Five
Question – How long will it take a family of four to make a 2.5 hour drive to the beach on a Friday if they leave at 1 pm and only make one short stop?
Answer – Five hours.
Question – How tired were Steven and Elizabeth when we got to DE after 5 hours in the car?
Answer – Very.
On the Deck
We have had great weather this week. It’s been warm and sunny, but not too hot. On Monday we got a chance to play on the deck before Nana came.
“David, don’t go in the water!”
“What?”
“Nana, look! Look! The deer ate our pasta!”
The deer ate out hostas.
Car Wash
We washed the car over the weekend. This means that Steven and I washed the car while the boys ran around the drive way getting wet. Still, we have a super clean car. And the boys got plenty of outdoor time.
Daddy washing the hub caps.
Matthew washing his lawn mower.
David washing David.
Even the car seat covers got clean.
Crackers for Quackers
We celebrated some beautiful weather by taking Nana and Grandpa to one of our favorite restaurants, Cafe Sano. Then we headed out for our favorite post-dinner activity, feeding the ducks and geese.
There were a lot of them.
David had a good time chucking crackers at the ducks,
but he couldn’t toss very far.
The ducks adjusted accordingly.
After we fed the ducks and geese, we noticed a surprise visitor.
We have never seen a turtle here, and this one was big. We figured he was enjoying the cracker crumbs left behind. He surfaced a few times, to the delight of two little boys, and then swam off. Perhaps he had to go home and read bedtime stories, too.
Riding Metro
We took metro down and back to the Folk Life Festival. It was a breeze, except the walking-through-the-parade-to-the-Federal-Triangle-station part.
Matthew absolutely loves riding metro. When the train started out of the station he let out a loud Woop! of joy that made everyone around laugh.
He convinced Daddy to let him hang onto the top rail.
Then, since Matthew did it, David wanted a turn.
Neither one napped on the way home, even though we had been on our feet in the sunshine for 3 hours. They were both having too much fun on the train.
4th of July picnic
We ended up with no particular plans for dinner on the fourth, so we tagged along with Nana and Grandpa to their neighborhood picnic. There was lots of food.
There were lots of kids, too. Matthew found two brothers close to his own age who were happy to run around and play. They found a board with wheels. Much hilarity ensued.
David had a raucous time playing ball with Grandpa and Daddy.
It was just what you want from a 4th of July picnic – neighbors and kids enjoying a relaxed, outdoor picnic.
Then all the kids simultaneously melted down at 7:50 pm and we hastily headed home.
Folk Life Festival
We headed down to the Mall to see the Folk Life Festival. Nana and Grandpa met us at the metro. Aunt Susie met us downtown.
The first place we visited was Wales. They had a number of workmen demonstrating stone cutting, fishing, basket weaving, and wood carving.
Matthew got to help build a paper mache elephant at the kid’s tent.
We got to listen to a welsh story teller, too.
The boys found a great spot to sit while the adults had lunch.
Rocks!
We wandered down to the end of the row and found some unexpected fun. The 4th of July parade floats and balloons were gathering as they got ready to take their place.
David got an eagle’s eye view.
The “ladies” watched, too.
On our trek back to metro, we crossed Constitution Ave. and got to see the parade up close. Sure enough, we passed the exact same dance group who had been warming up when we left the festival.
Happy 4th
We had a great 4th of July. We went to the Folk Life Festival, we saw a parade, we rode metro, and we went to a picnic.
At some point, we were all standing in one spot.
Matthew was mid-meltdown, and David was moments from a nap. Which means, it was a pretty typical moment for our family.
Happy 4th of July!
Happy 1st Birthday!
Today I will make some cookies, sing songs, and reminisce, because today…
Matthew & David, June '08
the blog turns one.
Oct. '08
When I started the blog, my goal was to have a record of our daily life for family and friends to read and enjoy.
Jan. '09
Along the way, I discovered that I really like the 20 min. I spend each day looking at photos and describing our experiences.
June '09
Over and over again I am reminded how very lucky I am.
Lucky mom, happy mom, grateful mom.
Now, off to eat the cookies!
4 Year Old Stats
Matthew and I went to the doctor’s office today. He is a happy, healthy, typical 4 year old, for which we are profoundly grateful.
Height – 99 cm (19%)
Weight – 37 lbs. (58%)
shots – 4 (yikes!)
We had a long wait for the doctor, so by the time she got in he was D-O-N-E done. Except we still had the whole visit to get through. He pulled it together, answered the questions, jumped, hopped, drew, showed off his big-boy underpants, and gave her a hug and kiss when we were done.
Then we had the booster shots. I had prepared him for the possibility of a shot, I assured him it would be short, not too painful, and he would be brave. “No I won’t.” he told me. He did fine for #1 and 2, was upset by #3, and sobbing by #4.
So we went to the bookstore for a dino book and then, because it had been such a long morning, we went out for a lunch date.
The shots were long forgotten by the time we got home and he can hardly wait to tell his father about the dino ABC book and the burrito he ate for lunch.
