Memorial Day Weekend

I suppose if Memorial Day Weekend has come and gone - that means summer is officially here, right? I know that summer doesn't really start until June 20th or so, but Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer - yes? My cats know nothing of the changing seasons except that now they can sit in front of the open back door and watch the birds and squirrels in the backyard... or drag wands upstairs and attempt to climb into the drawers under our bed. It's all the same, right? 

Friday evening was the women's conference at our church - and even though it was completely out of my comfort zone, I went on my own! I've met a lot of people and I'm slowly gaining friends, but for this event I was also serving as a greeter and so I had to be there earlier. It was a little awkward at first, but it got better as the night went on... and as usual, the worship and the message were fantastic. I met some new people, heard a wonderful message and pushed my boundaries - so I'd call that a win.

We had a gorgeous weekend - if cooler than usual for this time of year - and so on Saturday after some breakfast and cat time, en route to get our groceries we stopped off on the main street of Charles Town and took a little walk, grabbing coffee from La Gazelle and poking our head into a few shops like Needful Things, Bushel & Peck, the Succulent Garden and one or two more. The town isn't big, but it definitely has some amazing little shops! It was a nice way to kick off our Saturday morning!

Later on Saturday afternoon, I had a hair cut to get done - which gave me ample time to finish up a book I'd been reading and when all was said and done, I had new hair and I'd marked another book off my reading list! We had a really low key Saturday evening; we had a Mexican feast and watched The Marvels on Disney+ ... which was really only okay. We have really started watching the Marvel line up at home because the movies just haven't quite been as good as they once were.

Sunday after early church, we suited up in our Nationals gear and headed to Nationals Park for the third of five games we have tickets to for the 2025 season! The Nationals had been on a winning streak before Sunday - but something must have broken, because they didn't get the W on Sunday afternoon! 

 

We still had a good time though - the weather was beautiful, if a little bit cooler than we expected! I was so glad I'd put on jeans instead of shorts because I'd have ended up frozen if I'd worn shorts! Our seats are in the shade for a large portion of the game, depending on the time of day - and while that's usually a good thing, it was windy and very cool in the shade on Sunday! Brrr!

We enjoyed trying out the new Change Up Food Hall; I got a macaroni & cheese with pulled pork bowl, Ryan got a chicken and hot honey biscuit and both were delish! I finally got the chance to try out Electric Kool-Aid and the watermelon slush was incredible! I declined the vodka that added $8.99 to the cost - frozen watermelon slush was good enough for me, no extras needed. And yes - drinking it did make me colder, ha-ha! 

Now that we've been to three of our five games - I sure hope we get to see at least one win this year! So far we've gotten three losses and while this team isn't the best there's ever been, they are also not the worst there's ever been - so I'd love to see a win (or two). We got home around 5:30, grabbed a pizza for dinner and chilled in our backyard with a fire for a good portion of the afternoon! It was a really nice way to end the day - especially because I got to swing around in my hammock.

Monday was another gorgeous day - again cooler than it usually is in May - but a gorgeous day nonetheless! We had a slow morning and then I popped over to Virginia to visit with a sweet friend who is recovering from heart surgery! We had a wonderful time catching up; we always pick up right where we left off, and this visit was no exception! Monday afternoon, Ryan and I headed to our prayer group for a big cook out - and there was so much delicious food, it was amazing! 

It was such a good long weekend - and happily, Ryan and I are both only at work three days this week because we are headed out of town this weekend! So cheers to a three-day weekend on the front end of the week and a three-day weekend on the back end of the week!

Memorial Day 2025

 

Mothers Day Weekend

What a weekend it was - what a weekend indeed! Look at these sweet pictures of my parents and my little sister; aren't they so precious? Well guess what? There is a lovely, slightly sneaky story behind them and I would love to tell you all about it! SO - shall we do a little recap of Mother's Day weekend?

 

My younger sister has been on a work trip - she's in the military, so we will just call it a work trip - ha! Once we knew when she'd be coming home, I somewhat offhand commented "wouldn't it be fun if you could come home for Mother's Day weekend and we could surprise Mom and Dad"... and from there, the idea took off! Once she was back in the US, she looked at flights and we discussed the logistics, determined it would work - and she bought tickets, and I took Friday and Monday off work. 

And then - we had to be very careful not to say anything suspicious! I lured my parents to my house on a Friday with the plan to work on getting our backyard prepped and ready for the paver patio we'd like to build. They thought they were coming to work in the backyard - so much so that my Dad wore his "bummy shoes" and brought a whole passel of tools in the back of his truck! So - we kept the secret just fine! 

On Friday morning, I headed to the airport around 6:15 to pick up Lindsey and on the way back to my house, I text my parents and asked that they come closer to 9:45 since I'd "overslept" a wee bit. They agreed - and so Lindsey and I arrived at my house, had a bit of coffee and awaited their arrival! When my parents arrived, I welcomed them in and then mentioned that one of my Mom's gifts had arrived early - so I wanted to run upstairs, grab it and go ahead and give it to her... and so I brought down my sister, there was much excitement, a few weepy tears shed and quite a bit of disbelief! It was amazing! 

We had a lovely today together in Ryan and I's neck of the woods - I introduced Lindsey to some of my favorite shops in the area, we got some Apple Annie's cookies and we had a late lunch at Toasted (seriously delicious grilled cheeses). After spending some time actually doing a little bit of outdoor work (thanks Dad) and letting Lindsey get a little nap in (she flew in on a red eye), we headed to my parents for dinner and Ryan was able to join us when he got off work. It was a great way to spend a Friday and we were so stoked we pulled off our surprise! 

Saturday was another exciting day because while Ryan and I had tickets to the Nationals game, we were also able to get tickets right next to ours for the game, for my parents and Lindsey! So around 10 AM on Saturday, we all headed into DC via the metro to grab a quick bite for lunch and then head to Nationals Park! We wanted to be sure to get there early because the giveaway on Saturday was a Nationals Harry Potter jersey - and they were only giving out 10,000! 

After a fairly uneventful metro ride, we popped into Shilling's Canning Company for our lunch and let me tell you - it did not disappoint! We all shared VA Ham Biscuits, Apple Fritters, Deviled Eggs, a breakfast burrito and some French Onion soup... and everything was divine! It was the perfect meal and left us plenty of room to pop across the street and get our dessert: Ice Cream Jubilee! We made a pretty leisurely walk to the park - and arrived with about thirty minutes before the gates opened - and we were still about twenty back in line! But guess what? We all five got our Nationals jerseys when the gates opened! Victory! 

The Nationals played the Cardinals and if I'm being honest - it wasn't the best game. Our bats stayed cold until the 8th inning and unfortunately, by that point the bed had been made and we just had to lie in it. I know baseball can go plenty of different ways and a rally is always possible at any point, but on this day the Nationals just didn't have it in them! 

While the game on the whole wasn't the best, we did get to see a home run from our Nationals and since it was Harry Potter day at the park, they had all sorts of Harry Potter themed things going on... a Golden Snitch was flitting around the park and if you could catch it and snap a picture, you'd end up on the scoreboard. The snitch was; in fact, a girl in a gold body suit with wings and we pondered what she might have been being paid to perform as the snitch all afternoon, ha-ha! 

We had some yummy baseball treats - in the form of Shake Shack fries and Dippin Dots, and my sister and I clapped and sang and danced along to all the chants and tunes and little ditties that the organist played! In short - even though the game wasn't the best, we still had a blast! But let me tell you what... by the time we stopped at Foster's for burgers in Haymarket, stopped at my parents to pick up our car and then finally got to our house around 10 PM - we were worn out, ha-ha! 

Oh yea - should I mention that we did actually make the scoreboard? Even if you can barely see us... ha-ha! In the 8th inning, we noted the cameraman was nearby and that's how the bottom of Ryan's face, the side of my head/sunglasses and the side of Lindsey's head ended up on the scoreboard! First time for everything, I suppose! 

Sunday was a gorgeous day - sunny, with beautiful blue skies! Ryan and I headed to our church for the 8:30 service before jetting down to Stephens City to join my parents for the 10:00 service at their church. It was Mother's Day, after all! Then we all scooted back up the interstate to Martinsburg for our brunch reservations at The Venue by Brix 27 - and I cannot recommend this location enough! 

I am a huge fan of Brix 27 and I think most of the time Ryan enjoys it... I just never know with that boy sometimes! However, across from their main restaurant on Queen Street, they now have something called The Venue that they use for events. They hold brunch every Sunday and this Mother's Day Brunch was excellent! The variety of food for the price - could not be beat! We had wonderful service and the food was great; I'd truly recommend giving this location a try - you won't regret it!

We all headed back to our house stuffed to the gills with things like Prime Rib, shrimp, bacon, breakfast potatoes, pasta salad, fresh fruits, yogurt, chicken salad, waffles... the list goes on and on and on! My Dad and Ryan finally got to do the work that I'd lured my parents to the house for on Friday, while my Mom, my sister and I relaxed and took it easy! It was a really lovely afternoon!

I was also off work on Monday and so I spent the morning at my parent's house, visiting with my sister before she had to head back to her home across the continent! My Mom, sister and I went to look at some boutiques in town and then had lunch together on the Walking Mall in Olde Town Winchester. It was a delicious lunch and it was so nice to be able to have some additional time to spend with my sister since I don't know when I'll see her again this year... only time will tell.