D.C. Cherry Blossoms

By Monday the crowds had died down in D.C. around the Tidal Basin and we were able to drive in and see the Cherry Blossom trees.  They were plentiful and pink all around the Basin and it was another breezy, warm day.  We packed sandwiches and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch under the trees.  The breeze was knocking blossoms down into our food though.  I'm sure after today's rainstorm that they are all blown away.

Busch Gardens

Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been on our hit list of things to do since we moved here.  When I saw a Groupon for half price tickets, we jumped on it.  My Mom was here visiting and we drove down early Sunday morning to spend the day in Williamsburg.  It was a beautiful, warm, Spring day here and made for perfect weather to walk around the amusement park all day.  Alex and Brad conquered a roller coaster called the Loch Ness Monster while Abby, Mom and I headed over to the Sesame Street area for a bit.  Abby loved Oscar's Whirling Worms!  We proceeded to ride most everything in the park, except the really big coasters.  They loved it all and were sufficiently tired by the end of the day.

Bear Advancement Ceremony

Alex earned his Bear badge in Cub Scouts last Thursday night.  The boys all worked hard to complete the required achievements this school year.  We had a small celebratory ceremony at one of the scout's homes complete with smore's.  Next up is Webelos!

Spring Soccer

Both kids wanted to play soccer this Spring!  Alex hasn't played soccer since he was Abby's age so we were concerned about whether he would enjoy it or not.  So far he's taken to practice and the games pretty well.  It helps that he has classmates on his team.  Abby's age plays 2 on 2 soccer and she scored numerous goals on her first day out today!  She loves running around the smaller field, and all the water breaks.  Alex's team looks like a group of giants after watching Abby play!  They do not play on the same field and some Saturday's their times overlap a bit so I am thankful that there are two of us and also that we have many friends on each team this season.  Everyone is so happy to finally see the sun and warmer temperatures!

Glasses

Alex was having trouble seeing the board from across the room at school and asked to go to the eye doctor.  We obliged and sure enough, she prescribed some glasses!  He looks so much older in glasses, it is crazy!

VA Beach

My friends Stef, Melissa and I took a little road trip down to VA Beach right before St. Patrick's Day to run the Yuengling Shamrock 8K.  This was farther than I'd run in the past, but I realize 5 miles isn't that far for all the die-hard runners out there.  It was far for me, and I had a lot of anxiety the night before the race as I wanted to do well.  

We drove down Friday afternoon then got up early Saturday morning to run the race at 7:45am.  We watched the sunrise over the ocean then hiked up to the starting line.  I was determined to run a 10 minute mile, fast for me, and I did it!  It was a beautiful race and I finished in 49:20.  I'm ok with not running anymore races and this will forever be that one 8K that I ran.  My knees and I disagree about running.  If we can ever come to an agreement about running than maybe I will try another race :)

Biography Day

We spent a few weekends in March learning all about Thomas Edison.  This big research project is a 3rd grade standard at Alex's school and involved making note cards, giving a presentation, creating this poster and a timeline, and making a few power point slides.  The week culminates in a living history presentation where each student dresses up like their biographical figure and the families are invited in to ask questions of them.  I am so impressed with how much he learned about the other famous people in addition to Edison.  Brad and Alex found that vest at a secondhand store for $2.99.  Score!

Ballet "Recital"

Abby and her friends Cate and Celia take the most adorable little park district dance class!  They put on a recital at the end of each 10 week session to show the parents what they have learned.  It is nothing short of adorable and the girls enjoy it immensely.  There is a tap portion and a ballet portion of the program.  This very basic instruction is just right for her age and more social and fun than anything else.  I am, however, impressed by the vocabulary they use and the fact that Abby knows what the words mean!

Climbing!

There is an awesome indoor climbing center at the racquet club where the kids take tennis lessons.  They have open climb in the evenings everyday and both Alex and Abby love to jump on the walls.  It always amazes me to see such a little girl climb up the two story wall.  There are walls for every ability but for now they like to stay on the blue walls.  I don't think it will be long before Alex braves the more challenging ones!

NYC

We spent the weekend of Brad's birthday in New York City, doing as many touristy things as possible.  Brad had never been and I hadn't been in years so it was fun to see all the sights and eat some amazing food!  We were able to take the train from Union Station to Penn Station without any trouble on Friday morning.  Then we walked to our hotel in Times Square (it was a haul, but good to stretch our legs after sitting for 3.5 hours!).  We ate lots of yummy food that night and took in NYC at night.

Saturday morning we struck out early, winding up in the viewing audience of the Today Show as we walked past.  All we managed to see was the weather report and then we hit the Top of the Rock (top of 30 Rockefeller Center) taking in the spectacular views overlooking Manhattan from 70 floors up.  We walked from there over to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) where we toured 4 floors of art.   

By noon our friends Sam and Amie had arrived from VA and were ready to meet for lunch.  SURPRISE!  Brad had no idea they were coming.  We got in line at Carnegie Deli and Sam popped back to invite us up to eat with them.  The look on Brad's face was priceless.  We spent the afternoon in lower Manhattan at the 9/11 Memorial and stopped at McSorley's Old Ale House, the oldest Irish tavern in NYC.  You have two choices there, light or dark beer, and it was quite a diverse crowd...some of whom had already been there all day!  We had dinner at Patsy's Italian, Sinatra's favorite, before heading over to the Brandy Library.  It was a full day of kid-free fun.  Honestly, the kids would not have enjoyed this trip.  The crowds, the walking, the freezing cold temperatures, and unpredictable schedule would not have been compatible.  Not to mention the lack of kid-friendly activities in the dead of winter.

Sunday we walked up 5th Avenue, seeing St. Patrick's Cathedral and many other gorgeous churches along the route.  St. Patrick's was having mass at the time so we stopped to see the gorgeous interior.  Sadly there is so much scaffolding up around the church, both inside and out, that it is hard to see all of its beauty.

We popped into FAO Schwarz for souvenirs for our kiddos at the end of 5th Ave, and could also see Central Park up close.  It was so, so cold.  I'm sure that would be a lovely walk in nicer weather though!

Sam and Amie left at lunchtime and we hopped on the ferry to go see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on Sunday afternoon.  The ferry ride was chilly but we were glad we had time to squeeze that last destination into the trip.  By 10pm we were back home and thankful that Kathy and the kids had fun here in DC without us for a few days.