Vivian's Dance Recital

Vivian had her first dance recital on June 2nd.  Bryant was surprised to learn that Vivian’s inaugural performance would be a “daddy and daughter” dance.  Along with the other girls from ballet class and their dads, Vivian and Bryant practiced after school for four weeks to get ready for the big day.  The instructors chose Rascal Flatts’s “Wish” for the Wiggletoes routine.  After some (very simple) choreographed steps, each pair got to perform a solo move.  Bryant and Vivian chose to soar like an airplane.  Below are two rough videos of our performance.  Elise had a little trouble holding the camera still because she was tearing up.  Despite some pre-show jitters, Bryant managed to more or less remember his moves.  Vivian was a natural and even gave out a little squeal of delight when the audience applauded at the end.  And of course, she loved wearing her frilly dance costume.  Well done, Vivi.  We’re proud of our little girl!

 

 

New Kitchen Appliances

Our oven has been on the fritz for some time.  It frequently would fail to ignite (or fail to re-ignite while cooking) and had to be set about 40 degrees higher to reach the correct internal temperature.  When the April tax refund came in, we decided to spend it on some new kitchen appliances…and what a difference they have made!  We purchased everything from Lowes because they had a decent selection and competitive prices and were located nearby (we don’t have a lot of extra time to devote to comparison shopping).  We decided on Samsung appliances: we purchased a Samsung washer and dryer when we moved into the new house, and those have worked well for us.  Our only hesitation was whether everything would fit through the narrow passageways of our 1950s era kitchen space.  In the end, they had to remove the door handles from the fridge but otherwise managed to get everything into place.  Everything, that is, except the dishwasher.  Our first shipment arrived damaged and had to re-ordered.  When they came to install the second shipment, we realized it would not fit under the countertop.  Apparently the prior owners had installed new flooring and effectively narrowed the space by half an inch.  So, it was back to Lowes to special order an ADA-compliant dishwasher with adjustable feet.  Several weeks later, over Memorial Day weekend, we finally got our new dishwasher installed (they had to cut out the old unit with a hacksaw).  Although a little more complicated than we anticipated, the new appliances look great and, more importantly, work perfectly.  And for the first time in our married lives, we have a built-in water/ice dispenser.  We’ve come a long way!

Memorial Day in Michigan

Elise, Henry and Vivian traveled to Michigan over Memorial Day weekend to visit Mimi Pauline.  This was the first time that one of us has attempted to travel alone with both kids, and Elise reports that it was challenging but not altogether unmanageable, especially with a portable DVD player for the plane. Having been sorely disappointed when their last promised trip to Michigan ended in Disney World (watch the infamous video here), the kids were psyched to be visiting Mimi Pauline “for real” this time.  Even before they left, Henry and Vivian were looking forward to a ride on the “Green Gator,” and, sure enough, Mimi Pauline busted out the tractor upon arrival.  When they weren’t taking rides on the Gator, the kids hunted for frogs at the pond (they found a blue racer snake instead) and watched the horses at the nearby stables.  An excellent playground in nearby Brighton also provided some easy entertainment.  On Sunday, Elise, Pauline and the kids visited the Brown-Bakers in Harper Woods.  While Henry dug for worms in the backyard with Alexander, Emily and Vivian opted for the more civilized activity of coloring.  In the evening, everyone enjoyed some delicious Lebanese takeout.  As if all that wasn’t exciting enough, Henry and Vivian also got to watch Hotel Transylvania, in 3D, on Mimi Pauline’s fancy new television (check out the photo below of the kids with their 3D glasses).  All in all, a pretty eventful holiday weekend for the Morris children.

Back in Alexandria, Bryant had four days on his own to complete some long overdue home improvement projects (including building an enclosure for the garden), shopping for a new suit and baking a three-layer chocolate-raspberry mousse birthday cake for Elise.  You can read about the “Labor of Love” cake here.  Happy Birthday, Elise!  

 

 

Historic Half

We made a family trip to Fredericksburg, Virginia in May to watch Elise run the Marine Corps “Historic Half” half marathon.  Believe it or not, this is the first time we’ve all gone, as a family, to watch Elise run a race—something that was long overdue.  We drove down on Saturday afternoon to pick up Elise’s race materials and explore Fredericksburg (childhood home of George Washington).  For Bryant and Elise, it was a bit nostalgic to revisit the town where they got engaged some eight years ago: it was at the Kenmore Inn on Princess Anne Street that Bryant popped the fateful question…after first setting off the hotel smoke alarm when he tried to light the bedroom fireplace.  Apparently you’re supposed to open the damper first.

At race headquarters, Henry and Vivian made posters to cheer on their mommy (see photos below) and sampled the energy drinks.   On race day, Bryant and the kids arrived early to find a prime viewing spot near the finish line.  Although it was a little rainy, the kids showed extraordinary patience as they waited for Elise.  Henry was quite keen to have his poster ready for her when she came by; for her part, Vivian was content to sit and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the iphone.  Elise crossed the finish line in just under two hours, running at a pace of about 9 minutes/mile.  Afterward, we all walked with mommy to collect her race medal (Elise is beginning to amass quite a collection) and help her eat the free post-race snacks.  Well done, mommy!  We’re all proud of you.

 

 

Hail the Mighty Anglers!

Alexander was determined to take Henry fishing while he and Emily were in town (see Spring Break Visitors).  On the last day of their visit, we squeezed in an afternoon trip to Cook Lake in Cameron Regional Park, just around the corner from us.  The lake is part of Virginia’s Urban Fishing Program and has a small pier where you can fish for trout and catfish (stocked in the winter and summer, respectively).  The Brown-Bakers had already given Henry a Spider-Man fishing pole and tackle box at Christmas.  A quick trip to Walmart secured some live bait and hooks.  Then it was off to catch some fish.  The boys didn’t come home with any trout, but Henry did manage (with Alexander’s help) to catch several small bluegills.  It’s hard to say what Henry enjoyed more: catching the fish, or watching Alexander gut them.  Henry had a great time and, as you can see from the video below, seemed pleased with his new found angling skills.  Thanks to Alexander for pushing us to make this happen.  It was a great discovery—so easy, even Bryant could (probably) do it.

 

Spring Break Visitors

Back-to-back visitors at the end of March/early April provided a nice break from the routine, even if we weren’t traveling anywhere.  First up was a visit from Eric and Melora Shelton and their daughter Margaret, who were visiting from Seattle.  (Melora and Elise attended college together at Albion).  Margaret is the same age as Henry, and she was a big hit with the kids.  Vivi especially enjoyed having another girl around to dress up, play dolls and generally do “girl stuff” (as Henry calls it).  Margaret also was happy to dig for worms in the backyard, which impressed Henry greatly.  Having three young children in the house certainly made for some exciting dinner/bath times (yep, all three squeezed into the tub together).  Fortunately, we had two extra sets of hands to help out.  In fact, Eric and Melora were kind enough to make dinner (penne al vodka) for us one night, which was a real treat.  Melora also introduced us to some fine Washington State wines.  We lost track of how many bottles we consumed during the week, but it was a lot!  We’re also grateful to Melora and Eric for giving us an excuse to hire a babysitter and go to dinner at one of our old haunts: Bistro du Coin.  We used to frequent this spot once or twice a month when we lived in Dupont Circle, before we had kids—indeed, even before we were married.

Below are some pictures of Margaret, Henry and Vivian decorating Easter eggs in the basement.  As you can see, they are quite the creative little munchkins:

 

 

A few days after the Sheltons returned home, Elise’s cousins Emily and Alexander visited from Michigan.  Elise took some time off from work and planned a fun-filled week of activities.  First up was a whirlwind tour of Washington museums, including the National Archives, the Native American History Museum and the National Air and Space Museum.  Next was a tour of Georgetown University followed by lunch at The Tombs and (for Alexander) a quick jog up and down the Exorcist Steps.  On Thursday, it was down to Kings Dominion (outside of Richmond) for a day of roller coasters and thrill rides.  Around noon, Elise called Bryant to say that she was feeling green.  For their last day, all three got a personal tour of the Pentagon courtesy of our neighbor Paul Prevost, who works for the DoD.

When they weren’t exploring Washington (or enabling their aunt’s motion sickness), Emily and Alexander provided great entertainment for Henry and Vivian.  They brought a Thomas the Train set for Henry and a princess dress-up game for Vivi, and both proved hugely popular.  Alexander also scored big points by taking Henry on his first fishing expedition (see Hail the Mighty Anglers!).  While the boys were fishing, Vivian had a ball playing princess with Emily. 

 

 

After two weeks of visitors, the house seemed a little quiet with just the four of us.  No sooner had our guests departed as Henry and Vivian were already asking if they could come back. Hopefully Eric, Melora, Margaret, Emily and Alexander will visit again soon for more backyard-playing, roller coaster-riding, museum-hopping good times!

Easter 2013

As is our tradition, we spent Easter Sunday with the Powell family.  After morning mass, we all went to brunch at Clyde’s in Tyson’s Corner and then back to the Powell house for coffee and dessert.  Rain kept us from hunting for eggs in the backyard.  Instead, Brad and Tonia improvised and hid eggs in the basement.  The kids didn’t seem to mind—candy is candy, no matter where you find it.  Getting a picture of the kids in their Sunday finest is usually one of the more excruciating parts of Easter morning; however, this year Henry and Vivian were amazingly cooperative.  As you can see, we got some nice shots.

We asked the Easter Bunny to bring us fewer sugary treats this year, but somehow he didn’t get the message.  The baskets were overflowing on Easter morning.  The night before, Henry was quite nervous that the Easter Bunny might skip our house.  He asked to go to bed early (unheard of) and expressed alarm that mommy and daddy were staying up to watch TV.  We assured him that the Easter bunny would not be frightened off by our choice of movie (Lincoln).  And indeed, he was not.