What Evie did on her summer vacation...

Well, Mommy and Daddy have been slacking a bit on taking pictures over the last week or so, but life hasn't slowed down a bit! Evie has been in art camp this week, so we thought this would be a good time to post some pictures of her experiences at the various camps, classes, and adventures she has been on this summer. Evie has been a busy bee, but we have been grateful to give her some fun experiences that don't revolve around PBS Kids shows... and thankful to her teachers who took some fun pictures!

Back in June/July, Evie went to a two-week DINO camp at the Beverley Hills Preschool in Alexandria. Here she is with some of her fellow campers after a morning of playing in their deluxe wooden playground, eating a popsicle. The popsicles were one of her favorite things about camp, I think!


Evie traced a dinosaur and wrote her name on her artwork, but to really mix it up she wrote her name backwards. The teachers were way impressed.


One day they had a dinosaur dig! Evie was a paleontologist and used sticks to search for t-rex bones in the sand. Then she used a brush to clean off the sand.


The preschool had a fantastic playground with super fast slides and wooden structures like a castle and rocket ship. Evie loved starting her morning there so that she barely noticed when Mom left after drop-off. Here she is leaping over the sprinkler to stay cool.


Evie and her friend Bryn play in the kitchen area of the playground. Looks like sand pizza for lunch today!


On the last day the kids helped build a volcano and watched it explode!

Using our imagination...

Evie and Mommy got dressed up on Saturday for their special adventure to see the play "Aquarium" at the Imagination Stage in Bethesda. It was great fun because everyone got to play a part in the play - Evie helped "plant" her flower, make waves in the ocean, and ring a cowbell. We also got sprinkled on when it "rained"!

Evie poses by the car used for "The Wind in the Willows". Maybe we'll see that play when she gets a little older.


After a big morning and another fun playtime session at Ba's and Opa's, Evie quickly fell asleep on the armchair while watching Thomas. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Spring Lake continued

Aw, look at these cute pictures from Grandma Bebe of the two cousins. Isn't it funny how little kids hold hands at this age? Both girls had their "Baby Ellies" in tow.

Family picture of Evie enjoying her ice cream cake and Ellie looking enviously at Daddy's ice cream cake.

A wonderful week in Spring Lake...

The family headed up to New Jersey this week to spend some QT with Grandma Bebe and Popi. It was nice being by the beach as the weather was HOT, HOT, HOT, and we would get a nice breeze from the lake/ocean. We also had some fun times with the family...


Here is Grandma Bebe with Julianna and Ellie, relaxing on Bebe's favorite chair. Julianna had named her new baby doll "Baby Ellie" and was very good at feeding her applesauce.


Evie joins the fun - somebody must have said something funny...The girls would then have a great time having some stroller/grocery cart races with their baby dolls down the driveway.


The next morning we piled into the strollers and walked to the playground. Evie was a big fan of climbing around and then walking along the wooden barrier - her big thing now is keeping balance (something she learned in ballet?).


Popi gives Evie a big push on the swings. "Higher!" she calls!


That night, we celebrated Aunty Casey's birthday one night early with Popi's famous spaghetti and meatballs and ice cream cake!


Stan had a very serious look until he got his piece of cake. He was also great at singing Happy Birthday to his mom!


Daddy and Ellie enjoy the rendition of "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow" sung by Grandma Bebe. I think Ellie has her eyes on the ice cream cake.

We got some great shots of Ellie that night - all smiles as we sing her favorite song, "Your Nose," on the Sandra Boynton "Blue Moo" CD.


The next day was going to reach 110 degrees in the heat index, so we found a great place to escape inside at the Monmouth Museum. Evie enjoyed being a pirate captain and asked Mommy and Daddy to be her crew.

Daddy readily accepts and takes the wheel with Ellie strapped on (and sleeping). Land ahoy!


Evie enjoyed checking out the fishies in the aquarium. It was also a good opportunity to practice her fish kisses!


At the Tiki Theater, Evie dresses up as a hybrid zebra mermaid and twirls her new friend around.


She and Mommy had a fun time playing with the puppets too.
Mommy and Daddy were very proud when Evie conquered her fears and crossed the rope bridge all by herself! What a great pirate!

A jammin Thursday!

We had a fantastic and fun-filled Thursday - first stop was Jammin Java, where Evie danced, sang and jumped to nearly every song by Oh Susannah. We were joined by her friend Izzy, who had quite a few moves of her own, and her mom Kate.


Afterwards, we stopped by McDonalds. The girls were feeling silly so tried on their Happy Meal boxes as hats.


Fun times!

Then we got a surprise visit from Aunt Lillian. Ellie was wide awake and had some big smiles. Evie had a great time playing with Aunt Lillian - showing her how to race, shoot rockets, and dress up her magnet dolls.

Evie's First Ballet Class

Evie had her first ballet class today at Tiny Dancers and wore her special tutu for the special occasion. Here she is before class started, perhaps pondering if she should wear the blue tutu the next time.



We all watched outside the classroom on the monitor as Evie stretched, leaped, twirled, and curtsied through her first lesson. After a couple of dances, the teacher read a story and then the girls got dressed in costumes for their final leaps and twirls.


Afterwards mommy and Evie took some pictures in the studio.


Evie knew exactly where to go when mom told her to go to the barre. She did a great leg lift before twirling away.



What a great start! We can't wait for next week!

An Old Town Tradition: Alexandria's Birthday Party

The family loves the annual Alexandria and America joint celebration that takes place the Saturday after the Fourth of July! We had a very busy Saturday which started with a trip to Hooray for Books for storytime and then a trip to the playground. We rested at home before heading down to the birthday party at 4 - and Ba and Opa joined us, too. New this year was a train that took us around twice in a circle. Mommy and Evie proudly hold up their tickets!


Evie proudly shows off her heart painted on her arm and her preppy summer outfit. She was taking a break from dancing to the folk band as part of the pre-show.


Ellie also shows off her patriotic accessory - a balloon heart bracelet - while in Ba's arms.


Evie feeds Opa some kettle corn. Ah, can't get enough of that kettle corn, and maybe a little soft serve ice cream as well that would later turn into "ice cream soup".

With all this heat, Evie felt the need to fix her hair in the middle of the concert. Gotta look our best!


Speaking of good hygiene, Evie also checked out the dentist tent's giant toothbrush.

On the way home from the waterfront party, we stopped by the town square fountain where Evie took advantage of an empty stage to show off some of her dance moves. We finished the nights by watching fireworks explode over the Potomac. It was another great birthday party for all!