Fourth of July

We had another great 4th of July this year. We had just moved into our new house about five days before, so I dug out our pans to make our first real homemade meal: crepes for Sam's birthday breakfast. 

That afternoon we headed out to the middle of nowhere with Sam's brother's family for some patriotic festivities. It was kind of set up like a fair, so we waited in an eternal line for Bria to get her face painted. Obviously this was the highlight of her year.

By the time we finished with the face painting, we were ready to grab some food and wait for the fireworks to start. It was very hot. There was a certain pregnant someone who may have complained a lot about that heat. 

The fireworks were fun, of course, though it was the most random and choppy music compilation I have ever heard to accompany the display. After waiting in the parking lot for an hour or two, we made our way home with this sleepy and spooky gal.

But of course my favorite part of the 4th is always celebrating Sam's birthday.  I'm wild about the guy-- beard and all.

here comes the son

Because I suppose things like this should be documented for the blogs, it's about time to post about our sweet little boy who will be joining the clan in early November.
Of course Bria is so excited for her baby brother to come, and I know she is going to be an excellent sister. And considering the age difference, I think she will be quite the efficient little helper.
I'm closing out the second trimester here in the next couple weeks and am starting to feel huge. It's a scary thought, since I know 26-week hugeness is nothing compared to 40-week hugeness. Yikes.

his sweet face! I can't believe how far ultrasound technology has come even in the last 5 1/2 years

My 24+ week pregnant glory. We McPhie women don't hold back when it comes to creating very comfy and cushy homes for our babies. 

Run or Dye

Several months ago Sam and I bought Groupons to Run or Dye, one of the many 5k color runs coming through DC this summer. I kept forgetting about it, and when I would remember, we would say "oh, we better start running, huh?" (Yes, I did run a half marathon in November.) When it finally came down to it, neither of us had gone running, and I never made a plan for what to do with Bria that morning. So we decided to just make it a family affair! I'm so glad it was such a low-key family event, because we had a blast! We brought the stroller, but Bria walked/ran well over half of it, just taking quick breaks here and there. We were absolutely covered by the end, and I can attest that not all of the color washes out of your clothes. To prove how much fun we had, Bria keeps asking if we can do a color run every day.

Before

. . . and after

Mothers Day in Luray

For Mothers Day weekend, we took a tiny family trip out to the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia. We left Saturday after soccer and drove west to Harrisonburg where we explored the town before grabbing dinner and heading to our hotel.

In the morning, we enjoyed the hotel buffet and the hotel pool before heading out. We drove by a pretty awesome looking playground, so we let Bria run around like crazy for about an hour.

 Then we navigated some of the most beautiful country roads (crossing the Shenandoah River-- you can bet we were all belting John Denver) to arrive in Luray. We went on the tour of the Luray caverns. I was a total sucker for all our guides jokes and just soaked up all the information about the amazing stalactites and stalagmites. Virginia had very heavy rains for about three days before we visited, so the caves were very wet, dripping all over us, with puddles everywhere. We just tried not to think about how deep we were underground.

Party Girl

When Bria and I started planning her birthday party and the guest list started heading towards 30 kids, I came up with a brilliant idea. Instead of a classic birthday party where I would somehow attempt to entertain that many children, we held her party at a local park, and I brought cake-- that's it! The invite suggested a time to arrive, the time we'd eat cake, and then told guests to stay and play as long as they wanted. It was genius! By a stroke of incredible luck, the previously-reserved park pavilion was vacated by a large group right as we arrived. It couldn't have gone better. Bria had such a fun time running around with all her different friends. I loved watching her introduce friends from different social circles and see her surrounded by so many people she adores. A perfect way to celebrate our sweet girl's big day.

Out of the Darkness

On the night of June 1st, Sam will be walking 16-18 miles overnight through D.C. as a fundraiser for suicide prevention. This cause is something very personal to us, because 20 years ago, Sam lost his brother Mitch to suicide. Sam will be walking in memory of Mitch in hopes that bringing light and awareness to this cause will help others.

This overnight walk is "designed to raise funds and make a bold statement to bring the issue of suicide out into the light. The Overnight is organized by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education, and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide."

Sam's fundraising goal is $1000. Please visit his page and donate to the cause if you can. Whether you are able to donate or not, please share this message with all your friends and family through email, facebook, twitter-- anyway you can.

Half a Decade

Our darling B turns FIVE today.

That girl is a firecracker. She loves rainbows, fairies, jewelry, and anything fancy. She loves animals and will seek out random facts about any kind of animal. She invented a game called "I Spy with My Little Animal Eye." The rules are similar to I Spy, but you're thinking of an animal. There are a couple complicated details to get the game started, but I love that she thought of the game herself, and we play it in the car all the time.
She expresses frustration because there are so many things she wants to be when she grows up: veterinarian dentist, marine biologist, ballerina, ballerina astronaut (she wants to do ballet on the moon), artist, chef . . . the list goes on.
She still loves to spend her time drawing, painting, doodling, writing, coloring-- any art project will occupy her for hours. She also gets lost in her own little worlds, creating her own scenes from various movies and books she loves or just scenes from her own brain.
The words I've used to describe her since she was tiny remain the same. She is-- more than anything else-- expressive. She has a big heart and feels things very deeply. She is kind and loving. She loves her friends, her fish, and her family so much. She adores her dad, and thinks he is hilarious. She is very sensitive, and I would even say nurturing toward me. She truly is my little buddy.

We love that little girl so much. Happy birthday, Bria!