nap time

 We've had a lot of good naps around here lately.

climbing kids

The boys have added another new feature to our work-out room.  First Allen, Carter and Jared built the peg board (on right); now they have added a climbing wall.  It's been a fun addition for everyone.  I love that this is something that Allen has been able to do with his boys.  They love to design and build things together.  And then play on them.

philly

Allen took his staff to Philadelphia for the annual AAO meeting.  It was a great city that we enjoyed for a long weekend.  First, there was the history:

 Independence Hall was impressive.  We really enjoyed hearing about how history was made when those brave men signed the Declaration of Independence-so inspiring.  The Liberty Bell was not as big as we expected, but still neat to see.

 Second there was the food:

 We went out the first night to find the "best philly cheese steak sandwich".  It wasn't so good.  A little dry and plain for my taste.  We ate breakfast every morning at the old Reading Railroad (yes, from Monopoly) that is now a huge market of yummy foods like smoothies and juices, crepes, ice cream and a few Amish restaurants that were very yummy.  One had an apple dumpling that melted in your mouth, another had doughnuts that yes, melted in your mouth.


Third there was Rocky and Love:

 So funny, at any given time you could see 2-4 middle aged men running up these steps with their wives in tow taking pictures.  But you have to do it, right?  Well, Allen had to.

 The Love sign was also much smaller than we expected.  But it made for a cute picture.

referee

Carter and Jared recently got certified to be soccer referees.  This entailed a full weekend of sitting in a class room learning all about soccer then passing a test.  They both did great.  Jared is not ready to actually ref yet (he is on the young side), but Carter was anxious to get started.  He was mainly ready to start earning some money (and show Claire she isn't the only one who can earn money around here).  Refs get paid well.  He gets $20 a game (one hour).  Last Saturday Carter refereed his first, second, third, forth, and fifth game.  All in a row!  Allen went with him and earned the father of the year award for sitting out in the sun for 5 hours watching his son work.  Carter was quite nervous and Allen wanted to be there just in case a parent got ugly (didn't happen).  Allen said it was neat to see Carter progress throughout the day.  His first game he rarely blew his whistle and when he did it was quiet and he spoke timidly.  But each game he gained confidence and by game 5 he was blowing that whistle left and right with all the confidence a 14 year old boy can have.

40X2

Last year Allen and I turned 40.  To celebrate we headed to Arizona, to the Miraval Spa.  This place is our definition of heaven.  It had it all:  relaxation, exercise, nature, yummy-healthy food, high adventure, low adventure, and of course massages.  This is the kind of place that I have wanted to go to for many, many years, and it did not disappoint.  I could go on and on about every detail, but I won't.  The things we got to enjoy at this all-inclusive resort:  awesome food, a juice and smoothie bar, exercise classes all day, hikes, high ropes activities, lunch with a nutritionist, a cooking demonstration of the resort's cookies (and we got to eat them), photography class, pool, one massage/body treatment a day, and we got to eat meals in our white robes.  There was more, but we ran out of time.  

our porch off our room

Allen on our hike, that's not a belt, but fanny pack they gave us loaded down with water

Allen about to do "a swing and a prayer'

one of many juices

Italy-Venice and Florence

Venice-I had heard good and bad...a must see and skip it. I am very glad we went. We were only there a little over 24 hours, but I thought it was beautiful and quaint. I loved being in a place with no cars. I liked seeing the UPS boat, and the UPS guy wheeling packages around in his cart.

Florence- This was our favorite city-the one we could live in. Art everywhere. We went to the Accademia and saw David. This sculpture was the one thing that impressed me more than I expected. It was much larger than I imagined and was just amazing. Photographs were not allowed, but Allen snuck this photo with his phone. You can tell just how large it was when you see the people standing next to it. We also went to the Uffizi Museum.

We did quite a bit of our shopping in Florence and enjoyed getting great deals in the open air markets.

Our last night in Florence we went up to Piazza Michelangelo and enjoyed the incredible view of Florence.

We had a driver take us from Florence to Rome. We stopped at two Tuscan villages. This is the view from one of the towers-beautiful.

Italy: first things first

We went to Italy. It was an incredible trip. But, first things first. Allen LOVES gelato. Italy is famous for their gelato. On the first day, Allen had it four times. I didn't keep track, but I think he was over 20 by time we left. We took a lot of pictures of gelato and Allen eating it. It just made me smile every time he ate some. I am normally the one with a sweet tooth in our relationship, so to see him obsessed with a dessert tickled me. I admit, I did encourage him to partake every time I saw him looking in a shop. There was a gelato shop on every corner, I swear. He tried just about every fruit flavor he found. He could never pick a favorite, but he liked pear and watermelon a lot.

iphone photos

I was looking through the photos Allen has taken with his phone and found it interesting what things he chooses to capture. I wanted to share/remember some of them:

the deer that wanted to take a swim

the sweet note our teenager left for his brother on his birthday

the split sky, time to go in! You can barely see the tube behind the boat

the cuddling on long car rides

Claire and I enjoying The Melting Pot (our kids favorite)

a chilly spring day on the boat

Me showing off my rope climbing skills

dad, since 1998

Allen enjoyed another Father's day. Another breakfast in bed. Another cuddle time while opening this cool t-shirt and reading cards. Another hour long back scratch by his three kids. Another yummy dinner prepared by his family. And another batch of cookies just for him. Another perfect day for Allen.

yoga

Yes, this is exactly what you think it is. Allen, Scott (brother in law) and Conan (Scott's twin brother) doing yoga. But it is not just yoga, it is P90X yoga. It is an hour and a half long, and it is hard. Can you see the sweat?

one on one

I tagged along last week when Allen took his staff to a work convention in Chicago. The kids had their own vacation staying at their grandparents houses. We were just in time to enjoy the tulips on Michigan Avenue.
We went to the Field Museum and saw Sue-the largest, most intact tyrannosaurus rex. Across the street was Soldier Field.

One night we went down to Navy Pier and watched the opening night of a small musical, "Murder for Two". It was a who-done-it comedy with only two actors. It was hilarious.

And of course, we ate. A lot. Chicago pizza was good (we sent this picture to our kids, they were impressed) but our favorite meal was at a place called Girl and the Goat. The "girl" recently won "Top Chef" on the Food Network and this is the restaurant she opened. Can you say YUMMY? It was amazing. My taste buds are still talking about it.

The best part of the trip was having some one on one time with Allen. He is the best. If I was sent to a deserted island, the one thing I would bring would be Allen.

dad naps

If he could Allen would do this everyday at about 5pm. He loves to catch a short nap on the couch. Early in our marriage I would get a little irritated; not at the nap-who doesn't love naps? I could not understand why he was always on the couch in the family room. When I take a nap I like to go to my room where it is quiet. One time when the kids were being loud I suggested Allen move to the bedroom. He said he liked the noise and being able to just drift in and out. That's the way he likes to nap. And that's when some childhood memories flooded back to me. My dad asleep on the couch while we watched TV, played games, visited, did homework, or whatever. We have pictures of us in our family room and you see dad in the back ground catching a few Zs. I remember being perplexed how he could sleep with all the noise of life around him. As a kid I never asked why he didn't just go to his room. But maybe it was for the same reason. Maybe he also liked to drift in and out. Maybe that was a way to still be with the family while getting some much needed rest. Maybe, like Allen, he just wanted a dad nap.

air soft?

Friendly game of air soft.

Carter and Allen ran into each other coming around the corner of the house.

Carter freaked out.

Carter unintentionally broke a rule-don't shoot if closer than 10 ft.
Allen will be sporting this for awhile.

happy valentines

some roses for me and some tulips for Claire

Thanks Allen!

super heroes

My boys have always loved super heroes. And when I say my boys, I mean Carter, Jared and Allen. This love has been a great source of bonding for the men in my life. A favorite memory of mine will always be car rides, dinners and bed times when Carter or Jared will ask Allen, "can we play- who would win?". This game, that Allen made up years ago, consists of Allen naming two super heroes and Carter and Jared discussing who would win in a fight between the two. Hulk vs. Spiderman, Wolverine vs. Thor...you get the idea. I can't count the number of times we have had long family discussions on what super power we would want to have and who is the ultimate super hero. Every once in awhile, when these debates get heated, I say something like, "you guys know they aren't real, right?". And I get a look from all three. A look that says, "why are you wanting to spoil our fun?", so I apologize and say of course Superman is the best, he can fly! Then all is forgiven and the debate continues.

Allen has a box full of old super hero comic books and Jared has read every single one. Jared's favorite Christmas gift was a surprise from Allen and I, a Marvel Super Hero Encyclopedia. It is a 400 page dream (see pic above). Recently the boys (yes, all three) have drawn their own super heroes(see pic above). Carter and Jared marvel at Allen's drawing skills and ask for his help often.

I love that Allen can relive his childhood with his boys. I love that they will have such fun memories with their dad. I hope someday to be sitting and watching some more Langford boys playing "who would win" with their dads and grandpa.