Piggie Tails

Alexis isn't one for having things in her hair yet but Jill did get her to sport pig tails for a few minutes the other day.  Cute.

A Circus Outing

This past weekend we went took the kids to the circus.

We knew Evan would like it because where there is a circus there is usually cotton candy.  Evan is obsessed with all food but especially sweets.  What we didn't expect was how much Alexis would enjoy the show.  She sat in her seat and clapped.  Sometimes she would get up and peek over the railing.

Her favorite acts were the horse act and the dog act.  She kept saying "pony, pony, pet them, pet them peez".  Evan's favorite act was the trapeze.  Evan and Alexis both got a souvenir from the show.  Evan chose a light up sword that the acrobats had used in one of the acts.  Alexis got a little light up wand.   Evan's sword was a big hit with both kids and apparently all the other kids at the circus.  It was hard to get back to the car with all the kids waving their swords.

A new swing in the back yard

Our new house has a swing hanging from a giant tree.  The problem is that Alexis loves swings and it's not exactly an Alexis friendly swing.  We've solved the problem. With a set of carabiners and a baby swing and now we can switch back and forth between the swings.  Here's Alexis getting pushed by Evan during "her turn".

Happy 5th Birthday Evan!

It's hard to believe that it was five years ago when Evan joined us.  It's hard for Jill and I to remember life without him.  Jill's mom joined us for Evan's celebration.  Grandma stayed with Alexis and Jill took Evan on the Metro (of course) downtown to the Smithsonian Air and Space museum as a special birthday treat.

Evan looked (and flew) some airplanes, and folded a paper airplane and experimented with it to see what changes he could make to get it to fly further.

Here's Jill reading Evan the Birthday Story (a tradition that originated for us at Tara's Tots).

Next up was the gumdrop tree.  Evan shared with Alexis which was nice - but I have a feeling that even if he didn't she was going to get a gumdrop.

Then it was present time.  Evan had gifts from family and some of his old friends from Seattle to open.  He got a lot of transportation related toys (planes, helicopters, ...) and he loved them.

From September

Then it was on to the cake.  Evan wanted a chocolate cake so that's what he got - topped with a bunch of dinosaurs.  We all sang to him and he blew out his candles.

From September

Happy fifth birthday Evan!

First day of school

Evan's fifth birthday was also his first day at his new preschool- Emmanuel Lutheran Church Preschool.  The program the school offers seems great.  We think it is going to really prepare Evan for kindergarten next year.   Good luck to you this year Evan! (Although it might be more appropriate to wish his new teacher luck:)   Here he is standing with his school mandated bag:

Dutch Wonderland

In celebration of Evan's fifth birthday we went to Dutch Wonderland - a kid's theme park located in Lancaster, Pa.  We headed up and stayed in a hotel the night before.  The hotel had a fantastic pool complete with water slides!  Evan and Alexis loved it.

Bright and early the next morning we headed out to the theme park.  Evan was greeted by the princess and Duke the dragon.

Evan went on the log ride, the giant slide, the roller coaster and pretty much every other ride in the park.  He and Alexis took time to pose for this though.

While Evan was having fun on all the rides (Alexis was too little for most of them) she got to take a horse ride.

It was a fabulous family day.  There's so much more to do in the Lancaster area - I'm sure we'll be back up there again soon.

I thought we left the rain back in Seattle!

I was looking forward to sun out here in Virginia, but since we've arrived there's been an earthquake, a hurricane, and now flooding from heavy rain.  All was not lost.  Evan and Alexis got their boots on and played in the new lake forming in the back yard.

A new home for the bouncy house

We used to love having space for the bouncy house in the basement of our house in Seattle.  Currently the basement of our new place is a mess -- full of things we haven't unpacked yet.  It rained for a week straight and with the various flash floods happening we were home bound with an energetic almost 5 year old.  Since the basement is full of boxes Jill found a perfect temporary place for the bouncy house - right in the foyer! That bouncy house has been worth its weight in gold.

Our first trip to DC

We haven't been in Virginia too long but we've already managed to get into DC for a quick visit.  We've heard from many people that parking is tough and that it's better to take the Metro rail in.  Evan was particularly excited about this.

Once we got into DC we walked a few blocks, saw the Washington monument and stopped in front of the White House.

We grabbed lunch and hopped back on the train.  It was a short visit but now we know how to get in and get around.  Now it's time to start planning some real visits.  Evan is excited because he is obsessed with the metro and knows all the stops.  He has no problem announcing them to everyone like he is the conductor.  At every stop he yells "Next stop______ folks, next stop _______."  Cute to us but rough on the people sitting within ear shot of Evan.

Mall Fountain

Jill and I ran across a little local mall that has an outside fountain for kids to play in AND a train that drives around the parking lot.  It's called the "do-do train" and guess who loves it.  I took Evan and Alexis there to play in the fountain and they could have stayed there all day.  Enjoy!

In the backyard

We've got a fantastic backyard at our new place.  There's a big tree swing, a fish pond and a large trampoline which both Evan and Alexis love.  The big downside is Virginia is an entomologists' dream.  It is bug city out here.  After the first day we were all covered in bug bites.  Applying bug spray has become a normal part of everyday life.  We also have a long flat driveway.  Evan loves riding his bike up and down it.  We got a second-hand little car for Alexis.  Evan loves pushing her around in it.  Here he is in action:

Arlington water park

We haven't been in Virginia long but Jill has already managed to find some amazing places to go.  This is a public water park in Arlington, VA.  I think this may have been the last day of the season before it shut down but Evan and Alexis loved it.