Camp Vaillant Weekend 2015

A couple weekends ago my nephew Ryan came to stay for a few nights.  He had been at my parents for the week so they dropped him off here to stay Friday-Monday with us.  We were hoping for nice weather since all our plans were pretty much outdoors.  On Friday, the boys played baseball out back while Lincoln napped.  That night, Eric took them to see the Bowie Baysox play and they enjoyed fireworks after the game (Hayden's first real fireworks).  On Saturday it rained a little in the morning so we played games at home.  Once it cleared out we headed to Patapsco State Park for a hike to the falls.  That afternoon we headed to the pool for more fun.  Saturday night we did smores on the fire pit before everyone passed out from the busy day.  On Sunday, we went to Gunpowder Falls State Park for the first time to take our kayaks out.  We rented one there so Ryan could have his own.  It was a hot day but it felt pretty good out on the water.  After kayaking we headed to the small beach there for a little more swimming before we left.  That afternoon we went to a different pool to cool off.  It was a fun, active, and exhausting weekend!  This was Ryan's 3rd year in a row staying with us over the summer and the boys loved having their big cousin around!  Here are some pics from the long weekend.....

Friday afternoon baseball

Hayden and Ry at the Baysox game

Fireworks!

Setting off on our hike at Patapsco

Cute cousins

Daddy and Linc

The boys on the bridge

Waterfall fun

Vaillant family shot

Saturday night at the pool

Linc's favorite spot!

Icecream!

Watching the sun set.  :)

Roasting Marshmallows

Setting out on the kayaks at Gunpowder

Ryan did great on his own kayak

Swimming at Hammerman Beach

My Birthday Weekend

My birthday fell on a Tuesday this year (July 7) so we celebrated the weekend after since Eric was on call for the 4th.  On my actual birthday Eric left me a beautiful bouquet of flowers in the morning and brought home G & M crabcakes when he got off work, which has become a tradition the last couple of years.  I knew Eric has planned a night away and booked my parents to watch the boys but he kept what we were doing a surprise.  We left the house at about 12:00 on Saturday and headed to Pasadena for hard crabs which is what I asked for.  :)  After that we drove to Bethesda where Eric had booked a hotel for the night.  The hotel had a roof top pool so once we checked in we lounged there for a bit.  We walked around trying to decide on a restaurant and we ended up at Cafe Deluxe which is where we had our first date which was perfect.  We sat outside and enjoyed great food and drinks and then tried a new Wine Bar across the way.  The next morning, I took a run on the Capitol Crescent trail and walked by my old building and reminisced on our dating days.  It was a great weekend and one of the things we said we wanted to do one more time before we move next summer.  Here are some pics from the weekend....

Crabs!!

Rooftop chillin by the pool

Sampling some wine

Pic on the bench me and Eric sat on for hours the night before he left for Texas for 6 weeks when we had just started dating.

This time he kissed me.  :)

Orioles/Nats Game

Two Fridays ago we had planned to just chill at home once Eric got off work.  I got a text from Eric at 3:30 saying the doc he was working with just offered him tickets to the O's/Nats game that night at 7:05.  Hayden was super excited when we told him he was going with daddy.  We used it as his reward for the week for doing his summer school work.  The big boys left as soon as Eric got home from work and they kept me posted with pics and updates throughout the night.  Me and Lincoln watched from home and I think we even spotted them on TV.  The seats were awesome and I know Hayden had a blast.  Here are some pics Eric took from the night.....

Just arriving at the park....floppy hat night!

Mommy is so jealous of these seats!

He even got a ball!

Great night at O's stadium

July 4th Weekend 2015

We had a pretty low key holiday this year for the 4th.  Eric was chief on call all weekend so we hadn't made any major plans not knowing how much he would be around.  This turned out to be for the best considering Lincoln ended up sick most of the week and was really not feeling well until Saturday night.  Hayden had his last day of soccer camp Friday morning and Eric was home most of the day.  Lincoln ran errands with us but was pretty much on my lap the rest of the day.  Eric was stuck at work most of the day Saturday but we rallied that night with sparklers, fireworks, and smores on the firepit with neighbors.  Eric worked about half the day Sunday and then we headed to Severna Park to a cookout at a Doc's house he had recently worked with.  He had a great place on the water and the boys were able to fish off the pier and take their kayaks out.  Lincoln was feeling better but was still really clingy with me so we weren't able to stay long but we still had fun and made the best of it.  Here are some pics from the weekend....

Saturday night - Lincoln is finally off my lap and smiling!

Sparklers!

Our neighbors brought over some fireworks.  The boys loved it!

Smores!

Lincoln peeking into the water

Fishing on the pier - Hayden caught quite a few fish

Hayden's first time on a kayak

I was surprised Lincoln wanted to go out!

Coming back in....I think they enjoyed it!

Nanu & Papu Visit and Graduation Dinner

When Mel and George flew Hayden home they stayed for a few days to visit with us also.  It was a very busy week for Eric at work with it being the last week of the residency year.  They got in Thursday afternoon and luckily it was the one night Eric did not have a work commitment so we did enjoy dinner with them at our place.  On Friday, Eric had a work outing so I took Mel & George to the Baltimore Zoo in the morning with the boys.  That night we attended the graduation dinner for the out-going Chiefs at The Hotel Monaco in the city.  It was so nice having Nana & Papu in town to watch the boys for us!  It was a really nice night and I can't believe it will be Eric graduating next year!  It will be bitter-sweet but I am definitely looking forward to it.  It was a rainy day on Saturday so we decided to take Mel & George to the Baltimore Aquarium.  I think they enjoyed seeing all the Baltimore sights and we enjoyed having them with us.  On Saturday night we had lined up a sitter so we could take Mel and George to nice Greek restaurant we thought they would like called Ouza Bay.  This was a late Father's Day gift and an early Birthday gift for Eric's dad.  We had a great time with them the whole weekend!  Here are some pics we took over their weekend here....

Walking into the zoo

Hayden with Nana & Papu

Me and the boys

Checking out the zebras and ostriches

Giraffe!

The Maryland Zoo

Graduation Dinner Date Night

The new Chiefs and the Wifies

Baltimore Aquarium

Sharks!

Love this pic of Linc

Ready for dinner out

Happy Birthday George!

Great night at Ouza Bay!