Scenes from a Bowling Alley

Keeping the kids occupied over Christmas break can be a real challenge.  This year we visited the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor and also went bowling one afternoon.  The lanes near us have gutter bumpers and a small ramp for junior bowlers.  It’s hard to say which the kids enjoyed more, bowling or horsing around with the ball return machine.  In any case, Elise proved that she is far and away the best bowler in the family, with Henry and Bryant bringing up the rear, in that order. 
 

 

Henry bowls a spare.

Vivian's Favorite Things

To get you in the Christmas spirit, here's a short clip of Vivian singing "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music.  Note the Hello Kitty necklace proudly displayed.  This girl is just too cute.

Christmas 2013

Henry was smiling on the inside.

A late Thanksgiving holiday made for an unusually busy Christmas season.  We kicked things off with the St. Mary’s Christmas Bazaar, where the kids decorated gingerbread men and designed homemade ornaments.  Then it was time to decorate our tree (purchased from the St. Mary’s tree lot—somehow Bryant escaped working at the lot this year, but his time is coming).  We’re starting to amass a nice little collection of Disney ornaments.  We purchase a few each time we visit Orlando.  The only trick is convincing the kids not to play with them.

Both Vivian and Henry had separate Christmas concerts this year.  Vivian and the rest of 4A performed for their parents at the St. Anthony’s Christmas Party.  Henry’s class and the other Kindergarten and 1st grade classes at St. Mary’s performed a Christmas concert in the school gym.  It was quite a scene: there were some 200 students on the stage and a standing room only crowd of parents and grandparents, all vying to snap a picture or shoot video of their child(ren) performing.  Fortunately, we arrived early and got seats upfront.  As you can see (below), Henry looked quite dashing in his blue blazer and festive red tie.  The kids weren’t the only ones celebrating.  Elise and Bryant also attended some grown-up holiday parties, including open houses at the Powells and DeLormes.

Before we knew it, Christmas was here.  Mimi Pauline flew down from Michigan to spend the holiday with us.  As has been our tradition for the last several years, we went to the children’s mass at St. Mary’s on Christmas Eve and had dinner at Clyde’s afterward.  With Mimi Pauline’s help, we managed to snap a few family photos (see below).  On Christmas morning, the kids found much to make them happy: Vivian received Anna and Elsa dolls (from her new favorite movie Frozen) while Henry received a rainbow loom (the latest craze among the grade school set).  While the kids played, Bryant got started on Christmas dinner: Beef Wellington, mashed potatoes and strawberry tiramisu (see Christmas 2014: Beef Wellington).  As a final treat, with Mimi Pauline in town to babysit, Bryant and Elise slipped away for dinner and a show in downtown Washington.  We enjoyed margaritas and modern Mexican cuisine at Rosa Mexicano and then caught the evening performance of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by the Shakespeare Theater Company.  Overall, a good—if hectic—holiday season.

 

 

Henry's Kindergarten Christmas Concert

  

 

  

  

Vivian's 4th Birthday

We held Vivian's fourth birthday party after the Thanksgiving holiday at JW Tumbles, an indoor play gym.  This turned out to be a good choice because the weather was nasty that day (freezing rain and wet snow).  Despite the mess outside, the kids had a blast climbing, jumping and running in circles.  In between free play, the instructors kept things interesting with freeze dancing, an obstacle course (check out the video below), and a zip line. Afterward, we all wished Vivian happy birthday with cake and treats.  We were relieved when Vivi requested an Alice in Wonderland party—it was nice to take a break (if only temporary) from princesses.  However, organizing Alice-themed decorations and refreshments took some effort.  We ordered playing card plates and napkins for the table.  For the cake, we re-purposed a princess sheet cake from Giant with Alice figurines from the Disney Store.  We also served edible tea cups (from an idea we found online), white cheddar bunny crackers and grapes on flamingo toothpicks.  We're not sure folks got all the references, but the kids enjoyed the food.  Bryant also made Vivian a special Cheshire Cat cake to enjoy at home.  It turned out surprisingly well and, most importantly, Vivian loved eating it!  Below are pictures from the party.  As you can see, Vivi was proudly sporting her new Alice in Wonderland dress for the occasion. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving 2013

We finally bit the bullet and attempted a family road trip to Michigan this Thanksgiving.  We had contemplated driving before but weren’t sure how the kids would handle the 12+ hour trip.  Faced with steep airfares and limited time off, we decided to give it a try.  Our original plan was to depart Tuesday evening and drive to Pittsburgh, and thus break up the trip.  However, an early winter storm delayed our departure until Wednesday, and we drove the entire 555 miles in one day!  Overall, the kids did fantastic.  We rigged up a portable DVD player for the back seat and bought some lap desks for coloring.  Despite everyone being in the car all day, there was remarkably little whining or squabbling.  The last hour proved to be the most challenging, but the “Guess What Animal I’m Thinking Of” game saved the day.  Once in Michigan, the kids had fun playing in the snow and checking out the Labrador puppies.  On Thanksgiving Day, Mimi Pauline made a delicious roast turkey with all the fixings.  The next day we picked out Mimi’s Christmas tree and stopped in downtown Howell for hot chocolate (see photo below).  Later that night, we all went to see Frozen at the movie theater.  This quickly became Vivian’s new favorite movie, and she has been singing the Elsa song (“Let It Go”) ever since!  Before heading back on Saturday, we let the kids burn off some energy at the nearby Castaway Play Cafe. As we sat in the leather recliners watching the kids climb, slide and moon bounce, we couldn’t help wondering why there wasn’t a place like this in Alexandria!  After dinner, we packed up the car and headed home.  We made it as far as Akron, Ohio and then completed the return trip on Sunday.  We managed to just avoid the worst of the post-holiday traffic but still felt plenty tired by the time we arrived home.  Overall, our first long haul drive was an unqualified success, and of course, it was great to spend the holiday with Mimi Pauline and the puppies!   

 

 

 

November Happenings

Mimi Joanne visited in early November to attend “Special Persons” (a.k.a. Grandparents) Day at Vivi’s school.  Mimi got to see some of Vivi’s artwork and also heard a special concert performed by the 4A class.  While she was in town, Mimi also took Vivian to the American Girl store in Tyson’s Corner to select an early birthday present.  Having studied the AG catalogue at home, Vivian had no trouble picking out the red party dress she wanted for herself and her doll.  Mimi’s visit also coincided with Bryant’s 42nd birthday, which we celebrated with a family dinner at Clyde’s.  Also in November, we finally got around to ordering Henry a twin bed.  It was long overdue; for months he has been hanging off the side of his toddler bed.  No sooner had we set up Henry’s new bedroom furniture than Vivian started asking for a “big girl” bed.   Before the weather got too cold, we also managed to squeeze in some outdoor ice skating at Pentagon Row.  Henry was able to skate on his own, and Vivian did pretty well with the help of some special double blade “training” skates (see below).  Finally, at the end of the month, we celebrated Vivi’s fourth birthday.  We decided to hold her party after the Thanksgiving break (more about that to follow), but marked the special day with breakfast at Krispy Kreme.  

  

  

 

Things We Like: Silver Diner

Although Henry and Vivian do relatively well in restaurants, we don’t dine out that often.  For special occasions (Christmas Eve, Mother’s Day) we usually head to Clyde’s.  In the summer, before it gets too hot, we sometimes eat on the terrace at Chadwick’s, near the waterfront in Old Town.  But our go-to place for an easy weekend meal is Silver Diner.  Although styled like a classic 50s diner, the menu is actually a touch more upscale, with lots of locally sourced ingredients and interesting twists on traditional fare, such as bison sliders or challah french toast.  They have a great children’s menu and are one of the few places where you can order a bowl of strawberries (not just mixed fruit) for the kids.  They also hand out coloring books and origami cars.  Each booth comes equipped with a faux jukebox player with classic tunes like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” or the Scooby-Doo theme song.  Best of all, because the place is always bustling, we never worry about the kids disturbing other patrons.  More often than not, we end up here after Saturday evening mass.  Here we are (below) enjoying some old fashioned milkshakes for dessert.

 

Halloween/All Saints Day 2013

Halloween got off to a shaky start when Bryant got stuck in heavy traffic and was late picking up the kids (next year we’ll take the afternoon off and avoid the holiday rush).  After dashing home and scarfing down dinner, we hit the neighborhood to make up for some lost trick-or-treating ground.  Henry went as a dragon/dinosaur (his interpretation of his costume varied from moment to moment) and Vivian went as Ariel (from The Little Mermaid).  It didn’t take long before both kids had collected more candy than they needed (we always end up throwing out much of it after one too many sugar highs).  Above are the kids dressed and ready to collect their loot.

The next day, the children at St. Mary’s participated in the school’s annual All Saints Day parade through Old Town.  This required us to select and design a saint costume for Henry.  He went as St. Columba of Scotland, the origin of his middle name Callum (see The Origin of “Callum”).  Unlike your run of the mill Halloween getup, designing a saint’s costume requires some work and planning.  We ordered a white nativity gown from Amazon as the base and then bought green fabric for the vestment.  We used iron-on appliques—a Celtic cross and two doves (Columba means “dove of the church”)—to decorate the front.  And since St. Columba is not well known in these parts, we stenciled his name on the back.  As a final touch, we added some wooden rosary beads that Elise found at the local costume store.  Overall, the end result wasn’t half bad.  Several folks commented that Henry looked like a “natural” as a man of the cloth.  Above is a picture of our little saint and below is a video of his class’s procession through Old Town.

Trophies and Tutus

Vivi followed in her brother’s footsteps and participated in an afterschool soccer program this fall.  Despite the constant tormenting, she truly idolizes her big brother and wants to do whatever he is doing.  Sometimes this leads to disappointment, like when she tries to join Henry and the other boys on the playground and they tease her.  Elise keeps telling her that it will be different one day—then they’ll be begging her to show them some attention. 

Vivi was amazingly focused on the soccer field—she listened attentively to the coach, followed instructions and never got distracted, pretty much the exact opposite of Henry and his friends during practice.  We’re never sure whether to attribute this difference to having an older sibling or just being a girl.  She was so proud when she received her trophy on the last day of soccer (see photo below).  It is now displayed on her bookcase, next to the tutus and tiaras.  Vivi also is continuing with ballet lessons, although this year she was old enough to participate without mommy or daddy.  She comes home every Monday night, enthusiastically jeté-ing through the house.  Below is a picture of Vivi and her friends from school as they prepare for ballet class. 

 

Pumpkin Picking 2013

Below are pictures from our annual fall excursion to Butler’s Orchard, near Germantown, MD.  As always, the kids had a great time picking pumpkins, playing in the hayloft and riding the sack slides.  In the evening we decorated our pumpkins (Frankenstein for Henry and a princess for Vivian) and carved a jack-o-lantern for the first time this year, at Henry’s insistence.  A great day out and a fun night around the kitchen table for all of us. 

 

 

 

 

Philadelphia

Columbus Day weekend provided a quick family getaway to Philadelphia, PA.  We considered visiting New York but decided that the Big Apple deserved more than a few days.  By comparison, Philadelphia was closer and a little more manageable.  We departed Friday night in a torrential rainstorm and didn’t arrive until close to midnight.  Fortunately, the kids are good car sleepers.  The next day we hit the Please Touch Museum.  We had heard good things about this children’s museum, and it did not disappoint.  Located in the spectacular Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park (site of the 1876 Centennial Exposition), the museum is HUGE.  We started downstairs at the Alice in Wonderland exhibit and then made our way through the construction zone, shoe store, supermarket and, in a strange bit of foreshadowing, children’s hospital.  After lunch, we rode the antique carousel and sampled the waterworks and space exhibits.  After a full day of exploring, we were preparing to head home when Henry’s eye suddenly collided with his sister’s hand.  After much drama, we decided to visit the emergency room, just to be safe.  Fortunately, the real CHOP was nearby.  It turns out Henry had scratched his cornea.  He was fine but in considerable discomfort.  It didn’t help that we had to wait several hours before being seen.  After an extended odyssey to find an after hours pharmacy and secure some dinner, we finally arrived back at the hotel, exhausted from our evening detour.  With the help of some children’s Motrin, Henry was back on his feet and ready to visit the Philadelphia Zoo the next day.  We have a nice (free) zoo in Washington, DC, but we all agreed that the Philly zoo was far superior.  Not only were the exhibits nicer (we actually managed to see some animals), but there were lots of other activities along the way, like paddle boats, camel rides, and several playgrounds.  Henry had a particularly memorable encounter with a king cobra in the reptile house—the snake slithered over and arched its back right in front of Henry.  For her part, Vivian was content with a pony ride.  After another full day, we headed back to the hotel thoroughly satisfied with our back-to-back adventures in Philadelphia—so much so that we could almost overlook (if not forget) the minor unpleasantness in between.  Below are pictures from the weekend.