Dynamic Duo

We arrived at our friends, the Green's house, in Virginia last night and today we literally hung around their house all day and had a own time day. Becky and Gaby - their 4 1/2 year old, were made for each other. In between the rain yesterday and the rain tonight, we headed outside to play.....the dynamic duo got moving! 

 one 4 year old helping another 4 year old! The girls aren't quite heavy enough all the time to get the needed traction on the stone  driveway - 

 Gaby then took Becky on a ride..the green jeep was a wee bit faster than the pink Barbie jeep, but Becky didn't seem to mind a bit! 

 ...see ya....

 Gaby looked a little fearful when Becky (who was definitely not as proficient in the driver's seat) took over the wheel! 

two peas in their pods - complete with "Wonder Pets" cookies & milk! 

Down in DC

It's that time of year again...our annual Washington DC trip. I love this trip (get ready for some homesick posts!). I love coming back to the east coast. I love hearing the Philly accents, eating Wise potato chips and butterscotch krimpets, seeing trees with no leaves, having to wear jackets and gloves and generally getting a "fix". I also have a bad case of house & yard envy, and am amazed at how rude some people can be (it's not as politically correct here as one might think!). Our DC trips are geared towards seeing friends more than the sights as our children are too small to really appreciate the true perspective this town has on our heritage; however Becky is getting the concept that "the Capital is where all the laws in our land are made". (our hotel is two blocks away, so we see the Capital a lot). 

We started the trip again this year with a visit to our good friends the Glass family - you know, the ones that got me into that whole marathon nonsense! It was a sunny day, so the kids spent a fair amount of time after lunch playing outside (this is where I fed my already bad case of yard envy more fuel!). 

Apparently - the pogo stick is all the rage again. It was when I was 10 too - or maybe it never went out? Anyway - I am happy to report that I can still pogo - although not as well as I could waaaay back when! Emma definitely put me to shame! 

Katie opted out of the pogo-ing...at her mommy's insistence! 

Leah is working at mastering the skill, but stopped trying long enough for a photo opportunity...

...then handed the stick over to Doug - a picture (s) is worth a thousand words! 

After we got back to the hotel Sunday night, the girls and I went out to dinner, and wandered into Chinatown so we had Chinese. Becky has decided that since she is Chinese, when she eats Chinese food, she has to use chopsticks. She doesn't let it stop her that she doesn't really know how 

Monday, the girls and I took the train up to Baltimore and met Jace and his family at the National aquarium. 

I have been to a lot of aquariums - including Monterrey and Boston - and this one is by far the best...the fish life is very active and diverse. We spent four hours there

This poor turtle is an amputee - but it didn't seem to stop him. He was also almost 5' in diameter

Waiting for the dolphin show....

treats......as big as they were! 

there is a very cool hands on area~the puppet show was a big hit! 

more to come....but Sunday & Monday alone were enough to remind me I am mis-placed in Southern Cal! 

Baby Faith

One less orphan today  - Baby Faith - welcome to your forever family! 

Birthday Girl - Part 2

The kick off to her birthday celebration was her party..the main event began bright and early on March 24th! Seeing as the early hours are generally the better ones, all of the celebrating was pushed into the beginning of the day - starting with the presents and balloons...

...followed by the morning breakfast donut (our thanks to 3 Peanuts for this idea - although we skipped serving it in bed!) and candle....

...then some play with the new easel from Pop-pop and Grandma...

Then on to school for that celebration! Miss Linda makes a big deal out of birthdays - she makes a crown, and there is a special chair cover for the birthday girl/boy! 

Doug & I surprised her at school for the snack party...then told her we were taking her to Disneyland for lunch with the princesses for her birthday! She was so excited..."Prince Charming" got all the glory & credit - and kisses of thanks! 

With Ariel and her birthday balloons when we arrived at the Grotto for lunch

SLeeping Beauty training wanna be princesses in the fine art of princess dancing - 

At the Grotto, you are assured of seeing five princesses - Ariel plus 4 others. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and CInderella are almost always there - but the other three rotate. We were so blessed - Mulan was the 4th one this time and she is Becky's favorite right now. It was a bonus birthday present! 

Cinderella, who is the runner up for favorite, was there to help wish Becky a Happy Birthday with her cake and princess party favors...

After lunch, we ventured onto a few rides. Mom got to ride on this one, as the ones that go "round and round and round and round" are not Dad's favorite! 

Becky, on the other hand, loves the ones that go "round and round and round and round"....so we did another one! 

It was a great day to turn 4! It was also a great way to celebrate our precious princess!

for those who are wondering why Katie did not come with us and might be feeling that she was left out....Disneyland is WAY too over stimulating for Katie and she becomes highly agitated after a short time there. Sometimes that is ok - but we did not want to spend Becky's birthday  focused on managing Katie - so she had a very nice time at home after school with her favorite babysitter Brittney.