Come on feet don't fail me now! We've got 214 steps to go...

Yesterday and today we took some road trips up and down the Coast to get the lay of the land.  We were able to see some professional sandcastle builders in Kitty Hawk (the kids were sleeping in the car and unfortunately missed it, but we got some great ideas for when they get older).  

And today we headed up to Corolla to see the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.  Mommy and Ellie stayed on the ground and admired the view from the bottom up... 

...while Daddy and Evie climbed up 214 steps to the very top, and Evie didn't even need a break. 

Whee!  There was a nice breeze at the top, along with a great view of the Atlantic. 

And then the two walked all the way down the spiral staircase. Evie made it to the last 20 steps and asked Daddy to carry her the rest of the way. Wow, what a trooper! 

We stopped by the Wildlife Center nearby where Evie and Ellie enjoyed gazing into the aquarium at the fishes. 

Ellie considers climbing into the fisherman's boat, but luckily gets distracted.  

After a lunch of ice cream (the girls) and steamed spiced shrimp and snow crab legs (mom and dad), it was back to the beach for our little girls!   Tomorrow we head home to the heat wave in Alexandria, alas.  But what a fantastic vacation for everyone!

Carolina Girls

It was another beautiful day at the beach.  We have fallen into a lazy routine of waking up, eating breakfast, and then spending the rest of the morning in the sand and surf.  This is the life!  Ellie is getting more used to the ocean and loves splashing in the waves. 

She gets a kick out of stealing Mom's sunglasses - nothing is funnier! 

What's that saying about someone's head in the sand?  Ellie prefers her head in a bucket, thank you! 

Evie is also not shy about jumping in the waves. She and Daddy made up a game "Walk, walk, run jump!" which you can probably figure out how it works.  

Mom pretends she is a crab and chases Evie through the water.  

Speaking of crabs, we met a very nice one a couple of feet away that was doing some DIY work on his sand hole.  It was fun to watch him scurry about.  

After a spaghetti dinner, we then took a walk on the beach in the beautiful sunset.  

Evie was being a good big sister and held Ellie's hand as we walked along to make sure she didn't make a dash for the ocean. Ellie must have found this very amusing. 

Evie takes a walk underneath the pier, looking for some decent shells.  

Pool, Putting, and Pirates, oh my!

We had a lovely day on the beach on Monday, where Evie practiced her lifeguarding skills and created a giant "bath" with Daddy.  That night, a big storm blew in and Tuesday ended up being a little windy for the beach, but we probably needed a break anyway. So we headed to the pool for a little bit to take  quick dip.  Ellie seems to have enjoyed it the most, whereas it was a little windy for Evie. Ellie looks like a kid in this picture.  Our little baby is growing up!  

Daddy took Ellie for a dip in the pool. She loved kicking her legs in the water. 

Ellie likes peeking through the third floor banister. Thankfully her head would not fit through the bars.  The third floor was an excellent stage for our giant's home when we played "Jack the Beanstalk".  Everyone got a chance to play the giant yelling "Fee fi fo fum!" and then falling down the beanstalk.  Evie was putting her drama skills in full effect! 

While Evie was napping, Ellie got a story time hour with Daddy.  Her favorite, of course, was the pop-up book "Wheels on the Bus," which she insists upon reading at least 3 times in a row. Look at that smile! 

She also likes clapping her hands and drumming on the "Hands, Hands, Fingers, Thumb" book.  She must like all the monkeys with their drums.  

Next we traveled down to mile marker 16 to Mutiny Bay, a famous cove for pirate mini golf!  Ellie loved grabbing all our golf balls so we had an additional incentive to get them quickly into the hole.  

Evie practices on the putting green... practices yelling "Hole in One!" that is!  She did an excellent job of putting on every hole.  

We tried giving Ellie a quick lesson, but she wasn't as interested. 

Arg, mateys!  Here we are about to board the pirate ship!  See ya later, landlubbers! 

Watch out for the canon blasts, mateys! The Sea Wolf is about to set sail!  

I went to the Outer Banks, and all I got was this lousy pirate's hat (just kidding, Mom and Dad were too cheap to buy the actual hat).  

OBX = 2MUCHFUN!

The family headed down to the Outer Banks on Sunday for our family vacation.  We had a lovely stop in Yorktown and had lunch with Ariane, Pete, and Aunty Karin, before hitting the road again.  After getting settled, we headed out to the beach.  Evie was happy to wear one of her new bikinis - in her words: "I like to wear a bikini so the waves can tickle my belly button."

Ellie was a little intimidated by the sand at first, but then she grabbed some in her hands and held them up proudly!  

Now I'm coming to get you all sandy, Mom! 

She also dipped a toe in the ocean, loving the waves.  

Everyone was happy enjoying the sunset on our first night.  

Mommy and Ellie smile for Daddy before we head inside before the sun goes down.  

Belated Father's Day with Opa

Last Tuesday we celebrated Father's Day with Opa.  The girls look like they have some mischievous thoughts in this picture!

Dash for Dad on Father's Day

We had a lovely weekend with Popi and Bebe and ended it with our traditional Dash for Dad race/walk.  During the day on Saturday, we enjoyed a beautiful day at Nationals Park where, although we did not last 14 innings to see the whole game, Daddy's beloved Yankees came out with another win.  Evie enjoyed the peanuts and ice cream, and Ellie enjoyed giving mommy a work-out by running anywhere.  The next day, we were off to Pentagon Row for our annual Dash for Dad race.  Popi, Opa, Evie and Mommy proudly display their numbers (although Evie is trying to see if she can get netflix on Daddy's phone).  

The three girls are ready to cheer on Daddy and do our mile walk. 

Before Daddy lined up, he posed for a picture with his two girls. "Dash for Daddy, Dash for Daddy!" Evie cried out in excitement!  Daddy ended up coming in sixth place this year, congratulations!  This is despite having a sprained ankle earlier in the week. 

After the race, the family pauses for a picture. This was Evie's fifth Dash for Dad and Ellie's second!  Next time Evie wants to run the miler (maybe).

After breakfast, we all smile for the camera. What a great day!

Our bike ride across the Potomac

 

The family was very excited about trying out our new bike trailer this weekend. We had a lovely day on Saturday to give it a whirl, so we buckled up Evie and Ellie in their helmets and set our site for National Harbor, across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. Ellie was lulled to sleep by Daddy's smooth riding abilities. After making it across the bridge, Mommy felt like she needed to pass out too. 

Evie gives a high five to the big hand coming out of the sand. 

 

It's part of the statue "The Awakening."  Poor guy. He must have tons of people try to pick his nose.  

 

 

When Ellie awoke, we stopped by the Children's Museum launch zone, where they were appropriately celebrating Cycle Day.  Ellie is modeling her helmet head hair.  

 

Evie proudly displays her bike plate she designed. 

How could we resist Ben & Jerry's?  Ellie digs into some chocolate ice cream with the help of dad. Thank goodness we brought a lot of wipes! 

Evie makes friends with a cow who is eying her ice cream cone with envy.

 

Both of the girls, sated by their ice cream, fell asleep on the way home.  What a fun trip!  We'll have to make it a weekly activity! 

Say Cheese!

 

We had a great time at Valerie and Sean's wedding in the photo booth.  Evie could not get enough of it. Here, the family hams it up for the camera in our flower leis.  

 

Daddy and Evie are not afraid to unleash their wild sides for this string of photos. 

 

In addition to the moves like Jagger, Evie has the lips like Jagger.

 

I guess Daddy is doing his Jagger impersonation too, maybe?!?  

Oh, what a feeling!  When you're dancing on the ceiling!

Even Ellie and Ba get in the action.