Day 437 | The Beach

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Have you ever been to a beach made up of 700,000 balls? We have!

Our friend, the Building Museum, has a special exhibit right now called, The Beach, and although it's pricey, chaotic, and impossible to successfully contain two toddlers solo, it was amazing. The boys and I had a blast during our last (sniffle, sniffle) play date with our good friends Miss Caia and John before they move later this week.

We're devastated (that doesn't cover it, actually) but so happy for them and their new adventure. I see fun trips to Florida in the future. 

Day 435 | Quality Family Time

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Photo credit to Uncle Jason
With no big plans for the day, it's been just lovely to spend the quality low-key time with some of our favorite people.

Today's activities included:
  • Tree park/splash park playtime
  • Pillow fort building 
  • A Mexican fiesta (including daiquiris, homemade guacamole, and enchiladas)
  • 7 Eleven park playtime 
  • A rousing (sometimes pretty heated) game of Wizard
So sad to see them leaving already...at least we'll be reunited in Wisconsin in just a few days.

*Note: Sorry the post was MIA yesterday. Just got too caught up in the card game to finish the post!

Day 433 | Jason's Day of Fun

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Today turned into an inadvertent Jason's Day of Fun. We started off with delicious breakfast sandwiches, then a stop off at a coffee shop in Jason and the fam's old neighborhood before heading to the National Museum of the American Indian.

The kids loved the time at the museum and the adults even got in on the action by successfully assembling the building block igloo (quite an accomplishment, I have to say). Then we retreated home for a lovely naptime and sushi with one of Jason and Erica's longtime friends.

You're welcome, Jason.

Day 428 | Happy 4th!

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It's been a lovely celebration day: delicious breakfast, a neighborhood parade, friends over for a grill out, and lots of family time. Just perfect.

*And in case you're on pins and needles wondering how last night went with the boys, it was ok. Not great, but pretty good. Robbe had a tough time winding down (for obvious reasons) and he woke Chase up earlier than he would have otherwise woken up, but no one fell out of bed and no night wakings to cause problems. Hopefully it wasn't a fluke.

Day 427 | Bedroom Buddies

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Since moving into our house just over a year ago, we've been talking about when to move the boys into the same room. We always planned on having them share, so it was a question of when, not if.

A looming visit from Chris's brother and his family gave us the final shove that we needed. They have a little one that could use her own space more than Chase so why not give the room-sharing idea a go?

Chase was beyond excited about his new "bedroom buddy" (aka Robbe) and his new "bedroom neighbors" (aka mom and dad: previously he's been sleeping on the main level of our house while we sleep upstairs). Oh, and I almost failed to mention that included in this bedroom transition was also the switch from crib to big boy bed for our sweet three year old. How could I have almost forgotten such a momentous occasion?

I'll let you know how all this turns out tomorrow. I hope everyone gets a decent night's sleep, it is a big celebration day tomorrow, after all!

Day 425 | Yards Park

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The Yards Park wading pool is one of my favorite spots in the city. It's perfect for my boys: the foot-deep water, the impressive waterfall, and the fountains. It was a perfect outing to escape today's heat. 

Oh, and it's July! The month of visitors + vacations has begun. Grandma Mary is here to spend some quality time with us in the DC humidity. We're so lucky. 

Day 423 | Playground Pandemonium

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Turns out there's a reason we don't frequent Tree Park in the morning (it's usually an afternoon activity for us). The reason? It's madness! I think there were at least six different daycare classes, consisting of 15+ kids each, at the park with us this morning.

At one point, Chase tried to blow bubbles but one hundred kids (perhaps a slight exaggeration) inhibited him from successfully producing bubbles because they were standing so close to him. Another time, Chase and I were pretending we were at the butterfly exhibit. By the time we finished, we were playing with about ten other kids (not exaggerating, some are pictured above) and every one of them was really confused about whether we were admiring real butterflies. 

Day 420 | Blueberries, Black Raspberries, and More

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Best day ever!

70 degree weather for the perfect berry picking morning. There were blueberries galore, black raspberries for days, sugar snap peas (that could have been a little more delicious, let's be honest), and our first chance to pick cherries (they were tart, but that's ok, it still counts). We love Butlers Orchard.

As if that weren't enough, we ate a delicious lunch at Noodles and then stopped at Dairy Queen for an ice cream treat to power everyone through the drive home (we couldn't let them fall asleep, after all). After finishing his ice cream, Chase declared (in his most official voice) that "Ice cream in the car is the best!"