16 Years and Counting

This year's anniversary was almost a dud because of COVID-19 if it wasn't for Brian who insisted we still do something special.  It is our anniversary after all.  Plus he knows me too well to do nothing or postpone it only to have to hear about later all the things I 

wish we should've/would've done.  

So out of the blue our neighbor called us to see if Ethan and Gavin would like to come over and make pizza from scratch for dinner with his daughter, Emma.  Talk about God's perfect timing and provision!  Brian thanked him and asked if the boys could stay there a little longer afterwards so that we could have an anniversary date.  To which he happily agreed.

Hiking at Scotts Run Nature Preserve

Curbside dinner from Buffalo Wing Factory

We had so much fun on this much needed date night. Happy Anniversary Babe! So grateful to have you by my side on this crazy journey called life!  Would have rather revisited our 10th Anniversary in the Bahamas, but I'll take what I can get. 

The Bahamas circa 2014

Happy Friday 5.22

Poison Ivy

So apparently, Gavin came home from WV with this on his fingers:

At first, I didn't realized what it was and simply thought they were bug bites so I just used anti-itch cream.  His face was also red, but I just chalked it up as the boys playing a little too rough and Gavin got whacked in the face.  But by Wednesday, when he was looking like this:

it had dawned on me that it might be something else.  I remembered our friend, Jenn mentioning something about clearing out a lot of poison ivy on their property and that their kids would get it all the time.  So I texted her those pictures and she confirmed it was indeed poison ivy.

The story from what I can gather was that Gavin had picked up a stick while there not realizing that it had poison ivy vine on it.  At some point he had an itch on his face and proceed to scratch it with his infected hand.  So that was how it spread onto his face.  By Thursday, he woke up looking like this:

Poor guy!

I was going to ride it out with just calamine lotion, but Jenn suggested I get the Technu Poison Ivy & Oak Scrub.  This stuff is amazing I couldn't believe it!  His face had cleared up for the most part and now I'm hoping his fingers will too. 

"Twittering" on Blog

Knowing Brian was having a rough week with a work situation, our friend Taye from small group showed up at our front door with three cheesecakes from Cheesecake Factory and an encouraging card.  It was so thoughtful and we were so touched!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Originally, our friends the McCallisters were going to come to NOVA for a teacher's training/visit us at the end of June.  However, COVID-19 put a damper on things and it was cancelled.  So instead we decided to go visit them and see their new house in WV!   

Picturesque view from the front door

Riding in the truck country style

Gavin finally got to use his new fishing pole from last year's b-day

1st time riding on an ATV

What a relaxing oasis

so.much.fun

What's a bonfire without s'mores

This trip was much needed more than we realized.  Not only to get out of town for the weekend, but also just to be able to see/socialize with our friends without being paranoid about everything.  It felt like a normal weekend which we haven't felt in 2 months.  Plus, it was everything I've ever dreamed of for our boys to experience "country" living.  They spent every waking moment outside, exploring and creating their own fun on the 6 acres of land - playing with the chickens, digging for worms, hanging out in the tree house and crashing at night from sheer exhaustion...only to do it again the next day.  What a blast!  

Good times had by all. Thank you Zac & Jenn, so good to see you guys!!

"Twittering" on Blog

Today Kaika would have been 14.  We miss you, Kaiki!