sunday evening stroll: firefly edition!

It rained all morning on Sunday but by the evening things had dried up and the sun was out. We ventured downtown for our sunday evening stroll. We started at the FDR Memorial (after getting a killer parking spot), one of our favorites, and then walked along the Tidal Basin to the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial.

 Classic Amelia face when she sees my camera/phone.

 The first fireflies of the evening!

 The kids were having a ridiculous amount of fun sliding down these benches. Ben and I just enjoyed sitting and watching the kids amuse themselves.

We ended our evening in a big grassy area where fireflies were abundant. This was my favorite part of the night, running around with the kids catching fireflies and playing games. Perfect summer evening.

iphone plus hardly any light does not make a great photo. But I loved the happiness in his face.

 The fireflies never stood much of a chance in Oliver's hands.

 Playing "What Time is it Mr. Fox?"

We brought the kids' pajamas since we knew we would get home after bedtime. Oliver escaped while getting changed (first with no diaper on).

art gallery

My friend Jessica organized an art show for the kids and it was so much fun. All the kids brought some of their art work and hung it up. They each got to talk about their art and then ribbons were awarded. The girls loved it. They especially loved coming up with titles for their artwork and having an "official label" for it.

Maeve and Oliver doing their thing.

How cool are these ribbons Jessica made using washi tape!

 

Amelia has been working on drawings of her "dream house" for the last few months. I think I'll have to do a separate post dedicated to the details of her dream house (there's an IHOP and an Eiffel Tower for starters). She LOVES telling us all about it so she was excited to display it and get a chance to talk to people about it at the art show.

The girls were recently introduced to oil pastels and love them.

canal park

It was such a beautiful day last Friday so after pizza and mini golf we continued the fun with a stop at Canal Park in D.C. The kids loved playing in the water features. Amelia and Elsa didn't hesitate to soak themselves in the fountains despite the fact that they were fully clothed. Oliver was a little more reluctant and kept asking for his swimming suit. He kept busy climbing stairs, walking along the wavy bench, and wandering dangerously close to the busy street. I walked through the park a bit with Simon and discovered another area with more water features. Oliver loved playing in the shallow water here and I was happy to be away from the busy street.

A rare treat: the ice cream truck! It was the perfect way to celebrate the first day of summer.

Finally! Some respect for children. I feel like I've encountered way too many people and places lately that are completely intolerant of children. It was nice to be somewhere JUST for children.

It looks like Oliver is throwing a tantrum. Nope. Just enjoying the water.

When we got home the girls had to rush off to their last swim class. In the evening Amelia opened presents and was excited about her new horse stable lego set. She requested brownies instead of cake this year. (And if you're keeping track, yes, that was donuts, ice cream, and brownies all in one day.)