For Daddy's birthday, we celebrate Wiggly style

What better way to celebrate Daddy's birthday than attending the Wiggles Celebration Tour, a reunion with Evie's and Ellie's best friends Anthony, Jeff, Murray and Greg!  Unfortunately Greg had a stomach flu, so only did a couple of songs, but the kids seemed to love it regardless. 

 

Ellie enjoyed sitting in her first theater seat next to Daddy, who has become quite an expert on the Wiggles backstory thanks to wikipedia.  He also likes to sing all the "la la la la la"s like an opera singer. 

 

Mommy and an excited Evie before the show.  By the end, however, she was very tired and laid her head down on her seat. 

We are big fans of Bend it Like Beckham Birthday Parties!

This weekend we got to celebrate two friends' birthdays with awesome soccer parties!  First up was Connor on Saturday.  Ellie got into the game with two hands (and feet!).

Evie's favorite game, Red Light, Green Light! She demonstrates her skill at "purple light" - balancing with one foot on the ball. 

Evie is a warrior on the field - GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! 

Ellie also looks a little intense, watching the action. 

 

The kids, Charlotte, Allie, Evie and Connor listen to the Coach. 

Then next up was Bryn's birthday with Coach John!  We had a great morning at the park.  Here, the girls back up 20 feet, holding hands, before they run to kick the balls into the goal.  Bryn decided she wanted a soccer princess party, hence the tutu and sneaker combos!

   

This picture cracks me up.  It looks like a variation of the Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil monkeys. 

Princesses playing soccer!?!  What an awesome cake!

Opera in the Outfield

 

The family joined the Kallaur family for a little culture on a Saturday night - the WNO's free performance of Don Giovanni at Nationals Park. The first attraction, however, was getting seats on the field and then digging into some stadium food.  Ellie, all dressed up in her Lilly Pulitzer, dug into the French fries, with ketchup! 

Meanwhile, Evie in her pearls and blue tutu and silver shoes, enjoyed some chocolate ice cream...

... and peanuts with Dad! Hmmmm.... 

After a showing of "What's Opera, Doc?", the kids enjoyed some popcorn while the singers came on stage. They were actually quite transfixed... but then it started getting a little scary with the sword fight, so we lasted about 30 minutes.

 

But even on the way out, Ellie had her eyes transfixed on the screen. Maybe she will be an opera buff in the end! 

Birthday Weekend for Mom

 

What a wonderful birthday weekend Mom had! On Friday, we celebrated at Ba and Opa's with lobster rolls and Baskin Robbins, of course.  Evie insisted Mom play Fur Elise so she could practice her ballet moves.  

Auntie Julie came over for cake and she and Mom attempted a duet of "Heart and Soul" - Julie was a lot better than Mom, that was for sure. 

But no one enjoyed the mint ice cream/chocolate cake more than Ellie, who smeared it all over her face.

The next day was Evie's first T-ball session with Coach John.  Here she is concentrating hard on hitting the ball. 

On Sunday, we were off to the National Book Festival down in the city. Evie was super excited to meet her friends from Super Why, like Wonder Red, Alpha Pig (above), and Super Why himself!  Alphabet Power!

She also knew a lot about the Cat in the Hat, having met him last year.  Ellie was a little intimidated by the big hat, we think, and cuddled close to Mommy.

We could not pass up a ride on the carousel, of course. Evie had a blast! 

 

Then, it was off to the Storytelling Tent to hear Hip Hop Harry. Ellie in particular got in the groove and could not hold back from shaking and twirling her hips.

Daddy and Evie enjoy Hip Hop Harry's tune on how to brush your teeth.  Get down, Harry!  

A party fit for a princess!

 

We traveled up to Philly this weekend for a *very* special occasion - Amelia's third birthday party!  The little princess was decked out in her finest pink, tutu included, celebrated by tons of family and friends.  It was a wonderful party - the decorations and food were fit for a queen!  

Smith's Playground is great!  Evie enjoyed climbing and running around - she was a hard girl to keep track of!  

Ellie loved it too - here she is on the merry-go-round, holding tight as Daddy spun them around! 

Evie demonstrates to Ellie how to climb through the tunnel.  

Ellie was all (blue) smiles as she gave it a try. 

 

Daddy and Evie go down the big slide, which was very slippery! Later, Evie would grab her own potato sack and tackle the slide on her own!

All aboard the train! 

Ellie is not too sure about this ride...

Ellie digs into her first rice krispee treat - a fairy star wand.  She and Evie were big fans of the refreshments.

Auntie Mel and Amelia share a special moment while listening to the music! 

Evie blowing her party horn made Ellie crack up as the wind blew in her face.  The girls had a great time! Happy Birthday, Amelia!  

Summer turns into fall

Our last couple of days before school started for Evie, we had some fun adventures. After meeting her new teachers on Tuesday, Ba, Mommy, and the girls went to a Vietnamese restaurant, where Evie mastered the skill of eating Cheerios with chopsticks. 

 

 

Then it was off to Ba and Opa's for some dress-up for our fairy princesses. 

Who's the cutest fairy princess in the land?!? 

Then Thursday was the first day of school for Evie's third year at Meeting House Cooperative Preschool. She was so excited!  Here's to another great year! 

Our city girls in action

 

Well, it took three months, but we finally made it out to Jazz in the Sculpture Garden on the last program of the summer, a great Latin jazz band from New Orleans. We found a nice shady spot and enjoyed our cheese and lemonade picnic. Evie has quite a piece of cheese on her bread and enjoyed every bite!

Mom and Evie do a little kicking of their legs to the beat. 

 

When Ellie woke up, she was ready to do the mambo with the best of them. 

 

Our two girls, enjoying the sights of the city beyond the gate.  

 

And all smiles as they run back to Mommy and Daddy.  

 

The next morning we braved a couple of sprinkles to check out North Beach on the Chesapeake Bay. The girls enjoyed wading in the water and making their sandcastles, and of course splashing Mom and Dad.  

 

Ah, sand, feels so good between the toes!