A lovely bike ride followed by the most scenic picnic ever.

On Memorial Day we went to the National Arboretum to explore the expansive grounds on our bikes. There were the most beautiful hidden areas all over the place. I especially loved the area full of flowering Dogwood trees. We found the most incredible tree to sit under for our picnic. It was dropping flowers on us the whole time.

Pentagon Memorial

On Sunday evening we wandered around the Pentagon Memorial. This was our first time at the Memorial and I was really impressed with the nice design of it, although it was a really sobering experience to walk around and think about the horrors of that day.











Amelia took this picture. I like the lighting.

SATURDAY: gardens, shopping, and grilling

On Saturday morning I took Amelia, Anna, and Grandma to River Farm Garden and the girls had fun running around and exploring. It was so beautiful there. Amelia set up a little tea party and was very serious about the placement of each item and the proper way to serve her tea. In the afternoon I did some shopping with Rachel and Mary and went out to lunch. Ben and his dad worked on a few projects around the house, including a small but complicated fix in the shower as well as new latches on our gates which are so nice to have now. Ben grilled us up some delicious burgers for dinner and Amelia ate about half of a watermelon. All of our guests headed home on Sunday. It was fun to spend the week with family and enjoy lots of adventures.

FRIDAY: change of plans

We started the drive down to Monticello Friday morning and didn't make it far down 95 South before we came to a complete stand still. We sat on the freeway for awhile and there was no improvement so we finally decided to bail. We figured things would only get worse since it was a holiday weekend. We pulled off at the nearest exit and pulled into a park (Locust Shade Park) to decide what Plan B was. The park had a mini golf course so that decision was made quickly. We had the golf course to ourselves and just had fun playing around for awhile. We even found a green snake that Ben caught for the girls to touch.

We were close to Prince William Forest Park so we picked up some lunch...It took a few failed attempts with the GPS to locate a sandwich place but we finally found something that wasn't burned down, closed down, or on a military base. We had a nice picnic in the park and then hiked down to a bridge with a nice shallow stream and everyone enjoyed getting their feet wet. It was a warm day so when we got home, we got out the pool for the girls and they had fun cooling off. We all went out to dinner at Red Hot and Blue for some yummy BBQ. It wasn't exactly what we had intended for the day, but it turned out to be a great alternative.



































This video captures the essence of Isaac...it is hilarious...

THURSDAY: Elsa turns ONE!!!

It is absolutely crazy that Elsa is one. The year has gone by so quickly. She is enjoying all the benefits of turning one, including sitting forward-facing in the car and drinking whole milk. She also chose her first birthday to be the day when she finally made it into the toilet for some splash time. She still hasn't figured out the walking, but we can barely keep up with her fast crawling. She is a sweet, calm, happy baby and we're so lucky to have her! It was fun to have other family here to celebrate her birthday.

In the morning, Ben stayed home with all the kids and I went to brunch with Mary and Rachel at La Madeleine in Old Town. It was such a pleasant morning and we were able to sit on the patio and enjoy some yummy French food. I spent the afternoon making Elsa's cupcakes. I tried a recipe from the famous Magnolia Bakery in New York and they were delicious. You can find the recipe here. We had a luau theme for her party and enjoyed a chicken and rice dinner out on the patio, followed by cupcakes and presents. Amelia definitely had fun assisting Elsa in all the festivities. After the kids were in bed, Ben and I continued the celebrating by going out to see the new Star Trek movie. It was awesome. Star Trek fan or not, it's a great movie.