Little Rock and back again

As soon as I arrived back home from Roanoke, Kevin and I packed the twins for our annual trip to Little Rock, Arkansas. Why Little Rock you may ask? To visit Kevin's grandma and uncle. This year would mark our third trip since the twins arrived; the second year flying. We drove the first year and decided that even with a stop to visit my friend and her family in Nashville, the distance was just too much. Thankfully, United added a direct flight from Dulles to Little Rock about six months ago. We flew through Charlotte last year and that wasn't the most pleasant of experiences. Let's just say that a certain (daughter) someone almost had us all escorted off the plane because they wouldn't put their seat belt on! The flight this year was full (who knew Little Rock was a popular destination), but with the current state of our airline industry, I'm going to hedge my bets and say that this schedule will be cancelled because the analysts will tell you it isn't cost-effective.

We had a lovely visit with Grandma and Uncle Grand Papa (Uncle Ken) who live in Conway, a little town forty miles northwest of Little Rock. Actually, I wouldn't call it a little town considering it has more churches than Arlington and is the home to three Universities. The demographics would also suggest that this town is the upper crust of Arkansas. They live across from the 18th hole of a country club and we enjoyed watching the golfers try to chip in their shots every afternoon while sipping our sweet iced tea. Conway is not Washington. You function at a different pace, eat three square meals a day (at a table), and nap in the afternoons. We were spoiled!! The highlight of our trip was to the Arkansas Room at the Faulkner County library to admire the town celebrity -- Uncle Ken is a master wood-turner and was asked to display his work. We spent an afternoon admiring his collection (my favorite piece is the Limb Vase, pictured above -- and I hint every time we visit just how much I love it). Uncle Ken has made us a few pieces and we display them with pride at our house.

One afternoon we all hopped in the minivan for a trip to Playworld. Think of it as the Little Rock version of Chuck E Cheese minus the smell of feet (since they make the kids wear socks). They played air hockey and skeet ball; jumped in the basin of balls; and just had an overall good time. They even accumulated (with the help of mom and dad) enough tickets for one plastic snake each! The twins enjoyed a bubble bath in Grandma's jacuzzi tub. With the jets blasting, they've never seen so many bubbles. On our second to last day, we went to Kevin's favorite restaurant -- the Fish House (best place for catfish that side of the Mississippi) for some green tomato relish, homemade hushpuppies and thier signature catfish.

After five days, we had to say our goodbyes and headed back to Washington. We were almost charged $100 because one of our bags weighed more than 50lbs. We frantically rearranged our checked bags and the larger bag came in at 49.7lbs. Just under the wire! We returned home rested and lazily wishing that our vacation could last a few days longer. Actually, mine will since I'm not scheduled to return to Georgetown until Wednesday. Now that the laptop is fired up, I'm sure I'll be clearing emails and checking reports from my couch. Kevin went back to work today, but then has the next two days off. I see an afternoon at the pool with daddy tomorrow!

Me and the twins are off to Kutztown, PA this coming weekend to visit with my Uncle and his family. Our summer has become quite a hotbed of activity. July is around the corner and more exciting events (for one - my Silpada business launch) awaits us!

Welcome Baby

A belated, but heartfelt welcome to little Ryan Patrick Barry, Dee Dee and Alex's sweet baby boy who arrived on 30 April 2008. This little guy looks so much like his daddy. I just know that he is going to be cuddled, loved and babied by his big sister Abby. Congratulations, guys!

The twins and I had a great visit with the Barry family this weekend. I will share more pictures after the Glasscock trip to Little Rock.

My Two Swimmers

For their third birthday, the twins' Uncle David bought them a backyard pool. Aside from it taking me an hour to blow up (even with an eletronic pump), the kids can't stop requesting pool time. Even as I type, they want to go for a dip. Let's just say this gift is a huge hit in the Glasscock home. I had planned on taking them to the country club this afternoon. Instead we lazily spent the afternoon in the comfort of our backyard.

We were surprised by a Richmond visitor today, Kevin's other brother, Doug. He had business in PA and instead of just passing through, he decided to stay. We are happy he made that choice. Kevin was able to leave work early to enjoy ribs and beers on the patio!

Today was the first day of my two week vacation from work! I'm headed south tomorrow to visit my college roommate and her family. Kevin will be celebrating Father's Day with his dad in Richmond; playing golf and laughing himself silly with his family. In less than a week we'll be heading west to Little Rock, Arkansas. More to come...

John & Kathryn turn 3!

Three years ago, unable to sleep and hoping that my 62 inch waist wouldn't grow any bigger, my fourteen weeks of restricted bed rest was lifted; soon thereafeter the twins entered this world without much fanfare! 6:38pm & 6:43pm -- June 10, 2005 -- Sibley Hospital.

If you ask John how old he is, he'll reply 'tree'. Kathryn will reply 'five'. Funny thing is its John that looks like the five year old. The last three years have been exciting, with new twists and turns everyday. Yesterday we celebrated their third birthday just a few days shy of their actual birthday. Location - Glen Echo Park, Maryland. I really wanted to have their party at the National Zoo, but they don't allow sponsored parties until the children are at least five. Plus the waiting list is full through 2009. I'll sign up sometime next year and hope I can get them in before they don't want parties anymore!

I was able to secure an indoor art room at Glen Echo Park and I am thankful that I didn't rent the outdoor pavilion. It was 98 degrees in Washington, DC yesterday. How can I say this -- it was miserable with a capital M! Sixteen children (ages ranging from 1 to 6) descended upon the park with their parents. They were treated to pizza, mini-cupcakes, and a balloon twister who was patient enough to make each child an individual balloon creature. I'd say the bumble bees and the pink daisies were my favorite. The party ended with everyone receiving carousel tickets. The old fashioned wooden carousel is the highlight of the park. We rode it at least five times. You can tell from the pictures that even the kids began to get hot with their pink cheeks.

The birthday party was the end of a very hectic week. Mama G (Kevin's mom) came from Houston for a visit a week. The twins enjoyed lots of hugs and relaxing with 'Dan-ma'. John greeted her every morning with 'Shh, Grandma sleeping. Grandma are you sleeping? Grandma. GRANDMA'. By the third or fourth Grandma, she was out of bed. We were glad to have her. We wished she visited more often.

Mid-week, our 100 ft cherry tree fell during a severe summer storm. No structural damage to homes or cars, just our neighbor's dogwood. We were grateful to our neighbors for being so patient while we cleared the damage. The remainder of the standing tree will come down this week. I'm going to miss the shade. We're thinking of replacing it with Japanese Elm.

Stay cool!

Our Fallen Tree

We didn't listen to the warnings. A severe storm came through MD/VA/DC this afternoon. Typical summer day -- hot and humid, then it turns black in a matter of minutes. I was in the city today and watched the storm roll past. I called home to see if the storm hit Frederick. My mother in law didn't have much to say other than 'you may want to talk with Kevin'. Kevin? He was supposed to be at work, why was he home. First I thought maybe my jogging stroller had blown away. Come to find out our cherry tree was struck by lightening; splitting in two. Luckily, the part of the tree that fell didn't strike any of our neighborhood homes or cars; however, it fell across our neighbor's tree and garden (completely ruining both). It took me 2 1/2 hrs to get home. It wasn't just my tree that was a casualty.

Nationwide better be on our side!