Autumn Visit With The Olivers

The end of September Bergen and I made a trip to visit the Olivers in Virginia. We of course love to just visit the Olivers just for fun, but what got us out there this time was to run with Helen and Brant in the DC Ragnar relay race. I am very happy to report that despite getting to the airport just in the nick of time (and by that I mean 3 minutes later than we technically were allowed, but had a kind ticket agent help us and overrode the system so we could check our baggage and get on our planned flight) we had a very pleasant experience. Bergen was so good for me and made it even kind of fun.

Naps on the plane are awesome!

We wasted no time and got right to playing baseball. We all had fun, despite the boys inablility to focus. Call it a controlled chaos game. It was pretty funny at times.

We got to go to Sprouts with Joshua and Nathan. The boys had fun running along the mall on the way to the Botanic Gardens.

What?! We actually got a picture of the three of them! Shocker I know :)

Sprouts was about butterflies, their proboscis, and collecting pollen. This is Bergen collecting pollen.

After Sprouts we stopped at this park for lunch. We were their to watch planes land, but the boys were having more fun throwing rocking into the water.

During the Ragnar race (that's a whole other post), Bergen got to stay overnight at the Ramon's house. Bonnie is my friend Shea's mom. They lived near us in Texas and we spent many a Sunday dinners at their house before they moved to Maryland. After the race Bergen and I stayed with them for a couple of days before going back to the Olivers.

Bergen worked very hard on her dishes.

There's always good food at their house and it was the least he could do to help out.

Bonnie took Bergen and I around Maryland to do some sightseeing. We stopped at this memorial near Point Lookout on the Chesapeake Bay.

We also looked for shark teeth along the Patuxent River.

We met back up with the Olivers at National Harbor. The boys really liked...you guessed it, running around! They also enjoyed jumping off stairs.

This statue is down near the water. They kind of thought it was fun to climb on, hence Nathan's happy face. I think they preferred throwing rocks into the water though.

This hand was pretty cool!

We ate lunch here and played till we were all exhausted. Helen and I think these outings will be fun and good for the boys. You know, really wear them out for a good nap. While they are fun, they seem to be a little crazy at times, and a lot of work, and totally wear Helen and I out more than the boys! Oh well, makes for some good pictures and silly memories.

Week 2 of Sprouts was about trees and owls. We got to make an owl out of cardstock, cork, a piece of an egg carton, and goggly eyes.

Pretty cute!

This is another one of those activities we think will be fun. The little boys attention span is still pretty short and Bergen would rather be, well, running! Thankfully we can buy a little time with snacks, but even that only lasts for so long.

Bergen filling up the watering can in the children's garden. He may or may not have ended up soaked :)

No cousin trip is complete without playing in the tub!

Spreading peanut better on graham crackers together. I love their concentration.

We also got to go to a Home Depot workshop and make helicopters.

When you live far away and finally get together, you want to make the most of your time together. That can make for some long days of trying to all get along. It was fun to see their happy, playing together nicely moments!

Getting to sleep is also something that can make for some challenging times. Especially when mommys are even more tired than the boys. One night I was so fed up with getting Bergen to stay quiet and laying down, I left him on the top bunk bed, took the ladder off, said stay there and goodnight, and closed the door, knowing he would be stuck up there and maybe that would force him to sleep. He cried for a minute then went quiet. I thought, finally! But I was wrong. Bergen opened up the door and came running out oh so proud of himself. How in the world?! I'm still not sure how we quietly climbed down off the top bunk in the dark, but after that funny trick how could I still be mad?

All good things must come to an end. They boys were sitting on the curb so nicely while we unloaded the car at the airport, until we tried to take a picture. Figures :)