Main Level:
Top Floor:
Basement (sorry, part of this one is sideways):
The R & E Times
Sunday, September 8, 2013
The Long Awaited House Tour
Several months after moving in, we are finally ready to unveil our new townhouse! Enjoy this three-part series, with your favorite host... Richard!
Main Level:
Top Floor:
Basement (sorry, part of this one is sideways):
Main Level:
Top Floor:
Basement (sorry, part of this one is sideways):
Saturday, September 7, 2013
BYU v. UVA Trip
Richard here:
Several months ago our friend and real estate agent, Steve Hales, asked us (and about 200 others) whether we wanted him to get us tickets to the BYU-UVA game. We most certainly did.
With that our fate was set.
We had purchased tickets for the 31st day of August in the 2013th year of our Lord.
Now planning trips these days is not like what it used to be. Some of you may know Luke's dislike for car rides and sleeping in the car. So we did our best to plan out the day to accommodate Luke's nap schedule.
The drive was quite nice and Luke ended up actually taking a 30-minute nap, for which were were grateful.
We arrived in Charlottesville around game time and with a distinct lack of parking available, we paid a local for the privilege of parking in the backyard with several other latecomers. A nice bonus, though, was that it was quite close to the stadium.
The stadium was a sweltering 95 degrees with no wind and high humidity. Just a tad uncomfortable. We decided we would take turns with Luke in the shade of the concourse. Just as we had finished watching two plays and as Emily was walking up the steps toward the concourse, an announcement was made that there was lightning in the area and that the stadium had to be emptied. I chased Emily down (for fear of losing her in the crowd) and we headed to the concourse with everyone else.
After a few minutes, Emily suggested returning to the car to get some of the odds and ends we forgot in the first trip to the stadium.
A few minutes after we got to the car, it started to ran with thunder and lightning. We spent the next two hours safe and dry but also cramped and listening to update after update that the players could retake the field soon.
After the rain had let up for some time (about two hours later), we decided we may as well walk around the grounds at UVA. But by the time we were passing the stadium a steady stream of fans was heading in. The players were back on the field. And so we followed them in. We then had about five minutes of football watching until half time.
Then started the rain. "Hey, this isn't so bad," we thought. "Good thing we brought an umbrella." Well the umbrella worked for maybe two minutes. With the umbrella failing to save us from the downpour, we headed to the concourse. As it turns out, that is where everyone else was too. With the assistance of some kindly folk, we were able to shimmy our way into a corner out of the rain but with a view of the game on the scoreboard.
Despite our desire to work our way out and head home, we were not well equipped with stroller in tow to spawn upstream through the masses. We waited instead for the rain to let up. And when it did, we decided it was time to get our tired selves home for bed.
Again, Luke surprised us by falling asleep in his car seat on the way home. He slept the whole way. And when we got home, he went straight to sleep in his crib. Huzzah!
We later learned that the Cougars had not prevailed against the Cavaliers. Alas!
Several months ago our friend and real estate agent, Steve Hales, asked us (and about 200 others) whether we wanted him to get us tickets to the BYU-UVA game. We most certainly did.
With that our fate was set.
We had purchased tickets for the 31st day of August in the 2013th year of our Lord.
Now planning trips these days is not like what it used to be. Some of you may know Luke's dislike for car rides and sleeping in the car. So we did our best to plan out the day to accommodate Luke's nap schedule.
The drive was quite nice and Luke ended up actually taking a 30-minute nap, for which were were grateful.
We arrived in Charlottesville around game time and with a distinct lack of parking available, we paid a local for the privilege of parking in the backyard with several other latecomers. A nice bonus, though, was that it was quite close to the stadium.
The stadium was a sweltering 95 degrees with no wind and high humidity. Just a tad uncomfortable. We decided we would take turns with Luke in the shade of the concourse. Just as we had finished watching two plays and as Emily was walking up the steps toward the concourse, an announcement was made that there was lightning in the area and that the stadium had to be emptied. I chased Emily down (for fear of losing her in the crowd) and we headed to the concourse with everyone else.
After a few minutes, Emily suggested returning to the car to get some of the odds and ends we forgot in the first trip to the stadium.
A few minutes after we got to the car, it started to ran with thunder and lightning. We spent the next two hours safe and dry but also cramped and listening to update after update that the players could retake the field soon.
After the rain had let up for some time (about two hours later), we decided we may as well walk around the grounds at UVA. But by the time we were passing the stadium a steady stream of fans was heading in. The players were back on the field. And so we followed them in. We then had about five minutes of football watching until half time.
Then started the rain. "Hey, this isn't so bad," we thought. "Good thing we brought an umbrella." Well the umbrella worked for maybe two minutes. With the umbrella failing to save us from the downpour, we headed to the concourse. As it turns out, that is where everyone else was too. With the assistance of some kindly folk, we were able to shimmy our way into a corner out of the rain but with a view of the game on the scoreboard.
Despite our desire to work our way out and head home, we were not well equipped with stroller in tow to spawn upstream through the masses. We waited instead for the rain to let up. And when it did, we decided it was time to get our tired selves home for bed.
Again, Luke surprised us by falling asleep in his car seat on the way home. He slept the whole way. And when we got home, he went straight to sleep in his crib. Huzzah!
We later learned that the Cougars had not prevailed against the Cavaliers. Alas!
Busy Bag Swap (12-24 Months)
In a moment of Pinterest-like inspiration, I organized a busy bag swap with some friends. What are busy bags, you may ask?
Busy bags are simple, age-appropriate learning activities for babies/toddlers that are stored in gallon zip-lock bags. They can be anything, really, but the basic characteristics is that they are:
- Self-Contained (meaning, you can just grab a ziplock bag and go -- you don't have to add in other supplies to make it useful)
- Transportable (so they can be used in waiting rooms, the airport, car rides, etc., as well as at home)
- Convenient (no major set-up or clean-up)
- Inexpensive/easy to make
- Re-usable (avoid activities where you have to "restock" -- this is where lamination can be helpful!)
There are lots of Busy Bag ideas out there, but most are designed for older kids. I invited friends who had babies currently under 1 year (or who are pregnant) to make bags targeted toward toddlers ages 12-24 months.
There were 11 of us in the swap, so we each made 11 duplicates of the same activity. Thus, we each ended up with 11 different activities. I am super impressed with the creativity from the women in the swap.
Here's what everyone came up with (Sorry, some of the pictures are upside down and I am too lazy to correct them):
Julie made 12 "texture cards" -- craft foam with different textures glued on.
(P.S. Luke is OBSESSED with these cards. Yesterday I stuck him in the kitchen pack 'n play with these and he played independently for 15 minutes while I prepped dinner. That is unheard of for Luke!)
Lindsay made a "piggy bank" with poker chips and a (clean) pint-sized ice-cream container with a slit in it. Great for fine motor skills development.
Chelsea made an adorable mini felt board -- she freehand cut those fish. I would never be able to do that!
Elissa made a cute button snake to practice fine motor skills. Each of the felt squares has a slit in it that you can thread through the "snake":
Britni made 5 "sensory bottles," each with a different theme. They're like snow globes, only cooler!
And, because you can't have too much sensory fun at this age, Jocelyn made sensory "squish" bags (it is squishy because of hair gel):
Lynleigh came up with a sponge-curler game:
Ali made adorable "Ollie Blocks" -- It comes in a set of 3, and each block had 6 options for the the head, the body and the feet.
Erin made a counting wheel with clothespins:
Jenny made a laminated flip-book, like these:
Finally, I made a magnetic fishing game with stiff felt pieces. I was going to try to cut actual fish shapes like [this], but I ran out of time. It is much easier to cut/sew straight lines!
We had the swap at our house on Thursday and it was fun to see all of the great activities. Someone commented that it was a bit like Christmas or Halloween, because after someone would explain their activity they would go around and put one in each of our big grocery bags to take home. I would definitely be up for another Busy Bag swap next fall!
Busy bags are simple, age-appropriate learning activities for babies/toddlers that are stored in gallon zip-lock bags. They can be anything, really, but the basic characteristics is that they are:
- Self-Contained (meaning, you can just grab a ziplock bag and go -- you don't have to add in other supplies to make it useful)
- Transportable (so they can be used in waiting rooms, the airport, car rides, etc., as well as at home)
- Convenient (no major set-up or clean-up)
- Inexpensive/easy to make
- Re-usable (avoid activities where you have to "restock" -- this is where lamination can be helpful!)
There are lots of Busy Bag ideas out there, but most are designed for older kids. I invited friends who had babies currently under 1 year (or who are pregnant) to make bags targeted toward toddlers ages 12-24 months.
There were 11 of us in the swap, so we each made 11 duplicates of the same activity. Thus, we each ended up with 11 different activities. I am super impressed with the creativity from the women in the swap.
Here's what everyone came up with (Sorry, some of the pictures are upside down and I am too lazy to correct them):
Julie made 12 "texture cards" -- craft foam with different textures glued on.
(P.S. Luke is OBSESSED with these cards. Yesterday I stuck him in the kitchen pack 'n play with these and he played independently for 15 minutes while I prepped dinner. That is unheard of for Luke!)
Lindsay made a "piggy bank" with poker chips and a (clean) pint-sized ice-cream container with a slit in it. Great for fine motor skills development.
Chelsea made an adorable mini felt board -- she freehand cut those fish. I would never be able to do that!
Elissa made a cute button snake to practice fine motor skills. Each of the felt squares has a slit in it that you can thread through the "snake":
Britni made 5 "sensory bottles," each with a different theme. They're like snow globes, only cooler!
And, because you can't have too much sensory fun at this age, Jocelyn made sensory "squish" bags (it is squishy because of hair gel):
Lynleigh came up with a sponge-curler game:
Ali made adorable "Ollie Blocks" -- It comes in a set of 3, and each block had 6 options for the the head, the body and the feet.
Erin made a counting wheel with clothespins:
Jenny made a laminated flip-book, like these:
Finally, I made a magnetic fishing game with stiff felt pieces. I was going to try to cut actual fish shapes like [this], but I ran out of time. It is much easier to cut/sew straight lines!
We had the swap at our house on Thursday and it was fun to see all of the great activities. Someone commented that it was a bit like Christmas or Halloween, because after someone would explain their activity they would go around and put one in each of our big grocery bags to take home. I would definitely be up for another Busy Bag swap next fall!
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