Take Me Down to [Ocean] City

After the glitz and glamor faded from the memory of our lovely beach trip to Chesapeake in June, we decided we needed to get back to the sea. But we decided to up the excitement this time by driving to Ocean City, Maryland. The drive there took over 3 hours, but we quickly forgot our boredom and stiff legs once we set foot on the sand.

We spent all day lounging on the beach, soaking up the sun and the perfect weather (hovering just below 90 degrees all day). We made sure to include the requisite sessions of burying each other in the sand.

The waves were awesome-- probably the biggest I've ever seen in my incredibly limited wave history. Sam spent several large chunks of time body surfing, but my one attempt left me topless on the very crowded beach for several seconds, so kept my feet firmly planted on sand after that.

Bria alternated between nervous and enamored when it came to the waves. In one particularly terrifying incident, she was swept under a huge wave, getting carried about 10 feet up the beach, all tossed and tangled under the water. We sprinted to her as I shrieked in a Mama Bear voice, but once we caught up to her, she jumped into Sam's grasp, arms outstretched and yelled "I DID IT!" I nearly cried from fear, but remain just so happy it wasn't a traumatizing experience.

We packed tons of food so we could stay on the beach until dinner time. Then we packed up, showered off, put on less sandy clothes and grabbed some pizza on the boardwalk.

After dinner we walked around the boardwalk, stopping along the way for various entertainers. This guy was playing the steel drum and let kids come up and play his other instruments. Bria showed virtually no emotion while shaking the maracas and tambourine in time to the songs, but was ecstatic telling us all about it when she finished.

Just after bedtime hit and our parking meter ran out, we called it a day. We picked up some deep fried oreos on our way to the car (yum!) and started the long drive home.

The Growing Girl

It's no secret that I'm a wimp when it comes to the heat. So the last couple weeks that have turned Virginia into a steam room, we've stayed mostly indoors. And, yes. It's getting incredibly boring. But this week we've had some excitement! On Monday we went to the pool in DC, where Hannah taught Bria to blow bubbles and make big kicks. Yesterday we hit up the Summer Movie Fest at our local theater for $1 tickets to see Nanny McPhee Returns (which Bria calls simply McPhie Mangum). Of course there are also daily (ok, hourly) dance parties which help squelch cabin fever.
The other "exciting" thing of this week was going to IKEA, which you might think is no big deal, but we reached an incredible milestone while we were there: Bria was able to go the Smaland Magical Forest and I shopped child-free for 30 minutes. I actually usually enjoy her as a shopping buddy, but she was incredibly eager to go, and it made her seem like such a Big Kid. This is ultimate Mom Talk I realize, but I just can't believe how fast she's growing up. Sigh.
Speaking of which, she stopped napping in the last two weeks, which has been . . . interesting. Last week I found her like this at 5 pm, while I was in the middle of making dinner. And right before I took the picture, her toes weren't even touching the ground.
She was out for the count. Needless to say, it was a late night.

So Old, So Wise

(do take note of the U2 shirt Sam is sporting, as concert tickets were his birthday present.)

Taking some precedence over our fine nation's birthday, Sam turned 29 on the 4th of July. We celebrated with a cake, cupcakes, and a fancy breakfast. All the birthday hoopla was intermingled with great Independence Day celebrations with Sam's brothers' families. It was a lovely day all around. I am rather blessed to live in this country and have such an awesome husband.

A Final Visit to Richmond

At the end of May, Bria and I made one final trek down to Richmond to visit my friend Jenna. They just finished medical school and moved for residency, so I wanted to say a final farewell. Jenna and I have been friends since we were 13, and it was nice to be able to see each other every couple of months while we both lived in Virginia.
We stopped by the great children's museum in Richmond, and the girls had a blast. Of course Bria just wanted to sit and color, much to the chagrin of Siena.But we successfully steered Bria away from the crayons after awhile so they could play.
I'm not sure why I was surprised we couldn't get the girls to pose perfectly for this shot.
Apparently they didn't get how funny this could have been.
Although, I can't really blame them, since I couldn't position myself correctly either. Siena was only a couple of months old when we moved here, and this was the first time she and Bria have really, truly played together. It was so fun to watch them interact, and I know Bria loved it (she's still talking about it).

To the beach!

The first weekend in June we decided a trip to the beach was necessary. We packed up some snacks and returned to the Chesapeake. About 45 minutes from our house, the tiny Maryland town seems worlds away from DC. The beach is short and small, but it feels private and secluded-- tucked back in a neighborhood and across the street from an elementary school. (unfortunately you have to pay to enter the beach. we're on the lookout for a nearby beach that's also free.)The water is incredibly shallow, which makes for kid-friendly ocean time. Open water freaks me out, so Sam spent the day wading with Bria. Bria dug in the sand and made friends with other beach-goers. The weather was perfect-- very warm, but not hot, with an occasional light breeze.
After about four hours, we packed up and headed home. Bria fell asleep within minutes, with a chip dangling from her mouth, clutching the bag with a death grip. (seriously, I tried to get the bag of chips from her about 10 times during the drive.)
A perfect, short beach trip was just the trick to rejuvenate us (plus no jellyfish like last year!). I'm hoping we can find time for a couple more quick trips this summer.

Carpe Diem

I don't want to jinx it, but this spring weather has been incredible. We've had weeks of perfect outdoor weather.
I am a complete baby when it comes to heat, so the lingering mid-70s weather is adding new meaning to my life, like a pre-summer gift. "Don't fret; I am still here," it whispers to me. "Lap up these delightful breezes and enjoy your straight hair while you still can." It begins its admonishment: "live in the moment."
And so we try. We eat popsicles. We have lunch and dinner picnics outside. We chalk (Bria has turned it into a verb). We go on family walks. We leave the windows open. We just relish it-- without worrying about the heat that awaits us.

Birthday Weekend Trip

Ever since I went to New York last spring, I was scheming and scheming to get Sam and me back there together. The stars aligned, and we took a weekend trip to the Big Apple last month for my birthday. We left Bria with Sam's brother Marc's family and took the bus from DC. One of the best parts was being able to stay in a friend's apartment while she was out of town. Right by Central Park and less than a block from the subway-- it was incredible.
We were there for less than 48 hours, but we packed in as much as possible. We went to the MOMA (Sam and I both love modern art), which was mostly incredible because I could wander at my own pace and not worry about it being boring for Bria. Amazing!

And we waited in line at the box office to get rush tickets for How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (starring Daniel Radcliffe!). I had no idea how likely it would be for us to get tickets, and we waited for almost two hours, but it was so worth it. Front row tickets for $30! If I stood up, I could have touched Harry Potter's pant leg. Eeek!
Isn't NYC the city that never sleeps? One night after dinner, we wandered around Times Square for a while before I finally said "I'm too tired! Let's go home and go to sleep!" So we did. We realize we are now officially boring and old.And we caught a Mets game. They were playing the Nats!
I cheered once for the Nationals before realizing how out of place I was. From that point on, all jubilation was kept inside.
It was an amazing trip-- definitely my best birthday ever. For more detail about my favorite parts of the trip (uh, that would be the food) see here.