Because we are too lazy/over-scheduled/busy/stressed to get our Christmas cards in the mail:

What R1 and W1 did Saturday afternoon.

H1 turns 2 years old.

Our celebration involved a breakfast-for-dinner of chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, and turkey sausage. All generously lathered with whipped cream (in some cases...). While wearing hand-me-down PJ's.


Ecstatic and surprisingly efficient present unwrapping.


Cake with candles. She didn't quite get the candles blown out, but at least she didn't spit on the cake (ahem, L1).


By the end, she was hopped up on sugar, smeared with chocolate ice cream, and thoroughly happy.

At 2 years:

Her most often repeated phrase: "My do it!"
Her favorite food: bagels with cream cheese
Her most requested book: Time for Bed
Her favorite activity: taking her clothes and diaper off and streaking around the house.
Her newest obsession: Frosty the snowman.
Her most played with toy: whatever W1 and L1 have that she can take away!

What we did on our Thanksgiving break

Since we were all (all of us, I swear) itching for a change of scenery, and the weather was stunning, we decided on a last minute road trip.

We packed the car with juice boxes, trail mix, a whole jar of peanut butter, M&M's, and were on the road by mid-day Wednesday.

Our first stop (not counting rest stops, of course, because you know there were a lot of those) was Hershey, PA. We took the free factory tour, ate the free samples, and crashed at a hotel for the night.


Thursday we drove to Washington, DC. All of the Smithsonian museums on the Mall were open, so we spent the afternoon at the Air and Space museum. W1 and L1 were in heaven.


That night we had a Chinese-food-take-out Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious. And Charlie Brown was on TV, so that completed the evening for us.


Back on the National Mall the next morning, we walked around the Capitol building.


And up to the Postal Museum. This was one museum R1 and I hadn't been in before, and thought the kids would like it, too.


It was pretty cool. But, considering the confusing juxtaposition of things you could touch and things you couldn't touch, it's impressive we only got yelled at once.

After a quick picnic lunch, we went to the Natural History museum. It was a bit crowded so we went upstairs into the farthest corners. In the insect zoo, we saw lots of creepy stuff.


We also spent a lot of time in the Forensic lab learning about bones, and putting together a skeleton.


We ended the night with a bang at the Shake Shack in Dupont Circle. Their caramel shakes are a can't miss.

Saturday was spent viewing the White House,


at the holiday miniature train display at the National Botanic Gardens,


the Native American Museum,


and the Air and Space Museum out by Dulles Airport. That place is huge.

On the road home Sunday, we stopped in Gettysburg, PA for a short tour of the battlefield.

We climbed to the top of Big Round Top, freaked L1 out by sitting too close to the edge of the cliff, jumped off every rock we could find, then settled in for the long drive home.


By 8pm we were home. It was fun, perhaps we'll do it again next year?

You'll never guess...

... another hike!


This one from the Abraham Lincoln Park out to Irondequoit Bay.


The trail wound through some mud and tall grass, so we told the kids we were going on a bear hunt. W1 did NOT like that.


And at some point we must have asked W1 and L1 a particularly difficult question (average rainfall in the Amazon basin?), because here they are pondering it out.


I'm not sure what L1 was saying here, but I can hear in my head exactly the tone of voice that goes with that expression!


We watched the sun set over the bay, then hightailed it back to our car while we could still see the way!

Tinker Nature Park

Tinker Nature park was on our to-be-explored list for a very long time. When an empty sunny Saturday morning rolled around, we finally had our chance.


The nature hike is fabulous. Signs and boxes with things inside to touch: fox pelts, bark, snake skin, etc. There is a nature center, and a little museum, as well.


It was sunny enough for H1 to discover her shadow. They had a nice long conversation.


It seems like this autumn has been full of beautiful days. We almost don't know how to handle it!

Halloweenish stuff

In the week leading up to Halloween, we made the obligatory pumpkin sugar cookies,


(do you love the retro-red counter top? Nah, me either.)

went on a haunted hayride,


explored some haunted teepees,


and watched the kindergartners parade around the parking lot in costume.



But then, like the terrible, terrible record-keepers that we are, we didn't take any (ANY!) pictures of the kids in their costumes on Halloween. No cute pictures of them traipsing in a pack around the neighborhood, consuming candy by the handful, spiraling out of control...

Just believe that all of those things happened, and they had a marvelous time.