Cherry Blossoms 2016

The Saturday before Easter we decided to head to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms.  They peaked early this year and were beautiful.  It was definitely busy but we got there early and found a good spot to have a snack, throw the football around and just lay in the sun.  Here are some pics from our morning underneath the trees....

Walking to the blossoms by the National Monument

E throwing the boys around

Hayden

Linc in the trees

Handsome Vaillant boys

Brothers

One with mommy please!

V Family

Down by the Tidal Basin

Family Selfie

Throwing the football around

Linc

Hayden's 7th Birthday

Hayden turned 7 years old on March 11th.  My big boy is growing up so fast!  We decided to have a party for him at an indoor rock climbing place in Laurel, MD called Climbzone.  We had a great time climbing and celebrating with friends.  After the party everyone came back to our place for pizza and gifts.  I'm pretty sure all the kids were exhausted after almost 3 hours of climbing.  Here are some pics from the party day....

Mastering the skate ramp

Made it to the top!

Saying cheese for mommy on the way up

Lincoln put on a harness but never clipped in.

He and Emily had fun on the inflatable slides instead

My niece Sarah was a great climber

Emily was brave too

Mommy got in on the action

Daddy too

To the top

Silly Bo

E and H climbing the Lincoln Memorial together  :)

Cake time

Family photo

Make a wish

Fun with friends

And family....thanks to Grammy & Pops for bringing Sarah and Emily since big brother Ryan had a baseball tournament

Party favors

The pizza after party

Valentine's Week 2016

The weekend before Valentine's day, Eric and I had a little overnight trip in Baltimore for his birthday and an early Valentine's Day date.  We went to the movies Friday afternoon and Eric picked a restaurant called Bluegrass Tavern for dinner.  They are known for having a variety of bourbons and good food.  Turns out it was restaurant week in the city so their menu was a little different but we both enjoyed our meals and the atmosphere.  The next morning we brought breakfast back to our room and rented a movie to relax before heading back home.  Thanks to Grammy & Pops for watching the boys! 

Lincoln had his Valentine's party at school on Thursday and gave his friends Star Wars Valentines.  Hayden was able to wear a festive shirt to school on Friday and had his party that afternoon.  Friday morning I had lots of Lincoln's friends over for a Valentine's Day playdate.  I had buckets for all the kids to give Valentine's, a heart craft, and festive snacks.  The boys had fun and enjoyed posing for me in their sunglasses Valentine's.  Here are some pics from our Valentine's Week fun....

E at Bluegrass Tavern sampling some Bourbon

Lincoln giving out his Valentine's at school on Thursday

Brothers

Hayden before school on Friday

Valentine's for our playdate

Lincoln enjoying some sticker fun

And snacks

Group shot!

My littlest love with all his Valentine's

Maryland Blizzard 2016

At the end of January we had a blizzard here in Maryland.  We had plenty of time to prepare for being snowed in and our only worries were losing power and Eric having to drive in to work.  Luckily we never lost power and even though Eric was on call he was able to stay home Saturday and Sunday and most of the day Monday with us.  This was great considering the boys were machines playing outside in the snow and mommy maybe would have lasted about 30 minutes.  :)  We had lots of fun family time over the weekend with daddy.  The boys missed a whole week of school but I tried to keep them entertained and we were able to drive out of the neighborhood by Tuesday.  Here are some pics and a video from our Blizzard week...

Family pic heading out into the Blizzard

The boys are ready!

Saturday was very cold and windy but it didn't seem to bother the boys

Linc was a maniac

Making snowballs

Sunday was sunny and much warmer and the plows had created some awesome snow mountains to climb.

Daddy digging a snow tunnel

Linc was having a blast!

Plenty of time for lego building

The big boys played this new football game a total of 21 times.  Hayden was counting.  :)

On Monday, Eric drove me to the gym in his truck so I could get some energy out.  The boys sled on a nearby hill.

And snacked

Later in the week we broke out some paint and painted wooden letters for the boys' rooms

Hayden was so proud of his lego guy

Shirtless play doh was also a big hit.