THOUGHTS OF TODAY....: ...to breathe

...and try to get back into routine.

To say the time has gone quickly this month is an understatement.

I won't recap all of the details of the month, but in short we have been really busy.

Traveling.

Establishing new rules.

Traveling.

And establishing new rules.

You can imagine which items on the list the children have enjoyed most.

Mark informed the children that there was an upcoming election at the end of the month for a new sheriff in our home...and Mommy was NOT going to win.

There was lots of moans and groans at this news.

So in between the rules Mark and I have been traveling.

Thanks to my Dad for his incredible offer (to stay with our brood so Mark and I could get away) Mark and I were able to enjoy 6 days of peace.

The best thing about our time away was there were few time constraints.

We stayed at this charming hotel in Alexandria and enjoyed a few runs along the Potomac, bagels on our balcony, and wine at happy hour.

We took in a Nationals baseball game with a friend of Mark's from Afghanistan. (They won).
We met with another old Army friend at this highly recommended DC restaurant.
And met yet another friend of Mark's from Princeton for lunch on Friday afternoon.

The best part of our trip was our time with our dear friends the Brosnan's. ~~They also were able to pawn off their children~~ Their children were spending quality time with their grandparents for the weekend and we were able to wine, dine, and talk uninterrupted until the wee hours of the mornings.

We also took a leisurely hike at the Great Falls Park, Va.

Who knew this gem was so close to the city?

We are going to miss our friends terribly as they are getting ready to embark on their newest Army journey...a tour in Burkina Faso, a small country in Africa. Hopefully the stars will align and we'll be able to visit them maybe as soon as next summer.

Finally, the timeliness of our trip couldn't have been better. Our newest nephew joined our family on Saturday evening, April 21st. My brother and his wife welcomed Liam Ford Viele into their family. And Much to my dad's chagrin, he arrived before we began our trip back up to New York and thus we are able to make a little detour (adding another day to our trip) to Richmond to meet him.