Mommy and Daddy's Trip to LA

John and I began our first alone trip by landing early morning in LA. We got our car and made our way to Venice Beach where we had planned to run along the boardwalk. Venice beach is very unlike any east coast beach--it's very unique to say the least. We jogged from Venice Beach to the Santa Monica pier. Once we got to the pier we enjoyed the pretty view and had some of the best fruit I have ever had. So juicy! We hung out a bit and then jogged back to our car. Afterwards we met Maggie at her work in Santa Monica (to get her key) before heading to a late lunch in West Hollywood. We took Santa Monica Blvd all the way to West Hollywood and got to see Beverly Hills and the like. After lunch we made our way to Maggie's house. From her street you can see the Hollywood sign! John and I took a nap and relaxed until Maggie got home. Here is the two of us in her house:

Thursday night John was too tired (we had only 3 hours of sleep the night before!), so it was just Maggie, Michael, and I out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. So yummy!

Friday morning John and I went for a jog from Maggie house up to Hollywood and Vine, about 3 or so miles. Jogging is a great way to sightsee--we got to see a ton of stuff and run the Hollywood walk of fame (the stars you see). Sadly, though, unless you want to carry a camera while you jog, you can't take pictures! So, needless to say, I didn't take any more pictures on Friday morning, sadly.

Afterwards Michael (who is an emmy-nominated writer for Warner Brothers) got us into the Warner Brothers lot. I didn't take my camera because we wanted to blend in since it isn't open to people unless you are on the travel golf carts. We got to walk the lot and ended up at Ellen's show--John got a picture on his phone of me standing in her parking space (I'll post after I get him to email it to me). Fun stuff since I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ellen. I was looking for George Clooney's space, but couldn't find it.

Friday early afternoon John and I had to go our separate ways. We were there not only to visit Maggie, but John was competing. He met up with his coach while Maggie and I got to go to Terranea Resort. I have been lucky enough to have been to some really beautiful places in my lifetime (Mykonos, Greece so far has been the best!), and I must say that Terranea is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. It's located in Ranchos Palos Verdes, CA, about 30 miles south of LA. Pirates of the Carribbean was shot at the same place as the resort, before the resort was built. Some celebrities have also been married here. Maggie and I quickly got changed into our bikinis and ordered some beers at the pool. John was able to stop by quickly (his coach got stuck in San Diego) and took this picture of us:

We also got to see a reality show being taped (some show called Shedding for the Wedding). Notice the couples carrying some cake. Side note: later while taking in the sunset from our room, we saw some of the crew cleaning up cake on the resort--pretty funny considering they only had napkins to clean it up--really???

John and I:

Maggie all dressed up with nowhere to go (except enjoying the sunset!):

This is my attempt to be sexy.

The Sunset. The picture doesn't do it justice.


The view from the elevator room, so gorgeous!

The view from the resort:


there is a trail you can take from the resort down to the beach, not a very long walk. this is a photo from the beach:


Another photo, this time from the beach looking at the resort:

We were a little hungover and decided to hang out at the resort the entire day by the pool. Maggie will kill me, but she looks so cute!



Excuse the feet, but here is a picture of the view from my pool chair:

Terranea was most certainly the highlight of our trip, but we did have fun otherwise. Saturday night John, Maggie, and I pigged out on Korean BBQ and drank beer. We were too full to do anything else! On Sunday, our last full day, John went back to cheer on others while Maggie and I lunched in Beverly Hills and shopped downtown. I got to see her wedding venue--Vibiana. She will be getting married October 15, 2011. So we get to go back to LA!

We went to a nice dinner that evening with Michael and Maggie before relaxing back at the house. What a great vacation! It was short and sweet. We sure missed AJ and were so happy to see him when we got back!

Phases of AJ

It seems as though everything (good, bad and indifferent) is a phase in little ones. Cranky? It's a phase that will pass. Sleeping in? It's a phase that will pass. Being helpful? It's a phase that will pass.

Right now AJ has a few 'fabrites' (favorites). Yesterday he told me (out of the blue), "Mommy, green beans are my fabrites. My fabrites song is Itsy Bitsy Spider. My fabrites shirt is Redskins".

All he will wear at every moment (including bedtime!) now is his "football shirts". He HAS to be wearing not only Redskins stuff, but Jerseys. If I put him in a regular Redskin's T-Shirt, he throws a fit. John and I encourage him to be his own person, so we do let him dress himself--unless, of course, the only Jerseys he has (and he has 5 of them!) are dirty. We did allow him to wear his McNabb jersey Saturday, Saturday night, Sunday, and Sunday night...but it's just not acceptable to go to school in yogurt stained clothes. So this morning, I had to put him in a regular old Skins T-Shirt and he was NOT HAPPY.

I keep telling myself, this is just a phase, this is just a phase, this is just a phase. It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I'm trying so hard! One day, I'm sure I will look back and laugh on this time period. Now...off to wash some of AJ's "fabrites shirts".

Cox Farms

We got free tickets for opening weekend at Cox Farms. It was our first trip to Cox, in Centreville. Personally I'm more of a great country farms fan. Cox was nice, if you don't feel like making the drive to Bluemont. It was, in my opinion, way overpriced and not as authentic of a farm. But it was free and we were in local Northern VA, so we went! My boys on the walk up there:

My boys posing in front of the farms:

On the terrible hayride--it was cramped and hot and too much hay!

AJ wasn't quite ready for the slide by himself. Sorry, I'm mean, but I can't stop laughing:


AJ posing:

Me and my boy:

My cuties:


One nice thing is that we got some small pumpkins to start the fall off right!

Apples, Apples, and MORE APPLES!

We are drowning in apples right now! I have made apple sauce and apple butter so far (both clean-recipes below AJ's pictures). My little boy LOVES the apple butter!

Clean Applesauce:

Apple sauce is clean so long as you don't add sugar. You can make it and jar it, but here is my applesauce for a meal recipe:

Ingredients:

• Apples (SWEET ONLY like Gala, Yellow and Red Delicious. A mix is best)
• Cinnamon

Directions:

• Wash, Peel, Core, and Chop all of your apples. I peel them and use a corer from Williams and Sonoma that makes it easy.
• Cook the apples using 1 inch of water. I boiled them for 5 minutes, simmered for another 10.
• Drain the water to your consistency of choice. I like my applesauce just a little watery, so I drained only a little. SAVE THE JUICE--IT'S HOMEMADE APPLE JUICE!
• Mush using just a spoon--there is equipment, but I found I could mush it nicely with just a spoon.
• Enjoy!

Outcome: It was a HIT!

Clean Apple Butter:

I will say that John is a HUGE apple butter fan. Given that it is really high in sugar, it's important to eat this type of food as clean as possible. I gave it a try and John said it was BETTER then he has ever had!

Ingredients:

• 12 apples (again a mix)
• 2 cups of apple juice (I used the apple juice I made from apple sauce--then it's really clean!)
• 30g molasses
• 90g agave
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon of allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon of cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

Directions:

• Cut and Core your apples. No need to peel. Place in your crock pot.
• Add your juice.
• Add molasses and agave.
• Add spices.
• Mix up everything nicely. Turn crock pot on to HIGH. Stir occasionally (don't have to, but I did).
• After a few hours, the water will be boiling (mine boiled in two). When it's boiling, turn to low.
• Cook for 12-14 hours or so. I put everything together at like 6pm while I was making dinner. Then before bed I put it to low and by 10 the next day it was ready to go.
• Mix it up a lot. Jar and store the butter.

Outcome: John and AJ both loved it (see AJ's face above!). Next time, though, I will peel it. We all weren't too fond of the peels in it--even if it broke up a bit. I don't know if that will hurt the consistency, so if you do it...test it out first!

Apple Picking

We went to Crooked Run Orchard for some apple picking. The apples were plentiful and we walked away with 20 pounds! Here is AJ enjoying one of the apples:

John making some tough decisions:

AJ loved picking the apples:

Me and my boy:



With 20 pounds, I guess I have some applesauce, apple butter, and apple pie to be making!

Date with Mommy

Daddy went to the Dallas-Redskins game with PopPop, so AJ and I were blessed with a date! We went to Temple Hall Farm, a petting zoo type park. It's free! We were the only ones there too, which was nice! AJ loved the Chickens!

A big pig!

AJ loved looking at the animals!


So cute!

AJ running to the next animal!

The big pig again, our favorite!



After the park we stopped at Leesburg Outlets. We didn't buy much (just something to help me shop onions, apples, etc. We stopped to get some ice cream and because AJ is so cute, the man gave it to us for free!

Such a gentlemen--holding mommy's bag for her!



Then we went home and I made a nice dinner (clean pesto pasta and steak!) and we enjoyed ourselves outside before snuggling together before bed!

Mommy's 9/11 5K race

I ran a 5K on the morning of September 11th, a benefit for Freedom Alliance. John would have ran with me, but he is in training for BJJ nationals at the end of this month (our CA trip!). The morning was absolutely beautiful. It was a perfect running morning in fact. I woke up early to be able to eat a little, get hydrated, and get hyped. The truth is, I had been hyped the last few days (which I will elaborate on later in the post). I arrived at 7am to an already bustling crowd. I got my race packet, put on my number, and attached my shoe tag. The shoe tag tracks your real time--the time you start and the time you finish. It's more accurate then the handwritten days of the past. In a large crowd, it's rare to be able to start at the beginning where the gun goes off--so even though the gun goes off and the clock starts, 20 or so seconds or more could have passed before you make it to the starting line. The course was plenty fine--except for the last hill. In the picture below, this is me right as I'm finishing the last hill. You are already exhausted and just about finished-and ready to sprint those last 3/10ths of a mile, but the hill KILLS you. Men that looked like they were in great shape had to walk. I'm happy to report that although it was painful, I didn't stop running (and beat those said men :)).

I picked up the pace and did sprint those last 3/10ths of a mile or so to the finish line. My family was on the sidelines cheering me on--along with my trainer and some folks I train with. It was one of the greatest feelings I must say. I finished with an official time of 23 minutes and 35 seconds--my personal best by far. I didn't know this at the time, but I found out later that I came in 16th overall (out of hundreds!) and 2nd place in my age bracket. I didn't stay for the awards ceremony--but I did win something and they are sending it to me this week. I wonder what it is!

Earlier in the week John and I had recorded and watched two National Geographic 9/11 documentaries: Giuliani's 9/11 and 9/11: Pentagon Witnesses. Both were absolutely incredible and heartbreaking. My heart became extremely heavy and I became angry all over again watching these two 1 hour long shows. While I like to keep politics off of this blog, I feel I must speak from my heart--as what I am about to speak of will affect my children and future grandchildren for generations to come.

The horror of re-living 9/11 in those two moves brought to my attention how important it is to fight against the Ground Zero Mosque. As an American citizen, I know how important religious freedom is. As a Christian, I do not want to be told my faith can not be practiced freely. I suppost all walks of faith--even if it is not my faith. That is why I think anyone should be able to build religious buildings--except when it insensitive and disrespectful to others.

In this country, everyone is entitled to certain inalienable rights granted by God. You have the right to bear arms, right to free speech, and the right to a trial by jury. You also have the right to practice your religion freely. You have these rights protected by our government put forth by our founding fathers in the Bill of Rights. The controversy has arisen from the Ground Zero Mosque because those individuals ARE entitled to assemble and practice their faith as they so wish as given to them by our own government.

However, you can and should lose these rights under certain circumstances. Let's use the Right to Bear Arms as an example. If you murder someone or I believe are convicted of a felony, you lose that right (at least in most states)--as you should. Why would we trust a convicted felon with a gun? You also have certain restrictions with this right. For example, there are certain guns that are illegal. Another example: in some or most states there is a 'waiting period' when you want to purchase a gun. Rights are a privledge in my opinion--and you can lose your privledge.

While Islam didn't attack America (and continue to attack America), extremist muslims DID attack our beloved country. We lost nearly 3,000 Americans in a matter of hours--and thousands more were severly injured. Since then, we have lost thousands of troops fighting against terrorism in the middle East. We will continue to fight terrorism against this country in the name of Allah for the rest of my life for sure. So in my opinion, they do not have the right to build that mosque so close to Ground Zero.

I don't think they shouldn't be able build a big and beautiful mosque in New York City--just not at that location. I feel their choice in space for the mosque is saying, and excuse my language, F YOU to all American's and especially to those who lost someone on 9/11. They do have the option to build a mosque a bit further away. Instead of respecting our country and avoiding controversy, they instead choose to fight the battle and disrespect our dead.

For the record, I would feel the same way about the Jewish and Christian faiths.

So to end this very long post, I ran for those American's who lost their lifes and the families that have to live every day without a loved one. I ran for the troops or fight so hard for our country. I ran for my children and future generations--so that they too can enjoy every right and freedom I have had the opportunity to have in my lifetime.

Our Look-alike Meter

Well, it's official I guess--AJ looks more like his mommy :)

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family images - Genealogy software

Playdate with Lauren and McKenna

I got out of work a little early the Friday before labor day, so AJ and I met my best friend, Lauren, and McKenna at a cozy little vineyard/winery in Clifton, VA called Paradise Springs Winery. The building on the grounds is very beautiful. It was designed by a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright and I wish I got some pictures of the inside, as it was a nice little cottage.

After a tasting, we settled with a blanket and some wine and spread out to listen to the band and let the little one's play. I show you this picture, as it not only shows Lauren and McKenna, it also shows the vineyard in the background. They are going to start harvesting the grapes soon for the wine. The wines currently are from leased property elsewhere in Virginia.

Me and McKenna, with a very playful AJ in the background. This is before AJ decided to pull all of the wipes out and spread them over the nearby hose--very neatly I must say. Look at McKenna's cute outfit, made my Maridith, Lauren's sister (who is talented, and the owner of the Fitts Happens blog as well as Strictly Homemade).


Lauren with the two kiddos. Look at how great she looks after having McKenna just a short 7 months ago.

The two of us.

AJ and McKenna kissing. AJ hasn't stopped talking about this beautiful little girl.


Me kissing my girl McKenna. If I never have a daughter, I will have to borrow her :).

A cute picture of the kiddos.



A great day! Oh how I miss Lauren and wish we lived down the street from each other! Can't wait to get together with them again soon!

Beach Trip

John and I decided to do a day trip to Ocean City. My mom and sister came with us--and it was a lot of fun! After a three hour drive Saturday morning, we were there safe and sound. We packed up the jogging stroller and headed onto the beach. We found a cozy little spot and immediately started to play. Here is AJ pondering how to build a sand castle.

And he has started his castle :).

Oh wait, it's more fun to bury mommy's legs in the sand. Immediately after he got bored of my legs being buried, he decided to massage me with sand on my shoulders. It actually kind of felt good--like an exfoliation.


AJ LOVED the waves. The waves were pretty high, due to an impending hurricane I guess :).

My boys, oh how I love them so much!

My mom, AJ, and I:


After about an hour of AJ, my mom, and I enjoying the sand and John and Kayla enjoying the cold and wavey water, AJ was about ready for a nap and we were about ready for some food. Here is AJ napping in his stroller (notice how he is turned to his side as if it was a real bed):

My two cute boys. AJ was super happy after his nap. We enjoyed walking down the very busy boardwalk for the rest of the day, eating all kinds of bad food and playing games. Kayla, John, and I even went on a roller coaster, which was fun--but I think I'll pass next time. The coaster was one of those that pulls you up backwards REALLY slowly to start the beginning of the ride, then it lets you go and you go all around and upside down. I was SO SCARED.


Me and my boy:

My mom and sister playing a game--there is no loser when you play your family for the same toy that you are going to give AJ anyway. Funny that it could have cost less just to buy the same toy though :).

My mom, AJ, me, and my sister:


AJ in the mirror maze:


My sister and mom:

My family of three: