I Need a Lumberjack

If anyone thinks that too many trees are being cut down, they should come to Virginia. I absolutely love trees. I think they are lovely and necessary. However, I can't see a darn thing here! I am getting claustrophobic! Everywhere I look there are trees. I can't tell if I'm going north or south...I can't see road signs because the trees grow on top of them...sometimes you can't even see sunlight! I'm telling you, if I could find a hill around here, I would climb it, just so I could see over the trees for a few minutes. Virginia is in need of serious deforestation. I can't wait for the leaves to fall off so maybe I can see a little further.



Speaking of Lumberjacks, our Jack has decided that he doesn't want to wear clothes anymore, only rain boots. Every day he brings me his rain boots and takes his clothes off. They are two sizes too big and he can barely walk in them, but he loves them. I'm hoping this stage goes away before Kindergarten :)

Older Again

So, tomorrow is my birthday. We were planning on going to the beach to celebrate and found out yesterday that it was supposed to rain the rest of the week. I was so bummed out because I've never lived anywhere that is still warm on my birthday! So, since I have the best husband ever he put all of his homework and studying aside and took a spur of the moment trip to the beach! He is paying for it now and having to study double hard since he took a day off but I say it was worth it! :) We drove over to Maryland to Chesapeake Beach. It's a cute little town on Chesapeake Bay...so technically it's not the ocean, but the water is salty so I think it counts. The weather was lovely, we saw a jellyfish and we pretty much had the beach to ourselves since everyone else was at work :)


Jack loved the waves. He sat where they could splash up on him and he giggled every time they did. He sat in the water until his lips were blue. I made him get out to warm him up and he was less than pleased.


Here are my men!


This is about as far as I got in. I love the beach, but lets face it, I go to get a tan, not to swim.

Sorry for the sideways video, but here is cute Jack and his first go at the water :)

Why Jay Made Me Cut Jack's Hair

Jack has GORGEOUS hair. He has blond curls that most women would die for. I LOVE Jack's hair. I love the little ringlets and how when he wakes up in the morning it sticks straight up and he looks like Einstein.

Unfortunately some people (grocery store clerks, people at the park....church...bank, etc.) tell us what a "beautiful little girl" we have. This is not something that bodes well with Jay. Everyday he tells me, "We need to cut Jack's hair. He looks like a girl, and we look like hippie parents who won't cut his hair". I keep putting it off. Those curls just get me every time.

Not so long ago I decided that Jack's hair was finally long enough for pig tails. I had to do it before we cut it....mostly to horrify Jay. Apparently that pushed Jay over the edge. He made me promise to cut his hair once we were settled in our new place. Well, I have successfully dodged it for weeks, until yesterday.

I did the unthinkable. I cut it. I, Delilah, cut Samson's hair and took away his strength. Now he looks like a regular boy....(tear)....and he doesn't look like a baby anymore....(more tears).....

....I guess they grow up eventually, but I'm just not ready.

First Day of School!!

On Monday Jay started his first day of school.

And so it begins. Two years of studying, internships, hour long commutes and a very lonely wife.




Jack thought he would be like his dad and start some intense research of his own.

Jack and the City

On Wednesday Jay, Jack and I went into D.C. Jay had a school orientation and we decided to tag along and test out the Metro. Jack LOVED the subway. It rocks a little as it goes and he would sway back and forth in his stroller exaggerating the movement. So cute. We played at a park across the street from Jay's school while he went to a meeting. We fed the pigeons chocolate chip banana bread (Note to PETA: Sorry if you find dead pigeons. Is chocolate bad for them?) and Jack chased them around the park. He loved all the people walking past and waved at each one. I think maybe Jack loves the city?




We decided to tour a bit before heading home and walked over to the White House. The grounds are lovely and the people across the street that have been there since 1981 running the anti-nuclear vigil are a little wacko, but it was all fun to see!



Jay and Mr. Washington. I think his head may be almost as big as Jack's :)

Our New Neighbor"hood"

I finally got enough boxes unpacked and things cleaned up that I can finally post pictures of our new apartment! :) So far we really love it! The people are all so friendly and the area is quiet. A few streets down gets a little dodgy, but all in all it is a nice place!

Here is the outside of our building. We are the top right balcony.



Here is my lovely kitchen where I am happy to report that the muffins I made yesterday came out perfect! And round topped! That has never happened before! Must be the lower elevation!


Here is the bathroom. Just in case you were interested. Please notice our pink/peach bathtub because it is seriously stylin'.


This is the area that will hopefully have a table and chairs soon so Jack's highchair won't be so lonely.

Here is our living room and my very studious husband. Notice our huge windows. Jack has covered them nicely with kisses :)

More living room. You are just lucky I took out the camping chair for the picture :)


Ahhhh. Pretty sure this is my favorite spot in the house. I realize that it's not very space saver to have my shoes like this, but it looks so pretty!!



More closet. It is huge and wonderful.


Our bedroom. Please don't mind the mess under the bed or on the dresser :)

Jacks bachelor pad.


And that is the whole thing! Minus the other bathroom and the pantry, but I think you can live without seeing those :)

We Made It!!

Yes, we are still alive. We are living out of boxes, but happy as clams :) Last week we made the 4 day journey to our new home in Virginia. Jack can only handle about 8 hours a day in the car, so we had to take it pretty slowly. Jay's parents helped us drive the cars out which was a huge help. We decided to enjoy our road trip and stop a few places along the way. Our first tourist stop was in Nauvoo, IL. For those of you that don't know the history of Nauvoo, here it is in condensed version. The Mormons, or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints settled in Nauvoo, IL. after they were driven out of Missouri. Nauvoo was basically a huge swamp as it is on the banks of the Mississippi. They irrigated the swamp to make it livable and built up the city. At one point (1845), it had more people than Chicago! They built the second temple (the first being in Kirtland, OH. which city they were also driven out of) and started really prospering. In the summer of 1844 our Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum were killed in Carthage, IL.(our second stop). The Mormons were once again forced to leave the state of Illinois and they all headed out west landing in Utah. So, that is why Utah is full of us :)

The town has been restored and the temple rebuilt. It is beautiful and hot and I'm glad I finally go to see it!

Here I am with a real honest to goodness Ox. This is what the pioneers used to pull their covered wagons. They are freaking enormous. This one is even a girl (I checked). I can't imagine how big the bulls are!!



Jay, Jack and me at the back of the Nauvoo temple. It is absolutely gorgeous.


Jay at Carthage jail where Joseph Smith was killed.


Monday we went to check out George Washington U where Jay will spend most of his next 2 years. It is awesome. It's right downtown D.C. next to the White House and all of the monuments. The school is actually just huge city buildings and the campus is spread out over a few city blocks. It is an interesting set-up but a sweet location.


Here is the Elliott School building where Jay will have most of his classes!

So, that is it for now! I will post pictures soon of our new place once I get some of the boxes out of the way!

(Jay wanted to include the following video. He and my brother, Doug, rescued a bat from our drain gutter...it was stuck. So, here is Batty climbing up to get ready to fly! Sorry it is sideways...not really sure how to turn it :))