reunion weekend and a new neighborhood attraction

how has it already been ten years since we graduated college?!  being back on campus and running into familiar faces made it feel like we were living there yesterday - minus the two 30-pound human weights we were carrying around.  we all had a blast tailgating and going to the football game, and the kids did surprisingly well with all the noise and chaos!

the reunion began friday morning with brunch at ella's
(not going to complain)

making room in his bladder for the upcoming beer consumption

our tailgate happened to be next to a bunch of drunk college kids...
liv and jacks fit right in

mom and baby selfie

milk break

they were actually mesmerized by the half time show...the only time they were stationary

jeremy, nat, john, jacks

other than reunion weekend, we've just been hanging around.  the three of us hit up the pediatrician for a flu shot and then headed to the brand new city target, which is absolutely amazing considering it's 3 blocks away.  ironically, the three of us have also been sick for the past several days (not sure how john has escaped it!), and you'd be surprised how target has helped - not only for last minute medicine runs, but also as an amusement park.  leanne had the brilliant idea of taking them there one cold and dreary morning for entertainment.  what better place to go at 9am (when it's empty) to ride the escalators and elevators, keep warm, and play in the toy aisles! 

they survived their flu shots (although there were many tears leading up to it)

for being such troopers, we were all rewarded with a trip to the new target!

they picked out fire trucks to bring home

while everyone was stretching, our munchkins were guarding the goal 

there is nothing more fun for these two than parachute time...
because it signals that stamps are next!

living the dream

he spends 50% of his time at home doing this

tubby buddies

i left them alone for a few minutes, and they were so cute reading together!

flashlight fun in the closet

more flashlight magic happening in this tent

my cookie taste-testers

based on the chocolate smears all over their face, i think they approve

the postman delivered a special gift

learning the secret hull guacamole recipe

multiple bowls were consumed 

sickness has spread through our family from livi to jacks to me....
poor guy just rode around with john all afternoon

not even a hat from the fire station could cheer him up!

the ladies at the dry cleaners always offer a wafer cookie when we stop by

do you know the muffin man?

smiles all around after an almond croissant!

leanne took the kids out to meet some pumpkins

the kids treated the the poor little pumpkins like balls...
not a good outcome for the pumpkins

washing dishes...she learned from the best!

they've become HUGE fans of turtles lately

they love seeing them at the museums and when they make random appearances in their books

i wish we could get them a raccoon for christmas

busy with their art project

she LOVES looking at and talking to herself in the mirror now

puzzle mania at the academy of sciences

twins + twins

jacksie-bear

getting ready to swing

livi takes it a little more seriously

low fives!

too cute for her own good

mid-week visit to the waterpark

livi and her painted ladies

livi welcomed shelby to gym class...she missed her =)

a shelby sandwich

snack time....can you tell who the odd woman out is?

sweetie pies

the government shutdown our vacation

we were all ecstatic for the upcoming family vacation to washington dc.  we were quite excited to join the many relatives that would be there to support the celebrations and ceremonies that john's dad was key to, and were also really looking forward to seeing all the museums and monuments.  not to mention, we were staying in a hotel next door to the zoo.  unfortunately for us, politics got in the way of seeing some pretty darn cute pandas!!

even though my legs got attacked by mosquitos, our clothes were often wet with sweat or rain, the metro was closed for construction for two days, and - last but not least - EVERYTHING we had planned to see was closed as a result of the federal shutdown, we still had a wonderful trip.  we took countless rides up and down the elevators and escalators to keep the kids entertained, took many trips to the hotel coffee shop for mochas, and ultimately were able to spend more quality time visiting with family than we would have if we had been waiting in lines at the Smithsonian.

5:30am and off to the airport...can't forget the morning milk!

with all the functions we were attending for abuelo, leanne was kind enough to join us in DC!
(not going to lie, it will be hard to travel without her in the future)

let's board!  love the purple glow and hip music as you get on the virgin america plane

we were up until midnight downloading videos on the iPad (it was our first time looking for kid's stuff so it took awhile!)
this peaceful scene on the plane lasted about 5 minutes

abuela outdid herself again - lots of wonderful toys were waiting for them in the hotel!

jackson was a huge help in opening the gifts

their suite had great big windows with amazing views - perfect for spotting buses!

mr. president...are you in there? what about bo?

sadly, this is the best of 5 shots

we forced the kids to take a picture from the front later in the day...they were not impressed.

we can never resist getting flying livi shots 

our rag doll

the big guy

our chubby baby face

not too much more facial definition here

the positive side of the shutdown was that DC felt empty

looks like nana snoozie has some competition for jacks' favorite lady friend

our saviors...twins make you appreciate how much an extra set of hands (or two) can help

mr. lincoln - where are you??

i think we got some smiles!!

models for leanne's school calendar

checking out the spot where jennie and forrest were reunited

with the metro closed over the weekend, we had to do a lot of walking

with almost everything closed, we managed to find one semi-child-relevant museum to visit

dining al fresco while john attempts to view some of the exhibits

had some fun at rite-aid

apparently toddlers do not like werewolves...who knew?

family dinner

a major highlight of the trip was the frequent trips on the choo-choo...through the tunnel

hooray for the subway

just a bunch of hoodlums

all dressed up and off to the president's ball (prez of the american college of surgeons that is)

front row seats for the host's speech

no, the pope wasn't there

el jefe

a series of wonderful celebrations!

with the metro closed, rain and nothing open, we enjoyed all the hotel had to offer...
including the plush sheets,

the essentially unlimited bowls of cereal,

videos of family (in spanish), 

the piano, 

facetime (with Jacks hiding in a nearby cupboard),

the escalator, and finally

more escalator! 

and when it eventually hit 10:30pm, we all settled in for the night...and this was my view

our last day was filled with cupcakes...finally!

looks tasty

you ready?  let's do this!

tasted as good as we had imagined

after 5 days of doing grown-up things, we found a gem of a park

the firetruck was the highlight

jacks even sacrificed his spot on the swing since they couldn't both fit in there

headed back to home sweet home!

surprisingly, waiting in line is actually one of their strong suits

didn't sleep on the way out to DC, but thankfully they slept on the way back!

just waiting for our luggage, and then 'all done'!