WEDNESDAY: Baltimore

Our first stop in Baltimore was Fort McHenry, birthplace of the National Anthem. It was such a beautiful day and the view of the water from the fort was lovely. Amelia and Anna had fun exploring all the underground rooms. We headed to the Inner Harbor and had dinner and then enjoyed an evening stroll along the waterfront. It's fun to see all the huge ships.

TUESDAY: National Harbor

On Tuesday we went to the National Harbor, which is just over the bridge in Maryland only a few minutes away, and walked around and played on "The Awakening" statue. The weather was perfect. We had lunch out on the patio at Potbelly and then indulged in some delicious gelato. Rachel and I were able to do a little shopping in the afternoon and then we all went out to dinner at Whitlow's in Arlington with Ben's cousin Jenny and her family.


Amelia and Anna play princess before we head out.




















Elsa loved sucking on this pickle.


Amelia enjoying her strawberry cheesecake gelato.


Elsa enjoys her second pickle of the day at dinner.

MONDAY: The Capitol

On Monday we headed downtown to tour the Capitol. Ben's dad arranged the tour through his Congressman so we had a private tour with just our family and didn't have to wait in any lines which was nice.




The view from inside the new Visitor Center.




The girls did great on the tour but were definitely ready to leave by the end.

We stopped at the Botanic Garden so the kids could run around a bit.





I let Amelia take my camera around the gardens and when I got home, I discovered that she had taken over 200 pictures. I basically have documentation of all the flowers and plants there as well as a few random strangers. Here are a few photos she took, including a self portrait.







The outside gardens.


Amelia and Anna had fun on the metro ride home.


Amelia and Isaac hanging out at home.

We surprised Amelia with a small early birthday celebration so Grandma and Grandpa could celebrate with her. She loved her gifts and was excited about having cake and a party.




Bath time for Elsa and Isaac...it was so fun to see these two together. Isaac is about 4 months younger than Elsa but much bigger.

Richmond etc.

We are enjoying the company of Ben's parents and his sister Rachel and her two kids right now. We have been busy with lots of adventures. On Saturday we went down to Richmond to attend Jeff's graduation from VCU. Amelia enjoyed running around with her cousin Anna. We had a celebratory dinner at a yummy seafood place and then topped off the evening with some ice cream. It has been great to have family here and we're happy that Amelia and Elsa are able to spend lots of time with a few of their cousins.




Amelia and Anna entertaining themselves during dinner.