Summer harvest

On Sunday after church, grandma made it to town and we met up to go to Great Country Farms for its Peach Festival. It was HOT, but we had a great time picking some peaches and blackberries. Emilia was so excited to go back on the cow train.But, her favorite part came when we got home when she got to sample those tasty berries.

Musical fountains

On Saturday night, we met up with the Vaughans, Hills and Rumbaughs at Fairfax Corner to let the kids run around the fountains and hear a music band. At first, they were unsure of the fountains, which were quite intense. But, after a while, it was hard to get them out of there.

After a picnic dinner, they danced to a music band. The poor security guard... our kids definitely made him work for his pay that night. When they weren't in the mosh pit, they kept rushing the stage!

Jersey girl

It had been ages since we last went to New Jersey, so we took a quick trip up this weekend. Saturday was a gorgeous day, so we hit the beach and the boards of Ocean City.Even though she was tired out from the sun, Emilia managed to squeeze in a few rides at Wonderland Pier.

And yes, that is our two year old on the log flume. After naptime, we played in the pool. That little black dot on Emilia's hippo tube is actually a frog who she befriended.

On Sunday it unexpectedly poured, so we decided to go to Build a Bear. Muffin the dog joined our family.

Another full weekend!

Slip and slide

One of Emilia's coolest birthday gifts was a slip and slide water toy from the Jevecs. Over the weekend, we got to test it out.While Sandra, baby Andrew and I enjoyed some time outlet shopping, Eric and Dan occupied Emilia and Nathan. The original plan was to go to the waterpark, but with rain on the forecast, they brought the waterpark to our front yard. By the looks of the photos and videos below, it's clear that it was a huge hit -- for everyone.
This video will just give you a taste of the fun... view more of the action at Our Videos.

Out on the town

On Saturday night, we got a babysitter an headed downtown for Gillian's surprise birthday dinner planned by Corey. We got to meet some of Gill's friends and had a terrific meal at Cashion's Eat Place. Not that we don't love Chick-fil-A and other places that include wet wipes and remove-your-shoes-before-entering play areas, it was nice to get dressed up for a fancy meal for a change.

The guests (we felt so old!)...

Gill with her cake...

Us with Corey and the birthday girl...

4H fair

After swimming lessons on Saturday we thought we'd head over to one of our favorite spots, Frying Pan Farm Park. We knew there was a 4H fair scheduled for that day, but we had no idea how big it was going to be. The fair had animals, nature exhibits, music, food -- not to mention a full carnival that we didn't even get to.

Meeting Willie the horse...

Touching a bug...

Petting a snake...

Getting a good look at the goats...

And laughing at daddy as he makes a "bunny" nose...

Two music bands in one day!

So last Saturday when we had Emilia's Rocknoceros birthday party, she wasn't the only one who got to hear some good tunes. Eric also redeemed his birthday gift that night - tickets to see Brad Paisley at Nissan Pavilion. To say that Eric and I are not big concert-goers is an understatement, so this was kind of a treat. We had never been to Nissan Pavilion, which is the largest local music venue. But, after surviving a long walk to the actual concert area in a torrential downpour, we arrived at our pretty good seats and settled in for the show. Jimmy Wayne and Dierks Bentley opened, followed by Brad. We knew more of the songs than we thought we would... I guess we're turning country! Eric's only regret was that I strongly discouraged him wearing his straw hat or any camouflage. There's always next time!

She's two!

It's official -- we have a full-blown toddler on our hands. It's hard to believe that it was two years ago that we were just getting to know our little girl. Here she is celebrating her first birthday last year: We celebrated Emilia's second birthday all weekend long and even today. She had really been looking forward to her "music band" birthday. We just lucked out that Rocknoceros was planning to play a free show at the Reston Town Center on Saturday morning. So, we planned a small birthday celebration for family and friends around that. Emilia loves this band and she took no time getting down to the music. She was lucky to have her good buddies with her.After the band performed, we had a picnic lunch. Emilia loved her chicken and strawberries, but wanted nothing to do with the cupcakes or ice cream. Sure, they were a little melted, but she wouldn't even try them! The band even joined us for lunch! Here are Eric and Emilia with Coach Cotton from the band:It turned out to be a great morning and I think Emilia had a blast. Even Uncle Kyle got into entertaining the kids:
Check out some more photos from the party on the Simpsons' blog and the Vaughans' blog.

Sunday was Emilia's actual birthday. After church we went to Mon Ami Gabi for lunch with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Corey (Uncle Kyle left earlier in the morning). Emilia loved dancing to the jazz trio, but again, wanted no part of the special dessert they brought her. She turned her pout around long enough to show us how old she was. We went home and opened some presents. Emilia is so blessed to have such generous family and friends. Here she is stylin' in her new Vans from Corey and Gillian...and her new sunglasses from Kyle...

After another long nap, we took her over to Chuck E Cheese for a few rides.

I actually think her favorite part was collecting all of the tickets!

Her birthday celebration finally came to an end today with an ice cream cake for her friends at daycare. At least her friends enjoyed it... she again passed on the treat! Here she is with Miss Suman, who helped her blow out her candle.We had a great family weekend, although it's still surreal to think how fast the last two years flew by. Happy birthday, Mia! We love you!