Spring is here - and the Cherry Blossoms are Early

Even though they bloomed VERY early this year, we still managed to make it out to see the Cherry Blossoms twice during their peak. In response to repeated requests from Isaac, Bill and I took the morning off from work on Friday (no luck trying to reserve a boat during the weekend) and booked a paddle boat to see the beautiful blossoms from the water. I was dismayed to see that there were no seat belts and 95% convinced at least one of our kids would end up swimming, but I was pleasantly surprised that we stayed mostly dry. We all had a great time - even Bill who ended up doing the paddling :)

Last weekend we took a bike ride down to the Mall, and when our first attempt at renting a paddle boat failed, we soothed the disappointment with two rides on the merry-go-round. Up until now, Isaac was scared to ride it, but either he has grown up or his sister's enthusiasm shamed him into changing his mind - but either way, they were equally courageous (Isaac: "I want to ride by myself, get your own horse mom" Caitlin: "no touching me") and both had a blast.

Spring definitely seems to have come early, and we're all loving the outside time in this gorgeous weather, and even ventured out for frozen yogurt a couple of times! Here are some cute pictures from the last few weeks:

Fun Visits

We've had lots of fun visitors over the last few months. Here are pictures that have accumulated...

First, Grandma Bertie snuck in a quick visit and got lots of snuggles while she was in DC for a conference.

Then Matthew came to visit and became Isaac's idol as he told him what it was like to fly planes (he's a Navy fighter pilot) and promised to take Isaac to see his plane next time we are in Virginia beach. As you can see, Matt quickly caught on to the wet willy game :)

After months of trying to coordinate calendars, we finally found a weekend that worked for Uncle Jim and Rox to visit. We had a great time equally divided between good food and laughs, and park and play time.

Finally, we had a really fun weekend with Aunt Ray-Ray last weekend. She picked Isaac up from school and took him on a fun adventure that included ice cream and the Smithsonian, did lots of running around and chasing both kids around the park, and tag teamed with Bill holding Isaac up on his first attempt at ice skating at the rink outside the Portrait Gallery on the Mall.