July 4th (or 3rd) - Concert at the Capitol

We pulled into DC last year on July 5th, just missing the Fourth of July celebrations.  This year we took full advantage of Ryan's day off and living in the nation's capitol!  Instead of braving the crowds on the 4th, we joined a smaller group for the Concert on the Capitol rehearsal on the 3rd.  With take-out dinner from two of our favorite eats on the Hill, we headed right in to find a spot on the lawn and catch the show.  We ended up sitting with friends for the second half of the show and decided this is the way to enjoy the Capitol's Fourth of July celebration!  Heading back to our car, we caught the fireworks from the Nationals stadium, making our pre-fourth night complete!

 Gretchen was feeling patriotic on the morning of the fourth while I read:

A slow morning for everyone . . . it's good to have a sister.

Dinner at Steve and Vallerie's house with Great Gramma!!

Highlights from June

Our school year didn't wrap up until the end of June, so we took school outside on the especially beautiful sunny mornings . . .

After jumping on the trampoline with the hose and our neighbor, the girls had some important matters to discuss on the deck =)  It is my absolute joy to see their friendship growing.

One of our neighbors organized a night for several of us on our street to go to a minor league baseball game together!  The kids had a blast!

Our friend, Rachael, put together a little tennis class for her daughter and several other 3 to 5-year-olds in our neighborhood - Bridgette was invited to join the class!  Rachael did a brilliant job teaching the kiddos about the basics of tennis once a week for four weeks.   

And during the last tennis class, Rachael's husband, Jaron, came to the park and took on Rooke in an intense game of one-on-one! 

An afternoon playdate with our neighbors turned into me putting them to work at our community garden plot!

The time when I lost complete control during grocery shopping!

A quiet afternoon at the Arboretum - one of our favorite places to venture when we need to get outdoors.  We explored a new trial until the storm clouds started rolling in.  Thankfully, one of the kids was already whining asking to go back to the car, so we turned back sooner than I'd planned and ended up missing most of the heavy rain.

Another fun reason to visit the Arboretum: summer concerts in the park!

We took the bikes and scooters to a nearby park

Field trip with friends to the Postal Museum, which might be my new favorite museum of all that we've visited!

One morning, the kids were up with extra energy and wanted to go for a bike ride - ok!

All three kids took swimming lessons twice a week for the month of June.  Rooke honed his skills on several strokes, and the girls gained a tremendous amount of confidence in their swimming!

Ryan got to come for the last swimming lessons and we treated the kids to frozen yogurt afterwards!

Playing the fountains after a speech appointment for Bridgette

Sweet friends ready to jump in during a pool party with families from the exercise class I go to in our neighborhood!