A trip to Paradise

Last week Dan, David, and I had the opportunity to travel to St. Maarten in the Carribbean. The weather was perfect, except for the day when we got pummeled by Hurricane Earl. As nervous as I was for the hurricane to hit us, it was quite an experience and it was actually quite enjoyable.

Here are some pictures of our trip to Paradise:

This is the view from our balcony!

Our condo was 1/2 mile from the airport. We spent a lot of time watching the planes take off and land, which was a spectacular sight. They were so close you could almost touch them!

Playing in the sand wore David out

We went to Orient Bay one day and went to a nude beach. We just walked through it quickly just to experience it. I've never seen so many boobs and wieners in my life. I of course kept my clothes on because I didn't want people to think it was harpoon season!

One day we rented a car and drove around the island. We stopped off in Marigot, which is the capital of the French side of the island.
We stopped at a little diner and ate delicious crepes!

My Island Boys!

Watching Hurricane Earl destroy our beach. It was amazing how our beach was completely gone the next morning. Nothing but rocks! Two days later the sand had redistributed and we had our beach again.

DC Capital Tour

Today my husband took us on a private tour of the DC capital. My cousin Mark was in town this weekend with some of his friends, so Dan and I hooked up with them as well as two of my other cousins living here. I didn't take many pictures inside the capital, mostly because I was wrestling a 1 year old monster, but here are a few pics I took today:

The boys waiting outside for Mark to show up
(Ryan & Jacob are my cousins)

Cousins in front of Lady Liberty

Dan used his charm (ahem ID badge) and was able to get us out on Nancy Pelosi's balcony. I can't stand the lady, but her office balcony has the best view of DC you could ask for.
Here are the 4 cousins: Jacob, Mark, Ryan, and me

The smack dab middle of DC is in the capital

The view from Pelosi's balcony

Breakfast of the Champions

What's wrong with chocolate cheerios and icing beaters for breakfast? David thinks I'm the best mom around!

Heather's Surprise Party

My friend Heather turned 30 last week and her husband threw her a surprise birthday party. He asked me to make her a cake that went along with the theme of death, aging, etc. Here's what I came up with:

Here's a group of our friends mourning Heather's youth!

Chicago

Two weeks ago I flew to Chicago to spend time with my cousin Camille. The Wilton (cake decorating supplies) tent sale was going on and I thought it would be a perfect time to kill two birds with one stone. David and I spent 4 glorious days there and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect trip. Camille and I spent hours at the tent sale and bought way too much stuff. I have no idea where I'm going to store everything, but it was worth it!

Here are a few pictures of the trip. I didn't take many:

The People Fountains in Millenium Park

Thanks Patrick & Camille for letting us come and bombard your house. We loved seeing you and look forward to coming next year!

Monticello

Dan's mom came into town a few weeks ago to see us (okay, she came to see David) :)
We took her to Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson) and spent the day down in Charlottesville. It was a beautiful day and we are so grateful that Grandma Marilyn came to see us!

Like Father Like Son

Dan couldn't wait to whip out his seer sucker suit, and the cheesy parents that we are, we couldn't resist buying one for David!

Country Wedding

My cousin got married yesterday on a farm that is 7,000 acres. It was absolutely beautiful! Here are a few pictures we took with my husband's phone...not the best quality but they'll suffice!

Don't David's thighs look delicious?

Photo Shoot (a real one this time)

Since David has been born, my friend Rachel (www.racheljeffriesphotography.com) has been telling me she'd take some professional pictures of him. My life has been busy and I've never taken her up on the offer. I finally decided to get my butt in gear and have some real photos taken of my baby....I'm a pathetic mother and don't have any professional pictures of him.

Here are some of my favorite pics of the day. Please note that I didn't intend on having any pictures taken of me that day, so I didn't do my hair. As a matter of fact, I had every intention of getting up and getting ready, but my hair dryer happened to die that day (no lie!)