Memorial Day Weekend

Ideally, this would have been divided into a few separate posts, but, since it's already Tuesday and I haven't updated yet we'll just cover it all in one shot....Grab a cup of coffee, this is going to be a long one...

We had an awesome three day weekend. On Saturday, we started off with a trip to the Leesburg Animal Farm. With the warm weather and sun upon us, Ryan got to try out his stylish bucket hat while checking out the animals...He was particularly friendly with this deer-like animal (yes, that is the technical name for it).
The donkey was also a big hit. Though from the look on the donkey's face he'd had his picture taken a few too many times.
This one is just for fun. Check out Ryan's eyes. If you look at larger version of the picture, you'll notice the reflection of me taking his picture ( I don't make it onto the blog much, so I'll take it any way it comes).

After the farm - and a nice nap - we were off to a Luau to celebrate Uncle Tom and Aunt Nicole's recent wedding. There were a bunch of kids there for Ryan to play with.
This little guy is Jake. He's a month younger than Ryan but makes up for with his size. Ryan was trying to be friendly in the only way he knows how right now - grabbing the face. Also, check out his great Hawaiian outfit. His Aunt picked it out for him just for this occasion.Next we have Max. At 5 months old, you can tell this kid is going to be a daredevil like Ryan. It was fun to meet him and his parents because until then we had only been reading each other's blogs.Max's dad, Justin, spends just as much time behind the camera as I do, so here's one of him and his son...I added a link to his blog in the Friend's section on the left.

Ryan made a few In Utero trips to the wineries in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys when we lived out west, so on Sunday, we took on his first vineyard trips outside the womb. Our first stop, Barrel Oak Winery, was having their grand opening - complete with visiting Alpacas. Ryan seemed right at home on the patio.From there we went over to Rappahannock Cellars. It's always been a favorite of ours. We like the big front lawn, and the boulders to climb on. It's also pretty close to where Lisa and I got married.

Finally, we got to Memorial Day. My parents were down from NJ. I got to spend the afternoon in the yard with my dad building planters for Lisa. Ryan stayed with Lisa and Grandma and played in his kiddie pool on the deck. We topped it all off with burgers on the grill with them, Uncle Tom and Aunt Nicole.

Overall, it was a weekend that really reminded me why it was so important for us to come back to Virginia. Family, friends, and a house of our own. We can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store.