It’s the time of the season for loving

This little one is exhausted every night. She’s been working hard learning to swim, and watching her joyful little body wiggle through the water is the best payoff for all the tears that preceded swim lessons.

She climbed into bed with me this morning and, after snuggling for a while, promptly fell back asleep. Summer is still my number one, if you were wondering. Sunscreen and swim practice and late nights and long days and road trips and fire pit s’mores. I feel nothing but gratitude for being a mom of young kids in the summer.

You and me in the summertime

Guys, I keep meaning to post, and I keep not doing it. So here is a brief check-in. We are limping through the last two weeks of school, and we are SO EXCITED for summer. So excited that we went to the pool yesterday on opening day, even though it was 50 degrees outside. Summer = life. Thank you, Lord, for the summer!

It’s you and me in the summertime

There’s basically one week left of summer.

I don’t know if I’m ready!

I don’t know if I’ve ever looked back at the end of summer and said “well THAT was the longest summer ever.” It’s always, always way too short.

It's you and me in the summertime

Tomorrow is our last day of school!

(It's also my Larsy's 9th birthday!!!!)

We settled into a homeschool routine of sorts after a month of doing almost nothing--really. Almost nothing. Longest, most boring spring break ever. I don't want this summer to be a repeat of that boring month. You may remember that for several years we did this thing that I called #summerdaysseries. It started with three days a week: Water Day, Trail Day, and DC Day. It was inspired by the potential move to Colorado (that we did not take) because I remember at the time thinking, We have lived here for 6 years. What have we really experienced?? So I decided that no matter how much longer we lived in Virginia, we would soak in everything we possibly could.

Plus, one of my kids really didn't do well without structure, like REALLY didn't do well.

Summer 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, we did it all. Museums, walks in the woods, field trips, waterparks. Summer 2017, 2018, 2019, we slowly scaled back on the adventures, mainly because my kids were doing swim team and they were also getting older and better at hanging out at home and finding their own fun.

In summer 2020, we will not be doing our swim team. I mean, no one will be doing our swim team because it's shut down for the pandemic. I already announced to my kids that we'll all be going running a few mornings a week because... shoot, I didn't know how good we had it with the kids getting all their energy out in the pool and sleeping like rocks all summer!

So, we'll be working out. We'll still be getting lunches from the school lunch truck, which will be there all summer for all FCPS kids. We'll be playing in our super-deluxe kiddie pool. And, I'm going to bring back #summerdaysseries, pandemic version. I don't know when museums will be opening again, but there are TONS of historical monuments to see. There are still TONS of trails to walk on. And maybe we will go a little further on our adventures, like field-trip level, simply because we can. Gettysburg, Shenandoah, Antietam, maybe even Charlottesville?? The possibilities are endless. I am mourning our traditional summer (namely the pool and the museums) and I am REALLY mourning the cross-country trips we won't take, but I'm excited for the new adventures.

Summer time... and the living's easy

(Bradley's on the microphone with Ras MG, all the people in the dance will agree that we're well qualified to represent the LBC...)

Hiiiii!

Don't mind my Sublime reference. To me, summertime = California '90s memories = California '90s bands. No Doubt anyone? Weezer anyone? Red Hot Chili Peppers? SUGAR RAY?! (I still secretly love Sugar Ray)(not so secretly anymore)

Summer is my favorite season, no question. Our summer is 70% over and it has officially been the fastest summer EVER. I am going to wake up tomorrow and see leaves on the ground and have to put on a jacket, I just know it.

OK not literally tomorrow, but figuratively tomorrow.

Some of our summer excitement thus far:

Week 1: Scout camp for Theo (his first sleepaway camp) and Activity Days day camp for Ida
Week 2: Vacation Bible School for the younger kids
Week 3: Took care of Ralph & Rhoda
Week 4: Robbie & Hannah took care of our kids; Phil & Lynnette got here
Week 5: Phil & Lynnette, Harry & Barbara, Lars's baptism
Week 6: Harry & Barbara left
Week 7: The current week. The week of camps. Theo's orientation at his new school is in day camp format; Lars has been at Cub Scout day camp; Polly has been at ballet (day) camp, and Ida is leaving tomorrow for sewing camp in California with Hannah (!!!!) (The way I feel about this plan, encapsulates the way I feel about all of parenthood, and that will have to be another post someday)(hint: I am super anxious but she's pumped and I know it's the right thing to do :)

Every week: swim practice, and lazy dinners at the pool.

We have 3 weeks left. One of those weeks will see yet another day camp (soccer camp this time, they're doing it with friends, possibly against my better judgment because how many camps is too many camps?!). Another will be our (?)th annual Waterpark Week! Then we'll have a week left to try to be lazy before school starts.

This is life with 4 kids in the summer and I am ALL ABOUT IT! Summer forever!

Summer summer summer, just like a merry-go-round

The Fourth of July was nice. We went to our ward's pancake breakfast in the morning (Theo was the lone Wolf/Bear helping with the flag), then we went to see the movie "Inside Out," which the kids liked although Ida got super sad near the end... then Matt put on a little fireworks show in our parking lot, then we put the kids to bed early and put me to bed early.

I made a summer playlist on Spotify which I am quite enjoying. If I ever get on my desktop I'll link it to this post.

The week after the Fourth, Theo went to Cub Scout day camp and the other kids went to Vacation Bible School. Polly and I had a few hours to ourselves every day! It was awesome.

Ida woke up early one morning that week, caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and was so scared, she went back to bed and hid until I finally found her.

Sooooo sad. She was legitimately terrified. I was pretty sure it was a bug bite, but took her to the doctor just to make certain it was OK to send her to vacation bible school that day. Although she refused to go anyway.

It slowly got better over the course of a few days and Ida cheered up a little, finally convinced that she wouldn't look like Quasimodo for the rest of her life. So she made it to the last day of VBS.

The kids did the junior swim team, which is now over. Next year I think they'll both be ready for the regular team. Then I'll just have to decide whether I have it in me to let them do meets. Swim meets are an ordeal. Phew. But I really want them to become good at swimming.

The lone picture I have of myself with Polly, other than her birth day.

She's getting so big. I am loving it. It's so amazing how quickly they grow at this age. She is now 10 weeks old. Smiling, cooing, kicking and punching her way through life.

I was looking at the calendar, planning out the rest of the summer, and I really think it's going to keep flying by. I had high hopes for doing tons of fun things with the kids this summer like we have the past two summers, but it just hasn't happened. Although we have watched plenty of Netflix (them: Curious George; me: Gilmore Girls), so there's that... Anyway, we went to Glen Echo Park one day, which was fun but it pretty much took it out of me. That was four weeks ago and we haven't been on a real outing since then...

We let the kids watch "The Phantom Menace" for the first time this past weekend, and it was a bit underwhelming for all of us, I'd say. But still fun. I'm trying to get more into Star Wars since my kids love it so much, and in preparation for the new movie coming out in December. So I re-watched the original three with the kids earlier in the summer so that I'd actually remember the plot lines. Harrison Ford, you dreamboat. Does anyone remember if "Attack of the Clones" is OK for little kids? It's been about 10 years since I saw it. I know I won't let them see "Revenge of the Sith" for a few more years. That gave me nightmares.

We may or may not do an outing this week. At the very least I know we'll make it to the pool at least once because it's soooo hot. Next week my brother Harry and his family will be staying with us for a few days and touring DC (yay!), so we'll definitely be out and about then! The week after that we'll have to do at least one outing, because my kids talk about water parks every day and there's no way we'll make it to all of the water parks in their library coupon book but we should at least do one. The week after that we're going to the beach for a few days!--I'm so excited!--and the week after that is Polly's baby blessing, when we'll have more visitors, so we'll probably do at least one random outing. Then there will only be 2 weeks left in summer and Polly will be almost 4 months old. Then Polly and I are heading to California for a couple of days to help celebrate my Grandma Helen's 100th birthday.

I think I'm doing a good job of simultaneously enjoying the moment, and looking forward to the coming months as Polly continues to grow like crazy, Lars starts his final year of preschool, Ida and Theo start first and third grades... As tired as I am right now (despite going to bed before 9 every night) I love my life and I love being their mom. The future is bright!

Beach day

It took us almost all summer to get to the beach this year. As far as I am aware, I have made it to the ocean every summer of my life. Of course I lived in California for 17 years (and three more summers after that), so that made it pretty easy to stock up on beach time, but I've even made it happen when we were landlocked. I also have a somewhat OCD tradition about getting in the water (I always have to get in, even if it's for just a few minutes).

I wasn't about to let the opportunity get away this year, so after a busy few months of this or that, or rainy weekends or whatever kept us from going, we made it to Rehoboth Beach one Saturday in mid-August.

Usually we stay about 4 hours (since it's a 3-hour drive each way) but we stayed a little extra long on this day--we were having too much fun, I guess. On our way home we stopped and got delicious fish tacos at a little place in Rehoboth called El Dorado. It was in a tiny strip mall next to a seedy-looking bar--always a good sign. Actually I think I was the only one who ordered the fish tacos, but anyway they were delicious.

Maybe one of these summers we'll do a weekend or week at the beach again. For now, or for the last 4 years anyway, we've made do with day trips and it's worked out just fine. Oh, we love the beach.

Trail Day: Meadowlark Gardens

I did a slightly mediocre, slightly bad job of documenting our next trail day, which was at Meadowlark Gardens near Wolf Trap.

We met up with several friends and their kids there. When we arrived (I hadn't been in a few years) we discovered at the front desk that the kids could each borrow a little backpack which included things like a book about birds or butterflies; a notebook and pencil; and a magnifying glass or binoculars. All the big kids got them and it was super fun for them to use the equipment and walk around wearing backpacks.

I highly recommend Meadowlark if you haven't gone. It's only a couple bucks and there's a lot for kids to see. It's especially great on a beautiful summer day like the day we went. But I think we'll check out the Christmas lights show again this year as well. And maybe try it in the fall, too.

Lovely daze

This summer we joined a pool for the first time. I think maybe I have blogged about this before. In our area if you want to have access to a pool, and you don't own one, you either have to live in a community that pays for one, or you pay for it yourself. None of this 50-cent admission to the public pool I remember from my lifeguarding days and my childhood. Anyway it's about three-quarters of a mile from our house, so more often than not, we walked. Well,  I walked. Lars rode in the stroller, and Ida and Theo scooted. We didn't go very often in August--maybe 1-3 times total--but in July we went a few times a week.

One day Ida decided she was done scooting when we were halfway there and pushed her folded-up scooter like a grocery cart the rest of the way. 'Cause kids are weird

The main reason we joined the pool actually was so that Theo could be on the swim team, which I think I may have also blogged about. He was on the junior team, so we didn't have to go to meets, which was awesome--he just went to practice for 30 minutes every morning until the end of July, and he improved a lot. The coaches were teenage girls from the team who were enthusiastic and helpful, and the ratio was generally about 1-3 kids per coach. 

I'm planning to have both Theo and Ida do the junior team next year because the age limit is 8 and he'll still be 8--another summer without dealing with meets, but all the fun and experience of the daily practices. This program fit in nicely with my hope for my kids to learn and grow in sports without having to devote our lives to it. (Which is what it feels like I'm doing now that soccer has started, even though I know 4-5 hours a week, of games and practices combined between the two kids, is nothing compared to what it could be.) ahhhh summer... I'm looking forward to it already. :)

DC Day: National Building Museum/The Big Maze

For our next DC Day we went to the National Building Museum because I wanted to see the giant maze exhibit.

It was so fun. If I had wanted to stay all day, we could have. We went through it three times. The maze is actually designed so that once you get to the center, the walls get lower so you become better oriented. Whereas most mazes, with uniform wall heights, get more confusing toward the middle. 

After the first two times--the first time took us about 7-8 minutes and the second time took us more like 15-20--I suggested we go upstairs and look at the maze from up there so that we could study the correct route.

View from the third floor:

If you study it, you can see that we discovered that we needed to stay towards the right. So on our third time through we went through in record time--3 minutes. We were pretty pleased with ourselves.

We have been to the NBM several times but only for the Building Zone (kids' play area), which costs about $3 or $4. In order to go in the maze, though, we had to buy general admission tickets PLUS maze tickets. So that was $16 for me and $13 each for the kids. Due to my one-hour policy, I was none too jazzed about paying the big bucks for a museum. But I sucked it up and I'm glad I did because it was great. It included the Building Zone so we did that first. Then the maze and one other exhibit. We stayed about 90 minutes total.

While we were upstairs, we checked out the exhibit House and Home, which was cool. I didn't take pictures because they weren't allowed, but the kids liked a big video installation that showed families living in unusual homes.

And what post is complete without a photo of a public bathroom? I just really liked this calm, clean, light-filled bathroom. It reminded me of school for some reason. I know I'm a weirdo but I'm ok with it.

We also saw a pay phone, which I took a picture of and accidentally deleted later. Because a pay phone. Who sees those?

It was an amazingly beautiful day outside.

Usually there's parking right in front of the NBM on F street, but there was some kind of camp going on so all the metered spots were reserved. We had to drive around for 10 minutes before finally finding a spot on H. Sometimes people tell me they don't like to go to DC because they don't like dealing with parking. But it's really not that bad once you get used to it. And it's never bad if you arrive right at 9:30 when a lot of parking opens up. (Which we always aim to do, but it doesn't always happen.)

A slightly boring story.

Been working on attention-grabbing headlines. What do you think? Did it work? Are you grabbed?

While Ida and I were in Philly, Matt texted me these pictures from a hike in Clifton at Hemlock Overlook, which I had never heard of. A few days later, after we were back, the kids and I planned to meet some friends, Holly and Chrissy and their kids, at a trail near Bull Run. I entered the address in my GPS app, and after about 20 minutes I started thinking we were not going in the right direction. Around that time Theo recognized where we were. "Hey, this is where we went with Dad on Saturday." I thought that was kind of random and funny--that we had ended up not only at the wrong place but also at the exact random place the boys had just been with Matt a few days earlier.

As a side note, on the accidental way to Hemlock I discovered that historic Clifton is super cute and charming. I want to go back and walk around the little town center we drove through. It would be an especially beautiful drive and walk in the fall, and it was only 20 minutes from our house.

Anyway, I figured it out, figured out where we actually needed to be, and called my friends and they waited for us. Apparently when I told the app to take us to Bull Run Regional Park, it thought we were going to a different part of the trail, which is huge and spans from Manassas down past Burke. While my friends had both used a different app, which sent them to a location in Chantilly which was actually a playground next to a waterpark. For my part I had imagined we would be going on a trail near the battlefield in Manassas (as in, the Battle of Bull Run), which we've been to a few times many years ago. Which was also wrong.

I studied a map of Bull Run and realized that Fountainhead, where we went a month or so ago and where I ran the trail half last year, is also part of the same Bull Run/Occoquan Trail, which I hadn't realized.

I know this is already the most boring story ever, but the point is that I keep learning more and more about the millions of trails in NoVA. And so many of them are connected too. I just want to go on hikes every week. There's no way we'll ever see them all.

Maybe you can't quite tell in these pictures, but my kids got SO so dirty on this hike, especially Ida. 

After a little asking around, we eventually found a trail (obviously) which is right next to the water park, Atlantis. We only walked about a 1/2 mile on it since it had taken so long to find it. I spent most of the time talking with my friends and the kids ran around and played. And got super dirty. With some more research later I found that the trail we went on actually follows Cub Run and that people go there in the spring to see millions of bluebells. So we'll have to go back and see that sometime.

Usually when we go on hikes on our own we just sort of explore until we find where we're supposed to be, and sometimes we never find it because we find something else. And there isn't always that much help online. Luckily the friends we were meeting were patient and easygoing about this approach.

My kids were enamored with the water park we parked next to, so I promised them we'd go back on our next water day. And we did, 3 days later. And I took exactly one picture.

Thanks, Bull Run in all your incarnations. We had fun. And we'll be back.

Summer nights in DC

Matt had the brilliant idea to get a babysitter and show my dad a good time without the kids on his last night here. In our normal fashion, we didn't have a very elaborate plan but spent our time driving and walking around DC just looking at stuff. Luckily for us, that was what my dad wanted to do! I love DC at night. After an unsuccessful attempt at parking at Iwo Jima (we had forgotten about the free concerts there on Tuesday nights) we decided to check out the Air Force memorial for the first time. This is the only picture I got. The quotes on the walls from former airmen were very interesting, the view was nice, and the parking was abundant. So it's worth a trip if you haven't been.

Once we were sure the concert was over, we went back to Iwo Jima, where I neglected to get any pictures at all. But it is one of my favorite places in DC.

We drove around for a bit, then parked on Constitution and walked through the west end of the Mall, seeing the Lincoln, Korean War, and Vietnam War memorials.

Unicorn/Washington monument.

There were sooooo many people at Lincoln. Not surprising since it was an amazing summer night.

Didn't take pictures at Vietnam or Korean but those are two more of my favorite places in DC.

Something sort of funny that I have never witnessed before--normally Constitution is a pretty easy place to park on a weeknight. We found a parking spot easily enough, but not before waiting in a bunch of traffic due to semi-truck after semi-truck--at least 2 dozen--hauling and unloading big concrete barriers at random spots. It was the same week as Barry's African summit, but I'm not sure the two were related. I have never seen so many semis on Constitution. Certainly not any at 9:00 on a Tuesday night. We never figured it out.

The next day, the kids and I took my dad to Union Station, where he hopped on a train back to Philly. He and my mom spent a few more days in Philly with Hannah and Robbie before they flew home together to California.

Bye, Grandpa!

Trail Day: Scotts Run with HPT

The first day my dad was here, we went to Scotts Run. We hadn't been there since mid-June, when the Potomac was several feet higher and moving much faster. It was amazing to see the difference when we arrived at the end of the hike. The area where the kids and my dad are standing, in the pictures above, was about 10 feet under water 2 months ago.

It was a beautiful day for a hike--maybe could have been a few degrees cooler, but it wasn't very humid. We saw dozens of tiny baby toads. It was great to walk a few miles with my kids and my dad, just chatting and having fun. After the hike, the kids started asking about food and my dad offered to buy us lunch. Spending the morning throwing rocks into water and looking for toads, then topping it off with mac and cheese from Noodles (their favorite restaurant of all time...), was pretty much a dream come true for my kids. Thanks, Dad!

DC Day: Franciscan Monastery, plus St. Mary's Parish (bit of a Catholic theme this week)

For DC Day we went to the Franciscan Monastery in northeast DC. It was another beeeeeeeeeautiful July day. The monastery has a lovely rose garden, and also a grotto (a replica of the grotto of Lourdes). And a Rosary Portico, which is a portico that wraps around the front and has mosaic representations of events in the life of Jesus, as well as prayers printed on the walls in every language. I learned that what I have always called the Lord's Prayer is called the "Our Father" in Catholicism. And the "Hail Mary" I never knew the English words to (just the Latin words from "Ave Maria" which I only listen to at Christmas time). I like the idea of the rosary tradition--basically reciting the Our Father and Haily Mary numerous times along with a few other things--which I am mostly unfamiliar with since Mormons pray saying whatever thoughts come to them. Also, I love that Catholics worship Mary. I think Mary was pretty awesome, from what I know about her. I like learning about other religions and how they see the world and faith and getting through life.

It also has a lot of trees and a replica of a Jewish tomb. It also has a gift shop which sells pencils that say "100% Catholic" or "I Walk with Jesus," which is what my kids chose to buy. My mom loves gift shops so it's good she was with us, otherwise we would not have gathered these lovely souvenirs.

Actually it's good she was with us for many reasons, one in particular being that I love hanging out with my mom.

Hannah and Rhoda came too. Fun times at the monastery!

The next day we went to see Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's grave at a tiny little Catholic cemetery in Rockville. It has long been on my (lengthy) "to-see-in-DC" ("or near DC") list, even though it's such a random thing in a random, strip-mally place. I briefly mentioned it to my mom and she was all over it, so we went. It was nice to have a companion with me who cared about it, since going to see the Fitzgeralds' grave with just my kids would have been a little weird and I doubt Matt would have wanted to go see it. So what I'm saying is, if my mom hadn't been into the idea I probably never would have gone. But I'm glad we went.

Trail Day: Burke Lake

We love Burke Lake. 

For our next Trail Day, the day after my mom arrived from California (and the day after she babysat so that Matt and I could go to the Beck concert--and right after she babysat the next morning so that I could get my hair cut--Mom! Thank you!) the kids and my mom and I took advantage of the beautiful July day and took a ride on the Burke Lake train and a little walk on the trail from the train "depot" to the marina and back.

Virginia!

DC Day: Albert Einstein Memorial

I'd always wanted to go to the Albert Einstein memorial statue on Constitution Ave, so for our next DC Day we did just that.

Unfortunately it coincided with what I think might have been the hottest day of the summer. Yikes. Fortunately the kids were good sports.

We found a spot to park on I think 20th, a block or so from Constitution (and a few blocks east of the statue) next to this big climbing tree where we rested and had a snack.

The kids noticed a fountain across the street, so we stopped there too.

It was a really big fountain.

By this point it was so hot outside, we were all dying to get in the fountain. 

I'm including this picture in case you are dying to go see a giant fountain on Virginia Ave near a Federal Reserve building. (You never know.) It's apparently named after Robert Latham Owens, whoever he is. So there's that.

Anyway, that might not be quite enough fountain pictures, so here's another one. The kids noticed another fountain on Constitution, and we rested again in the shade. A nice security guard offered to take our picture when he noticed Ida and Theo were taking turns taking pictures of Lars and me. I initially said no thanks, but then realized I have hardly any photos of me with my kids (as opposed to a bazillion photos of just my kids since I'm always the one with the camera) so I took him up on it.

Finally we got to the point of our excursion: Albert Einstein.

The Albert Einstein Memorial is in front of the National Academy of Sciences, on the corner of Constitution and 22nd Ave. It's right across from the Vietnam Wall. I see people climbing on Albert's lap all the time (including right when we arrived) so I felt fine letting the kids do it.

We stayed for a few minutes, walked around the grounds and read the plaques. My kids had no idea who Einstein was. I tried to explain--not sure if I succeeded. If nothing else, they'll have the image of a giant metal man holding a giant metal book on top of a giant metal map of the sky. 

For a moment I considered taking them into the actual Academy of Sciences to check that out, but quickly thought better of it.

Then we went home.

I know my in-and-out, one-thing-at-a-time sightseeing method isn't for everyone. It might sound funny to drive into DC just to see one tiny memorial, or to drive to a creekside trail for a 1-mile "hike." But since we live a 20-minute drive from just about anything you can think of (besides the beach...or mountains), and my kids get bored so quickly of walking from sight to sight for more than an hour or so at a time, it works for us. If we stick to an hour at our destination, I almost never deal with major tantrums. Anything over an hour or 90 minutes and we're always on the brink of tantrum city. So I recommend the method to anyone local. Especially if you have young kids, or a short attention span yourself (guilty *points to self*). And especially if it's 93 degrees and humid outside.

On the flip side, if you're already doing a walk around the monuments and are therefore already spending a few hours there, it's definitely worth the 10-minute detour to cross Constitution and sit on Albert's lap for a moment.