A surprise party for Donna!

One of my oldest friends, Donna, turned 30 on April 29. Her husband gave her a surprise party to celebrate. Our friend, Sarah, from New York even came down to help celebrate. Since Donna is older than us (hee hee hee!!) we took full advantage and made sure she knew that she was 'Over the Hill'. Yeah, I know. Payback is a bitch! Donna's sister had a baby the day before Elijah was born and they seemed to get along very well. The girls certainly loved them! It was so cute to see them surrounded by all of these girls!!! Overall we had a great time and I can't wait until Sarah turns 30 next week!!!

A visit with Auntie Roo

My college roommate and I were finally able to get together for a visit last weekend. Rachel, aka, "Auntie Roo", came down on Saturday to spend some time with us. We had a great time, but we really didn't do anything! Sometimes those are the best visits!! We did go to Sonic (mmm...limeaide) for lunch since they don't have a Sonic in the DC area (I know, major crime) and we took Rachel to Carl's, a Fredericksburg institution, for ice cream! It was sooooooooo good! So if you're ever in the Fredericksburg area, you have to check out Carl's.

Friends, Food and Cherry Blossoms!

We had a very busy day on Sunday!!! A few weeks back, we heard that some very good friends of ours from California were going to be in DC for the weekend, so we decided to trek it on up there. And yes, it was a haul with Elijah and all of the goodies you must pack to be gone all day! Anyway, since we hadn't seen Mark and Indira for almost three years (yikes! Have we been here that long?!?!) we had no problem making the long haul up there. Our first stop was Springfield, VA where we took Elijah on his first Metro ride. About an hour later we were trying to find where their hotel was in regards to the Metro station. Mark made reservations for us at a really good restaurant for brunch. But for the life of me, I can't remember the name, but the French Toast was great! Shortly after lunch, Mark and Indira had to catch a plane back to California, and since Elijah was doing so good, we decided to check out the famous Cherry Blossoms (sorry Rach, that was a last minute decision or I would have called you!!). Since the crowds were astronomical, we didn't head around the Tidal Basin, we just stuck by the Washington Monument and checked out the World War II Memorial since Chris hadn't seen it. After walking around for a bit, we headed up the street, where I nearly sprained my ankle, to catch the Metro back home.

Now for the fun part!!! When we got back to Springfield, it was about 4:00, give or take. We finally get on the interstate and, shock of all shocks in Northern Virginia...TRAFFIC!!!! After about 5 miles, it started moving really good again. Then we get stuck in MORE TRAFFIC!!! All I have to say is that it's a good thing that signs were posted that the interstate was closed due to an accident (again, shocking!!!!) so we were able to get off and take the back roads home. By this time, poor Elijah is hungry and is screaming to get out of his carseat. After singing a few rounds of 'Wheels on the Bus', 'Take me out to the Ballgame', the Marine Corps Hymn and yes, '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall', we finally made it home at 6:00. So we had a VERY long day and up until the very end, Elijah handled it wonderfully! But I don't think we'll be doing that again for a while!

Burgess Baby Shower!!!

Our very good friends, Bob and Jennifer, are expecting a baby in March! We went up to Baltimore on Saturday, January 26 to celebrate with them at their baby shower! Jennifer is currently unable to travel, so their friends and family brought the shower to them! There were tons of presents for them to open! We had a great time visiting with them and we enjoyed every minute! Elijah had a good time too and was very well behaved! As Chris says, "It's discipline!!!" Yeah, ok!

Bob and Jennifer decided not to tell anyone what the sex of the baby is (they know, they just refuse to tell!!! Sneaky devils!!) so everyone had to guess the sex, birthdate and size. Chris and I think it's a girl. Besides, Elijah needs another girlfriend!!!!!

Sadness

We got called to Ohio last Wednesday because a very close, very dear friend of the family passed away. Frank Harbol was a wonderful husband, father, neighbor and friend. He lost his battle to cancer. He was loved and will be missed. We were blessed to know him.