Life Around Town

I've discovered a new way to meet other mommies...Meet-Up Alexandria!

I can't take all of the credit for finding this group; a friend of mine told me about it. :) I've found two groups in the area and I've attended a handful of events for each one. It's a good way to meet other moms and kids in the area. We live on the edge of Alexandria so most of these events require me to drive at least 15 minutes, yet it usually takes longer because there is always traffic. :) This has helped me in learning the area though. These meet-ups have been good because it gets the kiddos out and playing with other kids. I'm enjoying meeting other moms, yet this always takes a little longer. ;)

We've have discovered some great parks, libraries and of course museums. We also checked out our first frozen yogurt place, Sweet Frog.

It is a fill-you-own type of place, but it has three different cup sizes. I love this! Why? Well now I don't have to take the HUGE cup and try to only fill enough yogurt for a small and it ends up overflowing. ;) Right after I discover this place, I see a sign in the shopping area right by my house that says, "Menchie's coming soon!" Yay! This was our fro yo place in HI!! So now this shopping center will have Tropical Smoothie, Starbucks, Firehouse Subs, Five Guys, Menchies and a pizza place. It also has a cute ballet studio when Ava gets older. :) Yes...I love food! LOL! The key thing here is that we can take a walk to these places. What a great afternoon outing on a Fall day.

 

Along with getting to know the area, Dylan has also been getting comfy in school. He already loves it! He is making friends and comes home each day singing a new song, rhyme or telling a story. It's nice to see him this way. Like most kids in their first week of school, Dylan was assigned to complete an "All About Me" poster. I've assigned a similar project to my students over the years. :) Here was Dylan's poster...

 

 

Last weekend was the National Book Festival on the Mall. We love free stuff like this! :)

 

This is the poster they gave! I picked one up with intention of getting it framed and hung in the kids' playroom. :)

 

The Mall was full of tents! Even though this event was for all ages, we mainly stayed in the kids area. One of the tents had a lego area that was a big hit!

 

They gave the kids crowns, which Ava seemed more interested in than the legos towards the end of playtime. :)

 

We then went over to the Storytime stage where the "Justin Roberts and The Not Ready For Naptime Players" were performing. They were pretty good. Here is a video of the kids rocking out. I couldn't back up too much because there were a lot of people so it is a little close.

 

 

We then had a picnic on the lawn.

 

 

Dylan wasn't posing for pics during lunch.

 

The plan after lunch was to go to the book tent to buy a couple books for the kids then head to the tent where Choo Choo Soul from Disney Junior was playing. Well, it ended up being more complicated. Argh! Randy went to pay for the books and I thought the I was waiting with the kids outside the tent for him to finish then WE were going to the performance tent. Randy thought we were meeting him at the performace tent. Well, I waited with the kids for about 45 min. outside the book tent without seeing Randy! I ended up letting Ava play in the dirt because they were getting so restless!

 

 

While she was in the dirt, Randy was listening to Choo Choo Soul. Without going into great detail, my group missed the show and found eachother after an hour of waiting. We learned a big lesson on communication that day. Randy and I will be double checking the plan next time. :)

 

A;ong with all of the fun stuff, we have also had other "events" occur. Pest control got rid of the termites in our house...yes, you read that right. Dylan has slipped into his alter ego of the resident dictator. Ava has taken to pooping in the tub during bath and I deal with it all. Yep...just the regular stuff. :)  This weekend is going to be boring stuff around the house...hopefully. ;)

He got promoted!!

Today was promotion day! Randy was selected to be promoted to Lieutenant Commander back in July 2011. Yep...that's right; over a year ago! So, today has been long awaited. :)

One of the aspects I love about the Navy is that they are family oriented. When the hubs is being honored, promoted, celebrated, etc., the Navy invites the family to be apart of it. It's nice to be wanted. :)

I arrived with the kiddos at his office just after 11am and the ceremony was scheduled at 11:30am. I say "scheduled" because something always comes up. :) While we were waiting, the fam met many of Randy's co-workers, the other officer being promoted and his wife then finally the Admiral. We chatted in the Admiral's office and Dylan seemed to steal the show. Of course he wore his pilot outfit including his Naval Aviation t-shirt. We had him take off the flight goggles while inside. :)

When we walked into the room where the promotion took place, there were at least 25 Naval personnel standing around the room. It wasn't even my thing, but I felt like we were the show.

Dylan picked up on it and at one point we needed to remind him to be quiet and listen. That's a 3 year old for you. :)

I guess Dylan did make a good impression on the Admiral because then he gave Dylan a coin. Of course then Ava felt like she should have one too.

I took this one at home. A little bright and blurry. :)

Notice that her hand is out ready to collect. :) I was whispering in her ear that we were only getting one coin and she could hold it later. Apparently Randy's office thought this whole exchange was pretty funny.

Now...on to the oath...

After the oath, it is time to pin the LCDR pins to the collar. I got to help with this. Randy gave me an instructional session the night before. :)

I was a little slower than the Admiral. I think it was because I had to move the old pins away from Ava because she went right after them on the table. Of course...I wouldn't expect anything else. LOL!

After the other officer was promoted, everyone in the room came over to say congratulations. It was like a receiving line.

We celebrated with a lunch out and the kids were honestly awesome the whole time. We had a good time!

Congratulations to the new Lieutenant Commander Krekeler!