A Royally Good Week

Like many Americans, I caught the royal fever this week (who am I kidding-I've always had it), and as such, found a fun pop up bar and had a jolly good time, despite standing in line for 40 minutes to get in. I didn't do that in college, so I figure, in some ways it was a rite of passage. We enjoyed drinks such as the Markle Sparkle, American Princess, and Kensington Garden Party. Of course we couldn't leave without paying our respects to the bride and groom and ladies of Windsor.

The kids and I also visited an old favorite that we haven't been to in months-the American History Museum. We are big Sesame Street and Mister Rogers Neighborhood fans in this house, so this mini exhibit was of particular interest, maybe to me even more than the kids. Henry just about died seeing the Batmobile.

Last week was entirely rainy and full of thunderstorms which on one level I love, because thunderstorms are still a novelty to me living here, but it does make it hard to get outside. When the storms finally subsided, we went puddle jumping along the Mall.

This last weekend was a big weekend of firsts-Henry lost his first tooth, played his first game of pin the tail on the donkey (which was hilarious to watch), and went to his first MLB game-the Dodgers at the Nationals. It was such a fun and memorable experience to do that with just him, while Josephine hung back with neighbors. We even ran into one of his t-ball teammates at the gate. He desperately waited to catch a fly ball, yelled in support of the Dodgers, enjoyed popcorn and ice cream, and probably most of all, the Jumbo Tron.

While our weekend was really special, I do feel compelled to say that it was still sober in the aftermath of the Texas school shooting. It's hard for me to fully embrace happy occasions following such tragedy. Enough is enough. 

May Days

DC is alive with color as spring has sprung and azaleas are blooming at the Arboretum, and the peonies in people's yards.

We had a delightful picnic at the Arboretum last week and were even able to catch a frog chorus in one of the ponds. A highlight for any four-year-old!

We also made a trip to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to see if their water lillies and lotuses were in bloom yet, but alas, we have to wait a few more weeks. (A flower blooms after so many months of winter and you hit the ground running!)

Henry has started swimming lessons and we've made a few return visits to old favorites as of late-the Post Office Museum and Hirshhorn storytime.

This past weekend, the European Union hosted it's annual open house with it's embassies and I was really excited to take Henry on a day date to this part of DC. I had visions of visiting a few with Henry but it was so crowded, we waited an hour just to get into Ireland, that we headed to a pub after for lunch and enjoyed Dupont Circle on the beautiful day. Was really cool to walk past all of the different countries buildings and see the celebrations happening, if we weren't able to get inside them all.

We heard rumors from passerby that Belgium was serving beer and chocolate-we were not disappointed by the cheese and crackers!

For Mother's Day, I was treated to a wonderful breakfast and dinner, and a few new adventures in between. We went for a drive and stopped at the Albert Einstein Memorial, which was a first, and checked out a local beer garden that's been on our list for a while.

Twas a winner of a weekend!

T-ball Life

We are officially a t-ball family and one person in particular is setting out his uniform at 9 am on game days.

As anyone who has ever watched t-ball knows, it's basically like wrangling cats. But, his coach is awesome and the kids have made great strides at each practice and game. I also have a newfound respect for the little brothers and sisters of the world that have little to know interest in watching the game, and so time is divided watching the cats on the field be herded, as well as the younger siblings who want to be on the field too.

One of our favorite places, the US Botanic Garden's Children's Garden, has finally reopened for the season and we've made it a mission to go enjoy the planting, digging, watering, and picturesque views before the summer visitors descend upon the city.

We also recently checked out a great little participatory farm, Oxon Hill Farm, where visitors can milk cows, feed chickens, go on tractor rides, and romp around among the beautiful grounds...all only a 15 minutes drive. The kiddos especially loved the chickens and rather friendly roosters.

With the t-ball games at different parks, we've been able to check out new, undiscovered playgrounds and have found some winners (and well, losers...the Parks and Rec Commissioner has never left me) and the kids have enjoyed discovering the new stomping grounds