The Third Annual McDonald Easter Egg Hunt

The family was excited to have our first Easter Egg Hunt in our new burrow- we had friends, neighbors, and preschool classmates join us for egg decorating and the big Hunt.  Evie and Ellie started the festivities by making handprint bunnies. Ellie was funny about decorating the eggs - she seemed to enjoy using the spoons to take out the colored water and dump it on the drying eggs.

Earlier that morning, Evie helped Daddy decorate the cupcakes.  We had a delicious spread for our buffet table, with mini ham sliders, snack cups, cream puffs... 

 

... and pastel-colored rice krispie eggs and chocolate-peanut butter bird nests filled with jelly beans.  The girls were hopping all afternoon, as you can imagine!  

 

Ellie on the hunt - we are bundled up because it was 45 degrees (and snow was predicted for the next day!).  Her basket was bigger than her head!

 

 

The girls and friends looking for any last eggs - man, those go quickly! 

 Sam proudly holds up his six eggs - success! 

...while Mom Emily and baby Lara check out the action.  Next year, Lara, you'll be able to participate!

Everyone had a great time - and the girls were great hostesses.  We take a break after clean-up to celebrate.  Unfortunately, Ellie had chocolate all over her dress... and usually her face.  Thankfully, she was ok with the grown-ups wiping down her face occasionally throughout the day.  

 

One big laugh before we all go to bed at 7:00 p.m.! 

And hunting season begins!

It is our favorite time of the year... Easter!  Ellie and Evie got dressed in their Easter finest and headed over to Ba's and Opa's for their first egg hunt of the season.  Ellie is wearing her Kardashian fur coat that Aunty Lillian gave her for Christmas.

 

The twins have their baskets ready and are on the hunt! 

 

Evie attempts to give her sister a hug but Ellie is transfixed by what's in her basket. 

 

Cute smiles with Ba! 

 

By the time we got around to a family pix, the kids' interest is waning in taking pictures, leading to two disgruntled parents. 

Ellie's new thing is going to the freezer and straining to open it so she can get some ice cream.  She's also developed an awesome pouty face when she doesn't get the ice cream that is quite hilarious.

 

Later the kids did some dancing to the Hallmark machine's chicks doing "We got the Cheep", that 80s classic.  

 

One good picture with Ba and Opa?  We'll take it! 

Evie was very involved in an equal distribution of goodies between the two sisters' baskets.  And this is just the beginning of a great season! 

 

A little dancing, a little culture!

 

Saturday morning it was off to London's 2nd birthday party, where both girls got into the action during the music class with their maracas. 

Later Ellie got a little mischievous and was hiding maracas, shoes, scarves... by the end of the party, she was rolling around on the floor, ready for her nap.  That's when you know it's been a good party.

 

 

Evie happily licks her fingers after enjoying her Krispy Kreme from the donut cake. 

Later that night we headed over to the Kennedy Center, which was wrapping up their Nordic Cool exhibit.  The girls take a look at the display in the lobby, a Viking ship made out of men's dress shirts. 

 

Then it was off to the Lego display where the girls had a blast making some... interesting sculptures.  

Mom and Ellie pose before the polar bear mural made entirely out of Legos. 

Here is Evie's masterpiece... an amazing replica of the Kennedy Center!  Yeah, that's the ticket! 

Daddy helps lift Ellie up so she can make her second tower even taller. 

The girls got a kick out of having Daddy chase them around the terrace and run some races.  Later that night Evie complained about her sore legs. Sounds like her Mom. 

Little sis Ellie was right behind with a giant smile on her face!  On Sunday, we celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a little bit o' culture. Daddy took Ellie to Imagination Stage for some special Daddy-daughter bonding time, where they acted out "Goodnight Moon" and actually played with some mush.  

Meanwhile, Mommy took Evie to the National Gallery of Art for some special Mommy-daughter bonding time. They have an awesome "Stories in Art" program where she studied "The Human Condition" by Rene Magritte, listened to a children's book about the artist, and then rolled up her sleeves to make some art of her own with oil pastels.  We had a great afternoon!  

We hypothesize that Opa had a great birthday!

 

On Sunday we threw a belated birthday bash for Opa with a science theme.  The girls and Mommy had a fun time putting together a banner with shaving cream art bubbling out of the beakers and the use of the periodic table as a creative element. The colored shaving cream was an interesting experiment that may need an adjustment or two.  

Funny enough, the whole family coordinated our outfits around Opa's (and Ba's, it turns out) favorite color.  It was pretty funny, we didn't even get the memo. 

Lots of laughs outside due to Daddy and Opa's antics. And yes, even Mommy coordinated her gray sweater with some yellow pants.

 

 

Look at those sweethearts!  

 

We all lean in to help Opa blow out his birthday candles on his traditional German Black Forest cake. 

 

Ellie is getting the hang of it, but still needs a little help. 

 

To end the party with a (literal) bang, Daddy demonstrates his knife-opening champagne trick. 

 

No frogs at this Princess Ball!

 

Evie got all dolled up to attend the magical Princess Ball with Daddy this Saturday.  Here she is coming down the royal staircase to meet her loyal subjects.   

Evie helped Daddy adjust his bowtie, and continued to help him out all night.  He got a pink bowtie to match Evie's pink dress. 

Our beautiful girl with her shy smile. 

And this is her coy look (she gets that from Mom). 

Dad and Evie demonstrate their dip. Throughout the night, Evie enjoyed pulling Daddy onto and through the dance floor.  Daddy also impressed everyone by being able to identify all the theme songs from old TV shows.  

Our other little princess, Ellie, gave them a royal send-off before they set off to the ball. She and Mommy had a great date night of Thai pineapple fried rice and Wiggles. 

Snowquester!

Well, the snow forecast was suddenly increased to 5-10 inches in our neighborhood the night before Snowquester was about to begin. But true to its name, the forecast was dramatically slashed to less than an inch. However, before the snow started to turn to rain, the girls had an opportunity to enjoy what was left.

With the snow just starting to turn to sleet, Evie went outside first (while Ellie was taking her nap).  She managed to make her first snowman! (Even he looks a little sad about the impending rain...)

With Evie's cheeks starting to turn red, we knew it was time to head inside!

Ellie awoke from her nap and went outside too. Unfortunately, the sleet had turned to rain and it wasn't quite as fun as she hoped. (Alas, the snowman is already melting...)

Dad tried pulling her around on the sled, but you could see she was a little disappointed with her "first" snow storm. I guess we'll have to wait until next winter!

Dancing with Globie the Big G

  

We got free suite tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters on Saturday so headed out to the Verizon Center to check it out.  Ellie was delighted to see Globie the inflatable mascot with all his cool tricks.  That was her favorite part of the whole show. 

Ellie and Evie go in for a closer look of the court. 

 

Ellie models her new white sneaks while chowing down on a cream cheese sandwich. 

 

Ellie must have thought she was a VIP as she took many cell phone calls during the game. 

Mom gets a break from helping Ellie climb on every chair in the suite. 

 

Later, Evie lets loose with some Travolta moves as everyone goes down to the court for a YMCA dance-along.