From Point to Point

This morning after breakfast I took Charmaine, Kelly and Cameron down to Solomons Island for some souvenir shopping and sight seeing. While we were down there, Steve called and said he was on his way home. We were very delighted to hear that he was taking the rest of the day off to spend with us, especially since he has duty the rest of the week. The rain started and so we headed home where we soon met Steve. After eating we headed out again where Steve took us for a drive down to Point Lookout where we viewed a POW camp. Then it was back on the road again. We drove around for a bit more and ended up at the Piney Point Lighthouse. Unfortunately the lighthouse and museum closed earlier than what was stated on the sign and we didn't get to go inside. It was still nice to walk around the grounds and get some photos. Then we headed back up north where Steve took us to the gift shop at Cecil's Mill and Charmaine picked up some great gifts to take back home. Overall, it was another great day of sightseeing and we were very thankful that Steve could spend the rest of the day with us. :)

Off to A Flat Start

FLAT TIRE. This is how our day started out. So while Steve and Kelly put the spare on, Charmaine and I took the little guys for a little walk around the neighbourhood. Then we all piled into the car and headed off to Sam's Club where they were the only place that had Steve's tire size. We shopped for a bit then went for a walk down the street. Finally after the car was ready to finished we decided it wasn't too late to head down to D.C. and get in some museums before they closed. It was exciting to see the looks on their faces when we finally reached the National Mall after getting off the Metro. Charmaine had a blast taking lots of photos. The first stop we wanted to make was the National Museum of the American Indian. This was a first visit for Steve and I as well and we really enjoyed the exhibits. Then it was off to the National Museum of Air and Space. We've been here a few times before, but we never tire of visiting it. Before we knew it, it was getting late and we had to make our way back to the subway station to head home and put our little guys to bed. They ended up falling asleep on the way home, which was nice because all we had to do was put them in their beds and we could actually have an adult conversation without being interrupted a million times. Even though it was a rough start to our day, it ended up quiet for us.

Welcome Charmaine, Kelly, and Cameron

Friday night we picked up Charmaine, Kelly, and Cameron at the airport and we've been on the go ever since. Charmaine and I have been good friends since our university days together, and I was so happy to hear that her and her family were coming to visit us. Tyler had been asking me when his buddy Cameron was going to be here everyday since we heard they were coming. Cameron and "Lyler" (what Cameron calls Tyler) are having so much fun together. It's been only a few days, but we already know that the boys are going to miss each other a great deal after Cameron goes back home. While we were waiting for their flight to arrive, Steve and I got some pamphlets. One of them was for this really neat cave in Virginia, so we thought it would be fun to take them to see it. We had never been there before either, so it was an exciting experience for us as well. The tour was about an hour long and definitely worth our money. The tour guide took us through a maze of tunnels and we saw some pretty amazing rock formations. After the tour was over, we thought it would be fun to take the miniature train ride. So we all climbed on this really old train and went for a little ride in the woods. We had an awesome afternoon exploring the caverns with our good friends. This is the first time friends from home came to visit us here and it just so nice to share our little world here with them. The next week we'll be having a blast playing tourist!

Happy Birthday Joe

Wishing my brother, Joe, a very happy birthday today. This is one of his class photos from elementary school. He is 3rd from the left in the front row. Does he remind you of a certain little 3 year old?

Working with Daddy

We had to go on the base yesterday to get Tyler's TB test results. Afterwards we met up with Daddy at his office. I brought in some chocolate chip cookies I had made in the morning to be shared with his co-workers. Then we waited to see Steve's former boss, Maria. She was very supportive while Steve was in Iraq by writing me e-mails and sending Tyler and I cards. And when my father passed away she arranged to have a donation from other co-workers to be put towards my dad's memory tree. It was very nice to see Maria again and to thank her in person for all that she had done for us. On the way to Steve's office, we passed by some posters in the hall. One of which is of Steve's magazine cover he did for the All Hands magazine he did a few years ago. Look familiar?

Steve's Recent Deployment

Steve just returned from being deployed for almost two weeks. His deployment this time was to cover a story about a remote control helicopter called Fire Scout UAV that the navy is currently testing. The test was done off the USS McInerney that got underway from Mayport Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. Steve arrived home late last night and of course, Tyler and I couldn't be more happy to have him back home with us. :) Here are a few photos that Steve took while covering the story.

My Little Spelling Bee

The other day I noticed that one of Tyler's DVDs had a bonus section on it, so I decided to check it out. Turns out it was a section of spelling words where the word would be said and then Tyler had to fill in the blank. He is really good at his letters and their sounds, but it really surprised me to watch him guess correctly all the letters to spell the word. And what was even more cool was that he was having fun with it. :)

Lock Out

We arrived home to find out I didn't have my key with me. After frantically searching everywhere for it, I came to the conclusion that we were officially locked out of the house. I thought maybe my neighbour might have a copy, but she wasn't home. After about more minutes of searching for the key, I decided to call for the locksmith. It wasn't long before the locksmith arrived. Turned out he was the same locksmith I called a few years ago when I got locked out. He even remembered us and couldn't believe how much Tyler had grown. LOL Within 7 minutes, we were back safe and sound in our house. We were very thankful that the milk I just bought didn't spoil during our wait in the hot sun.

...and I wondered why he was so quiet while I was on the phone.

Just Peachy

For the past three weeks or so we kept driving past a sign that advertised there was a Peach Festival taking place today. I've been to a lot of food festivals before for other foods such as strawberries, blueberries, eggs, and even crabs, but this was the first time for peach. When we first arrived we checked out the outdoor yard sale. The festival was being hosted by a church so all proceeds were going to a good cause. We bought some books for Tyler and some toys for the sand. Then we went inside and got to the good stuff; the peaches! We ordered peach shortcake and oh my was it ever good! We were a little disappointed that they didn't have any games for the kids to play, but the peach shortcake definitely made up for this.

Fun in the Sun

Last week I mentioned to Tyler that we should go to the beach soon. Just hearing the word "beach" had him more than excited about going and so everyday since then he would ask if it was the day to go to the beach. Either it was too hot or we had other things to take care of, we ended up putting off our beach day, that is, until today. When we first approached the beach site, I couldn't believe that there was no one else there. We had the whole beach to ourselves...woohoo! However, Tyler wanted to check out the playground first. We had some fun together; we would take turns pushing each other down the slide. After Tyler got his fill of the playground, we finally headed to the beach. We still had the whole beach to ourselves. It was so nice and relaxing! While Tyler filled his dump truck with sand, I laid in the sun listening to the waves. It wasn't too hot, there was a nice breeze. We could have easily stayed there the entire day. Unfortunately, I didn't think to pack a lunch because I didn't expect to stay too long because i thought it was going to be too hot. So since we were at the beach on the base, we headed on over to the commissary and grabbed some lunch. Then on our drive home, some little boy didn't last too long before falling asleep. The morning wore him out pretty good. We came home just in time, before the sun disappeared and the thunder and lightning started.

Tyler Says the Darndest Things

Tyler told me that this was a giant fan...well, it was hot today. LOL

G. I. Joe becomes an H

Tyler came to me this morning and said he made an 'H' out of G. I. Joe. I didn't really fully understand what he meant, so I asked him to show me. He then held up G. I. Joe and said, "See Mom, G. I. Joe is an 'H'!". LOL he loves letters and has quite the imagination. Speaking of G. I. Joe, Tyler used to call him a "cacher" instead of G. I. Joe. LOL I guess it was because of the cammies he is wearing. I love this age! Too much fun!!!

Us 7 years ago today. How very blessed we are.

Amazed

The other day I bought a big maze book for Tyler. He has done other activity books where there were mazes included and always really enjoyed them. This afternoon I sat down and watched him do some of the mazes in his new book. I was quite amazed by how quickly he was figuring them out. Most times he would find the correct path on the first try. Maybe when it comes to corn maze time in the Fall that he will use this gift to help us find our way out.

The Sidewalk Chalkathon

As mention last week, this week at the Annmarie Garden they are hosting 'The Sidewalk Chalkathon'. Today Tyler and I ventured out and took part in the cool event. First we registered Tyler for his own work of art. The cost to participate was only $1, which goes to charity. The walk along the sidewalk to get to our designated spot was really neat. There were lots of colourful pictures drawn, many of them really good. However when we finally arrived to Tyler's area, he only drew for a little bit, mostly making a 'M for Mommy' and a few more doodles. The garden was offering the "Paint your own Gourd" again, so Tyler wanted to paint another. He loves painting and decided to make this gourd a rainbow coloured one. It will be really exciting to see what they are going to do with all the gourds people have painted. The sign say they are for a giant exhibit. We will definitely have to return again to see Tyler's gourds. Anyway, here are a few photos from the Chalkathon. The caterpillar is our favourite because it looks like the caterpillar in our book, 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle.

Another Year Older

My birthday celebration actually started a couple of days ago. Steve arrived home with a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cake complete with 36 lit candles. It was a wonderful surprise and a nice treat! He also gave me the sweetest card with the most beautiful words. I have read it over and over again. So this morning, I wanted to follow up with a good day. Since last year, wasn't the best with my dad's passing recent and Steve's deployment to Iraq. After taking Tyler to the playground, we headed off to the stores for a little shopping where I bought three shirts for myself. Then tonight, we ordered Chinese from my favourite Chinese restaurant here. It was a very delicious birthday dinner, followed by a piece of my yummy birthday cake for dessert. After Tyler goes to bed, I'm going to watch some of my favourite DVDs to complete my day. Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. They really brightened up my day.

Back to Play Date

First it was our colds, then it was too hot, we had put off going to play date at the playground for a few weeks. However today marked the day of our return. Overcast skies gave us a relief from the hot sun for the day, allowing Tyler to have his fun for a couple of hours. It was nice break in our day and it was particularly nice having a chance to release some of Tyler's energy. Hopefully he will sleep well tonight.

WOW!!!!

Back in May when we were still at Nanny's house, Tyler planted a sunflower seed in a cup during the reading program that he was attending. The weeks after he planted it, he took great care of it; watering the plant each day. It started to grow quite fast and by the time we left in June it was getting too tall for the cup, so Nanny transplanted it outside. This afternoon, I received this photo from my mom's neighbour back home. My mom kept saying that it was getting really tall, but I never imagined it to be this tall! Unfortunately, this morning she noticed that it fell over. However with the help of Mr. Baillie, it is now back up and secured. I showed Tyler the photo and he can't believe how big his sunflower has grown. He asked what happened to the cup that he planted it in. LOL

Lunch with Daddy

Steve had a shoot nearby this morning, so he called us to meet him for lunch. We ended meeting him and two other of his co-workers at Solomons Island. Most of the places were closed for lunch, but we ended up finding a place along the water. Steve ordered a hamburger and when it arrived it ended up looking more like a huge piece of meatloaf and a loaf of bread for the bun. It was by far the biggest hamburger we had ever seen! After lunch, it was back to work for the guys so Tyler and I stuck around Solomons and walked the boardwalk to the playground. Tyler played for a bit, but it was too hot to stay out too long. On the way home, we stopped in at Rita's for an frozen custard with sprinkles. Too bad Daddy didn't work closer, it was really nice meeting him for lunch today.

Camp Out

Yesterday we bought Tyler a little indoor tent to play in. We brought it home and Steve set it up in the living room. Daddy and Tyler ended up hanging out in the rest of the night, playing cars and watching TV in it. When it came to bedtime, we asked Tyler if he wanted to sleep in it overnight. He became really excited over the idea, so Steve set it up again in his room. Turns out he slept all through the night in it and even slept in until 9 o'clock in the morning! For someone that usually wakes up 2-3 times during the night, we never heard a peep from him last night. When he woke up, he told us that he loves his tent!

Our Return to the Gardens

If you've been a regular reader of our blog since the beginning, you probably recall a couple of our previous years' posts from the Annmarie Garden. Well, yesterday we decided to make a return trip. This was the first time, however, that the flowers were in bloom. It was like visiting the garden for the first time as the addition of the flowers really added a beautiful touch. It was fun to walk the trail with Tyler. He really didn't remember coming here before, so to see his reactions to some of the sculptures was interesting. In this photo, Tyler is placing his hand on a hand print made by another Tyler. The garden usually host a series of events or fun activities for kids throughout the year. When we arrived yesterday, we had found out that they were providing free gourd painting to be eventually displayed in the garden. Tyler loves to paint, so there was no way we were going to pass up this fun. Next week, they are hosting a sidewalk chalk drawing event. We'll probably check it out, so stay tuned...

Front Page News

Yay!!! Tyler's photo ended up making it to the front page of our newspaper, the Calvert Recorder!!! How cool is that?!!

My little sweet potato.

National Night Out

Last night we attended our subdivision's annual National Night Out. It was held at the administration building in our neighbourhood. This was our first time going to the event and it proved to be a lot of fun. There were several information booths set up, demonstrations, games, food, and prizes. One of the highlights of our time spent there was while Tyler tried his luck at the water dunk tank. A local reporter came by and took his photo and name, so he might have his photo published in the local paper. This was a terrific event for the kids. Tyler really enjoyed getting a chance to sit in a firetruck and even trying out their huge flashlight. He not only got to sit in the back of the truck, but also in the front as well. The fireman explained to us what all the equipment on the truck was for and how it worked. It was really interesting. The fire department also had a demonstration of how quickly a fire sprinkler works in an event of a real fire. It was really neat! The fun didn't end there though. While looking through one of the police cars, we were asked if Tyler wanted to sit inside. The Deputy Sheriff then put his hat and glasses on Tyler and asked him to pose for a photo while flashing his lights. The evening ended with some more names drawn for the raffle. It was really nice getting to see all the associations in our community that work each day to help our neighbourhood a safer place.

Checking out the cars at the "dealership", also known as Wal-Mart.

MGS Summer Picnic

On Sunday, we attended the Maryland Geocaching Society's annual summer picnic. Just as we were arriving to the picnic site, there was a huge downpour. Luckily we had a nice pavilion to keep us dry and enjoy the food and events. It was nice seeing all of our caching buddies again and meeting some new ones. After awhile, the rain stopped and the sun came out to give us good weather to go caching. Tyler and his caching buddy, Logan, came along with us and found a cache for us. The two boys always have a great time playing with each other. They played bubbles and drew with chalk at the picnic. Tyler is still talking about his buddy. Overall, everyone had a fantastic time at the picnic.

Cecil's Mill Historic District

Steve took his car into the garage to get new brakes, so while we were waiting we went for a little drive in my car. We really didn't have any plans to go anywhere in particular, but we ended up going down south and exploring a really interesting historic district. Cecil's Mill first started out as a textile mill in 1812, however it was rebuilt in 1900 to be used as a flour mill owned by John Thomas Cecil. Across the street from the mill, stands the original general store and post office dating back to 1906. After our tour throughout the mill, we went inside the general store. The store is still in operation however it is geared towards the tourist market filled with lots of Maryland souvenirs. It looked like nothing had been touched inside. The dairy cases were actually still intact and cleverly used to display the merchandise. This was certainly a fun way to spend our afternoon waiting for the car to be fixed!