their cute families descended on the Leesburg hub. We opted to spend several nights there as well (camped out in the basement) so we could join in the evening fun and games. It was a par-tay! There were a good 20 people in the house, 9 of whom were grand babies. That makes for a lot of presents, folks. I'm pretty sure Santa dumped the remaining packages of his sleigh when he got to this stop. 

One of the Wride traditions that I am a BIG fan of is eating breakfast BEFORE going to see if Santa came. It keeps the campers happy. Candy for breakfast makes kiddos grumpy. Here are some cousins enjoying cinnamon rolls (my contribution this year), cereal, juice, and milk.

Getting the lineup ready. I think Emma and Ryan are trying to figure out who is taller. Sorry, folks, it's an age thing. Youngest to oldest...

Sadie made her way up front eventually, if I remember right. These were happy, excited cousins. 

When we got upstairs, we discovered that Santa, in his wisdom, had set the stockings in the living room while the rest of the presents were in the family room. We had time to sort through the stocking goodies and then put everything on pause to head off for 9am church. While I did capture some video of the stocking fun, I'm afraid no still photos were clear enough to post. We'll have to jump to this fun picture of Emma at church in a fantastic dress my sister Celeste made her. She also made Christmas vests for my boys (and similar ensembles for all the nieces and nephews), but again in the craziness I didn't get a photo. I only have this one because I was helping Emma dress for family pictures, which took place on the lawn right after church (and before we opened any presents). The kids were remarkably good sports, and it was the only chance we had of getting ALL the Wride families in a photo together. Naps and departures would fall in rapid succession the remainder of Christmas Day. 

Here are Maddie and Emma in their cute sweater dresses, provided by Gma for the family photo. The kids looked SO cute. It was cold, but again...good sports all the way around. (Maybe they were worried that Santa would take the presents back if they didn't cooperate?)

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. Most of us opted to change back into pajamas to recapture the luxury of being lazy on Christmas Day. It was a joyful day and, for the record, the sacrament meeting was quite fantastic. I'm all for going to church on Christmas. :)

*Somewhere there are loads of fun pictures from later in the day when we continued gift exchanges with the Cummings clan, as per tradition. It was another joyous Christmas celebration full of family fun.