The cupcake

Grace is very excited that she gets to buy a snack at summer camp each day.  Yesterday, we had a funny conversation.

Me: Grace, what did you have for a snack today?
Grace: I had a cupcake.
Me: I didn't know they sold baked goods.  What kind of cupcake did you have?
Grace: Oh, it was so delicious.  It was chocolate cake with a yummy white cream filling and chocolate frosting with little white squiggles on it.
Me: (Laughing) Oh, you had a Hostess Cupcake?
Grace: I guess. I don't know what that is.

I am such a junk food junkie but we do try to feed the kids healthy foods.  In a odd way though, I felt kind of bad that I had not exposed my 6-year old to the wonderful, delicious world of Hostess! 

The White House Picnic

Bruno was invited again this year to the annual White House picnic.  As I have mentioned before, there are a lot of things in this town that we take for granted because we live here.  But, we do try to appreciate those special moments and unique opportunities that come our way.  This is one of them for Bruno.  He said it's an amazing evening spent on the west lawn of the White House!

Hey, who is that in the background?

Of course, it's President Obama. Regardless of your politics, I still think it is pretty amazing to be within a short distance to the President.

And Michelle Obama.

What a gorgeous view from the west lawn!

10 Years of Marriage

Ten years ago, Bruno and I had an absolutely wonderful wedding day.  It was a year of planning for that one, special day and everything about it was just perfect.  It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day.  And most importantly, we were surrounded by family and friends from all over the country who helped us celebrate our day. 

I remember so many people telling us that the day would go so fast and that we should stop and just take it all in at a few points during the day. Oh, and someone told us to eat our cake as soon as we cut it, because otherwise we wouldn't have a chance to eat it - I did follow that advice as well.  I remember so many things about the day but mostly I remember the people who were there to support us and celebrate with us.  It was a wonderful wedding weekend that created so many memories for us.

And now we look back on ten years of marriage.  We have moved, started new jobs/positions, met new friends, said goodbye to friends who moved away, attended weddings, attended funerals, and above all else, have been blessed to welcome two healthy, happy and beautiful little girls into our lives. 

I think back to the advice we were given about our wedding day - that it would go so fast and that we should take time during the day to just take it all in.  We did that.  And now we hear advice from older friends and family that the same can be said of life.  It goes so fast - take time to enjoy it.  And I really feel like we do try to enjoy the small little moments that make our marriage and our lives so blessed.  Thanks to my parents, we have been able to get away for at least a couple of nights every year and had a great getaway this year.  We take time to tip toe into the girls bedrooms at night and watch them sleep.  And now that Abigail is a little older, we have been taking time to have a date once in awhile.  We take time to play games with the girls and appreciate the joy and happiness that they bring to us each day.

So today I wish my husband a Happy Anniversary!  It has been a wonderful ten years and I know that someday we will be the last couple on the dance floor at someone's wedding. (You may not understand, but Bruno will.)

Kindergarten Graduation

Last week was a big day for Grace - she graduated from kindergarten!  They had a performance of songs and then received their diplomas.  She wore her "Sunday best" and was just beaming.  We were so glad that Kerri could join us for Grace's special day!

She has told us that she will miss kindergarten, especially her teacher.  We were fortunate that Grace had a wonderful teacher who was very patient and kind with the children in her class.  It was her first year as a teacher so I'm sure there were challenges but we couldn't have been happier with Grace's kindergarten experience.

We took Grace to the mini golf as a treat for finishing up her first year of school.  She had never been but had a great time! 

I think about how much she has changed over the past year and it is just amazing. 

• She started reading a few months ago and it is so fascinating to watch her sound out words and read short books.  She has also, in the last two weeks, started writing little stories.  I'll try to find one to scan in.  The most recent one was something to the effect of "The police says stop. My mom says stop when I run too fast. My dad says stop. My teacher says stop at the play lot. The stop sign says stop."  I'm just blown away at how she has taken off with the reading and writing. 
• And she really loves math, which is clearly a trait from Bruno! 
• She made some very nice friends at school.  She is very friendly, outgoing and very kind to other children.
• She started playing soccer, which she loves. She scored 7 goals this season!
• She is going to start ballet in July - she loves to dance so I think she will really like the class.
• Grace is a very loving and sweet sister to Abigail.  They have their moments, but Grace is really great about letting Abigail join in and play with her.
• She loves to play outside and enjoys playing baseball with Bruno.
• She has lost 4 teeth and has another loose one.
• She will start her first summer camp next week and is very much looking forward to it - especially the big pool!
• I love that she still cuddles with me on the couch.  I know that those moments may not last too many more years so I try to enjoy it as much as I can.

She is such a sweet and fun girl and Bruno and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter!

Our Getaway - Quebec City and Montreal

About a year ago, the conversation started.  "Where should we go for our 10 year anniversary?"  My mom and dad had generously offered to watch the girls so that we could plan a trip.  We threw out places like Paris, London, Dublin.  We knew we would only have about 4 days and all of the overseas trips could certainly be done but we would come home exhausted.  So Bruno suggested Montreal - a city he has been to many times and absolutely loves.  I heard people, including my mom, rave about Quebec City so we decided to plan a trip to both cities.

We arrived in Quebec City on Thursday around noon.  We checked into our hotel, Le Chateau Frontenac - yes, it's that beautiful! And we started walking around the cobblestone streets lined with cafes and shops.  The only downside was that it was pretty cool - very windy and in the 50s.  So the first order of business was buying Bruno a coat.  Then, we found a cute little cafe and started with a cold beer (it's vacation after all) and french onion soup.  Then I had a ham and cheese baguette (I'm sure you are all shocked at my choice) and Bruno had fish (skate).  We walked all over the town and went into little shops, just taking in all the sights and sounds. 

Our dinner that night was fantastic.  We went to Le Continental for the most fabulous dinner.  It was very old-school... all the waiters were men in white tuxedo jackets, dark paneling and a very quiet atmosphere.  We started with cesear salad made table side.  It was so delicious with a very light dressing - not too creamy.  Their speciality is flambe so of course I had to order the filet flambe style which was cooked table side as well.  Bruno ordered a seafood platter.  The meat is cooked in butter and herbs and at one point I said to Bruno, "Would you be too embarassed if I licked the air?"  The smells were intoxicating.  He said that he thought we were absorbing calories just being surrounded by all the wonderful aromas.  The meal didn't disappoint and it was delicious. 

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel - a fabulous continental breakfast (included with our room) and then just walked around for hours.  We had a late lunch at Cafe du Monde, one of the only restaurants which is right on the St. Lawrence river.  It was a gorgeous day and we sat outside on the terrace and enjoyed the meal and the beautiful view. 

After more miles of walking and a splash in the hotel's (indoor) pool, we got ready for our next and last meal of the day - dinner.  For an extra special treat, we dined at le Saint Amour which was absolutely one of the best meals we have ever had.  And the ambience was just gorgeous.  We started with a small taste, compliments of the chef, of asparagus soup with goat cheese mousse.  Unbelieveably delicous!  I then got a wonderful salad and Bruno had, what he said, is the best piece of seared foie gras he has ever had.  Then for the main course I had filet and Bruno had rack of lamb.  My only regret is that I didn't save room for dessert.

The next day we woke up early to take the train to Montreal.  I love the train - it's so easy. You just show up, there are no lines, no chaos, no security (ok, that may be a problem some day but it does make it easy).  We enjoyed a three-hour, extremely relaxing train ride to Montreal. 

We stayed at le Petit Hotel.  It's a very modern hotel in the heart of old town Montreal.  Again, we walked around the city for hours, dodging in and out of shops on St. Catherine's street and eventually buying umbrellas so that we could dodge the downpours.  We stopped for lunch at one of Bruno's favorite casual and extremely reasonable bars - Peel Pub.  And then we had crepes for dessert - traditional with nutella - so delicious!

Then we walked more miles and shopped some more to work up an appetite for our next meal at au Pied de Cochon.  We first saw this restaurant on Tony Bourdain's Travel Channel show No Reservations and Bruno tried it during his last visit to Montreal.  The restaurant is known for its foie gras.  So, we ordered foie gras.  We started with Foie Gras Cromesquis, which is basically deep fried foie gras that explodes in your mouth when you bite into it - delicious!  Then we split the Foie Gras Poutine, which is a dish of french fries (fried in duck fat of course), cheese curds and gravy topped with foie gras.  Yum!  I then had the pork chop and Bruno had bison ribs.  Delicious! We didn't really save room for dessert but had it anyway - we split Sugar Pie (a very popular dessert in Montreal) - it was very good.  After that, we rolled ourselves back to the hotel. 

We returned on Sunday to a spotless home, Grace and Abigail were dressed in adorable outfits that Aunt Erin bought, anxiously waiting at the door for us.  My mom and dad were superheros by taking care of the girls, doing the wash, cleaning the house, and making wonderful meals for the girls.  They gave us a tremendous surprise and cleaned out our garage (in 90+ degree heat).  My parents are amazingly generous, kind and thoughtful - we are so blessed and can't thank them enough for giving us the gift of watching our girls so that we could have a vacation we'll never forget to celebrate 10 wonderful years of marriage.

More on the 10-year anniversary next week!