St. Patty's Day!

As my brother-in-law Kevin would quote from the movie THE COMMITMENTS: "The Irish are the blacks of Europe. So, stand up and be black and be proud!" And, because it would *not* behoove me to get drunk @ work as my brother-in-law has also suggested when I had to work in the past on St. Patrick's Day... I decided to take off from work. So did Charlie. And we took Hunter out to troll Old Town Alexandria with our old drunken co-horts, I mean dear friends, The Loders. ;-) It was a blast. We headed to Ireland's Own, a.k.a. Pat Troy's for lunch and beer. It's owned by a real Irish fellow and it means something to Hilary and Rob Loder b/c it is where they met each other years before. They go back every year and we may just have to start joining them every year too! Lemme just say the beer and fish & chips were DEE-LISH!

Now, we spent more time travelling than actual time there at the tavern, but it was *totally* worth it because Hunter absolutely LOVED riding the Amtrak train, bus, trolly, and VRE double-decker train there and back... it was a trip to watch his wonder. And, he had a super-fun time playing with Hil's sons Benny and David. :-)

OK, well attached are the pics. Enjoy! We sure did!

~Krista

Krista's B-day and "Snowpocolypse"!

My b-day was last month, Feb 9th... but, obviously, I have taken my time posting the pics! It was a lovely celebration, though! Not only did I have a lovely dinner & chocolate cake with my little family of three, Hunter, Charlie and me... but I got a WEEK off from work as we had a RECORD SNOW FALL hit this region the 2nd week of February! (The governor called a State of Emergency) So.... School was cancelled, cancelled, CANCELLED! Yippeeeeeee! It was AWESOME having that time @ home w/ my little two year old son Hunter (and husband Charlie too since his work granted liberal leave with blizzard conditions lasting for two days). Anyhow, with weather reaching the 70's tomorrow during our Spring Break tomorrow, it's hard to remember "SNOWPOCOLYPSE" but it was real...the pictures prove it! ~But honestly, the pics still don't do the MOUNDS of snow justice! BTW, we live in a town home, so it was kinda unreal when you walked outside and were surrounded by 7 foot piles of snow as everyone shovelled the driveways in between homes!

Once the snow cleared the next week, Charlie and I also got together with family to jointly celebrate the Aquarians' b-days, mine and my nephew Aidan's! (He's the ripe old age of 8.) Karen, Aidan's mom and my sis, hosted a yummy birthday brunch. (But, woops. Forgot the camera, so no pics.) Then, the following weekend Charlie and I hit The Melting Pot restaurant to enjoy some DEE-LISH-IOUS fondue!

I like to milk it... but it's cool, so does Charlie... so the beat will go on ...and on ...and on ...when his b-day hits in April! (April 15th, specifically!)

OK, hope all is well. Love, Krista

Hunter, a.k.a. My Little Ham!

Here's just some fun pics of Hunter hamming it up for me and the camera! These were taken in late Jaunrary... so I will definitely post some of the pics my WHS student Grace took of Hunter for us today, 3/28, with some Mommy and Daddy shots thrown in there. Grace was super great w/ Hunter and I look forward to seeing the final result. BTW, this photog shoot opportunity is for a school project where Photo 3 students take on WHS faculty clients... it's the best; we had pics taken of Hunter when he was 6 and 1/2 months old and it didn't cost us a dime -- all the shoot time, editing time, CD-ROM with all digital pics were provided for free! You just print 'em yourself @ Costco for 13 cents apiece. AWESOME. AND the pics were of good quality ~ we still have the shots framed around our house.

I have some more pics taken from my b-day celebration & the "BIG SNOWPOCOLYPSE" this past February... as well as of Hunter just for kicks -- will post those separately.

Take care!

~Krista

Emily's Baby Shower!

It's been a while since I posted, and well... Emily has now HAD her baby girl, Megan, so I figured it was well overdue to post the pics! It was a great day and Emily made out with some really great GIRL LOOT for her daughter!

Ann, Em's mom, and I also created & gave Emily a journal called "Letters to My Daughter" & so if you have not had the chance to sign it to Lil Megan yet, PLEASE DO SO!

Hope all is well,
Krista

p.s.
I have seen Em and Pat and Megan in the hospital and then @ their house to deliver dinner, and I have certainly held the little bundle... but I have not taken a picture with Megan yet. WILL DO and WILL POST!