Memorial Day Haircut

When many people were out celebrating Memorial Day on the lake, at the beach, standing around a grill, we celebrated the day by getting a haircut. Finn's hair cut, to be precise. I have been putting this off as long as humanly possible and Mark would have no more of it. I mean, when you have a head of hair like this, why cut it? But Mark said "if one more person tells me what a beautiful girl I have, I'm cutting it off." So of course, some really sweet, but old (and clearly vision-challenged) lady stops us and tells us "what beautiful curls SHE has" so that was it.

Finn surprised me by sitting still (for the most part) and letting the nice lady cut his hair. It also helped that he was sucking on a GIANT lollipop that we purchased right before our visit. I was secretly hoping that he would refuse, so that he could keep the curls a little longer? He still looks adorable and I have no doubt that those curls will grow back.

Here he is in all of his curly glory

Now you see them . . .

Now you see a lot less of them.

He looks so big doesn't he?

A Pirate's Life for Me

Ahoy mates! On Sunday, we took a little day trip to Annapolis, MD. It is a beautiful town and I would love to go back and explore a little more. We didn't have much time to sightsee because we had a date to hunt down and capture some pirates. Alisha told me about this outfit in Baltimore that does pirate cruises for kids in Baltimore, so we lucked out and found one in Annapolis. I wasn't sure how I would feel about being stuck on a boat with a bunch of kids, but we had a blast. Finn was the youngest by far, but watching him, you would never know it. He was right in the middle of everyone, hunting pirates, digging up buried treasure, throwing back some grog. He wasn't scared one bit . . . in fact, I think he would have preferred it if the boat went faster!

At the marina, before our big adventure

Finn is clearly more interested in anything but the camera

Getting suited up to hunt pirates

Isn't he the cutest mate you've ever seen?

All the mates together, getting instructions from the captain

Shooting the pirates with water cannons

Take that!

Sailing the seven seas

Trying to find the buried treasure

Finn with his captain, Sebastian

Treasure! Finn's favorite part

Counting his gold coins

Drinking "grog" his next favorite part

More please!

A boat we passed on the water

Country Boy Can Survive

Finn has the best of both worlds, in a way. He gets to enjoy the hustle and bustle of living in a big city and then he also gets to experience country life when we go visit my parents. There really isn't much going on there but I guess that's the point. Finn always has fun when he goes--playing in the creek, running through the sprinkler (usually naked), going for jeep rides, especially when Big lets him "drive," playing in the dirt, throwing rocks and pinecones for the dogs, eating fried fish and hush puppies and just being a country boy in general. This trip was especially fun because he was able to ditch his crib and sleep in his tepee, which we called his clubhouse. I think I have mentioned his recent aversion to all things related to cribs and it was no different in Alabama. Much to my amazement though, he slept in his clubhouse all week long. Here are a few highlights from our visit. A big thank you to mom and dad for keeping Finn while I played in Birmingham!

President and CEO of Finn's Clubhouse

apparently, there are strict rules for membership

Katie Grace and one of her newest family members

Finn checks out the chicken

A minor run-in with a blue marker

A girl after my own heart!

Finn gets some etch-a-sketch pointers from Papa

There is always time for a good pick

Two boys, both born on December 21 . . . just a few years apart

Finn and my grandparents, Papa and Gigi

Sprinkler time in the backyard

Now you see them . . .

Now you don't!

Check out that physique

Lily looks on, confused

Finn: Lily, Lily, Lily, want to come play with me?

Lily: I'm going to close my eyes, count to three, and then he will be gone?

Finn and his favorite babysitter . . . especially when she buys him milkshakes!

Steve and Bethany's Wedding

We headed down south last week to spend some time with my family. First stop was in Piedmont, where I dropped off the Finnster with my parents. He wasn't sad about seeing me leave, mainly because he got to sleep in a tepee! More on that later.

Then Lindsey and I headed to Birmingham to have a post-graduation celebration. Since she has been in college and we live so far apart, we don't get to spend much time together just the two of us. So, this was a real treat! We did lots of girlie things: pedicures, shopping, dinner out maybe a cocktail or two? But who's counting? We even got to have a sleepover too.

On Saturday, I went to Bethany and Steve's wedding. Bethany was my sorority sister at Samford and Steve was also a friend from Samford, but they didn't start dating each other until after college. It was a beautiful ceremony and of course, Bethany looked fabulous as she always has. It was so much fun catching up with my sorority sisters and friends. Everyone was there--and it was so great hearing about kids, babies on the way, jobs, and life since college. I didn't take my camera because I knew I would be too busy talking to worry with taking pictures. So Sara's husband, Jonathan, served as unofficial photographer, and I copied his pictures. Thanks Jonathan!

Sara, me and Summer waiting for the ceremony to start

Mr. and Mrs. Steve Usry

The cutest couple at the wedding, after the bride and groom. Katherine's son, James, and Lauren's daughter, Reese, were the cutest ring bearer and flower girl ever!

Zeta Girls

Rachel, Lindsay, me, Sara

Bethany, Sara, Jennifer

Bethany and the Sigma Nu crew

Coolest wedding exit I've seen yet: Bethany is a huge UT fan and Steve is an equally big UGA fan

so the guests got to choose their shakers and they played both teams' fight songs while the happy couple left the building! Congrats to the happy couple.

Lazy Sunday

One of the greatest things about living in DC is at any point we are a stones throw away from some of our nation's most iconic places: the capitol, the White House, the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, and Finn's favorite, the Washington Monument. It amazes me that we can go for a walk and see all of these historic places and then be back for nap time. I love it that Finn is surrounded by this history, even though he may never remember it. Sometimes, we just go for a walk to see where we end up and the beauty of it is, it never really matters.