Big wins on stage and on the track!

At the end of the year, it's always great to see the girls up on stage showing everything they have learned.  This year Evie enacted Degas' ballet dancers while dancing to a Moulin Rouge song. 

Look at her beaming! 

 A couple of weeks later, Ellie tapped her way into our hearts with some moves to Strawberry Shortcake. 

Big sis Evie is proud of her sister's first performance on stage! 

The whole family poses for a picture before we head to Hank's Oyster Bar to celebrate Father's Day. 

Ah, Ellie looks too old with the make-up!!!  But a doll nonetheless.  

Speaking of Father's Day, we continued our traditional Dash for Dad walks/run. Evie did a great sprint in the 100-year dash, while Ellie donned her superhero cape (we didn't let her run just in case she fell and hurt herself before her recital later that day. 

Opa, Mommy and the girls did a 1-mile walk while Daddy won the 5K. He came in first place out of 478 runners - what a champion!

The girls celebrate with smoothies and celebratory cupcakes!  What a morning!

  

Two dads with big smiles! 

It's a berry fun time on the farm...

We took our annual strawberry picking trip out to the fields of Hollin Farms strawberry patch in early June.  Both girls were on a mission to get the best berries possible. 

Strawberry picking is a team collaboration! 

Our pickin' is followed by a traditional cheese picnic at the nearby Shenandoah Park. 

Ellie enthusiastically rings the bell near the original farmhouse.

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.