Swimming Lessons

We have spent the last two weeks at the pool for Amelia's swimming lessons. A friend tipped us off to a pool that will let you do lessons without becoming a member. We were especially glad to be at the pool during this awful heatwave, which apparently is never going away. After Amelia's lessons, we would just hang around the pool and keep cool in the water. Elsa loved being in the big pool with Amelia and didn't care so much about the baby pool.

Amelia really learned a lot in the two weeks and will now stay under water for a long time, float on her back, and has (sort of) figured out swimming...her technique is a little wild, but she's getting there. We may do another 2-week session at the end of the summer.


The girls all ready for the pool...if the picture looks foggy, it is. My camera lens fogged up the minute we stepped outside because of the humidity.


Amelia in her class. She said her teacher looked like a water policeman (because of his reflective sunglasses).

Since Monday was a holiday and they still had lessons, Ben was able to come to the pool with us.













And some random sparkler pictures from Monday night:

D.C. Fireworks Spectacular

We decided to watch the fireworks from the Washington Monument again this year. It's a great spot with a nice view of the Lincoln and the thousands of people in between. It was HOT. Like 100 degrees hot. Luckily our friends showed up with a big umbrella and saved us all.

As we were walking to our spot, I realized I left my camera battery at home in the charger. Ben, knowing that I don't do well without a camera, was kind enough to walk back to his office (where we had parked) and bring me one of his work cameras.





Amelia took every opportunity she could to read books to anyone who would listen:







(Elsa finds a nice spot for coloring.)


The crowd begins to grow.




How many children can you fit in front of a tiny DVD player?









We were really surprised when the fireworks started and it still seemed fairly light out. It was beautiful with the sunset.








(There is actually a plane going by under the fireworks.)



And a video of the finale (especially for Graysen and Naomi):

Capitol Concert

We made our traditional voyage to the Capitol Fourth Concert rehearsal on Saturday night (the real deal is on the 4th of July and broadcast on PBS) and had fun enjoying loud entertainment with friends. The girls enjoyed dancing to David Archuleta, Gladys Knight, and Reba McEntire. I always love hearing the symphony do the 1812 Overture at the end to get us in the mood for the 4th.




(Amelia and Elsa got their faces painted at our church's pancake breakfast that morning...getting it off the next day was difficult to say the least.)

A perfect evening on the beach.

We headed to the Chesapeake Bay yesterday afternoon and spent four glorious hours relaxing on the beach. There is this perfect little spot (Bayfront Park near the Calvert Cliffs...popular for fossil hunting) on the Chesapeake Bay that we love. It feels like a secluded little beach and there were very few people there. And the best part was that the water was soooo warm and you could walk out a long distance and it remained 1 to 2 feet deep. It was perfect for the kids.










(That's Amelia way out there...the water felt so good.)



When we weren't in the water, Ben and I got to do a lot of this:



(Amelia and Elsa enjoy the shallow waters all to themselves.)


We ended up staying long enough to watch the sunset. As an added bonus, some people were setting off fireworks by the cliffs.






(The path through the woods to get to the beach.)

The post where we make an announcement.

Baby #3 is on the way.

Due date is November 24. (Hopefully this baby isn't early since Ben is signed up to run a marathon in Richmond shortly before the due date.)

And it's a boy.

We took the girls to Krispy Kreme to reveal the exciting news. If Amelia was presented with a donut with blue sprinkles, it was a boy. If they were pink, it was a girl. She was hoping for a girl, but only because she really wanted pink sprinkles. When she saw the blue donut, she simply and unenthusiastically stated "it's a boy." And then devoured her donut.



But the girls are really excited about having a new baby around. Well, Amelia is exited. Elsa just randomly pats different people's bellies and says "baby tummy."

Dip top cones

To celebrate the start of our 4-day weekend, we headed to Hovermale's in Fort Washington (Maryland) Thursday evening for chili dogs and their famous dip top cones. We often overlook Maryland, but this place is only about 15 minutes from our house, and the ice cream is delicious. Vanilla soft-serve ice cream cones dipped in dark chocolate? Oh yes.