18...

James is 18. I cried most of the day. I cannot believe that he is that old. It seemed like only yesterday...

Calling all SUPERHEROES!

This guy turned 5. He is pretty super.

He has been so excited for his birthday. 5 has been sounding pretty spectacular for a while now. Apparently 5 is what it is all about. He has been counting down the days. Not only was turning 5 a huge prize but this year was his first official birthday party. And we partied big time!!

We invited these friends.

Everyone knows a true superhero must conceal their identity.

Masks and capes for everyone.

Save the Civilian

Squirt the Villain

Games. Because superheros like to play.

And cupcakes.

"This was the bestest birthday EVER"

~Myles age 5

And just as a sweet side note...

"Of course I want to invite Noah. He's practically my best friend."

12

I can't believe that this guy is 12.

We celebrated.
We bowled.
We ate steaks.
We had cake.
He opened presents.

I hope your 12th years ROCKS Liam!!

June, it happened in the blink of an eye...

june is over. july is here. we were so busy last month. we had some great memories. here is the condensed version

(i took about 2000 pictures so here are just a few).

we started june off with a trip to lynchburg to see susan, dennis and hans. we visited poplar forest. we relaxed on the lake. myles caught his first fish. matt and james had a lot of fish stories to tell.

(but no actual fish were caught).

school ended. thank goodness. another school year down. we were so ready for some break in the schedule around here. we live about a block from our neighborhood pool. so far we have spent a lot of time there.

grandma & grandpa stopped by on their 50th anniversary trip. we drove down to Monticello with them and spent the day touring. it is quite lovely there. very peaceful.

mom, dad, matt and i had a special night out. dinner at mike's. great food. then we saw Wicked at the Kennedy Center. it was in AMAZING! we loved every minute of it.

then they went off on their trip up the east coast.

noah got another haircut. he was super thrilled.

it had to happen.

his dad is anti-mullet.

then our awesome friends from arkansas came to visit. they brought us our doggie (another post for another day). they spent a week with us. we hope that they still want to be friends after this experience. we can be a lot to handle. anywho. we showed them the town and had a blast spending time with them.

first stop the Newseum. the museum where news comes to life. we saw a section of the berlin wall, made our own news reports, saw artifacts from hurricane katrina, viewed the radio tower from the top of the world trade center, saw a fun 4-d movie, viewed the pulitzer prize gallery. moving. funny. sad. heroic. tears. laughs.

then we had a birthday. a 15th

birthday. she was thrilled.

while they were here we also toured the national mall. went to the smithsonian. visited arlington. toured the bureau of engraving and printing. saw the white house. went to the top of the washington monument. you know, the usual touristy washington dc stuff...

we also

toured the national cathedral.

it was pretty spectacular.

i cannot even imagine going to services there.

the stain glass was amazing.

we were able to spot darth vader.

the stonework incredible.

just spectacular.

then on our last day together, the Krenzslips headed out of the city and journeyed south. to a land the natives call KINGS DOMINION.

it was the perfect day. the lines were short. the weather was not too hot. the rides didn't disappoint. the drinks were overpriced. the fireworks were short but the perfect way to end the day.

so that was our month.

things not blogged: we got a new car. we had 4 rounds of pink eye which meant 4 trips to the doctor. birthday parties. play dates. james got a job. matt started school again for his mba. we dog sat copper. jessie had her fourth year excursion.

july is looking just as busy. bring it on...

Noah 18 months

This guy is 18 months old. We love him so much. He is such a strong little spunk of a boy. He just started walking, like really walking. He took his first steps a few months ago but then decided he wasn't ready for it. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried. I was. But now is cruising everywhere. He loves to follow Myles around and copies his every move. He hates when we drop the kids off at school and will cry when they get out of the car. He isn't crazy about nursery. There are too many kids and too much noise for him. He loves loves loves his baths but hates going in the swimming pool. He loves to swing at the park. He is starting to talk a lot more. He babbles all the time and loves to point his finger. He loves music and loves to dance along to the radio.

We love our little guy. He has added an immeasurable amount of joy to our lives.

junior prom 2011

James' Junior Prom

April 2011

13 years...

Life's like a storm that cuts a path, it breaks your will, it feels like that,

You think your lost but

your not lost on your own

I will stand by you. I will help you through. When you've done all you can do and you can't cope I will dry your eyes. I will fight your fight. I will hold you tight. And I won't let go.

It hurts my heart to see you cry.

I know it's dark, this part of life

Oh, it finds us all. And we're too small to stop the rain. Oh, but when it rains I will stand by you. I will help you through. When you've done all you can do and you can't cope I will dry your eyes. I will fight your fight. I will hold you tight

And I won't let go.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day...

(pause the music at the bottom to listen to the video)

Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day.

A real official holiday. Not one I just made up.

So often we hear "support the troops" but how often do we think about their families. Our service members are sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. They put their life on the line for our freedom and for our great country. Their families sacrifice too. From deployments, long trainings, missed birthdays, holidays. If you are reading this then you know our story. The past few years have been hard, rewarding, sweet, painful, lonely and exciting. Military spouses are an elite group. I am honored to be part of such an amazing group of people. Next time you see a member of our military make sure you thank them and their family for their service. Also sign up for Joining Forces and support our military families.

I will love you forever if you do... M

White House Easter Egg Roll

Since we now live in the DC area, the capitol of the United States, and are practically neighbors with the Obamas we were invited to the White House Easter Egg Roll 2011! WHOO HOO! (I really screamed when I found out. I was beyond excited about this).

Okay, we didn't really get personally invited by the Obamas it was a huge honor to be able to go to this. We got last minute tickets. Could not contain my excitement. The bad part? We only got 3 tickets. The event is geared towards kids ages 3-12 so this was a big day for Liam, Myles and me.

We had to be in line by 11:15. It took about an hour to get through security and through the long line just to get into the main line. Good thing I did my hair. Right. It was 90 degrees and 75% humidity. I normally don't like pictures of myself but I love this one. If you look closely in the reflection of my glasses you can see the cute photographer who shot this. Love him!

THE ROLL

The Easter Egg Roll has been a tradition since 1878. Only during the World Wars was it not held. What a privilege to be able to participate in such a wonderful event.

Liam

Myles

It was so fun to be able to play on the lawn of the White House. It really is spectacular.

The First Family attends the Roll but I guess they went to the earlier session (they do several sessions. it lasts all day long) so we didn't get to see them. A little disappointing but still so excited to be there. We did, however, meet some famous people!

A replica of the Obamas dog BO.

Obviously this isn't real.

Kristi Yamaguchi

She was a reader at the story stage. She has written this cute book about dreaming book. We kinda had to break the rules and be a little stalker like to get this picture but it was totally worth it. She was so sweet. And she is so TINY. Seriously. She had on probably 4" inches. In person she is smaller than Liam.
Also got to meet Kelly Ripa.

Also tiny in real life. I look like a moose next to her (and I may be invading her personal space just a bit but I didn't realize this till I looked at the pictures, sorry Kelly.)

She was talking to Myles and trying to get him to smile for the picture (taken by Liam). He wasn't super excited about it. When we walked away I said to him "Buddy that was amazing. We just got our picture taken with Kelly Ripa!" He turned to me (straight faced much like the little face in this picture) and said "Kelly Ripa? Never heard of her."... I guess that would make sense.

We also met MR POTATO HEAD

EEEEKKKK!!!!!

Myles did know who he was and was super super excited to meet him!!!

We didn't actually meet her but we got to get this close to her and watch her perform. Colbie Caillat. I like her songs well enough. They are overplayed on the radio for sure. But let me tell you. In person her voice is AMAZING!! She sounded almost better live (which is so rare). And she is stunningly gorgeous. Like I hate her kinda gorgeous.

And we met Peter Rabbit! SWEET!!

Myles, Me and Liam right before we left for the day

What an awesome fun experience.

I am so glad that I got to share this with my boys.

I hope that they enjoyed it.