It's a Chippette party for Ellie's 5th Birthday!

Everyone got their dance shoes on to get down and groovy for Ellie's 5th birthday, featuring her favorite Chippettes, of course.  Ellie was so lucky to have Amelia and Auntie Melanie come all the way down from Philadelphia, and Bebe and JJ from NJ, to celebrate. 

  

Taja, Evie, Amelia, JJ, and Ellie jamming with their guitars. 

Mommy and Ellie are all smiles!

We hired a hip hop dance instructor to teach the kids some new moves and a dance routine to "Hot & Cold".  The kids seemed to really enjoy it! 

Two sisters having a delightful time and cracking up. 

Look at this sweetheart shaking her groove thing.

Practicing their Katy Perry roars! 

 

Dad made another masterpiece representing the Chippettes in "ChipWrecked". The cake was absolutely delicious, especially the graham cracker "sand".

Ellie makes a wish! 

Nothing like a little green tongue from the cake to illustrate one happy birthday girl!  

Ellie's special day with Mom

To celebrate Ellie's birthday, Mom took the day off from work to have some special one-on-one time with her little angel. After Ellie's preschool graduation, we jumped into the car for surprise stop #1: Jumping Joey's in Arlington, a warehouse filled with bouncy houses. Ellie loved going on the obstacle courses and jumping on giant mushrooms. 

Then, we headed over to Georgetown for tea at Lady Camellia's which was quite the luxurious experience! 

Ellie loved the beautiful settings and felt like a princess! 

She had a delicious macaroons, crossiants, and PBJ and cream cheese finger sandwiches.  We enjoyed every bite! 

Ellie's last weeks at preschool...

Ellie had one last month of adventures at Meeting House preschool. Mom was lucky enough to accompany her class to a field trip at Oxon Hill Farm, where the kids were so well-behaved and real troopers considering there was a lot of drizzle. 

Inside the barn we learned about the new dairy cow that had just arrived from New Jersey. 

Unfortunately it was too new to be able to be milked (another time!), but the kids still could pet her and get up close to watch her eat the hay. 

They also got to feed the chickens as well as retrieve some fresh eggs and then feed the pigs (or maybe they were hogs).  

The next week was Ellie's final art show where we found her beautiful bird and butterfly among all the artwork (not for sale).  Evie had brought her sketchbook to capture anything she saw that inspired her.

The proud artist! 

Ellie and Mary Manning - best friends! 

On the day of her actual birthday, Ellie graduated with a slide send-off!  She seems pretty excited - no more screaming at the mention of kindergarten. 

She met Ms. Elaine at the bottom of the slide and gave her a big hug! 

Ms. Elaine's and Ms. Kathie's class (minus a kid or two) toasting with popsicles and ice cream.  

Then it was off to her favorite garden behind the school for some photo opps with the family! 

Cousin Birthday Celebration!

Wahoo! It was up to New Jersey and the Point Pleasant boardwalk for some birthday fun! Ellie was insistent on riding all the rollercoasters in the park. 

It was onto the crazy bus next!

We had to wait for Uncle Dave to arrive to make sure he could make the dragon spin like crazy! 

Then it was back home for cupcakes - Stan turns 7! 

Ellie turns 5!

and JJ turns 8!  My, how time flies. 

Mother's Day Festivities

Mom had a wonderful week of festivities, including being able to attend Ellie's celebration at her school. After being serenaded (below), we enjoyed some delicious lemonade and cookies before playing a game where moms had to pick out the portraits their children had made of them.  Mom could pick out Ellie's immediately because of the distinctive way she draws noses. 

What a wonderful day! 

On Friday of that week, the girls enjoyed our first trip to the National Cathedral Mart to observe the beautiful blooms, each designed by a different embassy. 

Mom is wearing her precious thumbprint necklaces the girls made for her last Mother's Day! 

We were also so lucky to have Bebe and Popi join us for the day - there are always tons of giggles when they visit.  Daddy had made a delicious brunch for us all to enjoy with some particularly fantastic lemon crepes. 

Meanwhile, Ellie gives some advice on what she would order at her restaurant while Mommy ponders her choices. 

One of the gifts for Bebe was pick-up sticks, a game she remembered from her childhood. 

Evie and Ellie soon mastered the techniques Bebe taught them. 

Two happy mothers with their very lucky daughter, son and grandchildren. 

Three generations! 

  

Then, the family headed over to the Renwick Gallery to see their Wonder exhibit, full of astounding installations and exhibits that transfixed us.  Well worth the 30 minute wait in line! 

What are we doing lying down on the carpet?  

Admiring this amazing art, of course! 

Marc was very proud of his artistic shots. 

 

This amazing exhibit was created from embroidery string. 

And these were towers of index cards that looked like geological wonders! 

Might as well stroll by the White House to wave hello while in the city...