Evie's Birthday week ends with a splash!

Our little munchkin is seven!  Mommy took off a day to spend with her lovely girls.  We headed over to another great couple of hours at the Watermine where the girls went down numerous water slides, over and over. We all got thoroughly soaked but luckily the sun kept us nice and toasty.  Then, mommy and Evie had a little 1-on-1 time stopping by our favorite haunts in Old Town - froyo and painting pottery - followed by a trip to the chocolatier, before heading home to celebrate with Evie's requested meal - spaghetti and garlic bread, of course! 

Evie (and Ellie) are excited to rip into the gifts after dinner!  Ba and Opa were our honored guests. 

She was thrilled to get this 80's book by Aliki, one of her favorites from Mrs. Bates first grade library. 

The girls proudly display Ba's latest creations - new art to display in their rooms! 

Evie picked out her ice cream cake at Baskin Robbins - amazingly enough, she found one with mint chocolate chip and chocolate ice cream - without any cake! 

The next day we checked out the mini golf course at Upton Hill Regional Park to partake in one of Evie's favorite activities.  Upton has one of the longest putts down a big hill which was a lot of fun!  Ellie was a good sport about sitting out the game with her book - golf is not her game, it would seem. 

Ellie is very comfortable lying down wherever she finds a shady spot. 

It was getting a little steamy, but Evie followed this picture with THREE hole-in-ones! 

Finally, after some ice cream it was off to the spray park to cool down, easy to do despite standing on "Mercury".  I guess you could say Evie's 7th birthday was out of this world! 

Dress for a Mess for Evie's 7th Birthday

Whew!  What a day! The girls were excited to celebrate Evie's 7th birthday with an art-themed bash - and not only art, but MESSY art. Here is the "before" picture of the girls, wait till you see the "after". 

Evie really got into the kitchen helping this year, and one of her masterpieces was a giant rice krispie treat splattered with chocolate to recreate Jackson Pollock's Convergence. It was as delicious as it looked!  In the background you can also see our grape dogs that were supposed to imitate Jeff Koons' balloon dog sculptures.

Mom had a little fun recreating Magritte's "Son of Man" picture. Pretty funny, eh? 

The decorations too were a group effort, with Evie and Ellie drawing some real-size people to greet the guests. 

The funfetti cake incorporated the styles of two of Evie's favorite artists: Pollock and Matisse! 

As all the guests arrived, the kids started on their first project - ice chalk painting!  Ellie literally got into it, and had chalk-covered legs!

Evie, Freya, and Ava sit back and look at the swirl of colors, before shooting vinegar at the chalk and see it "explode" (well, really just foam up and make some beautiful bubbles). 

Next up, egg SPLAT painting!  Unfortunately we had some very "thick-skinned" egg shells that were a little challenging to actually get to break, which was kind of funny.  Typically it took a couple of tries. 

Dylan gets into the action with a big smile as everyone waits their turn.  

The kids slowly inched closer and closer to get the biggest splat from their eggs.  Of course, some of the eggs splattered back which was part of the fun! 

Next up, bubble painting with waterpaints! The girls used straws to make the biggest bubbles they could and then placed a paper over the overflowing bubbles to make prints. 

Looks like Ellie is getting ready to BLOW - purple bubbles that is! 

Rubber band splatter painting can be a blast too!  Depending on how you paint your rubber bands, you can sometimes get more on your face than on your painting!  Ellie prepares herself for the next "splat". 

It was a team effort between Ella and Evie to make their paint-covered marbles roll all over to create a masterpiece! 

After eating some snacks, including painting (and eating) popcorn with edible paint, we gathered around for the cake!  Everyone is all smiles as they're thinking of digging into that work of art and the delicious funfetti cake inside! 

Now that she's turning 7, Evie has learned to take the biggest breath possible in order to blow out all her candles at once.  It's only going to get harder as more candles are added to the cake! 

And for the finale: a giant Jackson Pollock painting!  The kids donned their bathing suits and flung that paint like pros! 

Evie proudly displays her paint-splattered hair - messy hair and body splattered with paint  Mission accomplished!

Ella masters her flinging technique! 

After some fun on the "slip n' slide," the kids pose in front of their group masterpiece.  Happy Birthday, Evie, our little artiste! 

I got that summertime... summertime sadness...

Snapshots from a wonderful summer as we enjoy the last days in August...

The girls and Daddy in 3D glasses watch a 4D movie at the Newseum. 

Evie is working up to be a star swimmer at SwimKids with many graduations under her belt.

Ellie is no slouch in the pool either, as she proudly models her goggles and rings the bell as she graduates. 

Ellie and Daddy at the playground.

Ellie doing a slow dance with Daddy at the Kennedy Center's Vietnamese "Night of the Lotus" event with Ba and Opa .

The girls take a break on an artistic stone bench at the National Gallery after watching the film program "Hilarious Hounds", which the girls loved.

Then it was off through the galleries for a scavenger hunt for man's best friend, portrayed throughout the centuries. 

Our little mermaid with a Ernst sculpture, proudly holding up her "Matisse" sketchbook. 

Our trip with Ava and Dylan to the Watermine park is a lovely summer tradition!  Off to the lazy river! 

Evie learned some great cooking skills at Cupcake Wars Tiny Chef camp this year, as her palette cookies demonstrate! 

August is one long party that begins with...

It's Evie's birthday month! The fun starts up at Bebe and Popi's in New Jersey.  FA morning trip to the beach was a great way to start the day. Evie spent her time playing in the sand and flying her boogie board in the wind while Ellie took a nice long nap.

Next it was time to celebrate Evie's birthday with her cousins (and friendly neighbor) and her favorite homemade dessert -- yellow cake with chocolate frosting. 

Looks like she was able to blow out all the candles in one breath. Maybe her wish will come true!

I think Evie is thinking about her Lego Friends gifts from Bebe and Popi. She's dying to put them together! Thanks Bebe and Popi for a wonderful weekend!