Graham's First Haircut!

I'll be honest - his hair was shaggy. So sweet, I loved it, but definitely shaggy. Kyle told me it was time and gave me a couple weeks to get prepared. And, we did have a pretty special first hair cut. There is an old fashioned barber shop up the street from our house - it's been there for 50 years! Graham got his first lollipop, and we settled in for a visit. He was great!! He found the machine-thing that "buzzes" very interesting. (Can you tell I don't frequent barber shops?!) And, there was a huge mirror in front of us, so I got to watch his face the entire time! Crazy - but I actually think it's almost time for another haircut! It's growing so fast!

Family Photos

One of our very dear friends recently organized a potrait party - fabulous idea! Every paid $100 for 30 minutes with the photographer. Then we each got a CD with all our pictures. Great deal for everyone involved! When we got our CD in the mail, Kyle and I both had tears in our eyes looking at the pictures - there was just something so touching about seeing Graham's sweet facial expressions - that we see everyday - memorialized in a beautiful photo. Some of our favorites....

(Oh yeah - and the tie!!!! I was a puddle on the floor!)

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt!

Well - these are a little out of order! Going back to Easter! Oh well!

Graham attended his first Easter Egg hunt and story time in our neighborhood this year - and I have to say it was one of the cutest things ever! There were different yards for different aged kids. Graham and little friend Allie hunted for Easter eggs together (truth be told - there wasn't a whole lot of hunting involved!). The festivities started out with the Easter bunny doing storytime int he cul-de-sac. Then we got to the candy. Graham didn't quite get the concept of taking his basket and filling it with eggs. He picked up eggs and put them in Allie's basket! Very, very sweet day - and beautiful weather, too!

Man Day

I have so many posts to create - this one will just have to be a bit out of order! Yesterday, our nanny was sick, so Kyle took a day off and planned an entire "man day" with Graham. They started their day at the beach - with the giant balls. Then moved to the big playground on the beach. Then Zero's subs for lunch. They shared a very messy, large, "everything" sub with french fries. Home to nap...then pool time! Kyle filled Graham's new little pool with water in the morning so the sun would warm it by the end of the day. (Yeah - it's silly - we have a real pool in the backyard and we still bought a baby pool. WHAT?!)

Very special man day had by the fellas in the family!

Easter

Our pastor has been preaching on the Resurrection for the past month, and his sermons have been some of his best ever (they can be downloaded on our church's website - Trinity Presbyterian in Norfolk, VA). Below are some of the few excerpts that have stayed with me over the past few weeks....

Jesus didn't just beat death, He transformed death. He turned death into a gateway to the m ost beautiful place in the world. The decay of death for the Christian is gone. Death is powerless over us - it simply ushers us into something far more glorious, far more normal.

"For in the cross of Christ, as in splendid theater, the incomparable goodness of God is set before the whole world. The glory of God shines, indeed, in all creatures on high and below, but never more brightly than in the cross." (John Calvin)

This was the meditation in our bulletin on Easter morning -

"I love the idea of the Sacrifical Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Looks, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled...it's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven...I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins on the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity." (Bono)

More Vacation...

Two nights ago, we went to a Novartis dinner and decided to do our own thing just before dinner - for me that meant a champagne cocktail! And, we played Chinese checkers. (We, unfortunately, forgot our travel scrabble.)

This morning - we had a leisurely breakfast outside, walked around and lounged for the day at the spa.

Kyle is listening to "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell in tape - loving it!! Malcolm Gladwell even uses an example in his book about a guy Kyle went to high school with - Kenna.

At the spa pool after our fabulous massages!

Me - in the hot tub - reading "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis. GREAT GREAT book!

We decided to celebrate our anniversary dinner a bit early. We went to the restaurant, Salt, at the Ritz Carleton. We had dinner there a few nights ago, and it was probably the best meal we've ever had. And, it did not disappoint tonight either. YUM!! We decided to do the Chef's Adventure Meal - you have no idea what you're going to get. We could tell the chef what we don't like to eat. And, to be honest, that's a very short list. I simply asked that we not eat organs - sweetbreads, tripe, etc. Although, I would be happy to eat fois gras. The meal was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G Really. And we ordered the wine pairings to go with each course.

They started us out with complimentary champagne - so good. And homemade gruyere rolls with their French, hand-churned, unsalted butter and 6 different types of salt.

Amuse bouche - chilled cucumber soup with ground truffle and micro greens

This one made me a bit nervous...raw tuna in a sweet onion broth with an oyster on top. Served with Chardonnay. I neglected to tell the chef that I don't eat raw seafood. Oh well, I ate it all anyway. And it was all great!!! (Although the bite that included the oyster wasn't necessarily my favorite bite of food....)

Salmon with wilted spinach, seafood broth, and lemon cream. Served with a Pinot Noir. YUMMMMMMM

6 of the 30 salts that we tried...

The main course - pork over collard greens, carrots in the middle, wild rice with roastedartichokes on the right. Who new this kind of food could be so delicious?! Served with a Merlot. Again nothing I would order, but incredibly delicious!

Grand Marnier Cheesecake with homemade strawberry glaze and homemade strawberry sorbet. Who knew something that wasn't chocolate could be so good?!

Finis!

Maybe not...and again my favorite wasn't the chocolate...what?!

The various salts they serve...