Sybella's Mornings

Here are some quick shots of Sybella from this past week.

Many times before we even get out of our PJs, we have new "adventures;"

we explore or try something new. These adventures were created by the boys. They shared a powdered donut with Sybella and then another morning, Connor let Sybella borrow his shoes.

These are definately cute pictures but the fun couldn't be had without trying something new. The moral: Try Something New Today - Usually the fun that results will far outweigh the courage it takes.

Happy Birthday!

Today was Sharon's Birthday and while it is nice to give gifts, I wanted to add something a little different to the occasion by adding a special message on our Blog for Sharon...



HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARON!

Easter Bunny

We had the opportunity on Saturday to see the Easter Bunny at our favorite toy store, Tree Top Kids. Sybella had no idea what we were talking about and once she discovered what the Easter Bunny was, she was not exactly enamored! Nervous or apprehensive is much more like it; of course, she's not interested in most new people, so a pretend 5-foot bunny probably never had a chance. :-)
The boys on the other hand were enthusiastic about seeing the Easter Bunny-- they were humoring us, but more than that, I think it's because they were quite certain that they could use their brilliant skills of persuasion to acquire a new item while at the store. They were wrong.
But all in all, we had fun and the kids love the store.

No White House Egg Roll for Us!

Despite arriving in D.C. at 4:30am and waiting in line, the girls and I were unable to secure tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll. It was certainly disappointing since there were rumored to be 18,000 tickets but, we certainly had fun making the attempt! Maybe next year...

From Left to Right: Shauna, Sharon, Jessica, and Vanja

The 3 D's for 2 C's

The 3 D's:
Direction, Delayed Gratification, and Dirt bikes

The 2 C's:
Colin & Connor

Some time ago we were walking through Toys-R-Us and saw these motorbikes. Of course the boys immediately wanted one. While I thought it would be cool to buy them one, Sharon had an idea and we agreed this would be a great opportunity to teach some key life lessons. We made a deal with the boys we would match them dollar for dollar if they would save there money and practice delayed gratification.

Direction - We set a goal with them and helped them establish a plan to accomplish that goal.

Delayed Gratification - We gave them their allowance that they earned based on a weekly plan to participate in work that needed done around the house. So in October of last year we started this journey and now 6 months later they have achieved their goal...a Dirt Bike!

At the end of the week they had to tithe 10%, 20% to savings, and then determine what they would do with the remaining 70%. That's right, we did not make them save it and when we went to a coffee shop and they wanted a hot chocolate...guess who paid? Yes, we made them buy their own hot chocolate. We went to the movies and guess who bought the candy and soda? Yep...they did. It is amazing to watch them prioritize and what they decide to spend money on.

Cruel? Unusual? Maybe...

Effective? Definitely!

The 3rd D - DIRT BIKE...check it out!

Family Night

Tuesday night we took the boys and headed over to RFK Stadium to watch DC United play Jamaica's Harbour View in the CONCACAF Quarterfinals. We rode the metro from Vienna to the other side of DC and walked to the stadium. Being spring break we had no worries about getting home late. The boys got to hang out with "Sammy the Eagle"...United's mascot. We had great seats in the 'rowdy' section of the stadium. We actually sat just to the right of the group that was throwing confetti, splashing liquids, and beating the drums.

The boys are embracing the great American past time of heading to the local stadium and cheering on your favorite sports team. We left Sybella at home with Granda while we headed out into the cold weather. We decided to get stadium food...OUCH! Forgot how expensive that stuff is. Anyways, it was a fun game and the home team won.

After a 1-1 draw with D.C. United at the Harbour View Mini-Stadium, many were expecting Harbour View to lose the return-leg CONCACAF Champions Cup game in Washington on Tuesday night.

However, a 5-0 thrashing was more than many, yours truly included, bargained for. Tons of scoring, lots of yelling, what a wonderful atmosphere.

At no point did I envision D.C. United, a United States Major League Soccer kingpin, as a team that was five goals better than any of the top Jamaican sides.

Napping

I am the first to admit that since I entered the work force a while ago that there have been occasions where after lunch I was dragging and wanted to take a nap. Today around 11am I was walking by an office and the guy was face planted on his desk! The door was wide open and he wasn't hiding his sleep issue from anyone. This is not his picture...I did not have a camera with me and secondly I would not post his face on the internet and create a difficult situation for the guy.

It's been another busy day and I am getting ready to leave the office and head off to one more meeting before driving home. Napping is great (on the weekends) as a matter of fact I love to nap! But, I have this fundamental problem with napping on the job. Just struck me a funny and kind of crazy so I thought I would post something on the blog.

Andrew's Baptism

When your family is spread far and wide, you don't often get to have family together to share special moments of tradition. However, this past weekend, we had the chance to celebrate my nephew's baptism. My brother Joel and his wife Stephanie lived in the DC area for four years prior to moving to Dallas for seminary. So, while they were in town over the last week, they had their son, Andrew, baptized at their home church, McLean Presbyterian. We were fortunate not only to spend time visiting with them but also to celebrate with them. The kids (cousins: Colin, Connor, Hannah, Sybella, & Andrew) really enjoyed seeing each other. Who knows, one day, maybe we will all live in Virginia! :)