Kindergarten "Graduation"

Henry's first year at St. Mary's ended with a concert and reception.  Henry and his classmates sang some special songs for their parents, including "Let's Go Fly a Kite," from Mary Poppins, "Do Re Mi" from Sound of Music, and for their grand finale, "In Summer" from Frozen. Afterwards, the children received their Kindergarten "diplomas" and enjoyed some playtime together before being dismissed for the summer.  We were really pleased with how the year went for Henry.  Despite some occasional hiccups (we learned to assess our days in colors--red, yellow and green...and every now and then, blue!), Henry seemed to adjust well to his new environment and made many friends.  With Kindergarten behind us, it's on to first grade and the start of homework.  First, however, Henry has a well deserved summer of fun lined up with camp at Burgundy Farm and an August vacation in Canada (more about those later).  Well done, Henry!  You make us so proud.

 

 

  

Vivian's Dance Recital

Our little ballerina participated in her second dance recital this spring.  Since last year was a daddy-and-daughter dance (see Vivian's Dance Recital), this was Vivian's first time performing solo, and she danced beautifully, of course.  This year's theme was Peter Pan, with Vivian's class dancing as pirates.  As you can see from the photos below, she has really good form for a four-year-old.  Vivi was especially excited that Mimi Joanne was able to join us for the recital.  Afterwards, we presented Vivian with a bouquet of flowers and treated her to lunch (along with several of her classmates) at the Silver Diner.  Now that she has a year of ballet behind her, Vivian has been asking to take tap lessons.  Mommy and daddy may have to say yes, if only to keep their daughter from tap dancing all over the house.  Well done, Vivi, we're all so proud of you!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memorial Day 2014

Elise and the kids traveled to Howell, Michigan to spend Memorial Day weekend with Mimi Pauline (Bryant stayed behind to catch up on some house projects).  Just before departing, we learned that Henry had been selected as the "superstar of the week" at school, which meant he got to keep the class mascot—Mr. Wise the Owl—for the long weekend.  Fortunately, Mr. Wise did not require an extra seat on the plane.  Once in Howell, Henry, Vivian and Mr. Wise enjoyed a weekend full of activities, including a trip to the Howell Nature Center (where they got to see a real life snowy owl) and a visit to the Detroit Zoo.  The water play area at the Howell Nature Center was an especially big hit (see the photos below).  Back at Mimi Pauline's house, the kids enjoyed riding around in Mimi's green gator, petting the neighbors' horses and catching up with the resident Labradors.  Below are some photos from the long weekend—be sure to keep an eye out for Mr. Wise!

 

  

  

 

  

Signs of Spring

 

 

After one of the longest, coldest winters in recent memory, spring finally sprung in May.  We knew summer was just around the corner when the irises in the front yard burst into color (see above).  We opened the windows and enjoyed the humidity-free weather before the full force of DC summer descended upon us.  Below are some photos of the kids enjoying another rite of spring: the annual Spring Fling at St. Mary's school in Old Town Alexandria. 

 

 

Spring Soccer

Henry started rec league soccer this year.  The season got off to a rocky start with the first week of practice cancelled due to poor weather and the first game held in a steady rain.  Needless to say, Henry was less than excited to continue playing, but after a few more practices and games, he warmed up to soccer and eventually scored a few goals later in the season.  This was our first experience with the Alexandria Soccer Association, and overall we were impressed by the program.  The children in Henry's age bracket play four-a-side scrimmages of 10 minutes each and there is no keeping score (and few rules).  The emphasis is on participation and building fundamental skills rather than strategy.  Despite his occasional reluctance to mix it up on the field, Henry did really well.  We're hoping we can convince him to try soccer again next spring...and hopefully this time we'll have better luck with the weather.  Below are some pictures of Henry in action on the pitch.

 

 

 

Henry's first goal!

Easter 2014

We spent Easter with Mimi and Paw Paw in Alabama.  It was our first time back in Mobile since our ill-fated beach trip of 2012 (see Labor Day 2012).  This time the weather was perfect, and we took advantage of the spring sunshine with lots of outdoor activities.  On Easter morning, Henry and Vivian awoke to discover that the Easter Bunny had brought them roller skates!  After a few turns around the neighborhood, we went to church with Mimi and Paw Paw and spent the rest of the day playing with Bryant's childhood toys (check out the vintage sit-n-spin below).  The next day we headed to Dauphin Island for a day at the beach.  We planned to stay only a few hours but ended up spending most of the afternoon playing in the sand.  On the way home, we stopped at The Mariner restaurant and picked up some fried Gulf seafood for dinner.  The beach was hard to top, but we came close with a visit to Alligator Alley in Baldwin County the next day.  We were expecting a tourist trap, but this place was beautifully maintained and very informative--well worth the hour drive across the bay to get there.  We just missed the 1:00pm feeding but were still able to see some massive gators.  On the way over, we stopped at the "world famous" Dew Drop Inn for chili dogs and fried onion rings.  The only thing we needed to complete our Mobile visit was some of Mimi's sausage balls--and we had those on our last day (see Things We Like: Sausage Balls).  By the time we got back to Washington, the kids were already asking when we could visit again.

Planting jelly beans to grow into lollypops (see below).



  

 

 

 

  

Hanging out at Mimi and Paw Paw's house.

 

 

 

Fun in the sun at Dauphin Island.

 

"Captain Crunch"—the biggest gator at the farm.