At the Pool

This summer when we didn't have people visiting us and the weather was nice, we were spending our days at the Pool. We always tried to invite our friends to come with us so we could make it even more fun. 

Bennet was our little fish who got pretty good at swimming using his puddle jumper.

Daddy would come with us on Saturdays when he wasn't too busy with work.

Evan is a more cautious swimmer and liked to stay in the 3ft zone but made a lot of progress with his swimming skills too. By the end of the Summer he could dive down and pick up objects off the bottom of the pool with his goggles on.

Silly Boy

This little boy REFUSES to go to bed/nap without his shoes on. What if someone decided to go outside!?! It is best to be prepared and ready to go at a moment's notice.

Grandpa and Grandma Kraczek come to visit

We were so excited that Grandma and Grandpa Kraczek were coming to visit us this year, we had planned a week long road trip to take them on; however, once we learned that we needed to find a new place to live, we had to shelve that adventure for another day and focus on house hunting instead. We still wanted to have a little fun while they were here, so, in between looking for houses, we took a day trip down to Jamestown, Virginia to visit the first successful English settlement on the mainland of North America.

It was a very hot day, but we had a lot of fun exploring the reconstructed Jamestown Fort and Powhatan village. We watched the "colonists" shoot a cannon. It was very loud, but exciting. We also got to climb aboard replicas of the three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607. I couldn't believe how small they were considering how many people they were carrying and how long they had to be aboard during the long journey to America.

We will have to go visit Jamestown again as we didn't even have time to go see the actual Jamestown archeological site.

While Grandma and Grandpa Kraczek were visiting, we were able to celebrate Grandma Kraczek's birthday. We took Grandma to the Kennedy Center to see a concert on the Millennium stage and then out for a nice dinner with Daddy.  To top the night off, we headed back home for some birthday cake. Grandma chose a yummy lemon cake with lemon curd and fresh blueberries.

Evan also enjoyed going with Grandma, Grandpa, Mommy, and Daddy to see Peter Pan 360 at the temporary Tysons' theater.

We love our Grandparents and hope they come visit us again soon.

Kraczek Boy #3

Introducing Kraczek boy #3.

We are so excited to welcome him into our family in November. Now we just need to come up with a name for him.

Road Trip

This year instead of going to visit family in Utah, our family came to to visit us.

In June, Grandma Heather came to play with us.

We decided it would be fun to take her on a road trip through Pennsylvania.
First we went to Gettysburg to tour the battlefield and see all the monuments.

The boys had fun climbing on all the cannons and running around when we let them out of the car.
It was very hot and humid that day, so it was nice to get back in the car between stops.

                                                                                                                                              After a nice lunch we drove to Lancaster to look at the covered bridges before going to an amish style dinner. 

By that time it had started to rain, and it didn't stop raining for the rest of our trip. We stayed the night in Lancaster so we could go to the Lancaster Central Market in the morning. The Lancaster Central Market is the country's oldest farmer's market. It is right in the heart of Amish country and occupies a beautiful 120 year old red brick building.

I bought some delicious red currant jam from this nice gentleman. Bennet and Evan loved the enormous doughnuts we got them for breakfast while Grandma Heather and I had a lot of fun walking around and looking at all the fun stuff to buy. I got a fun bag with the Lancaster central market logo on it and Grandma purchased some yummy fresh pasta to take home with her.


When we were all finished at the market, we hurried back through the rain to our car so we could get on the road to Philadelphia. We had not planned on so much rain or it being so cold. No one had jackets and Grandma had to purchase an umbrella for us to use while we were in Philadelphia.



We arrived too late to get tickets to Independence hall and it was raining so hard that we also had to skip some of the outdoor sights. We will definitely have to come back as we just scratched the surface of things to do and see in Philadelphia.






We were, however, able to see the Franklin museum and printing office and couldn't pass up a chance to see the Liberty Bell.

soaking wet but still a happy face

It was pouring rain and everyone got soaked, especially pour Bennet. Evan and Bennet were troupers though and didn't complain very much.

When in Philly, one must get a Philly cheese steak sandwich. They were so yummy and warmed us right up.



We had a great time on our road trip, but next time we will have to go when the weather isn't so extreme.

Preschool Graduation

Evan has loved going to preschool this year. We signed him up for Mclean Munchkins which is put on by McLean High School and taught by the students.

He had a great time being part of a class and learning lots of new things. Our front door has been decorated all year  with his colorful art projects.

We enjoyed attending his graduation ceremony where he and his classmates recited the pledge of allegiance, sang some cute songs, and received their diplomas.

Kindergarten here we come!

Happy Birthday Bennet

My baby turned 2 today and I can't believe how big he has gotten. He is a very happy boy who is always smiling and always very busy. He loves trains, puzzles and most of all his big brother Evan.

Bennet is so glad that it has warmed up outside. He did not like the snow and would cry when I would dress him in snow clothes to take him sledding with Evan. Now that it has warmed up, he begs to go "bu-bye" to the park so he can spend hours going up and down the biggest slide he can find.

Aunt Emily came over to help us celebrate his Birthday. Mommy made this Chocolate Strawberry cake and, after video chatting with both sets of grandparents, he got to open his presents. I don't think he really understood what was going on, but he loved getting new toys and thought the cake was yummy, especially the strawberries.