Weekend Highlights

Steve came home early on Friday.  It was such a nice surprise after his busy work week.  

Steve and I had a date on Friday night.  We went to the mall so he could look at some frames for prescription sunglasses and then we ate at Vapiano's.  I must be back to my normal self because all sorts of food, including the previously banned Italian food, sound good to me these days.  Except for Papa John's pizza.  I'm not sure Papa John and I will ever be friends again.

On Saturday morning, we visited the Museum of Natural History in DC.  We paid for the butterfly exhibit, and Stephen hated it again.  We visited the Korean, snake, photography, mammal, and bug exhibits.  Mei Li held a tobacco hornworm, which she dropped when it tickled her.

We met up with Christine at Founding Farmers for lunch.  Oh my.  If you haven't tried it, you need too.  Everything we ordered was excellent.  Steve ordered the prime rib dip and I ordered the butternut squash and mascarpone ravioli.   Mmmm.

Afterwards, Christine joined us at Gravelly Point to watch the airplanes and feed the ducks.  The weather was perfect.   The last time we went there, it was Father's Day and I ended up giving birth to Mi Na the very next day. 

Mei Li fell into the Potomac and got her shoes wet.  It took her a while to get over that one.  But taking pictures helped cheer her up.

On Father's day, we had a pancake breakfast and a Hawaiian haystack dinner at Steve's request.  He still had a church meeting to go to in the morning, but at least it was pushed back until 11 AM.  We had a great time celebrating Steve.  I know no one is perfect, but Steve kind of is.  At least I think so.  I am so amazed by the patient way he parents our children and the joy that he brings to them daily.  Being around Steve makes me want to be better in all aspects of my life.  It's hard work keeping up with him, but if I didn't at least try, I'd probably feel so bad about myself I couldn't stand to be around him.  We're all so blessed to have Steve in our daily lives.

Tomorrow, we're going to my 20-week ultrasound.  I usually have a correct hunch by this time about the gender of our babies, but I am totally stumped on this one.  At times, I have felt positive that it was a girl, but then I've felt that it was a boy too.  I don't care either way.  I am just happy to trust that Heavenly Father sent us the child that was meant to be in our family.  Any guesses?  Are you one who can tell the gender of the baby just by looking at my baby bump?

I drove to DC today.

Today, we visited Ie Ling in DC during her lunch break.  This kind of spontaneous trip to DC is very uncharacteristic of me.  Driving and parking in DC are so stressful!  It took me a while, but I finally found a parking spot.

Mei Li was excited to tell Ie Ling that she was six. Stephen told her all about t-ball.  Mi Na talked a lot, but about nothing in particular.  I had to bribe Stephen with a milkshake to sit in the picture.  Smiling should have been part of the deal.  Now I know.

After Ie Ling went back to work, we started our walk to Shake Shack.    I spotted the Kimchi BBQ truck, and was tempted to try it, but AC and chairs sounded like a better option for our hungry and tired crew.

As usual, the food at Shake Shack hit the spot.  I love that place, but wish it were closer and cheaper.

By the time we were done, it was time to go home.  It does seem a little silly that I drove all the way to DC to see my sister for twenty minutes and then went to a restaurant instead of a monument.  But, pregnant women sometimes do crazy things for food cravings.

Walking into our air-conditioned home felt like heaven after a long, hot outing and then a long, hot drive (the AC in my car is out).  I turned on a movie for the kids and just rested in the dark, cool basement.  Ahhhhhh.  

Then there was dinner, bed time, and now some Steve time.  Good night!

The Day After Thanksgiving

On the day after Thanksgiving, we raked our leaves again.  Mei Li and Stephen alternated between bike riding and helping out.  I kept my eyes on Mi Na as I raked.  

She still has that funny toddler walk, belly out, legs out a little bit wide, arms moving quickly.  She walked over to the pile of leaves I was raking.  She clapped her hands together in the pile, making sure some leaves were sandwiched between them.  She grunted like it was such hard work lifting her tiny pile of five leaves, and then she walked over to the bag to put them in.

Most of the leaves didn't make it, so as she repeated her chore over and over again, I would pick her up so all of her leaves could make it into the bag.  There were a few times when I just stopped raking so I could watch her and let my heart swell with pride at my industrious little sprout.

When we were finished with the leaves, we headed over to the National Zoo.  I took all sorts of pictures of animals, but I don't care to include any of them.  For me, the most amusing thing about going to the zoo is watching my children watch the animals.  They have the funniest reactions and I love how they line up in front of the exhibit like little ducklings that I can count.

We learned that there is an elephant named Meena.  There's also the Panda named Mei.  It makes me think we should sponsor an animal one day and name him Stephen.  We couldn't have asked for better weather.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and we all had a wonderful time.  We ended the day with dinner at Two Amy's.  It was delish.  I'm in love with pizza.  And my family.  I loved that day.

Our Weekend

On Friday night, Steve and I went on a date. Mi Na came too. We went out to eat, got some ice cream, and took a walk.

Steve went to clean the church on Saturday morning and then we went to the Dulles Airport Plane Pull. It was HOT, but still very enjoyable.

Here we are on the runway

This one's for my Dad, former navy pilot:

Fly boy Howard


Steve was in heaven.


This is the inside of a C5. A similar shot may show up in a local newspaper. Too bad Mei Li didn't look too happy in the picture.

This plane was HUGE and it came so close to us.

Mei kept saying she didn't want to be there and wanted to paint a picture instead. She cheered up a bit when she saw the huge inflatable slide.

Stephen loved the miniature train set up. He watched it go round and round for a long time.

We bought huge cups of lemonade to cool ourselves because we ran out of water.

I like this picture. Steve was racing Stephen.

I attended the General Relief Society Meeting Broadcast Saturday night. I felt like I was surrounded by angels as we all sang the hymns together. President Monson spoke about not judging others and I'm grateful for the reminder.

Today we went to church. Rebekah and I discussed the organization of the gospel art pictures in the library.

Steve made waffles for lunch and then I made slow cooker Thai peanut chicken for dinner. Rachel came by for dinner and we got the update on her wedding planning. It's going to be beautiful.

Mi Na is nursing/sleeping/smiling right now. It's so funny. She's three months old now. She's a smiley little one who sleeps at night. What more could I ask for?

Harpers Ferry 09/04

Steve and I had planned to go to Harpers Ferry today, but when he saw how windy it was, he decided that we needed some kites.

He took Mei Li and Stephen to find the kites while I got ready and fed Mi Na. Fives stores and two hours later, he brought home the last two kites in the county. Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato adorned the first, and the other was in the shape of sunglasses.

We drove to Harpers Ferry and enjoyed the beautiful views on the way.

We parked and found one open grassy area for kite flying. The sunglasses kite was a dud, but the other caught the wind very well.


It was magical for the kids to fly kites for the first time, and it was magical for me to watch them fly kites for the first time.


Stephen liked it, but he was very tired so he stopped to eat some snacks. Mei Li was obsessed. She did it over and over again. I don't know how long we were flying kites, but we enjoyed every second.


We walked around Harpers Ferry after kite flying. We loved looking at the old buildings and reading signs and plaques. Then we headed home. Steve and the kids took the kites out once more before bed. It was a really lovely day.

Father's day

The kids woke up early this morning. I let Steve sleep in. We made pancakes for breakfast and enjoyed them together in our sunny kitchen.

We got ready for church and made it there on time. I am so happy that we have 9:00 church. Our kids are happiest in the morning and they have an easier time sitting still during sacrament meeting.

Mei Li went up with the rest of the primary kids to sing a couple of songs for father's day. She made her way to the front and smiled the whole time. Steve and I were grinning from ear to ear.

After church and lunch, we headed to Gravelly Point to watch the planes take off and land at Reagan National. It was Steve's father's day wish. He really loves airplanes. Occasionally I catch him checking airplane websites and blogs and it makes me smile.


We set out a blanket, where I stayed for most of the outing, even when Steve and the kids went to feed the ducks. I'm trying to find my ankles again. I last saw them on Friday morning.


Mei Li came back to join me for some pita chips and water and then we walked over to the boys and the ducks.



After all the bread was gone, we all went back to our blanket for some rest and more pita chips.


And since we were in Rachel and Christine's neighborhood, we stopped by to say hello (and use the bathroom).


This is my favorite picture of the day.


Just look at Mei Li's head on Steve's shoulder! Happy father's day, sweetheart.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was just as exhausting as Saturday, but was certainly fun-filled and joyful. I guess I'm nearing the third trimester because I find myself talking about how exhausted I am all the time.

We got up early Sunday morning to see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin. We have gone every year we've live here except one (I was out of town), and each time I am amazed by their beauty.




We spent some time looking at the tulips as well. Mei Li took over the photography responsibilities there:





Stephen took this one:

Next, we found a grassy spot to set down our blanket and eat snacks. Our kids ran around and did their own things.


Steve and I watched them. We have really great kids. We love being together. Being together is our heaven.


We got home before the Sunday morning session. In that session, Elder Donald Hallstrom spoke. In it, he talked about how his grandparents just loved being together. Near their ninetieth birthdays, they passed away within hours of each other. That is my dream. I suppose it's a dream of all happily married couples. Maybe that's selfish or weak of me to hope that I don't have to spend life on earth without Steve, but that is how I feel.

In between sessions, Aunt Rachel came by to watch the kids hunt for eggs. I wish I had taken time to get a picture of her with the kids.


The last activity of the day was planting sunflowers and strawberries. When Steve was at the grocery store, he bought some planting kits without any direction from me.


We are going to start these plants indoors because we've discovered that squirrels ate our marigold seeds.

Steve is back to work now. Eight more days of tax season. Why does it still seem like it's forever away? In the mean time, I'm trying to just endure patiently and happily.

Life is more fun when Grandma Z is around.

Grandma Z was in town for a couple of days and it was lovely. Stephen calls her "Camera," which kinda sounds like grandma, right?

On Monday (10/4), she took us to the Cox farms fall festival, a favorite fall activity.

Mei Li went down the same slide over and over and over again. I taught her how to put her arms up.


Stephen doesn't like to go by himself,

but is happy to sit on my lap


or on Camera's lap.

Stephen had a great time on the hay ride. Did you know that Grandma and Grandpa Z met on a hay ride?


It wasn't Mei Li's cup of tea this year.


We love you, Grandma Z. Thank you for visiting!

This is one of my favorite pictures ever.


P.S. Comments are back on. There is no pressure at all to comment. Just wanted to let you know that if you would like to, it is now possible for you to do so.