TheRaben

This weekend was a busy one for us. Ben spent Saturday helping with a traveling Boy Scouts exhibit called Adventure Base 100. He got to spend all day outside in DC during an excessive heat advisory. We got the same heat in Virginia, and Amelia and I spent it at Crockett park for a church picnic. Amelia loved eating hot dogs and splashing in the water and mud from the mist tent. I felt like a pretty good mom when I let her drag me to the swings, even though all I really wanted to do was sit in the shade and eat my popsicle. We all came home a little more tan and hot and sticky.

On Sunday Ben went back to DC to help with the Grand Centennial parade downtown. Luckily it was a bit cooler than the previous day. After the parade ended the entire Mall even had to be cleared because of rain and severe thunderstorms. It was much more relaxing for us girls. We went to church, napped, and played games until Ben got home.

When I write it down, it doesn’t sound nearly as busy for me as I actually felt. Maybe I just wasn’t motivated to do much because of the heat. Either way, the house definitely didn’t get the attention it needed. No matter how clean it starts, if I let everything go—even for just two days—it’s a wreck. Today I grounded myself from the computer (my favorite time-waster) for most of the day, even during Amelia’s nap time. I scrubbed the entire bathroom, washed a sink full of dishes, caught up with the laundry, and picked up clutter throughout the house. Everything looks and feels a lot better. And as you can see, I’ve officially earned back my computer privileges.

Last week there was a short article about Ben in one of our local papers. Read a little more about what he does for work here.

In case you haven’t already seen this floating around the internet, we thought we’d share. Make sure you’ve watched the original Old Spice Commercial first. Good job, BYU.

One of our favorite places to eat is Tucano’s. Anytime we’re in Utah we make it a point to stop by. Yum…my mouth is watering just thinking about their top sirloin and grilled pineapple.

When Ben and I eat out we almost always drink water, except when we’re at Tucano’s. We can’t eat there without ordering a Brazilian Lemonade. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and tart and it’s become one of my favorite drinks.

I was so excited when I found the recipe for Brazilian Lemonade on Our Best Bites (if you couldn’t already tell, it’s my new favorite cooking site). Tonight it was the perfect beverage to go with our dinner, and the best part: it tastes just like the original. Try it…you will love it!

Since Our Best Bites already had a beautifully styled photo, why bother with my own? Enjoy!

Ben had a week off work as a reward for working so hard at the scout’s Centennial Camporee. And believe me, he worked hard for it: six straight days and nights setting up for 8,000 scouters, leading activities, and directing traffic in the heat.

We played with the idea of going on a road trip to explore some of the fun places in the area (Charlottesville, Williamsburg, Outer Banks), but decided to stay near Warrenton and enjoy some much-needed family time at home.

A few days were spent organizing the house, reading, sleeping in, exploring the area, shopping, and playing at the park.

On July 4th we watched neighborhood fireworks and played Axis and Allies with Ben’s sister until early in the morning. Like 3:00 am. A word of advice: don’t start a game like that at 10:30pm.

We also took this opportunity to go on our first real family campout to Bull Run Regional Park. It had been hot and sticky all day, so it was sort of nice that we were running late and got there after it had cooled down a little. But we were rushing to get the tent set up and the fire built before it was completely dark. We did the usual camping stuff: ate tinfoil dinners, made s’mores, and stayed up late talking. We also did a few unusual things, like a harmonica concert and roasting Starbursts over the fire (Ben’s sister taught us). It was ridiculously hot and humid, but we all had fun.

One of the best parts of the campout was the waterpark connected to the camp. There were four different pools, a splash pad, a huge sand pit, and two big slides. The splash pad had a giant bucket of cold water and when the bell started clanging, you knew it was going to dump all over you any second. Everything was pirate- and ocean-themed and it was perfect for kids. Amelia was in heaven, but all of us big kids had lots of fun too.

It’s a girl! My original due date was October 15th, but it looks like she may come a little earlier. Maybe a 10-10-10 birthday won’t be a stretch!