Kristin and Dan bought a beautiful new house in Ashburn. Even though they had a 4-week old - in addition to a 2-year old - they, for some reason, let us stay with them!
Part 1: The Easter Egg Hunt
We were up bright and early on Saturday for an Easter egg hunt. It took some coaxing to get Claire past the Capri Sun table. Thanks Auntie Kristin for the festive ears!
Uncle Dan and cousin Liz...looking cool.
The girls love to see photos of themselves :)
The ears didn't last very long on Claire.
Good thing Pop Pop was there to keep an eye on things.
Auntie Kristin seems to be less than helpful here.
No smiling. Only opening eggs. Pop Pop, open!
There was a lot of candy the girls couldn't eat (and that we didn't want them to eat) so we emptied the eggs and refilled them with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries (the white carpet faired pretty well). Claire would find the eggs, open them and devour the contents. Liz, on the other hand, would find the eggs, open them and then give the healthy stuff away.
Part 2: A Day Away
Sunday we left the girls with a sitter (a teacher from Liz's school) and toured the vineyards! Interesting note: Liz has had 2 babysitters (other than Grammy and Pop Pop...and both times it's been when we've been there and want to go out!).
Ryan was really excited to take this picture.
This was at Notavina. (Have you seen the show Dream House on the DIY network?? This place was on that show!). Instead of pairing wine with food, they pair it with music. Clever :)
Auntie Molly changing diapers! I haven't lost my touch.
I'm not sure if this is a 'thumbs up" because she is out of the house or because she has wine...either way, she looks happy.
Grammy's happy place.
Part 3: Celebrations
We celebrated Betsy's 60th birthday (belated) with lobster! They were totally still moving when we brought them inside...
Check out the girls' faces. Liz: holy cr@p, what are we eating?? Claire: they look so snuggly!
Don't be too excited - or impressed - this following is not from lobster night. This was the following night - spaghetti dinner! Paige's nephew and his family were also in town, so they came over for dinner. Claire, Liz and Mallory enjoyed the kids' table.
Part 4: Family Time
ADORABLE.
Apparently they were very funny cartoons.
My FAVORITE.
Claire absolutely loved her new cousin. She constantly asked if she could hold cousin Pomas. She was a proud big cousin.
Hmmm...Do you think he would like to watch Dora?
You don't think he'd mind if I borrowed his "sucker plug" do you?
Happy Toes (holding Thomas)
Fun with Grammy. The afternoon started with Grammy reading stories to the girls...
...continued with a tickle-fest...
...and ended with hiding behind books.
Part 5: Reston Zoo
We debated whether to head to National Zoo or the Reston zoo, and settled on Reston. Some day, when the girls are older, we'll make the trek to National.
They were very excited to see the animals. Oh yeah, Claire and Liz were there too.
In the background you can see the tractor we took into the giant field filled with bison, emu and other various animals. FYI - if you visit this zoo, sit in the middle of the tractor. The afore mentioned animals are more than comfortable sticking their noses into the cart to check for food!
This is a shot of Claire looking out at the approaching animals.
Auntie Molly, Claire, Uncle Ryan and Cousin Liz heading to the bird attraction.
Pop Pop tought Claire would enjoy a pony ride (I may have been a bit skeptical). The pony was about 100 years old and moved at the pace of a snail. I assumed Claire would get close to the pony and then bail, but she got on and rode the whole 4 minutes!
My favorite was when Auntie Kristin asked her if she was having fun. She looked straight at her - dead face - and nodded.
She made it the whole way!
Part 6: Dinner Out
After filling ourselves on lobster, birthday cookie and spaghetti, we decided to head out for dinner one night. Thomas was the most well behaved. We had a meltdown or two, but eventually all diners got to eat their meals.
Liz enjoyed her GIANT grilled cheese.
This is the "cool dude" party. (Note the sunglasses).
Part 7: Genius Idea
We thought it would be fun to head into the city and go to a museum. We figured Claire would love the "choo choo" (aka Metro) that she got to ride down. I assumed I could bounce around the museum with her and look at different things while Daddy actually visited the museum.
Wrong. Liz was beautifully behaved, but ours was a bit of a basket-case. She didn't udnerstand why she couldn't touch anything! In the end we spent about 7 minutes in the Museum of American History and then went to the National Gallery for lunch!
You Whoo...Auntie Molly...my diaper is full...
Part 8: Hangin' Out
Playing airplane and watching Dora filled many an hour during out trip.
Thanks for the memories all! Can't wait to see you this summer :)
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