The River and The Rally

This weekend found us wading in the least nasty part of the Potomac at a place called River Bend Park. We found no hypodermic needles, which has happened on other occasions so that was an added bonus. It was a great day to play and have a picnic. The Potomac really is a beautiful river. No wonder George Washington wanted to stay in his Riverside Mansion rather than be the President of a struggling nation.


Saturday we spontaneously decided to join the half a million other people on the National Mall for the Glenn Beck Restoring Honor Rally. It was exciting to feel like we were a part of something bigger than ourselves. Beck's rally coincided with the 47th anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech," which I can only describe as gutsy. Reverend Al Sharpton held his own rally and it was interesting as some of his participants marched through the Beck rally with their signs and slurs. The verdict is still out on my opinion of Beck. I appreciate his desire to put God back in America, heaven knows we need it. But, at times I felt more like we were at a Southern Baptist Revival rather than a political rally. Sarah Palin spoke as well. She kept her comments non-political and only discussed her experiences as a mother of a soldier. Beck honored three individuals with either the Faith, Hope, or Charity award, which was inspiring and certainly carried a familiar theme to us Mormons. We encountered many interesting characters throughout the day, including Captain America and Abraham Lincoln. Hopefully, the boys learned a little something about honor and patriotism, especially as we sat and listened near the World War II memorial.

Boys Night

Scott took the boys to the Nationals vs. Cubs game Wednesday night. Harley and I stayed home and I must say it was so quiet and peaceful. She happily played in her exersaucer without the interruptions of screams and boys chasing each other. Plus it must have been a great experience for Scott taking Atley and Nash out in public without me. I am not sure how the game went but the boys had lots to say about the METRO ride to the stadium, the playground at the ball park, the giant presidents that ran the bases,(George Washington Won) the build-a-bear workshop at the field, and the Geico Gecko that was there. Atley told me he asked him if he could save 15% or more on car insurance. He might be watching a little too much TV this summer. Anyway, with the boy's night out on Wednesday and the fun girl's night I had last night, I am feeling quite refreshed. I might actually be a pretty good mom for a few hours. That is probably how long it will take until I get tired again.

Cupcake Controversy!

Everyone knows about this new cupcake trend spreading like wildfire all over America. This pastry plague began right here in our nation's capital. We don't just disagree about politics in D.C. we also disagree about the best cupcake in town. I really wanted to be the judge, so, I forced myself to try three of the city's most famous cup cakery's!

First up, CAKE LOVE!
Price: $3.25 per cupcake or $19.50 for half dozen.
Favorite Cupcake: (Yes, I tried a few)

German Chocolate!

Conclusion: Great cupcake, maybe even better than Grandma could make, but Cake Love Cupcakes don't seem fresh. They are kept in the ice box. Upon purchasing the clerk will advise you to wait until the cupcake warms up to room temperature. Let's be realistic, you are buying cupcakes, who wants to wait for them to warm up! I want instant cupcake gratification. Plus, they were a bit too expensive.

Next, CUPCAKES ACTUALLY!

Price: Average price per cupcake $3.55 or six for $17.00
Favorite Cupcakes: Couldn't pick just one here.

Actually Dipped Peanut Butter

Flourless-Tastes just like a fudgy brownie.
This place was incredible but a little bit pricey.

And Finally, GEORGETOWN CUPCAKES!

This store might be the establishment that started the Cupcake Craze when it became a TLC Reality Show!
Price: $2.75 each or $15 for six
Favorite Cupcakes:


Delicious and the least expensive, BUT, we waited for an hour to get to the door! Although, you might catch a glimpse of someone famous at Georgetown Cupcake!
Some other people I know also saw Stevie Wonder the other day. Of course, he didn't see them. Sorry, that was tasteless but the cupcakes definitely were not!

Conclusion: A few dollars poorer and 5 pounds fatter I had to return to Economics 101 to make my decision. Georgetown Cupcake and Cupcakes Actually are equally yummy. Georgetown cupcake is 80 cents cheaper per cupcake but you wait an eternity. Remember I want instant cupcake gratification and so I must weigh my opportunity cost and crown CUPCAKES ACTUALLY as the winner of the best cupcake in town!!! Then again Betty Crocker makes a great cupcake and you can get 24 out of a box that costs $2. But, where is the fun in that?

The boys agree with my decision! Just look at Nash savor that moist yumminess as he gobbles down his cupcake from CUPCAKES ACTUALLY!

Water World

As always the weather in Virginia was lots of fun last week. We had days of horrendous heat, days of torrential rain, and wind that caused flying umbrellas and branches to shatter the glass top of our patio table. We tried to make the most of it by playing in the puddles when it rained and in the fountains when it was hot.



Harley slept snug and sound in her pouch under the umbrella while her brother's splashed in the mud, sent boats through the culvert, and road their scooters in the rain. By the way have you ever seen a baby with a rounder head?

The boys had so much fun playing in the fountain at Fairfax Corner that we did it twice this week. Hey, it's free and it's cool, literally


!

Beach Day

Yesterday we went to the beach. This was probably the last time this year, as summer winds to a close. We have had lots of storms so the waves were enormous and the tide was so high that we barely had any room to set up camp on the sand. But the combination of high tide and big waves created a mini ocean. The kids had so much fun in this nasty foamy water. Everyone agreed that it looked like a giant root beer float!



Harley is turning into quite a beach baby. She loved putting her tiny toes in the sand and watching the water and her brothers crash into the sand.

Paper City

A friend told me about this amazing blog entitled Made by Joel. Joel creates all sorts of amazing things for his children. He drew a paper city and has the template available on his blog. We took his template and created a city uniquely our own. It kept the boys entertained for several hours, both while they created the city and now that it is finished and they can actually play with it.

Joel used photo paper to make the city and it's figures more durable. First, we colored the city, the people, cars, and helicopter. Next, I used Mod Podge to make the figures more boy proof. Laminating would work better but we used what was available to us.
After we cut it all out, we had an amazing little city. We hooked the helicopter to a string tied to a button so that the boys could fly it around and strategically land on the heli-pad. Thanks Joel for the incredible idea and a day full of fun entertainment!

Nifty, Nifty, Look Who's Fifty!

We wish we could be there to celebrate such an important milestone, but since we couldn't be with you, we decided to celebrate your birthday without you! We made you a sign. Nash insisted that we use your Indian name-MOONDOG GRANNY!
Harley put on her party dress!
And her party hat!
We even baked a pink cake and ate it for breakfast along with Diet Pepsi and Fresca!
We love you Granny! Have a great day and may the next 50 years be even better than the first.