Picking Peaches

 For Christy's first "regular" (no more shift work!) weekend, we headed to The Great Country Farm for the Dog Days of Summer Peach Festival.  It was bring-your-dog day, so while we don't have a pup of our own to bring, the kids loved seeing all of the other dogs there.  And of course, we enjoyed picking some delicious peaches!

Claire was not happy that she couldn't run around the wagon on the ride back from the orchards

 we need to work on Claire's ice cream cone eating technique!

We also enjoyed a mini-Berlin reunion-- Mickie and Jordon and Kelly and Layla were back in town for a few days, so we had dinner with them and the McLennands--it was great to see everyone!  Layla and Nicholas had fun playing!  I believe there was even a marriage proposal :-)

G.G. and Grumpa Visit from California

Last weekend we enjoyed a very nice visit with Christy's parents, who flew in from California.  They got to see the kids' normal routines--school, park, library, etc, as well as enjoy some beautiful Virginia weather and some special treats.

Story time!

Bugs Bunny at the Symphony--at Wolf Trap.

Arlington National Cemetery

We had a nice brunch at home with Christy's Uncle (Dad's brother) and cousins, and then all went to Arlington National Cemetery together.

We walked up to the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier just as the Changing of the Guards Ceremony was about to start, so that was special to see that.

Sunday we spent a nice day at Burke Lake Park before GG and Grumpa had to fly home.  Both kids, but especially Claire, loved the "horsies" on the carousel.

And the train ride was a hit the second time around too, although we decided the conductor went much faster this time.

Perfect day for a picnic!  And gazing at the clouds?

Watching the butterfly

pretty lake

Summer is flying by--Christy finished her last day on her Watch job and is doing some training/taking a week off before starting her new position.  Still working out plans for our week off, but whatever happens we look forward to some fun relaxing family time!

vacation at Grandma and PapPap's house and other happenings

Nicholas spent a week with Grandma and PapPap.   It was his first time going off without Mommy and Daddy for a week but he had a blast, and we got to Skype every night.  The kids missed each other, I think.  Claire kept wandering into Nicholas' room looking around and when we arrived in Ohio, Nicholas threw his arms around Claire and said, "I missed you baby sister!"  *melt*

We had a quiet week at home while Nicholas was off on adventures--Animal Safari, put-put golf, fishing (he caught his first fish), pony ride at the fair, new shoes, popsicles, milkshakes, waffles.... life was very good.

David and Christy even got a date night-- out to Brew at the Zoo with friends.  It was a fundraiser/beer tasting event, and we had a great time!

 sunflower that sprouted in one of the plants in our house  (we planted bulbs, which didn't come up, but hey, nice surprise!)

 the mustache beer (Traveler's something or other) tasted good too!

 annual pool photo at Grandma and PapPap's

 pretty girl, pretty flowers

 sidewalk chalk

 hanging out poolside with PapPap and Caesar

 her feet don't quite reach the pedals yet, but watch out next year!

building a fire for marshmallow roasting

train ride at the local mall--another regular event!

Happy (belated) Independence Day!

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!  Christy loves holidays and traditions in general, and knowing that our kids will spend a good part of their childhood living abroad, it's especially important that they learn about and experience American holidays and traditions.  We celebrated the 4th in a very low-key, traditional way-- BBQ'd ribs on the grill with friends, and fireworks at the local high school.  We were a little nervous about how Claire would handle the fireworks, but she wasn't scared at all!

We got last-minute 4th of July shirts on sale, and they are both a perfect fit for the kids' personalities right now-- "America Totally Rocks" for Nicholas, and "I Woof the USA" for Claire.

Nicholas just spent a week with his grandparents and loved it!  Now just one more week until summer camp (at his regular school) starts up.  In the meantime, I'm trying to take advantage of my shift schedule and being home on random weekdays to try to make his summer somewhat educational.  Hence, a trip to the National Building Museum last week!  We ended up having fun, but if I did it differently I would buy tickets ahead to the "Building Zone", which is the exhibit geared towards preschoolers.  The other exhibits were geared towards older kids, and the "Amazing Arches" and "Family Fun Kit" were not as cool as they sounded on the website.  We bought tickets when we got there and had a two hour wait, so we did make the most of the other options, and the Building Zone was a blast.

Fortunately some dads were there to help with the Amazing Arches, as it is definitely a multi-adult project.

 learning about patterns in the Family Tool Kit.  Nicholas also discovered stamps.

 Building Zone!

 That's all for now.  More about our trip to the Zoo without Nicholas for ... Brew at the Zoo! in the next post!