Circus Shots

Some people like the feeling of sand beneath their toes.  I must say I do enjoy the squish of wet sand beneath my feet as the waves lap at my ankles. 

My children, however, have a whole different kind of love of sand.

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One which truly baffles my mind.

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EVERY SINGLE TIME we visit our community beach, it’s the same routine.  We drop our stuff in the sand and they make a mad dash for the water, they splash and play and swim and then, inevitably, they decide it’s time to hit the sand.

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As in lay down with their wet selves on the sand and make “sand angels”IMG_2805

Being sure, of course, to flip and get both of their sides equally covered in sand

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And to make sure they are fully, fully caked in the sand, they will pour handful upon hand full on top of themselves, IMG_2822

until they are covered in at least a solid inch or two of sand

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And when they feel they’ve got it on them thoroughly, they’ll stand up, run into the water, and wash it off

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Only, to run back out and repeat

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Perhaps it’s their own version of a spa treatment with a little exfoliating scrub…or perhaps it’s just an excuse to get dirty, all I know is, it keeps them entertained for QUITE awhile and it typically results in a sandy bathtub when we get home. 

They couldn’t figure out why I didn’t want to join them.  While I was happy to sit in the sand with my feet in the water, I was not so eager to roll around caking my body in dirty sand.  Am I alone on this?  Is it a kid thing?  Thoughts?

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Round these parts the current show which they all can agree on when they are given the chance to pick something is Woody Woodpecker

What’s at the top of your queue these days?

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She pretty much whips me at this every Monday and Wednesday… and I wouldn’t trade the sweet memories we’re making for anything in the world.

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I really wanted to take the kids in to DC this spring to see the Cherry Blossoms.  It’s not something we do every year, in fact, I think I’ve been only a handful of times in the 27 years I’ve lived in Maryland.   But, this year, I thought it’d be fun to go and was thinking we might even have a free weekend during their peak blooms. 

But, thanks to the warm winter we had, they peaked early and there was NO chance of going during their peak week as it just didn’t fit with our schedules.  We hoped to try this weekend, but the cold and rain didn’t make it seem worthwhile.

So, today Scott called me at 11:30 and said, “What are we doing tonight?  Wanna go to DC?”   I had an hour and a half to pack up some dinner, gather stuff together, (shower) and pick him up at work and the oldest 2 from tutorial.  I was so excited, b/c I had given up on seeing the blossoms this year and while we knew it wouldn’t be peak, we figured we could hopefully still see some. 

Once we arrived in the city we realized there really weren’t many blooms left, so we decided to make a bee line for the Natural History museum b/c I’ve been wanting to take the kids this year to see the mummies, dinosaurs, and butterflies (all things we studied in school this year).  We had a little over an hour before it closed and were able to see all three exhibits!  (wahoo, 2 trips taken care of in one spontaneous outing)

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Since Scott’s dad works in the city, he met us and we enjoyed a picnic dinner on the mall looking at the Capital and Washington Monument.  (can you tell we had them looking into the sun for this picture?)

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The big 3 actually enjoyed sitting on a steam vent for the metro.  It was nice and warm as the cool evening air blew in.  IMG_2970

I tried not to think too hard about the smog and pollution that was blowing up on them and their food. 

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Like I said, most of the blossoms were off, but we did enjoy walking around the tidal basin at sunset and we did see some blossoms.  It was also peak season for the tulip garden which was beautiful!

 

 

 

We were so excited to find a tree in bloom.  Daddy and Pop hoisted the girls up on their shoulders so they could get a picture with the blossoms. 

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What a wonderful way to start the week… with a spontaneous afternoon in the nation’s capital with the family. 

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Truthfully, the circus family doesn’t spend much time on bikes.  We do a lot of fun things here, don’t get me wrong, but there are only so many hours in a day, and teaching our kids to ride bikes has not been where we’ve spent ours.

But, today the sun was shining, the weather was unseasonably warm here in MD again, and as the kids played in the backyard while Scott did yard work, our oldest daughter decided that today she wanted to ride her bike without training wheels. 

And I just had a feeling that she was going to do it.  You know, how sometimes you just know? 

They set off around 4:15pm.  At 4:20, Scott sent me this text.

“Great strategy.  Let’s not ride for 6 mths then go for it.”

I began to doubt that feeling I had earlier,  But…

at 4:39pm he texted me a picture of her riding off into the distance.

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That’s right!!  She did it!!!  My girl’s on two wheels!!!

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My Happy 2 Wheeler!

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Nothing like a surprise package of clothes in the mail to bring smiles to the girls faces and provide an impromptu photo opp. 

(the boys appreciated it too, but not to the same extent)

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Thanks cousins Ben and Eli!

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