Faith and I went on a DATE on Friday night. We needed some girl time together, and I am so grateful for the inspiration to do this. We rode on our bikes down the hill to Pentagon Row and ate dinner at Noodles & Co. Faith insisted that we go to the same place as we had gone with Mimi months earlier.

We laughed, and I was able to look her in the eyes for a whole dinnertime, talking about whatever came to her mind: kids that make her laugh at school, funny things that Mr. T. does, lots of different "What if we could..." scenarios that she likes to pose, etc. She was a different girl!

Then we went to the mall next door to find her some pants. We made a fun stop at the "Girl Store" (aka Claires) and looked at all the Hello Kitty and Princess earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and others. Faith was in heaven - I remember just adoring these same kinds of stores as a young girl. I loved that I could follow her all over the place, without any distractions. Whatever she wanted to look at, we looked at...and probably said "Cute" a hundred times. That was fine with me!

We finished our date at Maggie Moo's ice cream where Faith chose her favorite flavor and gave me a taste. Our most bonding moment of the evening was when we faced the challenge of getting our bike back UP the giant hill that we had enjoyed on the trip down. My little Faith pedaled her little heart out, and I was literally pushed from behind by my darling daughter. She kept saying "Don't give up! We can do it!" We also sang the song from a show called Wonder Pets..."What's gonna work? Team work. What's gonna work? Team work." She felt confident because she had helped Mommy make it up the hill, and I loved complimenting her determination all the way. I love having a daughter - she is one of my very greatest blessings!

On Saturday, we went to the Fire House! The kids were in heaven, trying on all the gear, sitting in the trucks and even turning on the lights (by accident, of course)

Here's the whole gang sitting in the Medic truck. It was very touching to visit this particular fire station, because some of these men were called to work on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. They had a big poster in their Call Room of all the firefighters who were killed on 9/11/01. It was a very humbling experience to witness those who sacrificed their own lives for someone else. I know Heavenly Father is pleased with that act.

John standing in front of a GIANT (probably 20 feet high) American flag. Doesn't he look patriotic? I love this boy so much! We are enjoying the Terrific Twos with him so much - he makes us all laugh on a daily basis with the way he interprets what we are saying. The other night, he came and jumped in bed with us and, speaking to Andrew, started a long chain of "I sleep in the middle, I sleep in the middle, I sleep in the middle, I sleep in the middle" (I think that's what he was saying). I rolled over to Andrew and said "Just say OK!" So, Andrew said OK, and John stopped. His determination is inspiring!