Happy Birthday, Brad!

To celebrate Brad's 34th birthday, the school district granted the kiddos another snow day.  How kind.  We were able to celebrate with wings and beer for dinner with the Prices, and brownies for dessert.  Over the weekend we took the kids to Family Engineering Day at the gorgeous National Building Museum.  There were tables and tables of hands on activities for the kids to see how engineering  plays a role in daily life.  

Later that afternoon we dropped the kids off at Jackie and Scott's, where they enjoyed a personalized dinner complete with menus that Alex and Abby designed themselves.  This was a perfect Christmas gift for the kids and they were excited to get to cash it in.  Alex requested soft pretzel for appetizer,  steak/carrots/kiwi for main course and brownies for dessert.  Abby chose raspberries for her appetizer,  pork tenderloin/pasta for dinner and brownies for dessert.  Both asked for Shirley Temples to drink. Such a special night for them, complete with slumber party and popcorn party...score!  Mom and Dad enjoyed a delicious dinner out at Bourbon Steak to celebrate Brad's birthday and one last overnight in the city.  We are certainly spoiled living so close to family here in D.C. and will miss them terribly when we move to TX!

Baby Dolls

As I try to clean out a little before the move, again, we've recently re-acquired some baby clothes we had given away.  They are all so cute and Abby couldn't resist pulling a lot of them for her baby dolls.  Needless to say, we didn't get very far in the "cleaning out" process :)

Schooling?

When the kids do go to school, they are cramming a lot in.  Both kids still love going to school and for that we are thankful.  They miss the routine when there are so many days off.  Alex's teacher is awesome and encourages the kids to bring Rubik's cubes and they use them during indoor recess or when they have free time.  She has some instructions at the school that help the kids to solve the cube.  He takes it everywhere with him.  

Abby has two excellent Kindergarten teachers who she loves dearly.  She has been writing sentences and her reading/word recognition has really taken off.  She enjoys writing short stories and has a little library of books at home that she likes us to "check out".  The school recently purchased a three year license for DreamBox, an online math program that is leveled to the children's abilities.  They can play the math games at home and then advance as they pass various levels.  We try to use it a little each day, especially on snow days!

More Snow

This might have been snow days 9 and 10?  Hard to say.  Alex and friends have gotten creative with their sledding and outdoor snow games.  Playdates abound to keep everyone occupied.  Abby continues to enjoy eating snow (just as she did as a toddler).  Cassie and Scooter continue to despise the cold and spend their days curled on blankets, or kiddos, or in front of the heating vents.  

Visit from Grandma Eileen

Grandma Eileen came to visit during beautiful February.  Virginia welcomed her with chilly temps and we worked hard to seek out indoor/warm activities to keep us busy.  Abby had a few Build A Bear gift cards burning a hole in her pocket from Christmas so she had a chance to build her new bunny.  We spent some time at the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum over the weekend, even trying out the simulators.  Alex and I flew upside down as fighter jet pilots and I will be happy to never try that again.  But he loved it, which is what counts.  When all of Fairfax County attempted to go to the same movie theater on President's Day, we threw in the towel and went bowling instead.

Encouraging Weather

We had one or two randomly warm days in February.  The kids took full advantage of the weather by walking to and from school, playing outside and wearing vests instead of full winter coats!  They've been working on jumping rope in PE and Abby has really taken to it.  She recently earned her "Super Jumper" award for jumping 25 times in a row and was over the moon excited.

Pinewood Derby 2015

Alex's Pinewood Derby car design this year was a "bone serpent" from the video game Terraria.  He won "Most Innovative Design" in the pack, which was pretty exciting for him!  Abby and Celia have almost outgrown those Scout Sister tee shirts but three years running they still fit.  Our friend Sam is always so kind as to let us use his saw to cut out whatever crazy design Alex has come up with.  The boys always do an amazing job designing and painting their cars.