George Washington's Birthplace

We were blessed to be able to take advantage of the gorgeous weather today and head down to Pope's Creek. It was absolutely beautiful and so mild!

There is nothing like several days of gloomy clouds and rain to make one really appreciate sunshine and warmth!

Wrigley came along with us, we didn't realize that dogs are prohibited on the grounds of the plantation! Lucky for us, we were able to finish our hike prior to having Wrigley banished!

Treasures found on the hike

The water level was very VERY high, and the ground was saturated in many areas. Thankfully most of the path wasn't too muddy. 

However, one of the boardwalks was completely under water!

Pat went out to check the depth . . .

Which was something Kateri could NOT resist! Since we don't buckle her in, she was able to jump out of the stroller before I could stop her!

Sebastian also wanted to take part in the fun, but thankfully he was buckled in nice and snug!

At the very end of the loop, when we were almost back to the initial bridge, we came upon an area of the path that was entirely submerged in water! It was much deeper then it looks in this picture:

At first I was certain we would be forced to turn around and retrace the entire loop, especially since the double stroller is cumbersome and wide and would be difficult to navigate through woods!

Pat was not daunted and blazed a new trail!

Kateri and Pat's victorious smiles on the other side:

Sebastian enjoyed the off-roading experience as well.

When we got back to the plantation, we let Sebastian out of the stroller to get some energy out, and boy was he a happy kid!

Freedom!

Kateri and Sebastian were able to see some of the livestock.

These cattle were enormous.

And Sebastian could not take his eyes off of them.

Eventually we did drag him away to see the horses, which were rather shaggy and needed a nice brush down but were very friendly,

Kateri was very careful to hold her hand flat as she fed him grass

Sebastian of course has no fear of horses, and kept trying to have the horse eat the 3 or 4 blades of grass that were squeezed tight in his little fist. Thank goodness the horse was very gentle and I was able to intercept him most times!

The kids were also thrilled to see some sheep and little lambs

They were expertly gathered into a group and herded out of the pasture by, not a border collie, but a park ranger and his clapping hands. (Same park ranger who gave me a very strict admonition Not to feed the livestock, for SAFETY REASONS.) He also told us Wrigley (who was behaving very well, thank you, and not disturbing nor being disturbed by the livestock) was Not Welcome. Oops! I almost lifted Kateri and Sebastian over the fence with the order to run and chase the little lambs, but decided against it at the last second!

Sebastian did have fun just running down the path.

But the level of fun was exponentially increased by the presence of puddles!

There are quite a few gorgeous trees on the property!

I kept asking Sebastian if he wanted me to carry him~ he had been walking for quite a while at this point, and every time he would run at me with a big smile and then swerve and run right by me with great glee!

So thankful for this beautiful Sunday! I think it is safe to say that we are all Redskins fans today, Go Skins!

This and That

Are you looking for a 2016 Planner? Do you even need or use one? Well, if you are a sucker like me, you should join me in spending a pretty little penny on one (ironically from the blog Living Well Spending Less). This is my planner for the new year! I am wayyy more excited about it then I should be, but truth be told there is just so much to LOVE about it. Lots of room for goals (yearly, monthly etc)/errands/to do lists/budgeting, and best of all, for each week there is MEAL PLANNING (you can see the columns for breakfast lunch and dinner in the picture above). And best of all, it looks really nice and the colors just make you want to write in it! Anyway, here is the link to the planner itself (although it looks like the sale isn't as good as it was earlier this year).

Last Sunday, we went in to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms, ahem, museums!

January 3. 2016

 And the spring flowers!

So crazy to see this glimpse of spring in January! I hope these blooms won't affect the blooms in March/April.

Despite the blooming trees and plants, it was still pretty chilly.

But with nice fluffy warm coats it was quite comfortable!

Kateri and Sebastian were both in awe at the Natural History Museum and enjoyed seeing all of the animal exhibits.

"Check it out, guys!!"

"Momm, why are you making me smile in front of this poor beast being mauled by lions?"

Kateri loved seeing the bears

Although her absolute favorite exhibit was T-Rex.  Sebastian has a little plastic T-Rex that Kateri has adopted. She very much loves him, wrapping him with great care in blankets, asking for him in her bed almost every night, and even occasionally taking him into Church. She first informed me that his name was "Sugar", and that I was mis pronouncing it and I should pronounce it "Sugah". Then she changed his name to Buttons. He is very tiny, of course, and so Kateri was in great awe when she saw the massive bones of T-Rex!

That was definitely the most memorable part of the museum!

We also went for a quick walk through of the Air and Space Museum.

Kateri later told us her favorite part was the planes, but couldn't give any more specifics!

One of the favorite gifts of Christmas has been a farm set from Mihi and Grandpa, both Kateri and Sebastian have spend quite a lot of time playing with it!

The other day I had to laugh when I saw Sebastian reclining on the hard wood floor, head right near the trash can, reading through a book. And then Kateri noticed him as well, and HAD to share the book.

Sebastian continues to love his little blanket that Mihi gave him, and has started pulling it out of the crib and carrying it around during the day, especially when he is feeling a bit tired.

Our little Linus

And, last but not least, I noticed this dear little picture of Kateri and her dear Nano from last year, and I had to include it!