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That's my friend, Janelle, on the cover of the Washington Post! An employee at Sojourners, Janelle was part of the team that organized this vigil highlighting gun violence on the National Mall. So proud of her hard work and just love the picture of her with the cross and the Washington Monument. The photo below captures the vigil in its fullness.

Photo credit.

THE BATTER

Last Friday K's best friend, A, came over to play. It was a wonderful day. Together they played with pretty much every toy in our house. They also went to the spray park for a little water play. After lunch, A, who is an avid baseball fan and knowledgable about every aspect of the game, tried to organize a baseball game between himself and K.

K knows nothing about baseball.

A started by explaining how one person is responsible for throwing/pitching the ball and the other hits the ball with a bat.

K, who has a dominant personality and can at times be a little bossy, had enough of listening to A. She wanted to play, and she wanted to be in charge of how the game would be played.

As soon as there was a pause in conversation, K shouted:

"A, you be the batter; I'll be the gooder."

And that is OBVIOUSLY how the game of baseball is played.

A HOT, HOT SUMMER

Yesterday I had three little girls in my charge. A soon-to-be 10 year old, a soon-to-be 7 year old, and my little one year old. The older girls belong to a good friend of mine who was in town for some physical, occupational, and recreational therapy. I volunteered to take her kids for the day. The older girl made a list at the beginning of the summer outlining the things she wanted to do. On the list was:

Visit Washington DC.

How could I not take her and her sister and my K into the city for the day. Fortunately, my friend Angie joined us and provided an extra set of adult hands. Unfortunately, it was HOT. The heat index was well over 100 degrees by mid-morning.

So what does one do on a sweltering day in DC? Tourists hit up the museums or take tours of the Capitol or White House. We locals opt for some of the off-the-beaten-path activities.

First stop was the observation deck at the Old Post Office.

This is K looking out over the EPA. In the background behind the wires, you can see the Washington Monument. (Note K's crazy hair. Little girl sweats A LOT. And when she's hot she refuses to wear a ponytail. Her hair was crazy out of control yesterday.)

After taking in the city views, we "picnicked" in the food court of the Old Post Office. Nothing beats eating indoors and enjoying a free lunch-time concert when it is sweltering outside.



We enjoyed our picnic food and the cool temperatures.

After lunch we ventured down Pennsylvania Ave to the Navy Memorial.

Nothing beats playing in the fountains.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon inside baking brownies. The early evening hours were spent swimming and making a pizza dinner together.

GIRL-CATION

Many years ago, my friend Becky left Washington DC.

She went off to Atlanta and then to Tampa.

I hate that she lives so far away. I hate that I couldn't tell her I was pregnant in person (I emailed her a picture of my positive pregnancy tests instead). I hate that she wasn't here the day K was born. I hate that she lives so far away and I cannot see her when I want to.

I last saw Becky in January. In March, my other friend, Andrea, and I started talking about going to Florida for a girl-cation sometime in the spring. Coordinating Andrea's work schedule, my school schedule, and Becky's CRAZY work/coaching schedule was not an easy task.

But we did it!

On Saturday morning, K and I left DC on an airplane (zoom, zoom - that's K's noise for an airplane) and flew to Florida. We were met at the airport by three of my good friends.

Girl-cation 2010 had officially started.

We started the weekend by grabbing lunch at the Taco Bus in Tampa. It was awesome. I had the butternut squash burrito and it was heavenly. K enjoyed it, too. Our first order of business after lunch was getting to the pool. Getting a toddler packed up, dressed, sunscreened, and to the pool is no easy task.

We lathered up.

We all got our flip-flops on.

And we went to the pool. YEAH!

On Sunday we drove out to DeSoto Beach. After one look at the beach and a quick dip in the water, I realized why this is one of the nicest beaches in the country: large sandy beaches, warm water, clear blue water, and no commercialization. It was delightful.

Here is out little water-baby running from the parking lot to the beach. She could not wait to get into the water and grab the waves.

K was a HUGE fan of the water; the sand not so much. I carried her the entire time we were at the beach. She wouldn't even stand on our beach blanket because it was "messy".

Yes, she is a little princess at times.

On Monday, we went for a morning walk at Lettuce Lake. I had high hopes that we'd see an alligator while out walking along the river.

We looked and looked.

But no alligators were seen.

K did manage to drop my Pittsburgh 1/2 marathon water bottle into the water. And although we didn't see any alligators, we made the decision that a water bottle rescue mission was not in the cards.

Bye-bye water bottle.

On Monday night we went to one of the county water parks where Becky was coaching her swim team. They were doing time trials; trying to get swimmers qualified for the Paralympic Nationals this summer. I really wanted to watch the swimmers. They are amazing - swimming with such disabilities yet striving to improve and get stronger and faster. They were inspirational to watch - even if it was for just a few short minutes.

K spent most of her time at this pool on the kiddie waterslide. Specifically, she sat at the top of the slide and put her fingers in the running water.

She would have sat in this position for hours if I had let her. And when I turned my head, she would quickly lick the water off her fingers. Little stinker doesn't understand the concept of DIRTY WATER.

Our girl-cation was over SO quickly.

If only the last 15 minutes of our flight home would have gone as fast. K screamed the entire decent. She kept complaining that her ears hurt and I know they did. I tried to get her to eat and drink, but she didn't get it. She just wanted to walkie right off the airplane (zoom, zoom).

It was a fabulous four days. While K slept during the evenings and at naptime, we big girls cooked wonderful meals together, enjoyed a good chick-flick, and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Here's to Girl-cation 2011...

10 YEARS

Ten years ago TOMORROW I graduated from college.


TEN YEARS.

In some ways, it seems like just yesterday that we were tooling around Meadville stressing out about what we were going to do over the weekend and if we'd finish our comps. Those were the days...

In other ways, college seems like a lifetime ago. Its hard to remember to remember what day-to-day life in our ugly brown house (fondly known as Idaho) was like or how we dreaded waking up at 5am to get to the pool for morning practice.

In honor of our 10 year anniversary of graduating from college, I have put together two top 10 lists. Today I will share my top 10 highlights since college. Tomorrow, I'll share my top 10 favorite memories from college.

Without further ado...

MY TOP 10 LIFE-HIGHLIGHTS SINCE GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE (in random order):

1. Keeping in touch with my college roommates and watching them get terrific jobs, marry wonderful and caring men, and raise beautiful babies. It is hard work keeping up with these ladies since we live miles apart and don't see each other on a daily basis. Blogging has been a great way to stay connected. We also had a ladies weekend last fall together that I hope we keep a tradition.

2. Marrying D.

3. Having K. This accomplishment is two-fold: first, actually giving birth to her is an accomplishment in its own right. Being a mother to her is an accomplishment unto itself.

4. Finishing my masters.

5. Getting into and working towards my PhD. A sub-highlight was passing my comprehensive exams less than three months after having K.

6. Traveling. Since college I've been to: Paris, London, Taiwan, Costa Rica, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Alaska (twice!!), Mexico (cruise), Boston, NYC (too many times to count), Colorado, the Grand Canyon, and New Orleans, to name a few places. I'm traveled with wonderful people, eaten some exceptional food (post on the best meal of the past 10 years should and will be written), and made memories to last a lifetime.

7. Moving to two different cities ON MY OWN. Right after college I moved to Atlanta for two years and then to DC. Moving to a new city without friends or a support network is hard. It is humbling, scary, exciting, and life-changing. Although it wasn't always easy, I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do it twice.

8. Settling down in DC. This process began when I befriended three terrific ladies - Ang, Ace, and Becky. They became my DC family and my reason for staying here. D and I are more settled now that we own a home and are raising our baby here.

9. Completing an Olympic distance triathlon, three marathons, one 1/2 marathon, and two 10-mile races. Not bad for a girl who during college thought anything over a 100 yard swim was too long of a distance to race!

10. Growing up. I've come a long way these past ten years. I look back at the girl I was with my new VW ten years ago and I think she didn't have a clue! Sure, I was driven and I was poised to do great things, but I had a lot to learn. I had no idea that the road would have take me to some really high mountain tops and also to some low valleys. I had no idea that the path would be so winding. But I wouldn't change a thing.

Its been an amazing ten years.

10 YEARS.

VIRTUAL IRONMAN

In early February my friend, Becky, became a triathlete. She completed her first sprint triathlon in Florida (and braved some crazy cold swimming conditions - 60 degree water and 39 degree air temps).

She did not deviate from her training program once - seriously, she was freaking hard core and disciplined. The result: she finished her triathlon at her goal time and is in the best shape of her life. When I proposed that we train for a race together next spring, she was excited; even suggested a race that might be a lot of fun.

All this coming from a girl who prior to the triathlon had only competed in a single 5K.

She's freaking awesome.

In mid-February, Becky and I had an honest conversation about needing some exercise motivation and accountability. That is when SHE suggested doing a virtual Ironman during the month of March.

Here's how it works... we're tracking each of our workouts and aiming to complete 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles on the bike, and 26.2 miles of running before the end of the month. We're tracking our progress using a Google spreadsheet.

To date, I've swum 0 miles, biked 14.36, and run 11.1.

For me, the swimming can be finished in two workouts (I just need to get to the pool). I will be finished with the running after next weekend's 10 miler. I'm hoping to run at least 50 miles this month. The biking, however, is going to be my Achilles' Heal. Squeezing in enough bike workouts to total 112 miles is going to push me. It's also going to strengthen my leg muscles. And provide me with some much needed cross-training.

Assuming we both complete our Ironman in March, we will celebrate in May when K and I go to Florida to visit Becky!

OUR WINTER VACATION

Last Wednesday we took off for Colorado to visit good friends who relocated to Denver just six months ago. D was so excited to snowboard out West, I was looking forward to some time away, and we were both a little anxious to take K on her first airplane ride.

In short, the trip was fantastic.

The plane ride to Denver was a little rough on K, who had to wake up nearly two hours early to get to the airport and could not sleep on the plane (we even had an extra seat for her, but no sleeping).

In Colorado, we took a short trip into the mountains and did a little bit of hiking. I will stress the little bit because with two kids needing to be piggy-backed and an altitude of 8000+ feet we didn't do anything too stressful. But it was beautiful. We even saw a bear print in the snow. Here we are walking along with the kids. K was completely asleep on my back in this picture, which is why her head looks a little out of control. I didn't think she would sleep if I put her on my back. I was wrong.

D snowboarded on Saturday and had a wonderful time. He's still a little sore from the day-long adventure. K and I stayed home. Maybe next year we'll enroll her in ski school. 

We also did a lot of eating in Colorado. Our friends love food and know how to cook. On Thursday night their nine year old son made dinner for us - vegetarian 'beef' super tacos. [A super taco is a taco with ALL of the fixings -- avocodo, tomato, salsa, beef, sour cream, cheese. One word: delicious.] On Friday AND Saturday nights we had homemade pizzas. And they sure were good. Nothing short of extravagant. D learned how to toss a pizza crust in the air just like a professional. I did a lot of eating. My favorite pizza was topped with artichoke hearts and marinated picante peppers, as well as tomato sauce and a sprinkling of cheese. So stinking good. Pictured here is the pizza preparation area.

**Notice the four types of cheeses (not including mozzarella). It was so indulgent.

Our trip was over before we knew it. Traveling home was pretty uneventful. K did sleep on both legs of our trip. We are home and unpacked and so looking forward to our next trip to Colorado...

WEDDINGS

It is truly an honor to be invited to a wedding.

To be invited to witness and celebrate the joining of two lives is a real gift.

I don't think I realized this until my wedding. To have all of my friends and all of his friends and both of our families in one place at one time...celebrating us...all enjoying good food and good wine... it was amazing. I didn't want to leave my own reception. I wanted the party to go on forever. Knowing how much I loved my own wedding and appreciated the effort all our friends and family went to to make it and be there for us makes me all the more excited to attend weddings I'm invited to.

We were blessed to end 2009 and begin 2010 with weddings.

On New Year's Ever, our friend Steve married his beautiful (seriously, a true beauty inside and out) wife. They had a small intimate candle-lit evening wedding followed by a reception complete with a three course meal and abundant French wines. It was elegant, intimate, and simply beautiful. D was an usher at the wedding and we had the honor of hosting a pre-rehearsal dinner (more on this, including the menu designed by my husband/personal chef coming) for the groom's family last Tuesday. Spending time with the groom and his family prior to the wedding and then celebrating their marriage, the new year, and the groom's birthday all in a period of 48 hours was one of the highlights of the year for me. To top it off, my good friend, Becky, drove into DC en route to the 2010 wedding and babysat K during the reception for us. It was such a blessing to have a night out with my husband, knowing that K was in such good hands. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Becky L!

On Saturday, January 2, my friend, Angie, was married in Pennsylvania. Her wedding was a 400+ person affair (yes, there were more people at this wedding than there were at Carla's!). The wedding took place in the afternoon with a reception immediately afterwards at the church. It was so different than Steve's wedding, but so Angie. She and her now-husband had friends and family from all over the world at their wedding. They successfully managed to include all seven of Angie's nieces and nephews in the wedding party. They even had a performance from the Youth Praise Band at our church, which Angie founded and leads. It was a extravagant celebration! And no one was left out.

Unfortunately, due to ushering responsibilities and a one year old daughter who will NOT sit still, D and I did not get to enjoy the wedding ceremonies together. Hopefully we will one day get to sit together hand-in-hand at a wedding. Hopefully...

But for now, we continue to celebrate (in spirit) with our newlywed friends, who are off honeymooning in southern Mexico and Morocco.

Cheers to all!

(Wish we were in the warm weather with you. It is freaking COLD here in DC.)

CHRISTMAS 2009

It was a white Christmas! We got out of DC just as the Blizzard of 2009 hit the area. Although there wasn't 17 inches of snow in Pennsylvania (which is the final snow tally in our neighborhood), there was enough snow outside for K to get out and enjoy it.

Here she is outside with Grandma taking her first walk in the snow (yes, she is walking...finally). Poor girl was so bundled up she needed help from two people to make her way through 4 inches of snow. But she loved every minute of it. And she stayed toasty warm!

Christmas week was full of yummy food, family, friends, toys, and LIGHTS. K loves lights. She was constantly wandering around pointing at ceiling lights, Christmas tree lights, candles, anything with a glow and proclaiming "Yites". That is K-speak for lights (unfortunately it sounds all too similar to "ice", which is K-speak for rice).





Grandma's house was full of lights and new toys. Family friends gave my parents a host of toys for K to play with. Grandma also reintroduced K to her tupperware drawer. As you can see K was enjoying the Christmas tree lights, tupperware, and new toys during the early morning hours. It was hard to get her to sit down and eat there were so many new distractions. Sleep was hard to come-by, especially at nap times.

K was showered with wonderful Christmas gifts. She got several stacking toys, which she loves. She also got some puppets and has become quite taken with them. She even knows how to put them over her hand. So cute! Her Uncle J got her a pair of pink Converse All-Star high top tennis shoes. They are wonderful and are bound to fit within the next six month. Love them!

With at least four extra hands helping out with K, it was a peaceful and relaxing holiday week for D and me. We slept in; went out on dates; spent an afternoon out with my brother - all without a child. Although I love her to death, sometimes this mama just needs some adult conversations and some alone time with her husband.

We also had some wonderful meals with my parents and some fun playdates with my friend, BA, and her girls. We also had a wonderful dinner with Carla, John, and Luci.

Before we knew it, Christmas was over and we were on our way back to DC. Back to work and school, schedules and household responsibilities.

Our Christmas 2009 was wonderful. Full of precious moments I'm not soon to forget.