just some random goodies

i didn't believe it either...but CAFE RIO has indeed made it's way east of Arizona!

Two have now opened up near us!

the bummer is they are both 45 minutes away (not that it stopped us from going 2 weekends in a row)! the plus side to that is we wont eat there every other day...at least most weeks we wont. jake and i were so obsessed with Rio when we lived in utah and we eat there at least twice every time we visit the west. i'm kind of drooling just talking about it...

(sorry about the crooked picture, i had makenzie in my arms and was hurrying to get in line, it was already out the door!)

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lil miss has been sleeping like this for her naps this week...comfortable?

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we recently took a trip to the Oxon Hill Farm in Maryland with some friends and met up with our other friends- cow, goat, pig, horse, and chicken.

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we "planted" some veggie seeds...they're call GrowUms. They are for kids (or black thumb adults like myself) and are supposedly 'fool proof'....we will see about that.

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makenzie being cute...but what's new :)

my little helper!

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these are not chocolate chocolate chip cookies!

put cookies in oven, makenzie wakes up, playtime begins, "what's that smell?"....

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Jake surprised me Monday night with two tickets to see taylor swift next wednesday!

makenzie & daddy get a date and mommy, girlfriend, and taylor have a date!!!

summer fun!

the reynolds are having a great summer so far and although the temperature and humidity in dc just keeps going up, up, up, we are finding there is so much to do to keep cool! one of the things I love about this area is there is TONS to do!!!! there are free outdoor concerts and farmers markets, a million different playgrounds, and alexandria has 5 libraries each with summer programs filled with puppet shows, story time, musical performances, etc.

so we have been keeping busy at the pool, playgrounds, libraries, splash parks!

hope you're enjoying your summer too!

summer reads

read:

The Help (Kathryn Stockett)- loved loved loved! can't wait to see the movie in august!

Heaven is for real (Todd Burpo)- cutest book ever!

Sarah's Key (Tatiana de Rosnay)- intense, intriguing, heart breaking, so good!

reading:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)- interesting and getting better!

in queue:

Heart of the Matter (Emily Giffin)

The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)

what are some of your favorite summer reads???

do share! :)

newport news

as i previously posted, we just returned from our annual reynolds newport beach vacation! there were a few new changes- 2 beach houses instead of 1, and a new location much closer to the beach- and there were many of the same awesome traditions!

we were very pleasantly surprised at how well miss makenzie did this trip! 5+ hours of flying and a 3 hr time difference is never easy to start. but she had a crib and her own room, so she slept like a champ. she also warmed up (its a big loud crowd!) right off the bat and was loving on everyone!

we spent our days at the beach, enjoying the perfectly sunny and warm weather, playing in the waves and building sand sharks! our evenings were filled with delicious food, s'mores, sunsets at the beach, and lots of laughing and reminiscing!

makenzie loved her boys, jer and josh

our little beach babe actually hated the sand. but one day she loved playing in the waves and was content chillin at the beach...and that day i took lots of pictures! :)

2nd annual talent show

not pictured (will never be pictured) is me and jake's lip synch performance to barbie girl :)

fun by the fire!

4th annual 'Dot' cup!

this really deserves an entire post, but the basics are: late night, 4th meal, stupid funny dare, nephew stuck in the freezer for 45 minutes, 2 seconds away from calling fire department, freezer and nephew survived, a few side aches from laughing so hard....

after makenzie's sunscreen spray down :)

adults night out to dinner at crab cooker (a newport staple) and a movie!

the most beautiful sunsets

our little jet-setter :)

4th of July fun!

this year the annual reynolds retreat in newport beach, california was the week of july 4th!

we started the day with newport's 1st annual bike and dog parade! i was pleasantly surprised at how into it the people of newport were! there were so many decorated bikes and dogs dressed in red, white, and blue! it was really cute and festive! scott and the girls even got in on the action and decorated lizey's stroller!

the parade ended at a park with bounce houses, carnival games, music, face painting, etc. it was a fun way to start the holiday!

we spent the afternoon at the beach and then had an awesome bbq put on by the o'neils. we had so much fun hanging out and then watching fireworks on the beach!

(more to come about our fun trip- too much for one post! )