Fourth of July

 It was VERY hot this Fourth of July, so we had some fun inside time before heading to the 8th Street parade.  I suggested painting, but it wasn't until I suggested naked painting that I got some buy-in :)

  

 Then we spent some time getting in the "USA" spirit and jumped on the metro (again, it was VERY hot) to 8th Street for the parade.

 The kids watched the parade intently, dancing to the music, and knocking each other out of the way to grab the candy and beads that were being thrown at them.

And after awhile, they didn't want to stand and watch anymore, so we joined in...

 After too much candy and heat, we headed to the pool for some swimming, took long naps in anticipation of the late night, and then headed to a friend's house for a barbeque and fun.  We put the kids in pajamas and then biked down closer to the Mall to get a good seat for the fireworks. 

 They were total troopers even though it was so late, and they loved the fireworks.  We weren't as close as I wanted to be, but we decided it was better to stay outside of the security area so we could make a fast break for home once it ended.  Overall, it worked out great and we all had fun.

Summer Fun

It has been a really fun summer for the kids so far.  Cesi has had her hands full with Isaac and Caitlin all day, but they are having a great time and I'm pretty sure it will be impossible to get Isaac to go back to school in September. 

There's been lots of bike riding.

 Playing at the park with Lusa and Noah.

And weekly field trips to Eastern Market for live music played by "Boogie Babes" and to the library for story times.

Girly dress-up time (yes those are Caitlin's toes with nail polish on them!!)

And tons of Isaac and Caitlin bonding time, which is lots of fun on some days, but filled with lots of bickering and some Ultimate Fighting Championship-type brawls

Isaac and Noah did a week-long baseball camp, which went really well.  He loves hitting the ball with the bat, did great at and throwing it, and did alright with the catching too.  It was soft pitch, not t-ball, so we were pretty impressed that he got so many hits. 

 After that Isaac did a week of soccer camp with Lusa. I'm not sure if he loves dressing up in his uniform and shin guards or playing more, but they had a great time and seriously improved at kicking and dribbling after the week was over.

 Finally, just a really cute picture of Caitlin giggling on the ground after falling over in the playroom.  Cesi texted me this one with the caption "don't text and drive" :)

Summer Visits/Visitors

We have had a great summer so far with lots of family visits. In May, we went to Boston to watch Aunt Rachael get her Masters from Boston College. Although our travel started off a bit rocky with a missed flight from Dulles, we ended up having a great, but abbreviated, visit with nearly the entire Anderson family.

We also had a fun visit with Aunt Adrienne and Uncle Evan who were in town for a Radiohead concert and tacked on extra time to spend some QT with Isaac and Caitlin, including babysitting for an afternoon. The kids had so much fun that they woke up asking for them for a whole week after they left!

We spent Father's Day weekend in NJ which included lots of outside time playing soccer with the kids' new balls (yes, Caitlin is playing soccer holding a purse- she is a total girly-girl), brunch at Grandma Jo's, and the kids' first trip to Rita's Water Ice. Of course Cesi also came through AGAIN with the adorable picture of both kids for Bill's gift.  Grandma and Grandpop had so much fun with the kids that they kept them for a couple of extra days after Bill and I went back to DC. Their adventures included swimming and taking a train to the acquarium.  Sounds like it was super-fun for all of them and while we missed them, it was a nice break for us. 

Finally, Grandma Gerri came to spend a long weekend with us when Bill went to Virginia Beach for a boys' weekend. We had lots of great QT with Grandma who was a very good sport about getting dragged out before coffee and showering every morning for each day's activities.  She and Isaac spent an adventure day riding the double-decker bus around the monuments, he showed her all his favorite parts of the Air & Space Museum, and then they metro'd and found their way home together!