family photos.

We managed to squeeze in a family photo session right before we moved. My friend (and talented photographer) Danelle (MP Photography) did an amazing job with the photos and capturing the kids' personalities. I had considered a different location this year, possibly some iconic D.C. spot before we moved, but we ended up at Fort Washington again. I just love all the possibilities and the gorgeous textures and backgrounds. Lots of fun memories there. It was so nice to have someone else take the photos this year instead of attempting to do it myself again. Thanks for the great shots Danelle!

The girls were cooperative. Elsa had an endless supply of poses and Amelia got away from her fake smile a bit. Oliver was Oliver and gave us some great grumpy shots. Simon, who normally smiles all the time, was not acting very happy. Then he threw up towards the end of the shoot and we realized the poor guy was not feeling well. But he still managed a few smiles for us.

Our "farewell Virginia" shot. Sniff sniff.

fireworks at fort washington

We have headed into D.C. many times in the past to watch the fireworks and loved it. My parents have even joined us for many of those occasions. But I didn't want to deal with Simon and Oliver in the crowds this year. Or deal with the heat. I did some online research to find a less crowded, more low key spot for fireworks viewing and found out you can watch from Fort Washington! One of my favorite places! (And I just found out they have an awesome "Films in the Fort" series where they show movies inside the Fort on Friday nights! This Friday they're showing "Master and Commander" which I think is such a fantastic idea.)

We arrived a bit early to explore the fort, relax, have a dinner picnic, and enjoy the views. There was hardly anyone there when we arrived and not much of a crowd when the fireworks started. Perfect! It was so fun to watch from such a historic venue and the sweeping views of the Potomac were fabulous. Once the beating sun went down, it was perfect.

Recognize this building from our family photo shoots?

Washington in the distance.

There were deer all over the place!

Elsa and Grandpa Bob.

Who knew these cannons were still loaded?! Oliver stuck his hand in one and found a hornet's nest! He got stung and cried for a bit but recovered quickly. (I'm glad Elsa wasn't stung since apparently she was doing the same thing in the photo above. Her reaction would have been a bit more dramatic.) A few other kids were also stung so the Park Service employees eventually put up some caution tape.

My friend Jessica and her family joined us for the fireworks and the kids had fun playing together. And fighting over these two light sticks that I never should have brought. 

Oliver dropped his over the edge more than once. A Park Service employee was kind enough to retrieve it for him.

Fort Washington is pretty far away from D.C. so we knew the fireworks would look pretty small. What we didn't realize is that we would be able to see over 20 fireworks shows in other towns all across the horizon. It was really fun. (And I'm really glad we weren't closer and trapped in a crowd since I now know that Oliver does not care for fireworks...based on our experience at the Alexandria fireworks a week later. He didn't mind them when they were 10 miles away.)

(D.C. fireworks are on the far right.)