Summer of '14

Every May, Dave and I look at each other and say "When June comes, things won't be so busy.".  And then June, July, and August come and we seem to be as busy as we were during the school year.  We didn't buy a house this year (phew!) and I'm not uncomfortably pregnant (double phew!) but it was still a busy busy summer.  Sadly, a vacation for the family didn't happen this summer even though I am in desperate need of a change of scenery and routine for a couple days.  It just wasn't in the cards....and I'm not going to dwell on that as 1) there isn't anything we could do about that and 2) it makes me restless and blue to think of such things.  So, moving on......

The summer began with our favorite every 4 year pastime.....World Cup!!!!  And boy, was it ever an exciting World Cup!  We watched a couple matches with some friends and even one of our priests from our church.  We also joined a huge crowd of people to watch 1 match at our friend's brewery -- Triple Crossing Brewery.  They had a huge screen and the game (USA v. Belgium) brought out a festive nature in everyone.  We met a friend and fellow soccer fanatic at the brew house, dragged the kiddos along....and everyone had a grand time....even though the US lost.  And then....Germany/Deutschland won the whole thing which is something we've been hoping for since 2006!  It was a great month of soccer and friends!!!!!!

Fun times watching World Cup

At Triple Crossing Brewery for the US v. Belgium game

GO USA!!!!!! (note: that is NOT his beer.  Hahahahaha)

Jakob started the summer as a 9 month old.  He was eating pureed solid foods and having yogurt before bedtime, just like Jeffery does.  He was sleeping through the night (hallelujah!) and really starting to become a little boy.  Dave and I both remember when Jeffery turned 9 months old, a light seemed to click on and he really started to become his own little person.  The same is happening with Jakob and it was a delight to witness!

And there is no doubt that these two are brothers!

The monkey is on the left, the bear is on the right

Dave's brother, Eric, let us know that he would be in Virginia attending a conference and asked if he could come visit us for a couple days afterwards.  We were excited to have him come and see the new house and meet little Jakob and see how big Jeffery has grown.  He came and went on Amtrak which made Jeffery VERY happy!  We had a great time playing at the park and in the sandbox with him, taking him to Triple Crossing Brewery, and then enjoying some amazing BBQ.  He was only here for one full day but it was great to see him!!!

Pedersen men

IPA's are serious business

Playing cars at the brew house

Everyone loves Triple Crossing!

Jeffery and Uncle Eric in front of the Thomas the Train picture

Mommy, who's the guy with the Rasputin beard?! :)

We have continued to settle in nicely at the house.  We've already been here a year which is hard for us to fathom.  One interesting event occurred when I opened the toilet seat of our second story guest bathroom.....and there, looking up at me, was this frog!!!!  How he got into a second story toilet seat is BEYOND me!!  But there he was.  Thankfully, Dave was home so he caught him and released him outside.

I wonder if his name is Kermit!

In May, we celebrated 8 years of living in Virginia!  8 years!!!!!  I can hardly believe it!  We also celebrated 12 years of marriage which is sometimes even more difficult to believe because it it seems like a year or two at the most.  Anyway, 8 years in Virginia and 7 years in Richmond.  Our church, the one where Dave works, has been so blessed the past 3 years to have priests from the Fraternity of St. Peter overseeing things.  Our pastor is amazing and Dave feels very blessed to be working for him.  And our associate was....well, there are no words for him.  Nothing that is sufficient anyway.  We learned, as a parish, that he would be transferred to another church at the beginning of July.  Our church was his first assignment after being ordained and he had been with us for 2 years.  During that time and under the expert leadership of our pastor, Father M. had blessed all of our lives and brought an energetic, passionate and devoted air into the church.  He baptized our little Jakob, blessed our new house, blessed me right before I had Jakob, and over the course of this past year, became not just our priest but our good friend.  He has a sharp sense of humor, a lovely French accent (he is from a Caribbean island), and a love for family, friends, (Dave's margaritas), and the Faith.  He is truly one of the best men I have ever known and our family will miss him terribly.

Salud, Fr. M.

Jakob reserves a special smile for Fr. M

It has been a mild summer in the commonwealth.  There have been a few hot and oppressively humid days but nothing too bad.  It has been very nice.  Still....summer means having fun in water so we have been making trips up to the Botanical Gardens to play in their splash pad as well as having fun playing in our backyard.  Jakob was unsure of things in the beginning but under the guidance of his brother, he has become quite the lover of water.

First time putting his toes in the splash pad

He was NOT impressed

Playing in the pool in the back yard

Splish-Splash

The whale has come back out and Jeffery still adores it!

Being that it is summer, there have been several outings to watch our local AA baseball team -- The Flying Squirrels (a farm team for the Giants).  Both boys have lasted all 9 innings when we have gone and it is a great family activity.  Jeffery loves to show off his skills of running the bases and sliding at home....and has his pitch delivery down pat.  :)  He is a BIG Nationals fan (the D.C. team) and Cubs fan.  Uncle Joe would be pleased as Jeffery yells at the TV and says "Come on, Cubs".  :)

Pedersen boys at the Game

Brothers

Both Dave and my mom would like to know what happened to the normal Jessica....would the real Jessica please stand up.  :)  Losing the baby weight has not happened as easily with Jakob as it did with Jeffery.  Grrrrr.  So, Dave and I both got gym memberships and I have been waking up before 7 every morning to hit the gym.  This is unheard of for me!  :)  I recently undertook the task of making my first multi-layer cake using some ingredients I've never dreamt of using: Cake Flour, Vanilla Bean Paste, and Culinary Lavender.  The cake was a Vanilla Bean/Lavender cake and it was amazing!  And then....I've taken to making bread for the family as an alternative to buying it at the stores.  It is fresher and more healthy (there's an oxymoron for you: bread as healthy?!!! HA) as it lacks all of the preservatives and other additives, and the smell that wafts through the house is to die for!!!!  On top of all this, I had a craft afternoon and made tiki torches out of wine bottles to use on our deck to help keep the pesky mosquitos away!  They look great, are really effective, and were a great idea (thank you Pinterest!) I'm not usually a domestic goddess like this so Dave and my mom are quite surprised!  :)

Honey Wheat Loaves

Wine Tiki Torches and our flowery deck!

Jakob continued to grow and change, on an almost daily basis, throughout the summer.  He isn't walking yet but he is doing the same army crawl that his older brother mastered.  He refuses to eat anything other than pureed food.....refuses all kinds of puffs and gags himself if we force it upon him.   He LOVES to rough-house with daddy and Jeffery and you can tell that he is itching to run through the house with them in their games of chase.  He is FAR more somber and reserved than Jeffery ever was.  He is an observer, a thinker (or at least we think so) and more shy and introverted than his older brother.  But when he does flash you a smile.....or laughs at you with his choke-sounding like laugh....it completely melts your heart.  

I love that little face

Fun times with daddy

Enjoying the deck

Peek-a-boo

Big boy is standing up in his crib!

As an alternative to a vacation, we took a couple day trips.  One was to Pocahontas State Park where Dave treated us to a picnic breakfast of my dad's recipe for Biscuits and Gravy -- much like my family's tradition of breakfast picnics out in the desert.  It was a beautiful morning, our table was right next to a playground area that Jeffery ADORED, the breakfast was beyond yummy, and everyone had a grand time!  Afterwards, we took a short hike through the park where Jeffery told us about tree bark and how water creates erosion -- I kid you not!  :)

Waiting patiently for breakfast

The chef!

Jeffery is a fan of Daddy/Papa's Biscuits and Gravy

Jakob's first time down a slide

Jeffery being a helper 

All Pedersen boys love the slide

Out for a walk in the woods

Post walk happiness

Jakob is now 11 months old.....and just weeks away from being 1.  How has this happened?!!!!  The cupcake place must've known that it was a special day because their selections that day were out of this world!  :)  He is close to not being a baby anymore.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.

11 months old!

Unreal cupcakes

A happy boy

What I do know is that our life with these two boys in it has just been amazing and beautiful.  They love each other so much.  It is apparent even now.  Totally unprompted, Jeffery will routinely go and hug Jakob and give him a kiss as he says that Jakob is his best friend and that he loves him so much.  It is enough to make you cry every day.  Jeffery can make Jakob laugh and smile like no one else can.  And you can just see the complete and total adoration in Jakob's eyes when he looks at Jeffery.

Brotherly love

I have been blue and in a funk this summer as I have been homesick for Colorado and my family and have desperately needed a change of scenery and routine.  But then I look at these two little boys and I am reminded of the saying "The things you take for granted are the things that someone else is praying for".  So I didn't get to France, Hawaii, Bermuda, the OBX, Bar Harbor, Charleston, Colorado, Bali, NYC, the Olympic Peninsula, Quebec City, St. Lucia, or the other myriad of places my friends and family all went to this summer.  Fine.  There will be times for that (hopefully) in the future.  What I did have was a summer full of my boys (all 3 of them), friends, family, fun, and lots and lots of love.  In the words of Gershwin....."Who could ask for anything more?".  :)