Cell Phone Pic Dump

Here are some pics from my phone that I want in my blog books...

 

Haha, this is how Parker and Tyce read stories at night, under the covers with a "bashlight"...

My little bookworms reading their Kids National Geographic during dinner...

My parents good friends and fellow Salem 2nd Warders the Westovers came to DC and we met up with them for lunch, it was so good to see them!

Leah, Sarah, and Tyce playing blocks.  I can't believe I've been watching them for almost two and a half years!  The time has flown by and I will miss them so much when Traci has her baby in June and is on maternity leave...

Traci and I took the kids to Frying Pan Farm one day...

Then to the mall to play in the play area and ride the carousel...

Brody loves to come with us when we walk to the train to meet Parker, he's so cute just trotting around behind us...who needs a high maintenance dog when we have BRODY?

What happens when mommy is gone at church meetings?  They build a tent, which they also slept in that night...

Jackson's castle at Fantasy Park...

Haha, this is what Tyce wore to walk to the train station...

Things coming up for us: tonight is the twin's first t-ball game and they are super excited for it.  I am excited because my grandparents and great aunt come to visit in 5 days!!!!!  :)  YAY for visitors!!!

Fun Weekend

Friday night Parker made reservations at a yummy restaurant in DC called The Hamilton.  Denise and I drove up together to meet our husbands when they got off work.  It's always fun to eat in the city, we just don't do it much because traffic is never fun and parking is so expensive! 

 

 

Me and my man...

Our food was SO yummy!  For the first time since I've moved out east I went to a restaurant that had HALIBUT!  I love halibut and it was delicious.  I also tried octopus for the first time!  Chewy but tasty! 

After dinner we walked around Tidal Basin and saw the beautiful cherry blossoms and monuments.  It was a perfect night for walking.  I forgot to take a pic but here is a pic Parker took the day before when he went for a run around Tidal Basin... 

Shortly after we got home my dad sent me this pic of my mom hanging out with President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, the second counselor in the First Presidency.  Apparently my whole family went to a fundraising dinner for the American Indian Association, of which my grandpa has always been a huge supporter. 

I then found myself feeling sad, jealous, lonely, and bitter...as frequently happens when I know my whole family is together without me.  I love my family and hate that I miss out on so much.  With my parents now having a home in Utah it seems they're always hanging out with my sisters and their families and I can't help but be jealous.  I wonder daily why Heavenly Father put me out here...and I may never know.  However, I then thought about the fun night we had just had.  Troy and Denise are dear friends and we would never have met them if we lived in Utah.  We enjoyed a yummy fancy restaurant, which are all over this area and much more limited in Utah.  Then we were able to walk around the capitol of our country and see history and sights that some people live their whole lives never seeing.  I realized that it is pretty cool to live out here and experience this side of the country.  We hope to someday move closer to family but in the meantime I need to constantly remind myself of the blessings that come from living out here, namely Parker's great job, an awesome ward, and fantastic friends. 

Saturday we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Prince William National Forest to do the hike we had wanted to do last weekend when Tyce was sick.

The hike was about 8 miles roundtrip so Parker decided to go park the car at the top, then hike down to us so the kids would only have to do the 4 miles.  While we waited for him we played at the really fun park...

 

Then we were off! 

Shortly into the hike we found a shallow creek and the boys were SO excited to play in it.  We had brought their swimming suits and they probably could've spent the entire afternoon there throwing rocks and playing on the bridge...

Tyce showing his muscles...

Then we got dried off and continued on the hike...it was really pretty and we passed some cool historical buildings like the foundations of buildings from the early 1900s...

Towards the end we found some waterfalls the boys wanted to play in.  Poor Tyce and Jack both fell in in their clothes but they were good sports about it and had fun sliding down the small waterfalls...

Tyce was seriously awesome, he is 3 years old and he hiked at least 2 of the 4 miles.  He never complained or cried and was so happy and fun!  Here we are taking a break from swimming...

 

After the hike I had planned on making dinner but it was already 6:30pm and the boys were starving so we just stopped by IHOP on our way home.  We were all super hungry and ate a ton.  While we were waiting for our food Tyce wrote his name by himself for the first time!  I love his E!  He loves learning and can't wait for preschool...   

                                   

 

It was a fun and exhausting weekend, I love being outside when it's not blazin hot and humid...which it will be very soon I'm sure! 

T-Ball!

Jack and Josh had their first t-ball practice on Monday.  They were SO excited for it!  The t-ball age group is 4-6 so, for the first time in any sport, they'll be at the TOP of their age group instead of the bottom.  They are on the same team as last year with the same coach.  It was a beautiful day and here are some pics from their practice...

 

They wanted to get there 20 minutes early to throw around to each other and they were super excited about their new baseball bags...

Josh will probably play on the pitcher mound this year which is where he loves to play.  He did well in practice catching the balls and throwing to 1st.   

Jackson throwing to 1st...

Josh batting...

Jackson batting...

If you know me at all you know that t-ball, softball, baseball, ALL OF THEM, are my least favorite sport by far but I do really enjoy watching my boys play.  Here's to a good season!!!

Camping

The boys (especially Tyce) have been begging to go camping the past couple weeks so we decided this weekend would be the perfect weekend to go camping because of General Conference and the weather so we packed up Saturday morning and headed out to Prince William Forest!

 

Helping daddy get stuff out of the car...

Josh brought his shovel so he could dig holes, such a  boy!

 One excited daddy!  Camping with his three sons and awesome wife, what more could a guy want?  (Maybe a wife who could take better pictures!)  Haha...

 This was about as happy as Tyce got...

He has had a stomach bug for a couple days now but we didn't want to leave him behind since he wanted to go so bad.  He was an angel considering how sick he was.  He would have spurts of energy and happiness, then throw up or diarrhea, sleep for a long time, then repeat it all over again.  Here he is in the car waiting while we set the tent up...

Parker teaching his sons how to set the tent up.  It's kinda nice camping because, for once, PARKER has to do everything while I sit around and watch!  Never mind all the laundry I have to do when we get back though!  

3 excited boys who love camping...

After we set up camp we found a trail and went on a nice 2.5 mile hike.  Parker carried Tyce the whole way because his tummy was hurting.  Tyce rocks at long walks so he could've done it had he been feeling ok.  He did good the first mile...

 Jackson and Josh were in heaven playing in the forest...

 The rest of the hike Tyce cried...

When we got back from the hike Tyce threw up and then laid in the tent while the twins played around the campsite...

 The boys thought this huge tree and its roots were so cool...

When the sun went down it started to get chilly so Parker made a fire...

 After dinner and smores we got in the tent and played games before bed...

Tyce fell asleep in about 10 seconds, poor guy.  They all slept well through the night (can't say the same for Parker and I though) and woke up happy!  We had really wanted to do a longer hike to a waterfall but Tyce still wasn't feeling up to it and Parker didn't want to carry him for 4 miles so we decided just to play around the campsite before heading home.

Jack and Josh asked me to take these pictures for my blog, hahaha...

 

Tyce fell asleep on me while Parker and the boys put everything away...

The rest of the day was spent doing laundry, watching conference, and relaxing.  It was a great camping trip and would've been PERFECT had Tyce not been sick.  The weather was great, the bugs hadn't come out yet, it wasn't crowded, it was just fun family time.  Here's to hoping poor Tycee can get feeling better soon.