Our Generation Vol. 2 No. 6 Abi Comes to Town

We were so excited that Abi came out to visit us! She arrived a little late in the evening on Wednesday so there wasn't too much time for Mia and Ben to play with her. After a good night's rest though, they sure loved that she was here. She brought some fun Mexican dance dresses Mia and her girlfriends love taking turns playing "dress up and dance" and she stomps her feet and twirls her skirt to the likes of Linda Ronstadt's Canciones de mi Padre.

We spent a lot of our time with Abi just hanging out around the house. We had a great hike through the backyard to Northwest Branch and this was the first time Mia did most of the hike by herself. At times, she walked with a steadier foot than Mommy and Abi put together (but does that really surprise anyone?).


Abi timed her trip to coincide with the Pearl Jam tour. Mommy and Daddy took a night off while Abi stayed behind with our little darlings. They had such fun!

Ben and Mia have a LOT of energy these days and as you can see they moved their chairs from the dining room to the living room just for a special read aloud by Abi.

Dinner time was always fun. We tried to eat on the deck and make sure that Abi got as much outdoor time as possible since she'd be heading back to the sweltering desert heat soon.

We managed to make it down to Georgetown before Bernadette headed back to AZ for summer break. Red, Hot and Blue is a pretty good BB-Q joint down there and we had a nice long leisurely lunch that was SO tasty.

Who's walking who here?

More dance time - this time we were able to wrestle up a future Diamondback pitcher (see background).

And of course, the trip wouldn't be complete without a random Silver Spring Festival- this time it was the Asian Heritage Celebration. There were handmade crafts and performances, and the dancing was infectious. Usually the fountain area is blocked off but for this event, we took full advantage of the colorful dance floor and each of us showed off our grooves.


We all had such a nice visit with Abi! We miss her and hope to see her and all the rest of you soon!

Here are the kids eating a tasty treat shortly after we dropped Abi off at the airport.

Our Generation Vol. 2 No. 5 Outdoor Play

Since the weather is warm now, we've been playin' on the porch, and the front and back yards. Daddy cleared out part of the back yard where a large tree had fallen years ago and Mia and friends bravely walk across as a bridge.

Friends Nick, Tom and Nate came over for a pizza night and the kids had fun hiking through the backyard and playing ball.



Mia's teacher GG has a son, Richard, who plays for Montgomery Blair H.S. baseball. Mommy used to be his teacher so when we found out that he was playing, we headed to the game and invited Mia's classmate, Cameron and his family (Emelia, Karina and Jason) along. We had a nice walk up to the High School and took some seats in the stands. They didn't sit for too long. In fact, they got rather restless once we ran out of snacks. So restless that Mia managed to wedge herself into a tiny spot behind a chair and got stuck. We (the kids) were loud and obnoxious and had to leave after just a few innings. Still fun though. Lesson learned: Cameron and Mia play well together, but don't sit still together very well.

Here's Mia soaking in some wind in the car.

We had a nice trip to the park. Ben is becoming more comfortable climbing on the play-scape.

Next up... a visit from Abi!!!

Our Generation Vol. 2 No. 4 Birthday and Dancing

Happy 5th Birthday to Luke! We celebrated his special day by heading over to Wheaton regional Park. We had pizza and cake, played on the playground and rode the carousel. Unfortunately, the train was out of service due to wet tracks but we still had a great time. Mia and Owen enjoyed posing for pictures while Nora and Ben just enjoyed looking at all the playground equipment.



Later in the week Daddy took Mia to her first concert, The Strange Loops (the band formerly known as Trustfall). They played at Strathmore Mansion as an artist in residency. Lucky for Mia, she not only went to the show and was wowed by their good grooves, she also gets to hear them practice all the time (and even made a few appearances) during their jam sessions in their practice pad/parent's house two doors down. Only one pic, taken with Daddy's phone -- but you can see that the twin stars like their cute little neighbor.

The next night, Mommy took Mia to see Bernadette dance at Georgetown's Baila con Migo. There she saw her cousin dance Ballet Folklorico in fancy traditional and contemporary dresses. She even danced with a lit candle on her head. Mia was sleepy but she cheered for her cousin and was very excited to mimic her dance moves in the later days to follow.