Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

I've been wanting to check out these gardens for a few years now.  We finally made it a couple weeks ago when Drew's brother, Dan, was in town. 

Turns out it was the same weekend as their annual festival which meant parking was a little tricky and the place was really crowded.

Of course it also meant that we got to enjoy live music, the kids got their face painted and the flowers where in bloom.

Emma & Uncle Dan (or as the kids refer to him "the one that tickles us when he hugs us").

Having their faces painted was probably the highlight for these little ones:

The festival was on a Saturday.  The following morning the girls both still had some face paint on.  Lainey happily wiped hers off, Ellie gave me grief.  Since I was flying solo (Drew had gone to church early for choir practice) I decided it wasn't worth the battle.  Drew was a little surprised when we arrived all looking nice except for quirky Ellie who was sporting paint remnant on her face, kitten ears on her head, and a cape and fairy wings over her dress.  

4th of July

It was delightful this year: my coffee filter bunting totally worked, Drew got to watch the girls at swim team & swim lessons in the morning, I got a nap (cuz my hubbie is awesome), Emma wore the same adorable striped and starred outfit Liz wore for her first 4th, we had friends over for a barbecue, enjoyed some neighborhood fireworks and sparklers, then headed to the Pentagon to watch the DC fireworks.  The icing on the cake was the amazingly mild weather.  I actually brought jackets for my kids to wear in the evening (and felt kind of bad for them when they were in the chilly pool that morning. 

June update

June was wonderful, but went super fast (probably because we were so busy with Lizzie's school play, but more on that later):
 

Nana and Papa visited for a week with us and were able to see Liz play Rumpelstiltskin which was pretty great.  While they were in town my mom helped me with some sewing projects and my dad and I visited the National Museum of Health and Medicine  and Mt Vernon with the little girls.

 

 

We celebrated Father's Day with the usual: a special meal (barbecued steak!), a nap for Daddy, and an additional entry in his father's day book. This year we celebrated with Nana and Papa which was quite nice.

Here are some highlights from each girl's interview (and the photos from the book):

ELIZABETH

·         My dad always tells me: Stop fighting with a 5 year old.

·         The best thing he does is: skiing.

·         What makes him happy: taking naps.

·         Dad’s favorite type of TV show is: things that children should not watch.

·         My dad is special because: he’s always there for me.

·         Favorite thing to do with dad is: ski.

·         If I could give my daddy anything it would be: a gift card for $200.99.

ALAINA

 

·         My dad always tells me: I love you.

·         My dad’s favorite household chore is: he makes me clean up the toys.

·         My dad’s favorite colors: I do not know because he keeps it a secret.

·         My dad likes to play: I do not know because he keeps a lot of secrets.

·         My dad is special because: he is who he is himself.

·         My dad looks like: um, he has a beard.

·         To show my dad I love him: I tell funny jokes.

·         If I could give my daddy anything it would be: a great big hug.

·         He is smart because he knows: that I love him.

GABRIELLE

·         I really love it when my dad: lets me sleep with him and cuddle with him.

·         My dad always tells me: go poo poo in the potty.

·         The best thing he does: sleep with me.

·         What makes him happy/smile: when I go poo and pee pee in the potty.

·         The best thing he cooks is: peanut butter and honey sandwich.

·         My dad’s age: I think he’s 7.

·         Dad is special because: he sleeps in.

·         If I could give my daddy anything it would be: go poop in the potty.

·         He is smart because he knows: to brush his teeth.

·         What was daddy like as a little boy: no beard.

We finished up Girl Scouts for the school year at Flight Trampoline Park in Springfield.  So fun (and happily it exhausted the children). 

We joined a pool and Lizzie started swim team. She hated it (turns out it was harder than she expected) and hated dealing with her meltdowns before and sometimes during practice the first few weeks.  

Liz finished up her 5th grade. We attended her award ceremony and also took pictures of the library mural she helped paint.

We got a kitten. Yep. A kitten. I swore I'd never have a pet because I was pretty sure as a stay-at-home mom I would be doing most of the animal maintenance (I was right), but I caved and the kids were so excited. By the way, I also swore I'd never agree to a motorcycle and we got on of those the following weekend.