Shopping a Just Between Friends sale

This morning I went to a Just Between Friends sale, which offers a bunch of inexpensive used kids stuff. Today mostly everything was half off.

I got the sneakers for $2, the sandals for $5, Hi-Ho Cherry-O for $2, Clifford book for $1 and the king's hat for $1.25.

I got three sets of pajamas for a total of $4.50.

And this cute Buzz hoodie for $1.50.

I also got some books for my class, bringing my total to $18. I was happy with my finds, but I was hoping to get more. It's not that they didn't have a lot of stuff, because they did, just not exactly what I wanted. Oh well. I'll be going to their next sale in January- they're so well organized and laid out, it's just like shopping at the mall.

Bargain Buys

These are Max's new (and first) pair of sneakers. They're Cars, and they light up.

And I paid $2.99 for them at Twice as Nice, a second-hand store here in town.

I love used things. If it's clean and nice looking, I'm happy to give it a new home. Don't get me wrong, I still shop at Target way too much, but I love a good bargain.

I got this popper for a $1 at a garage sale. Max LOVES this thing, and it keeps him busy for quite awhile.

We got Max's bouncy seat when he was little for $10 I think. Got a Bumbo seat for $15 at Buffalo Kids (those are a tad over priced to begin with at $40). And some great toys, and not so great toys. But that's what's nice- if Max doesn't like the toy, I didn't pay a lot for it, so it doesn't bother me!

Used things that we get for free, things that our friends' kids have used and pass down to us- that's a whole other post all on it's own. I gotta tell you though, every time we use one of those things, my heart smiles. I think of that family and I'm so grateful that they thought of us.

This Moment

Max's First Haircut

You may have thought to yourself after seeing last week's This Moment post, that Max needs a haircut.

We agree.

Max had his very first haircut on Sunday. Here's a picture right before the hair cut:

I wouldn't say he enjoyed it too much...

But look how cute!

He looks so much older. And some how taller. I love it.

I also love these pictures:

He sure has a good time with his daddy!

The Missed Tour

The Tour de France is over, and you may have realized I didn't have a single post, tweet, or update about it. That's because this was the first time in ten years, I did not watch the Tour.

I've written about cheating in cycling before. I still stand by what I said: at least cycling is trying to do something about doping, unlike most other sports. I'm not naive, I've known for many years that my favorites and many of the top cyclists have used performance enhancing drugs. But the final straw came when I heard that George Hincapie told a Federal Grand Jury that he and Armstrong used banned substances.

I never followed up on this news story, I have no idea if it was proven true or not. But then and there, I decided I just couldn't follow this sport I love right now. It is too hard to cheer for these men for three straight weeks, only to discover that they're cheaters. They're fakes and liars. It broke my heart to think that Hincapie might have cheated. Lance, not so much. I mean, come on, no one would really be surprised, would they? But Hincapie has always been a favorite; he's a dominating domestique, a selfless, nice guy. But a cheat? I just can't hold that descriptor in my head with the others.

And so, I gave up the Tour this year. And it hurt. I didn't watch any highlight reels or read any articles. I hope that next year, I will feel differently. I truly missed it. But I don't like looking like a fool. I cannot be on their side, rooting for them, if I think they might be cheating. And who knows who is and isn't cheating these days...

This Moment

This Moment

All in all, it was an interesting weekend: I turned down a promotion at work and was (unfortunately) transferred to another location. My district manager was pissed off at me and things were stressful.

But my Saturday night improved things. First, I went to dinner with some friends at work and had a really good time. Even though I had to break the news of my transfer to them, it was a positive dinner.

My good buddy Jamie was not... er... "well" enough to drive home so we all hung out and enjoyed some conversation.

The next morning, we all had a really nice morning enjoying unseasonably cool weather, coffee and Skype with my parents. We went to the mall so Max could run around and all in all, spent some really good family time.

I needed this break to get ready for my big transition this week. Thanks to everybody involved!

The very last post about our freaking vacation. I promise.

The last day of our vacation was pretty chill. My mom, Megan, Max and me walked to a local mall (I know 'me' is wrong and should be 'I' but I liked the alliteration. Plus I felt left out!). We ate a really good lunch, then browsed for awhile. Afterwards we headed to a local park and had a good time.

I know a lot of these pictures are redundant; I posted most of them on my facebook page. However, I like to keep this blog as a time capsule or a journal, and who knows how long facebook will be around for. I want my memories saved here, not on a social networking site. But I do apologize for forcing you to look at the same pictures again.

Guess it's a good thing Max is such a cute kid, you don't mind looking at him again and again do ya?? If you do, you have come to the wrong blog! haha.

The next day, we flew home to Tucson. Not to end our vacation recap on a sour note, but Max cried a good portion of both flights home. He was that baby. And I felt awful, but what can you do? Those people who were good-natured about it, will have good karma. Those who weren't, ahem, well, what goes around comes around.

We had a great trip. We were so lucky to see so many people we love. I would have loved to fit more people in, as we have lots of family over there, but we had to focus our time on this trip. So, if we missed you, don't be offended, we just couldn't do it this trip. Next time!

4th of July

Max and I spent Sunday night (the 3rd) at a hotel in Leesburg. On this vacation, this was my only night alone with Max as we stayed at my sister's apartment in Arlington. I was worried about the sleeping arrangements, since he'd be going to bed earlier than I would, and there's no way I could just watch tv while he slept in the same room. So I set up a little office in the bathroom, complete with laptop, phone, and camera, and after Max went down (quite successfully, I might add), I uploaded pictures, checked my email, and trolled facebook for the next two hours while sitting on the hard bathroom floor. The night went very smoothly; I was surprised with how well Max adjusted to the different arrangements.

The next day we went to the Leesburg 4th of July parade with Grandma and Grandpa Gardner. The weather was overcast, and a slight breeze came every now and then, making it just perfect out.

Most of the parade was cutesy and had a small town feel:

But there was also a lot of political candidate stuff and that was pretty lame. The parade could use a band, and some dancing, and maybe a clown in a little car. It held Max's attention though (for the most part), and that's what really matters.

He sat nicely in his stroller for most of the parade, just taking it all in. He fell in love with his stroller on this trip. He kept asking to be put in it. Not to go for a walk or anything, he just wanted to sit in it.

Afterwards, we went to a little water fountain play area. Max loved it, of course.

After that, we headed back to Megan's apartment, where we soon met up with Megan, Kyle, Sam, and Brett. They all went swimming, and Max just wanted to dive right in, unaccompanied.

Towel from Uncle Rick and Aunt Katia

Afterwards, everyone else went to go watch fireworks, while Max and I relaxed. It was a busy busy day, but every second was surrounded by loved ones. Perfection.

Max meets his cousins

Sunday Megan and Kyle dropped Max and I off Grandma Gardner's, where Max met his cousins:

Marluce, age 5

Max had a great time playing with the kids, especially Mateo. He loved rough housing with him and chasing him around.

Mateo, age 7

We also got some fun family pictures.

Thanks so much to Grandma and Grandpa Gardner for hosting, we had a great time. And thanks to Rick and Katia for coming so Max could meet all of you! Hope to see you again soon!

Sorry I took so long to post this, I know everyone has been anxiously awaiting to hear about the rest of Max's first vacation. For whatever reason, some of my photos from this day were deleted (or moved??) on Flickr, so I've been trying to figure out which ones and get them all relabeled and uploaded. Hopefully I'll recap the rest of our vacation soon, but for now, I must go get Max's lunch together: pb&j sandwich, avocado, and blackberries. yum.

This Moment

The Smithsonian National Zoo review

I love this picture I took yesterday at the National Zoo. We were looking at the elephants while on the bridge, which was fairly crowded, and all of a sudden no one was around. I said "turn around, quick, for a picture!" Everyone complied, I got one shot, and we nailed it. Love when that happens.

So obviously, yesterday (Saturday), we went to the National Zoo. It was hot. It was crowded. It was a lot of walking. It was not worth it. That is my review of the zoo.

I would go again on two conditions:

1) We drove there instead of taking the metro.

It is all uphill from the metro.

And it is all uphill going one direction in the zoo.

2) The temperature was cooler.

The zoo doesn't make a circuit, it's more like a line. So you walk down the line, then you walk back up the line, seeing the things you already saw. And I suppose you could just look at the stuff on the right going down and the stuff on the left going up, but there is a LOT of empty space. You'd be walking for awhile without seeing any animals. There's a lot of walking, period.

But maybe because it was so hot, my opinion of the zoo is a little biased. I may have gotten overheated, a little dehydrated, and had low blood sugar, because I got a wicked bad headache, followed by running off the metro and proceeding to vomit while sitting on the floor of the metro station. Lovely. And while I wish to erase this from my vacation memories, I feel I should share it with you all as a friendly reminder to drink water and stay cool. Luckily, after taking it easy and a short nap later, I felt good as new.

Thanks so much to Megan and Kyle who took care of me (and consequently Max) while I was ill. They're good people.

Sam and Brett (recent Virginians themselves) came over later and after playing with Max for awhile, we headed out to dinner and had a nice time.

And last but not least, I'm posting this picture because I like it. Why do I like pictures (here and here) of Maxwell running away so much!? He looks so grown up. And adorable. I just want to chase after him. More to come later!

Max visits DC

Our vacation is moving right along, and we're having a great time. Thursday we went to see the Gardner grandparents in Leesburg. After eating a quick lunch with them, we left Max there and went to the mall for a few hours. Max had a great time playing with Grandma and Grandpa and was zonked out when we came back to pick him up.

Friday we went into DC. All I really wanted was a picture of Max in front of a well-known building or monument and then we could go back home if we wanted. We got off the metro and of course, Max fell asleep.

So we decided to go to the Botanical Gardens to wait in an air conditioned building. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the gardens. They were really well laid out and of course contained beautiful plants.

Once Max woke up, we finished up at the Gardens then headed to the Capitol Building.

Max ran screaming up to the building, waving his arms in excitement.

We then headed to the Canadian embassy, since Friday was July 1st, Canada Day. We met a Canadian along the way who gave Max a flag:

Max was so wonderful all day long. He has been such a trooper this whole vacation. He's riding the metro nicely, being very patient, and having lots of fun. Friday evening we went to a local park to play, and Kyle found out he's too big to fit on the slide.

That's all for now, I have to upload the pictures from today. Keep checking our flickr for more pictures!