Sculpture Garden - Fountain Picnic

After the museum, we walked to the Sculpture Garden. And then it was time for another food break. We had packed a picnic lunch so we ate by the fountain, which was really refreshing.


... But the girls were too distracted by all the ducks and little birds, so they ended up feeding a lot of their baguette to the ducks instead of eating them.

This family picture was taken by a nearby "lucky photographer" who apparently doesn't know how to center his subjects! Oh well, we are just happy that the girls are looking at the camera and smiling (sort of).

Silly DC Pics

The Human Body Revisited - Now we're talking!

As luck would have it, right next to the Butterfly exhibit was the Human Skeleton (and other skeleton and bones). Emma took one look at the "Human Body" and was amazed. For those who don't know the story about Emma's fascination with the Human Body, click here to read the history. Needless to say, she loved this part of the museum, but Alexa was bored pretty quickly.

Trips to DC with the kids entail a lot of breaks and a lot of food and snacks:

Feel the Flutter

On Saturday morning, we went to DC to visit the new butterfly exhibit at the Smithsonian. They have an indoor pavilion where you can walk among the butterflies, which are flying all around you. It was pretty neat - you could get up so close to the butterflies -- and as Arturo wore a bright yellow colored shirt, a few even landed on him to check him out. We went, thinking it would be a great way to cap off Emma's week at Chesterbrook -- "The Lifecycle of a Butterfly" but Emma was a bit terrified of the butterflies. Alexa LOVED it. She couldn't get enough of it. Emma kept asking if we could leave :(

The End to a fun weekend

Out of their mouths:

Ever since Earth Day, our children go around the house yelling, "Save the Earth!" For instance, after she uses the bathroom, Alexa yells out "Save the Earth!" right before she turns off the lights. It's really funny to hear.

Conversation overheard at Chesterbrook Academy:

Jacob: Emma, I'm going to ride motorcycles when I'm 16. Are you going to ride motorcycles when you are 16?
Emma: No silly! I'm going to be a mommy when I'm 16!
(Note, when I asked Jacob's mom about this, she corrected me: he has to be 60 to do this, not 16. I would also like Emma to be NOT 16 when she becomes a mom!)

Singin' in the Rain

Our weekend continued... After we got back from Great Falls, the rain started -- a downpour! Emma was just dying to go jump in the puddles, so we let her put on her rainboots and winter coat (it was chilly) and she went out. We thought she would only be out for a few minutes. Instead, she was out for (no joke) almost 1 full hour. In that hour, she got soaking wet, came in and changed into her snow pants on her own, and went back out. I was with her for some of the time -- she jumped as hard as she could in the puddles, swinged on the swings in our backyard, rode her scooter, got out her watering can, and one time, I literally found her lying in a big puddle, as if she was swimming. Alexa, on the other hand, went out for 5 min, got her hand wet, and came back inside. She wanted none of it.

Climb on!

What a whirlwind weekend we had! We started off Saturday morning with hosting our Chinese playgroup. I have found a group of Chinese moms (all of us hoping to expose our kids to more Chinese) in the area and we get together periodically to let our kids play and speak Chinese. It's refreshing and nice to have others to speak Chinese with.

Saturday afternoon, Ms. Lindsay came to babysit and Arturo and I headed off to SportRock where Arturo and I took a course on how to harness, tie a rope and belay. It was SO COOL! We got to climb for about an hour or so, and even though I'm still a little sore in my arms, I would love to do it again.

This morning, we headed out to Great Falls. Alexa was cold, so Arturo let her wear his vest. She looked so cute (and pathetic)! We played Pooh Sticks and the girls also climbed some of the rocks in the area. Emma liked it, but Alexa LOVED it. Both of them refused to let us help them, which was sort of scary and cool at the same time.

Girls Playing

Gotta milk the cow

We went to Frying Pan Park this afternoon, and Emma milked the cow for the 2nd time. She is really into it and jumps right in as soon as they let the kids do it. This is probably the 5th-6th time they have seen the cows being milked (they do a demonstration every single day at 4 pm) but it never ceases to amaze them. Actually, it amazes even me!

(I did feel a little bad for the cow, but Emma got lot of milk out!)

The girls love to pet Jessie and Michael (the horses on the farm). Here is Alexa sharing a quiet moment with Michael:

Alexa gets her first bike!

Alexa got her first bicycle this week. We go on so many rides around the neighborhood now - and with the Kettler trike, she just can't keep up with Emma on her bike, no matter how hard she pedals! So we decided to upgrade her to her first 2-wheeler.

The child is in love. We have already been out biking all Friday afternoon and Saturday morning (and then for another ride with Alison and Trudy!). She was never afraid, and even pushed me away when I tried to help. She insisted on doing it herself.


On a bike ride with Amanda, who lives next door, and is 4.

Riding in the cul de sac at the end of our street