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27 JUNE 2007
So now we're back, and I'm getting caught up on all the daily stuff. It's no fun. Cleaning/unpacking on Monday. Grocery shopping on Tuesday. Dog to the vet today. Like I said, lack of excitement here. However, this weekend brings more merriment. The Evans clan (all seven of them) arrive on Sunday afternoon and will be staying through the week. They, of course, want to visit all the D.C. landmarks and see what our nation's capital has to offer in the way of fireworks on Independence Day. We're very excited for their arrival. I'm not going to dare tell the girls about their visit until the day of because I know it's all I'll hear about. Plan on tons of pictures. Have a great rest of the week!
11 JUNE 2007This past week was quite busy, so no new pictures or anything. I'll try to get an update to you shortly. Oh, one thing to report. Apparently, Annie has people that live in her stomach, Timmy, Elise, and Arden, maybe more (funny how they have the same names as her classmates). They are the ones who tell her when she's hungry or when to go potty. Two doors make it possible for the people to enter and exit, the big one is on her chest in the sternum and the other, smaller door is behind her knee. The strangest part of this story is that I think Annie's been developing these people since she first became potty-trained. She used to tell me that her poops in the potty were off to go eat breakfast or lunch. Usually a farewell was necessary, "Bye, bye, potties. See you later!" Ok, I discovered a new, favorite song, but I can't find it anywhere to buy. I did, however, find the video on You Tube. I'm embedding here, so I can listen to it whenever I want (of course, you can, too). The song is "Hello Benjamin" by Melpo Mene (I think they're Swedish; why am I finding myself loving all things Swedish: antique furnishings (via Klaradal in Olney, MD), Peter Bjorn and John, and now this). If you happen to find where I can download the song, please do tell.
05 JUNE 2007
04 JUNE 2007Happy birthday to me! Below is what Annie greeted me with this morning when I woke up. She was so excited about my birthday this morning that she designed this for me at the crack of dawn. I think she drew our family. Is the little bald person supposed to be Mike? If you'll notice, she also wrote "Go" and "Mom". Am I to assume that she is cheering me on?
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As
many of you probably didn't know (because I never mentioned it here),
we spent last week in Idaho with our friends, the Huffs. Tim and
Mike went to dental school together and have remained close since.
Just check out the hunting/fishing pictures to see lots of appearances
by Tim. Our original plan was to meet up for a cruise sans kids,
but with all of us having small children it was just easier to head
out to their turf. The last time we got together was actually in
D.C. before we even lived here, so we figured it best to head west
(hey, that rhymes). In fact, I designed Tim's website for his dental
practice a little over a year ago when he was opening his practice.
I hope they don't mind, but the site address is 
Anyway,
we arrived into Boise on Saturday after a FULL day of traveling.
Surprisingly, the girls were quite well-behaved on both flights.
We had a short layover in Minneapolis, so Mike's dad popped by our
gate to see us (he works there, ya know). The girls warmed up to
their grandfather within seconds. Annie was glad to have someone
new to tell all about her plane ride. We were dead on our feet by
the time we got to the Huffs' home. Tim and Coline had a sweet set
up for us to stay and even gave us our own vehicle for the week.
The rest of the day was spent just relaxing. The next morning the
guys got up at the butt crack of dawn to get in a few hours of fishing.
After they got home we headed over to Zoo Boise (yes, that's what
they call it). The kids were thrilled to see so many different animals.
I was relieved by the diversity of animals because I had been talking
it up to Annie the night before. The facilities also offered a few
pit stops for kids which included slides, tunnel fun, a tiger ride,
merry-go-round, and junk to eat. However, we were all exhausted
by the end of it. 
A
trip to the water park was how we spent our next day. It was way
cool! A whole section of the park was dedicated to little kids with
6-inch deep water, slides galore, water spouting up, down, out from
all over. The kids couldn't get enough. One of Annie's favorite
features was this ginormous bucket of water that poured out every
few minutes. A bell would ring right before the spill. Each time
it went off a whole gaggle of kids would go running over to it to
wait to be splashed with hundreds of gallons of water. Annie never
got bored with it. The guys disappeared for awhile to try out some
of the big people slides. Oddly enough, I was not tempted to go
on any of them. Am I really getting that old?!? Later in the day
we took a trip on the "endless river" where each person
gets their own tube in which to float. Mike and I each took a girl
on our laps, and we drifted for a bit. Both girls were nervous at
first but soon realized it could be quite relaxing. Another fun-filled
and tiring day down on the books for us.
The
Huffs took it upon themselves to plan some other fun stuff for us.
We headed up to the mountains for a couple of days and stayed in
a cabin in McCall (about a 2 hour drive from Boise). Annie and Mimi
got to share a bed, and it was actually a successful set up. Mimi
only fell out of the bed once or twice. I think it may be time to
get her own bed at home. Of course, the guys got in another day
of fishing. Mike and I drove way up into the mountains one of the
afternoons. We hiked around and discovered snow. The girls were
very pleased. Watching the girls climb up and down rocks was quite
fun. Tim and Coline took me up on my offer to do a photo shoot.
We found a cool location on a lakeshore with the mountains landscaping
the background. Amazingly, I did catch a few moments where both
kids were both looking and even sometimes smiling at the camera.
I definitely would have loved to have spent a few more days up there,
but two days was enough with small children. I was so glad I didn't
have to drive home because I probably would have fell asleep at
the wheel. 
The
last day was for the girls (me and Coline). While the guys were
wrestling with 4 kids Coline and I went downtown for lunch, shopping,
and pedicures. I was quite surprised at how many cute shops there
were to choose from. Some of the major stores were Ann Taylor Loft,
Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie (coming soon anyway). After seeing
all the fun stuff there is to do in Idaho and how beautiful the
mountains are to constantly have in the background, I'm up for moving
there for good. Too bad we have four more years before we're done
with the Navy. The Huffs were wonderful hosts and made our stay
in the Gem State fabulous. Drew and Ava were absolute cuties and
kept our girls busy and entertained. Since we've got a while left
with the military, we may have to make Idaho a regular place to
visit during the next few years. A zillion thanks to Tim, Coline,
Drew, and Ava! Feel free to look to at some of the pictures of our
different adventures on 
At
the beginning of the day there really weren't any plans for my birthday.
I just knew I wasn't going to cook anything. Mike pretty much understood
that he was going to take me somewhere for dinner. It was decided
that we would go to Captain Jerry's Crab House. The reason for this
decision was because we needed to go to Lowe's which was nearby.
Mike had invited the Chesler's, too (not to go to Lowe's but for
dinner--they were certainly welcome to accompany us though). The
Maryland crabs and several sides that we ordered were super yummy;
even the girls enjoyed every bite. On the way out of the restaurant
I realized a bathroom break was in order. Upon exiting the establishment
I was told that Mr. Matt and Miss Trang were calling it a night.
Considering the fact that it was already 8:30 p.m. (a half hour
after the girls' bedtime), it was probably a good idea. Mike also
informed me it was too late to stop at Lowe's. I tried to object,
but I soon realized he was right. Annie fell asleep on the way home
but not without asking for cake for Mommy's birthday at least a
dozen times. We got home and immediately headed upstairs to get
the girls ready for bed. Annie had thrown herself on the floor in
the kitchen screaming for cake, so I went ahead into the bathroom
to brush Mimi's teeth. After awhile and with me yelling for Annie
to hightail it into the bathroom, Annie finally made her appearance.
Again, she made several demands for cake. At first I loudly told
her that we had no cake, but then changed my method to try to explain
to her that sometimes mommies don't get cake for their birthdays.
All of a sudden, I heard, "SURPRISE!" I looked out the
door to discover Mr. Matt and Miss Trang carrying a birthday cake
for me. They absolutely caught me by surprse. Those sneaky people
made a pit stop at Coldstone Creamery to pick up one of their fabulous
ice cream cakes. It was a red velvet cake with raspberry filling,
chocolate ice cream, and fudge icing; 'twas the perfect cake, really.
We each enjoyed a piece, and the girls made a huge mess. Mimi sat
on Trang's despite me warning her that it could get messy. So it
turned out to be quite the fun-filled birthday for me. I really
couldn't ask for anything better. Thanks to Mr. Matt and Miss Trang
for the wonderful surprise. And thanks to Mike for making sure I
had a great birthday. You can check out other pictures from our
cake-eating affair on 
Annie
has become quite the little artist lately. She will come from school
with all these sheets of paper with several doodles. Her teacher
explains that Annie is constantly asking to draw during playtime,
so she just lets her have at it. I think she gets this interest
from Mike because I was never much of an artist. Mike still teases
me about my sketch book drawings from Drawing 101. He's particularly
fond of a drawing of a frog where I forgot to sketch the ledge he
was supposed to perched on. Instead the poor frog looked like he
was having some kind of intestinal trauma. Thankfully, no evidence
remains of my drawing days. I hope Annie has the skills of her father,
who is actually quite an artist. Mike's mom still has one of his
drawings displayed in a guest bedroom in her home. Here's a rendition
of the city drawn during church a couple of weeks ago. What can
I say, I'm a proud mama!