Red, White and Baby

Today, Joe and I drove to UMD with Joel.  We wandered around campus while Joel was in class.  We had a few good stares as we walked around the student center and some smiles as Joe pushed around his stroller.  I did not envy the students doing Chemistry problems and discussing reports and assignments over lunch-- but I  enjoyed the school atmosphere- the hustle and bustle and always being with friends  :)  I looked around and thought- "wow, I can't believe these kids have no parents around them."  ha!  as if, right?  

Here we are at the UMD clothing store- surrounded by UMD paraphernalia.   Joe is sporting some baby socks and chillin' in a UMD chair.  

KVP hearts DWTS

YES!  Dancing with the Stars is back on- season 7! 

Who am I rootin' for?  Honestly, I'm pretty much a fan of the pro as much as I am a fan of the "star."  I could probably tell you more about the professional than the star.  

The first couple that caught my eye was Kym Johnson and Warren Sapp. 

 Did you know that Kym was the Australian DWTS Champ?  I think she's pretty cool esp after she coupled with Jerry Springer and Joe Fatone!  

I am a Cheryl Burke fan- right from the getgo.  I think she and Maurice Green have a good shot at being champions.  The Olympians have had a good track in this competition- I think it's the mindset of being able to train so hard.  Look at Apollo Anton Ono and Kristi Yamaguchi.  Just brilliant!  I think it's great for Cheryl to finally get her Olympian!

Let's not forget my loyalty to the Hough siblings.  Julianne Hough is partnered with Cody Lindley- aka "Jake" from Hannah Montana.  I feel like they're a great pair because of they have an advantage with energy and the "cuteness" factor.  I look forward to seeing Cody lose a little bit of the pomade and let his hair be.

And of course, Derek Hough.  I do not know Brooke Burke as a "star" - other than that she is married to the cute guy from Baywatch (the cast from a decade ago).  I'm glad Derek has another potential of a partner.  I think the producers are setting him up to have a better chance in winning.  He's clearly a great choreographer- I just hope he doesn't lose to his little sister again. 

Bottom line: Be prepared to get my voicemail Monday and Tuesday nights.  DWTS is penciled in my calendar!  Are you a fan too?

DC Adventure- a success!

Here we are: ready for a day of Scavenger Hunt!

I registered us with High Trek Adventure a few weeks ago.  

Each team had to be matching- we wore white shirts with blue tie, and plaid shorts.  Super cute :)

Other nice combos we saw were- Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton, and a trio wearing Hawaiian motif.

There were 11 clues total- took us 5 hours to finish.  Here are some of the sites we saw--

This is one of the first clues we  completed:  

"There's an establishment located within a 1/4 mile of the Dupont Circle Metro that has a character from the popular children's tv show Dora the Explorer in its name"

Thanks to our friend, Nadia, a devoted Dora follower due to her daughter- she helped us find "Fox" as the answer!

We walked and walked and finally reached the WWII memorial. The clue was:

"Locate the name of the country, state, or territory carved in the WWII Memorial- -

Discovered by Spain

Palm tree and proa on flag

Can't vote for the Prez."

Not Puerto Rico... but Guam! <--check out their flag!

And we walked some more- apparently 14th street is a very far 7 blocks from 7th street.  Where the Spy City Cafe was.    we summoned a smile nonetheless :)

Poor Joel had to do a handstand for this clue:

 "Do a handstand with a sign showing the first or last name of any one of the US presidents (Washington does not count)"... somewhere on the sign is JOHN.

And our last clue was "This TREKpoint shares its name with one of Hollywood's greatest leading men, though he's dead now.  You'll find it located South of M street in G'Town"

The name Christian Bernard has a whole new meaning to me now.

Needless to say, this was more walking than we bargained for!  But we didn't want to "not finish" or cheat (like take a cab)- so I just imagined we were in the Olympics and we were representing our family name and country-- and of course, just visualized how much fun it would be to blog with all these pictures :)

 So, hooray- we finished the race!

20 questions- can you guess?

I've put together a "surprise date" for Joel for Saturday, September 20.
To prepare for it, we played 20 questions to see if he can guess what the activity is. Here are the questions he asked along with my YES/NO answers.

Can you guess what it is? I'll take questions :)

1. Woods? NO
2. Outside? YES
3. Laptop needed? NO
4. Did you pay for this? YES
5. Interact with others? No-Maybe?
6. Away from the city? NO
7. Following a map? YES
8. Have you done something similar? YES
9. Going to any building? Maybe- yes?
10. More than $100? Heck no!
11. Paying for anything tomorrow? Maybe-yes
12. Any friends have done this? NO
13. Activity available all year round? NO
14. Fun date? YES
15. Uniforms because we’re competing? YES!
16. Is there a prize? YES- $300
17. A lot of people? Maybe- yes
18. Will help to run faster? NO
19. Riddles/Clues? YES
20. Closer to our home in MD than in VA? YES

Joe loves Babu

Joe's favorite words are: Dadu, Babu, Mama, Dada, Baba

He can be quite the yapper once he gets started!

btw- "babu" is the equivalent of "grandma" for the Pincocks (started by his sister, Sarah).  It's short for the Russian word, "babushka".

Monday, Tuesday, Longday, Thursday....

My dad was such a huge help to me these past two days.  Joe had a cough that developed into this wheeze, so we had to start him on a nebulizer treatment.  Seems like Joe has some allergies and has acquired some asthmatic tendencies.  The treatment worked faster than expected and he's back to his normal chatty and playful self in less than 24 hours!  

Here he is doing a super cute trick- handing over my dad's glasses to him- then clapping for doing such a great job.  Is my baby really this cute?! :)

9.2008 week 1

We went to the Kensington Ward Labor Day picnic at Sandy Point State Park. They say that there are a lot of capitals in the English language- I think the previous sentence just proved that.
We had lots of fun. Joel and Joe jumped in the jellyfish ridden Chesapeake bay! So brave.

I also had a visit with my friend from McGill, Crystal. It was really fun visiting after a 4 year hiatus! After travelling the globe, Crystal found herself in Silver Spring. Thanks, babe- it was so great to see you!


And last but not least, here's Joe with Mia Barker- just chillin in the living room with their baba.

The "Me-Monster" by Kristine

Where were you born? Makati, Philippines
Middle name? Audrey
How old will you be this year? lemme count...28? yes, 28!
Nicknames? Krisco- back in the college days
Are you taller than your mother or father? YES
Do you cry often during movies? absolutely.
What is your biggest pet peeve? people leaving several messages in a day
Favorite color(s)? brown, blue, gold
Favorite food(s)? anything already cooked and made :) and nutella.
Favorite restaurants? Pho
Favorite smells? anything baking!
Favorite time of the day? night time!
What brand of shampoo/conditioner do you use? sheesh, is this for the CIA?
What brand of make-up products? oil of olay, l'oreal
How many pillows do you sleep with? 2
Do you play an instrument? some guitar and I can probably play some violin
Have you ever been skinny dipping? please...
Did you play any sports in High School? yes- field hockey, lacrosse, tennis, basketball, soccer- i'm embarassed I don't play any of them now!
What was the last movie you saw in the theatre? Iron Man
What is your favorite article of clothing? a comfortable long sleeve that I can layer
What is your dream vacation? European tour- France, Spain, Italy.
What was your first impression of your spouse? He's so nice- it's hard to believe he's French.
If you were an animal, what would you be? Lion! rarr
What is one of your weaknesses? I stay on the computer to blog way late in the night.
What do you fix for dinner when there is nothing to fix? I call the Mayflower Chinese restaurant.
If you could live in a different decade/era what would it be? The 2nd coming
What is the emotion you feel the most? glad
Do you consider yourself outgoing? Yes
What is something you are constantly working on? My freakin budget. Listening skills.
What is a word or phrase you overuse? inconceivable! just kidding. "yiyoy go yeyi" - "little guy" in baby talk.
What was the hardest thing that happened to you this past year? Trip to the Philippines
What is the best thing that has happened to you this past year? Just being where I am now- safe and happy with Joel and baby Joe.
What is one thing you hope to accomplish this year? finish "Miracle of Forgiveness" ha!
The best piece of advise you learned this past year? To focus on the mote in my eye...