Thursday, April 29, 2010

WE MADE IT !!!!!

After many long and lonely nights, after days of wondering if my husband was ever, ever going to shut down the computer, after feeling like i had a hermit lodger that would sneak out of his room only to eat dinner, we have finally finished.
I couldn't be more proud of my Philly and all the incredible work he has done. As always, he did it with an ease that makes everything look effortless- all the while knowing what he is doing is near to impossible. He continues to out do himself. We have loved watching him blossom and thrive here- it makes the long and harder days all worth while just to see him so rewarded by his hard work.
It has been an incredibly rewarding year but one that has brought many new challenges for us and we wouldn't have made it with out everyone's support. Thank you all for helping us get through it. We love you. " Life only gives us brief moments of celebration, it is truly a sin if in those moments we don't throw up our voices, laugh, thank god and hold each other. Let your moments of celebration be the landmarks of your days on this earth. "

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Catching up on the fun stuff

We have been really lucky to be able to go out and do some fun activities lately. The weather here has been so beautiful the last few weeks that it has been hard to keep me indoors even when it rains- which it does. So i will do a quick run down of some of the funnest adventures that we have been on over that last few weeks.

The Cherry Blossoms

Libby and I went out on an adventure to see the famous Cherry blossoms. It was a huge ordeal getting there but once we did we really enjoyed it. The trees were beautiful and the day was gorgeous. We really enjoyed walking around and taking pictures.
The most interesting thing that day was not the trees though. As we were standing by the shore of the river a stroller got away from a father and rushed down the bank and crashed into the water. Luckily we saw the stroller rushing down the hill fast enough to dive in and grab the baby who seem completley unaffected by the fact that he had just crashed into the Potomac. It took me a good hour for my heart to stop pounding, and to get my breath back. It was every mothers worst nightmare happening in real life. I will never let go of my stroller again. Here are some of my favorite pictures from that day.







The "Spring-Time Egg Find"
We went to a little party given by our apartment complex last week. We were really excited to get Libby all dressed up and show her the Easter bunny for the first time. We got a good laugh when we arrived and found that the real world didn't celebrate Easter anymore- he went expecting an Easter egg hunt and pictures with the Easter bunny and got a picture with Chester Bunny and a Spring Time egg find. Oh well we still had fun.


One of the plastic eggs we found had some gummy bunny teeth- we thought they were a good fit on PhillyLibby was so excited she didn't stop smiling the entire time we were there. I am pretty sure she thought everyone was there to see her.... she was the one in the Bunny ears.

The "Chester bunny" was a bit pathetic- even the kids seemed to noticed that the costume was white but the neck, between the head and the rest of the bunny,was that of a rather large black guy. One of the little kids actually ran up to him and said" Hey Brother, what are you doing in there ".The costume didn't even have eye holes so his little helper would have to position him in the right direction so the little kids could take pictures with him.

The National Zoo

Phil got a pretty big kick out of this sign that was along one of the paths at the zoo. It was a little ironic that the only snowball left in the park just happen to be right under the sign that said " Japanese snowball" - irony or a really low budget exhibit?
Our little birdie


The national Zoo was really quite remarkable especially considering that fact that it was free. It was a really fun trip.


The Smithsonian Trip

One friday I dragged Phil to the American History Museum between classes and reading. It was the first time we had been out to look at the Smithsonians- yeah we have only been here for 8 months- hahah. The highlights of this museum were the original Star spangled banner, the sunken gunboat The Philadephia and the Lincoln top hat. It was a quick trip but it was nice to spend an hour with Phil in the middle of the day and be out in the cityThis boat was really eerie, when I first walked up to it the ominous feeling almost made me hold my breath. Everyone that approached it instantly stopped talking and just starred at it. It really felt like you could just almost see the people still walking around on its deck.