Andrews AFB Airshow

Today we headed to Andrews Air Force Base, home of Air Force One, with the Conlans to experience the 2010 Joint Service Open House and Airshow. It was Cayne's first ever time at an airshow and he seemed pretty excited once he found out that this was a chance get to see fighter jets and to go inside military planes rather than a show where folks are trying to sell their passenger planes.

The highlights were the F-22 Demo and the Blue Angels. I'm always impressed with the formations the Blue Angels demonstrate and the F-22 maneuvering was just cool. It was also fun to see everyone on the airfield walking around with their eyes to the sky (rather than in front of them).

See more pictures here.

Day trip to Deale

On Saturday we headed out to Deale, MD for a get-together with friends and their families. Deale is such a relaxing place to visit and is a nice drive. It was also nice to have some views of the water and boats while visiting. It was especially fun to get to see Caroline and Mike with Ella, who has gotten so big since the last time we saw her -- she'll be walking soon; and Kathryn and Craig with Hudson, who we got to hear giggle -- quite possibly one of the cutest things I have ever heard (or seen). And watching Beckett and Dexter playing fetch and swimming in the bay was so much fun! As always, Caroline's parents were wonderful hosts and we left full of good food, good memories, and a little too much sun!

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Our New Niece

We are excited to welcome Mackenzie Oakes Wade into the family. She was born on May 6, 2010 (the day after her daddy's birthday -- what a great belated birthday present for him!). She's a little cutie in the pictures we've seen so far and soon we will have photos of our own to post. We can't wait to meet her in person and to see the happy and proud new parents!

She's the first grandchild for all of her grandparents, making her particularly special. We are happy for her entire family and look forward to seeing her grow up!

Congratulations Russ and Ashley!!

A baby album

Betsey wanted the world to see all three artist impressions of Little Bit. Looking forward to hearing your interpretation.

baby

Little Bit

Lawn Mower Decisions

Cayne and I have decided that maybe it's not really worth it to hire a yard service to take care of our yard this summer. Last year, our yard service did a great job, but let's be honest...we're in a rental where the yard hasn't really been properly cared for in years. There's actually more clover and weeds covering the ground than grass. Paying someone to do edging and to blow the clippings away seems silly, all things considered.

So, on Easter Sunday, we headed to the hardware store to look at lawn mowers and are trying to decide which one to get -- there are so many options and since neither of us has really had to take care of a lawn before, it's hard to know which ones are worthwhile. The biggest decision is probably between a self-propelled or push mower. Since the self-propelled is only $20 more and our backyard is a pretty good slope, this seems like the best option. Now we have to decide on which brand and price-range we want. I'm all for getting one that's not quite bottom-of-the-range, but Cayne has a good point that a bad lawn mower will just be frustrating.

Let us know if you have any suggestions! Right now, we're considering Lawn Boy, Toro, Craftsman, and Yard Machines.

Teddy Roosevelt Island

Today Cayne and I took a drive down George Washington Memorial Parkway to Theodore Roosevelt Island. This is a National Park we've wanted to explore for a while, but felt like we needed a car to get there! We walked all around the island in the Potomac enjoying the views of Arlington, Georgetown, etc and watching the Coast Guard helicopters patrol the Potomac.

Then we came home and I started cooking our early "Thanksgiving" dinner. We had Duck with orange sauce, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cloverleaf rolls, and cranberry sauce, all with a delicious Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and Pelligrino. Everything was delicious and we topped it off with pumpkin-spice cake (baked in a pumpkin-shaped cake pan) for dessert. We will have leftovers for days!