Washington, DC

It's been 3 years since we've been back to DC, so when we got a wedding invite, it seemed like the right time.  We only had Friday -Sunday, so basically every minute was accounted for and scheduled in our attempt to see lots of old friends and take the kids to see some DC sights. The kids did great on the flight, and Bill even sat between them for part of it, giving me fun reading time.

After a great night with the Hancocks, we woke up on Saturday and headed to Capitol Hill.  First stop - 1331 E Street, to check on the house.  The house looked good for the most part, but the kids (who dont remember it too much) were amazed that they had lived in such a small space (I shared that sentiment).  From there we went to our old playground, which the kids loved, and then onto our favorite coffee shop and to wander around Eastern Market.  It was great to be back to our Saturday ritual, but Bill and I both agreed that we were still happy with the move.  The suburbs fits our current stage of life a lot better :)

After the Market, we jumped on the metro for one stop, just so the kids could experience it.  I still can't believe they dont remember this stuff at all, but I guess they were really little.  They loved the metro, but were even more excited at the destination - to play with Lusa and Cesi.  We spent an hour catching up with her family and some other neighbors before we had to head back to get ready for the wedding.  The kids spent the night with Cesi, and had a blast playing, dance-partying, and staying up late. 

 
 
We had fun at the wedding, it was great to catch up with my old Akin Gump colleagues.  After a late night, we woke up relatively early to have breakfast with another set of neighbors/friends before packing up and heading out.  From there we went back to the Hill to have lunch with the Yoga-baby families.  Unfortunately, Liz's family was out of town, but we had a great time catching up with Kathleen and Genevieve, and the kids all played well too. 

From there, we headed to the Mall to expose the kids to as much DC culture as we could in the hour and a half before we had to get to the airport.  We hit Einstein first (they thought it was hilarious that Einstein was part of our engagement story), and then Lincoln, before a quick walk around the reflecting pool. 

It was a whirlwind, and we were all exhausted, but we were happy to have the opportunity to catch up with so many old friends and visit some of our favorite spots.  Great to be back... for a visit.

Papa Rich's visit

This is a delayed post, but Papa Rich came to visit in August and we had a really nice weekend! He came on Thursday, and got to spend Friday with Aunt Alli, Seb and Caitlin (school hadn't started for her yet). Then they all came to celebrate Isaac's birthday on Friday night, and he spent the rest of the weekend with our fam, helping the kids test out Isaac's birthday toys and being a good sport as we went about our chaotic weekend.  Here are some cute pics from the quick, but fun visit

High holidays

We spent our second Rosh Hashana camping with the Adventure Rabbi at Glacier View campground in North Boulder.  While the Duarts joined us again, our "crew" this year expanded to include Alli, Chad, Sebastian, and Grandma. Given the size of our group, we got there earlier and commandeered a spot on the lake big enough for all of our tents and a (soon to be built) fire pit in the middle.  The kids promptly took off to run and play freely in the woods while we worked on setting up camp.  The setting was beautiful, and the weather was great.  Alli, Grandma and I went to the  nighttime service while the boys cooked a delicious, but non-traditional meal of campfire chili, fajitas and quesadillas.  We all ate when we got back, and then enjoyed apples and honey and s'mores.  It was a late night, but everyone had a great time.  Here are some pics from the evening.    

The next morning, we woke up (yes, I actually slept - thank you xanex!) in time for a quick breakfast and then headed up to meet the rest of the congregation for the hike and morning "services".  The walk was perfect for the kiddos who joined us for the first part, including a discussion on what the holiday means.  Then they went off with the rest of the kids and the adults did some more serious reflection and engaged in a (sort of) traditional service.  When they came back, they sang songs and we all threw rocks into the water before listening to torah reading and the shofar.

After returning home, we hosted a more traditional Rosh Hashana dinner with the Reisses and Samburs.  Bill cooked a brisket sous vide, Kristen made matzoh ball soup, Keith made humus and veggies - everyone ate well and had fun.

For Yom Kippur, we went to the kids' service at Chatauqua before hosting break the fast at our place for 17.  Here are pics from the service.  The dinner was delicious and lots of fun, but also chaotic, so I don't have any pics!

Isaac is 7!!

Our baby boy is 7!! He's still a crazy person, with insane amounts of energy, but he has chilled out a bit (kinda).  He is definitely the more easy-going of our kids, but he has his moments too.  He is still an adventurous eater, always up to earn a quarter for trying something new (he and his daddy both ate fish eyeballs on a dare!).  He loves pork buns, sushi, and seaweed.  He finally outgrew his asthma medication (fingers crossed it sticks through flu season), and finally agreed to cut his hair! He's been doing a great job earning allowance, but it burns a hole in his pocket and he spends it as fast as he earns it (unlike his sister who saves every penny!).  He is curious, fun-loving and perceptive--he hears everything you say (even when you don't want him to).   He loves to ride his bike and has recently enjoyed a couple of trips to Valmont bike park in Boulder with his Dad and Uncle Evan, which is good because watching him on that stunt track would scare me half to death.  Although it can sometimes be difficult to get him to sit still long enough to read, his skills are growing and it is fun to watch.  His favorites dujour are Avengers and Pokemon.  The exception to his lack of attention span is Legos, which he can focus on for hours.  He can independently put together sets with hundreds of pieces with little or no help that are recommended for kids much older than him.  

Here are some pics of Isaac doing the stuff he loves, including reading, playing basketball out back, climbing trees (although I wish he'd do it with a helmet all the time, this was a special occasion in the middle of a bikeride), rock climbing, snuggling, the big haircut and just generally being Isaac.

The night before Isaac's birthday, we made cupcakes for his class and then put the kids to bed.  Isaac was so excited for his birthday, that he was wide awake in his bed (yup, I'll have a monitor on them until they get to college), so I told him he could come down and stay up long enough to eat the first cupcake.  He was thrilled.  We woke him up with the traditional toast and candle - I say woke, but he was wide awake and waiting with a grin.  He got a FaceTime call from Israel with birthday wishes from his cousins, and another from NJ so Grandma & Grandpa could watch him open their presents.  When we headed downstairs, Pilar was waiting with an adorably wrapped gift - she made it out of construction paper and pictures from the past year.  Not a bad morning!

Isaac's teacher also made a big deal out of his birthday.  On day 2, it was the first class birthday of the year! Bill, Cate and I all made it in time for cupcakes - which made him adorably happy - and the whole class sang to him. 

Finally, we had a big family dinner with Isaac's number one favorite meal - tacos!   Of course, Bill gourmet'd it up for the grown-ups with steak and shrimp, and everyone had a feast. Aunt Alli, Uncle Chad, Seb, Aunt Ray Ray, Papa Rich and Pilar all made it special.

Finally, on the 22nd, we had Isaac's party at the karate place that he and Cate have been taking lessons.  He had 15 friends and a bunch of family, and while it was pure insanity, the karate instructor handled them like a champ.  The kids were running laps, doing pushups, crab walking, and learning to break boards with their feet, all before pizza, cake and an aggressive pinata game (they almost knocked me over when it finally broke!).  Overall, I think everyone had fun, including the birthday boy!  While I was glad they had fun, mainly I was happy there were no injuries :)

Isaac had as much fun opening all his gifts as he did at his party - it looked like a lego store in our house!

Last but not least, we measured Isaac, who is growing a lot!  He's still lower on the percentages, but continues slow and steady  weighing in at 48 pounds (34%) and 46 3/4 inches (29%).