Day at the Museum

With Elise on call for the weekend, Bryant decided to take Henry and Vivian to the Port Discovery children’s museum in Baltimore.  It’s been a while since we visited the museum, which never fails to entertain (and wear out) the kids.  Our visit got off to a rocky start when Henry and Vivian clamored into the museum’s three-story climber and promptly got themselves stuck inside.  Bryant had to scramble up several rope ladders and squeeze through a few narrow openings to first rescue Vivian and then find Henry, who made it to the top on his own but was frightened to discover we weren’t there.  Reunited once more, and with some ground rules about not running off from dad, we set off exploring the Wonders of Water and Adventure Expeditions rooms.  The kids especially enjoyed a temporary exhibit about the Wizard of Oz with its perception bending “tornado house” (as the kids dubbed it).  Afterward, we had lunch at Panera and walked around the Inner Harbor before heading home to meet/hand off to mommy.

 

 

 

Break In

Elise came home from work to discover someone had broken into our home.  The intruders kicked in the basement door and ransacked the master bedroom, but left the rest of the house untouched.  They took mostly jewelry, including several pieces from Elise’s mom, aunt and grandmother.  Needless to say, those items held significant sentimental value for Elise.  We’ve talked about getting an alarm system but never got around to it.  Although the police assured us they would check the local pawnshops, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would likely never see those items again.  The next day, we arranged for an alarm system to be installed.  Lesson learned.

UPDATE: The police called to report that they had recovered some of our stolen property!  They identified Bryant’s class ring from a list provided by a local pawnshop.  The pawnshop also had several items of Elise’s jewelry, including pieces from her family.  We couldn’t believe our good fortune.  We subsequently learned that the detectives have made two arrests in the case.  We’re awaiting further details, but for now, are grateful to have recovered some of the stolen items.

Bike Riding

The kids have been keen on riding their bikes this summer.  Henry is still using training wheels but is a lot more confident and agile than just a few months ago.  Recently, he and some other boys from the neighborhood have taken to playing smash-up derby (bumper bikes) in the cul-de-sac.  Next summer, he should be ready to take off those training wheels and glide.  Vivian inherited a friend’s Barbie bike and immediately wanted to go riding with her brother (for better or worse, she wants to do everything he does).  The bike is pink and sparkly, so naturally Viv loves it.  Below is a video of the kids riding in the parking lot of the nearby George Washington Masonic Memorial.

Weekend at Lake Anna

We were fortunate to be invited by our friends (and former neighbors), the Mates, to their vacation home in Lake Anna, Virginia.  The lake was created when Dominion Power damned the North Anna River to provide a fresh water reservoir for its nearby nuclear power plant.  In recent years, the area has become a popular vacation spot.  Whether or not it has anything to do with the nearby power plant, the water in the lake is always comfortably warm.  Below are photos of the kids swimming in the lake with the Mate children.  As you can see, they had a ball.  Afterward, Henry asked if we could get a lake house.  Maybe someday. 

 

 

Henry's 6th Birthday

With so many folks away in August, we decided to host Henry’s birthday party a few weeks early, in late July.  Having opted for the super easy moon bounce party last year (see Henry’s 5th Birthday), we wanted to do something at the house this time.  We took a chance on the weather and planned a backyard water play party.  We looked into renting an inflatable waterslide, but for the same price, discovered we could buy a slightly smaller version from Amazon.  Between the slide, a few inflatable pools, some water guns and a tub of water balloons, we figured the kids would be sufficiently entertained.  We weren’t wrong.  The boys spent most of the afternoon hurling water balloons at each other while the girls were surprisingly enthusiastic about the slide. 

Consistent with the planned activities, Henry chose a shark theme for his party.  For decorations, we downloaded a “shark sighting” sign from the Internet and posted copies around the backyard.  Bryant also drew some life-sized sharks on the patio with sidewalk chalk.  Henry was keen on having a shark cake—not a sheet cake with sharks on top, mind you, but an actual shark-shaped cake (Bryant made the mistake of showing him some photos from the Internet).  Fortunately, we found instructions online and were able to create a halfway decent version.  We also discovered some nifty ideas for carving a watermelon shark and making shark Jell-O cups (in lieu of ice cream).  You can read more about our party preparations here.

 

 

 

We got lucky with the weather.  It was overcast and not too hot for most of the party.  Right at 5pm, as the party was winding down, an afternoon thunderstorm rolled in, conveniently emptying our backyard of guests.  Henry had fun getting wet with his friends.  With the start of Kindergarten just around the corner, the party doubled as a farewell celebration for the children in 4B.   Between Henry’s classmates, their sibling and parents, and our neighbors, we had quite a crowd (about 30 children in total).  Despite all the work (we were exhausted afterward), it was nice to entertain in our backyard.  Having said that, we’ve already decided that next year will be another “venue party.”

Below are pictures from Henry’s shark-infested celebration:

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

Henry's First Tooth

Henry lost his first tooth in July.  We didn’t even realize his teeth were loose until the dentist showed us the x-ray and predicted his bottom front teeth would fall out in a few weeks (she was right!).  Having been forced to read his sister’s Silverlicious book several times at bedtime, Henry was very familiar with the concept of the tooth fairy.  When he woke up the next morning and found the money under his pillow, he immediately locked it away in his toy pirate chest.  Later on, we discovered that he had written his name (in permanent marker no less) on each dollar bill, just to make sure everyone knew it was his cash!  The second tooth followed a few weeks later, and now Henry is swimming in dough (or so he thinks).  Above is our little man with his first tooth.

Anniversary

We celebrated seven amazing years of marriage on July 8th with dinner at Bistro de l’Herimitage in Occoquan, Virginia.  Tucked away in a sleepy little mill town off I-95, this restaurant was a real find: authentic French cuisine served in an informal setting.  When Bryant first proposed the idea of driving to Occoquan for dinner, Elise was intensely skeptical but became a convert after the first course.  Since it was our anniversary, the restaurant kindly served us an extra dessert, which meant we got to sample not two but three items from the dessert menu: millie-feuille, chocolate mousse and creme brulee.  To avoid traffic, we arrived a little early and had the chance to stroll along the riverfront before dinner.  Occoquan was surprisingly charming, with a number of quaint shops and restaurants in the “Old Town” section.  We both said it would be good to come back with the kids and have ice cream along the river.  Although only 20 minutes from Washington, it felt a lot further away.  This has been a busy summer, and it was nice to escape for a few hours of uninterrupted adult conversation.   Here we are (above), before heading out for our big night on the (small) town.