Family Fun

This weekend we had the special treat of visiting with Mike's sister, Ann, and her adorable and fun little boy, Jacob. They were visiting from Salt Lake, so we drove up to Mike's parents' place to spend a fun-filled weekend together. We appreciate Martha, Nick, and sweet Madelyn allowing us stay the weekend at their comfortable home.

Jacob and Aaron are at the age where they're interacting, so it was fun to watch Aaron (who's crawling) try to keep up with Jakey (who's speed walking.) It was so good seeing you guys!! Thanks for the visit, and next time, we'll come to Utah. :)

Aaron's New Home

So this is the house we're closing on next week! So the yard needs some help. (But you can't judge a house by its yard!) :) And is that not an insane tree sitting in the front yard? It scares the daylights out of me! :) But we do like that it provides a lot of shade. The house is just what we need! It has four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a lovely living room, a formal dining room, a den with a fireplace (love fireplaces; they give a house that "homey" feel), an unfinished kitchen (will explain), a good-size laundry room, and a large backyard for playin'. The house is also one level, which is nice with kids. And, ideal location. Nice, quiet, tucked-away neighborhood just four minutes from two great shopping centers, featuring Outback Steakhouse, Target, Taco Bell, Home Depot, Super-duper WalMart (or whatever it's called!), UKROP'S!, Panera Bread, etc., etc. We'll also be close to a brand-spankin'-new libary (our new hang out), and Mike will have an easy-breezy 17-minute commute into the city - and that's IN rush-hour traffic. Also in a great school district. Location, location, location! We also found out our new neighbors have two boys under age 2. Playmates!

It's funny, I recently attended a pool party in what was probably the wealthiest neighborhood I've ever been in. When I pulled into the neighborhood, I said to myself, "Okay, are these houses? Because they look like museums." It truly resembled a museum district. "And that house, yeah, as big as the Smithsonian." I have never seen such outrageously big/stunning houses in my life - they exceeded the size of the homes I saw on my mission in a ridiculously wealthy area of California. So ... I get to this house/museum and go around back to find a gorgeous swimming pool with sparkling blue water, a full-size outdoor enclosed kitchen for entertaining, and a backyard that looks like a national park. I was just in awe! I was describing the house to Mike, and turns out he had actually been to it before.

Anyway, so I guess the point of my post today is that you can't judge a house by its size either. ;)

The outside of our home is actually quite deceiving; it's bigger than it looks. It has charm inside and lots of potential. Potential being the key word. It's a bit of a fixer, meaning we're having some work done before we even move in. Like having the kitchen finished. A man bought the house a year and a half ago to "flip" it - never even lived in the house - but decided to sell before he finished. So we got a good deal on the house, but we're having to put quite a bit into it, too. It will be so fun when it's done! And I'll be sure to post before-and-after pics as we finish the rooms. This will be a fun, character-building ( ... back-breaking ... ) project. :) I can't wait to get in there and decorate and give the house our own personal touch. Just needs some love ... Jenny love, that is! :) Mike's been really awesome and helpful with collecting estimates for work to be done. It'll be a fun, yet busy, month.

And to those of you who said the right house would come and that we'd know it when we saw it ... thanks. You were right!

He Can Shake It

Little Aaron dances, too! He'll even do it on command now. It's great. (Sorry the video is a little shaky at first - I'm doing a little dance of my own.) Today I joined the thirty-something club (no need to get specific,) and Aaron kept me smiling and laughing all day with his cute little dance. (Taking after his mama.) :)

It was a great, albeit busy, day. I had no idea buying a house was so involved!!! Sheesh! :) Mike treated me to a wonderful dinner on Saturday at an amazing Thai restaurant (we couldn't wait till today.) We had our usual, yummy dessert: mangoes and sticky rice, the perfect combination of sweet and salty. Then I bought some delicious cupcakes yesterday. Again, couldn't wait till today. (I'm one to stretch things out.) Today? Mike came home with lime tortilla chips and Swiss cheese - what a combo! - and the best card I've ever received. Thanks dear! Then we headed out to watch a bike race at a local park (Mike's idea.) :) Oh, and Aaron and I went shopping during the day (my idea.)

Mike said he's getting me a treadmill for my b-day (I'm posting this on the blog so he'll be socially committed.) He said we'll buy it when we get into the house, makes sense. Yahoo! I'm a treadmill fan; they help me maintain my pace. And it'll be awesome to have one for when the weather isn't conducive to exercising outdoors, which has been the case lately.

So, here's to Aaron and his cute dancing. I'm sure he'll appreciate this post later! :)

Blessings

I'm grateful for little--and big--blessings each day. Yesterday I was at the grocery store minding my own business when a store employee approached me, gave me a frozen chicken alfredo dinner, and thanked me for being a "valued customer." Funny, this wasn't even at Ukrop's. I guess I'm a valued customer at Food Lion now, too. :) Turned out to be a pretty yummy dinner.

Then later that day, we were driving to the park when Mike spotted a perfectly good metal filing cabinet on the side of the road. It probably sounds ghetto, but we turned the car around to look at it because, let's face it, those things are expensive! This was in good condition and in the right color. Critical, I know! So on the way home we stopped, knocked on the door, and drove away with a filing cabinet. Saved us over 100 bucks! No shame in our game!

Life's little blessings are fabulous, aren't they?!

p.s. Great ice cream flavor to enjoy: Turkey Hill's chocolate peanut butter cup. Loads of peanut butter, wonderful summertime treat. Yet another blessing. ;)

We Fancy Father's Day :)

I love Father's Day. And it's a first for Mike, so I thought I'd honor and thank him by compiling a list of reasons why he is a remarkable father:

• He makes food for Aaron the minute he walks in the door from work, even before thinking about feeding himself.
• He brings Aaron to me in bed every morning so I can feed him. (Are you waking him up, Sweet?!)
  
• He makes Aaron laugh like nobody else can, and it's the sweetest laugh I've ever heard! (No bias.) ;)
• He frequently takes Aaron swimming in the evenings to give me a break -- and to cool off. (Welcome to summer in VA!)

Wow! How lucky am I?! Thanks, Mike, for being a great daddy and for all you do for our family!! I love you! (Aaron does too -- he just doesn't know how to tell you yet.) :)

Love and thanks to Grandpas Steve and Wayne for being super supportive, loving, and kind to our little family. Happy Father's Day!!

Love all you dads! Hope you have a great day.

p.s. We're buying a house!! We close in July. Details coming soon :)

I Thought I Was So Smart

I had to put up this barricade because, no matter what I tried, I couldn't keep Aaron contained in the living room. You gotta be smarter than the kid apparently!


He's a sly little guy!

Some Stathis Success Stories (say that five times fast)

Aunt Traci, Aaron and my Mom

Last week I was able to witness a few shining moments for the Stathis family. Aaron and I spent some time at my parents' house before and after traveling with them to Ithaca, New York, to visit my sister and her family.

First, we attended my younger brother David's softball game and watched him smash the ball into the outfield, yielding a home run for his team. They were victorious! David plays for the City of Alexandria League. It was fun to watch him play and to be at the game with my parents; Aaron; and David's wonderful wife, Traci. David is a star athlete who excels at every sport in which he takes part -- tennis, basketball, even games like croquet (he's the reigning croquet champ at his work.) The great thing about David is that you'd never know about his athleticism unless you hear it from someone else or see him in action. David, the computer genius that he is, also just launched his own IT business: Stathis Consulting. He's going to make us all famous. :)


Uncle David and Aaron

Day after the game, we attended a presentation my Dad gave at the Library of Congress. He enlightened us all about the history of Congress, a topic he was able to hone in on during a year as a Kluge Fellow. He was selected for the Fellowship, which provides time to focus on a research area of interest without all the other work distractions and responsibilities. During this year, my Dad was able to devote time to researching the depths of Congress and writing the book of his dreams: "Landmark Debates In Congress." He worked so hard on his book, and it's beautifully done! (Almost.) :) Great job, Dad!! Can I have an autographed copy please??


My Dad with a colleague

The week concluded with the dance recital of my sweet niece, Ramona, in Upstate New York. She looked so beautiful on stage. I can honestly say this girl has no stage fright whatsoever!! She loved being in the limelight and was so graceful and on cue. We had a wonderful visit with my sister and her family. Sasha, the second oldest daughter, took a keen interest in Aaron. The two became great buds over the weekend. Thanks, Sasha, for looking out for him!


The ballerina girl


Aaron and Sashie

I guess a blog is a venue where it's okay to brag about family. ;)