Missed Happenings

We did a lot our last few months in the DC area.  A LOT.  I tried to squeeze as much as possible in, and as it turns out that was a ton.  I could never list it all! But here are a few of the things we got to do before we left.

Embassy Day

With the Japanese Ambassador

This is one of our fave DC events.  All the embassies throw open houses so that people can come and get a taste of the culture they represent.  There is food, music, dances, art, artifacts, all kinds of things.  We of course couldn't make it to every one, but we hit up some great ones.  Little One's favorite was Iraq.  First of all, the food was killer good.  Secondly, the music was great!  Instead of live performers, this one had a DJ spinning Iraqi tunes, and apparently it struck a cord with Her.  She rocked out like only She can.  Of course She had quite the audience after a little while, and pretty much stole the show, getting rounds of applause after various numbers, and lots of compliments for Her parents.  She also loved the wild costumes from some of the South American embassies, the spicy snacks at Tibet, and anything that had music and dancing.

Greek Festival

In another taste of culture and another chance for Little One to dance Her heart out, we went to the Greek Fest.  J and I pigged out on pastries, and Little One joined the dance line.  Miss just hung out and charmed everyone, but we're sure She had fun too.

Children's Fair

We came home with like 500 art projects and two very tired but happy girls.

Kayla's Pony Party

look out! I'm drivin!

At their cousin's birthday party, Little One got to ride ponies and this time, didn't even fall off!  I got to go ride a horse all by myself, and only crashed once.  We all ate cake and had fun times with family, and Little Miss got Her first experience going swimming!  Big hit.

DC Culture Day

This year the three focuses were Peace Corps, Rhythm and Blues, and Columbia.  The Peace Corps exhibits were amazing; there were workshops and demonstrations from all different parts of the world, and lots of interesting projects.  Little One decorated and mailed a postcard to a child in Honduras, and loved watching Shea Butter being made, and then smoothing it into Her skin.

She LOVED the Columbia section, mostly because of the stage with traditional music and dancing.  You know She danced right along!

But the R&B was Her favorite.  She was in heaven.  The beat just carried Her little heart away.  There were a bunch of kids from a dance school there on the floor, and Little One hooked up with a little boy, maybe 4 or 5 years old.  They danced for about half an hour, straight.  Until they were both dripping with sweat and out of breath.  It kills me I have no video of this, because it was amazing.  It was like dancing with the stars! They were such a great little combo.  He was a super sweet kid, very encouraging and sweet to Little One.  The fun thing was watching him teach Her actual dance moves, and watching Her pick them right up.  He'd demonstrate and then before I knew it, She was doing turns under his arm, doing spins around each other, turning under while holding hands, doing a little move where they kicked opposite feet towards each other, and one where they shuffled right and left together.  It was like they had danced together for months.  Little One and I were both kind of sad we didn't get to take the guy home, but sadly his own parents wanted to keep him.


Kayaking

Miss's idea of adventure sports...

When J's sister came, we finally did something we'd wanted to since moving to Maryland, and went kayaking on the Potomac. We took turns paddling and playing on the shore with the kiddos, and it will go down as one of the funnest things ever as far as I'm concerned.  I could kayak every day! Who knew?




Amish Market

We went to this market on our way to Southern Maryland.  J and I got cinnamon rolls and jam.  Little One pet some chicks, and Miss rode a horse.  Fun for everyone!




Berry Picking

We took Little Miss for Her first and last outing at our favorite orchard/farm. Both gals had fun seeing the animals and playing on the hay bales.  We found one very sweet little berry.


Visits and Playdates

Nothing like great-grandparents !

One of my favorite pics of all time.

Love

chillen

Keeping up with the big kids

we miss dinner at aunt wen's

Up Top!

We tried to see everyone before we left, but of course never got to.  We did get to have goodbyes with some of our friends though, and we miss all of them too much.


General Cuteness

Yes.  There has been quite a lot of that.  I have all but given up on even trying to save it up, it is so overwhelming.  But these are some little bits.  We're getting more in all the time, too.

Missed Holidays

You know we didn't forget to celebrate.  See?

Memorial Day


I took the Littles into DC. We walked around looking at memorials and seeing the fanfare before heading to the ceremony at the National Navy Memorial.

As a navy family, it seemed like a good ceremony to choose. 

It was.  Because the Navy Band Played.
Little One.   Little One has music in Her soul.  She feels it.  When She hears it, it possesses Her like a spirit, She just has to dance!  And this music was great. When they first struck up and the horns swelled and the drums rumbled, She planted Her feet and leaned back.  She closed Her eyes.  Her arms slowly, dramatically, swept out, her fingers stretched.  They swept up, reaching for the sky.  Her head fell back, Her arms swooped out wide!  The tune kicked in and the song beat picked up.  She jumped.  And then! There was no stopping those tiny feet.  She danced, pranced, twirled and spun.  She clapped to the beat, She tapped Her feet.  She was in Her element.
We happened to be sitting in one of the only shady spots, right next to where the band was playing. The rest of the audience was in the folding chairs set up a few stairs down.  Little One danced all across Her "stage", right in front of the band, looking for all the world like a part of the show.
When it was all over, people cheered for the band.  And then, they cheered for Her.
People came up by the dozens to clap for Her and tell Her how much they loved Her dancing.  The band members came over to shake Her hand and thank Her! People asked for photos with Her.
Little One was a little shy about Her glimmer of fame, but also beaming with pride and starstruck by meeting the musicians.  Memorial day is a somber time in some ways. One of the people who came up to us was a little girl whose mother had been deployed for years.  Some of the people were there to honor lost loved ones.  But rather than diminish the sincerity of that ceremony by dancing with joy, I think Little One cheered people up a little.  She was sincere.  What better way to honor those we've lost, than to appreciate life? What better antithesis is there to loss and grief and war, than innocence and joy and....dancing? 

 






 


Afterwards She cooled off with a treat and watched the big parade.  We had a talk about what it was for; what it all meant.  We said a prayer.  And Little Miss was there too! She helped by being adorable. 

"I cannot believe I'm getting away with eating this"

As impressed by the parade as She was by the band

This police officer kept cracking up watching LO dance to the parade bands

Buzz Aldrin!!

It was a memorial day that will always be, well, remembered.


Independence Day

DC was also of course THE place to be for the 4th of July.  This year we were lucky enough to have J's sister there to celebrate with us, and we hit the city again.
 

But for the fireworks, we headed back a closer to home, to the county celebration at the fairgrounds near our house. 

Dancing (of course!) to the band

I think this is the first year that Little One really appreciated them.  I tried to get a photo of Her face lighting up when the fireworks did, but it's hard to capture that kind of wonder.

Even though we got drizzled on a bit, Little One rocked out to the concert, Miss enjoyed the lawn, the fireworks were flashy, and we all had a great time.  I've always loved this holiday.  But every year, as I get deeper and deeper into this parent thing, I find more meaning in what it stands for.  There are plenty of messes and problems in this country.  It's true.  But I'm grateful beyond reason that I get to live here and raise my babies here.  Definitely something worth celebrating.

Birthdays
I'm not telling how old we are.  All you really need to know, is that J is OLDER. Than me. Making me younger.  Me = younger.  There you go.

But here we are celebrating his. J is clearly thrilled.
 

On mine, I actually was thrilled.  There was a cupcake.

Bathtized

This missed milestone deserves its own post. 
Way back on June 16, we took Little Miss to the Southern Maryland soil Her family tree has such deep roots in, to the centuries-old church J's family has belonged to for generations and generations.  We put Her in Her sweet white dress.  And Little One explained it all to Her:

"Little Missy! YOU are goin' to get BATH-TIZED today! Yes you are! They're gonna put some water, and you get all bathtized, and then will be a PARTY cause you'll BE ALL CLEAN!"

A fairly good explanation, I'd say. And that's just what we did.

The priest who baptized J and Little One has retired, but the new Fr is great. 

The family all filed in and after mass we gathered up by the font for the ceremony. 

Do you all remember when Little One did this?  Oh.  We did.  We ALL did.  Some of the guests likely brought ear protection, just in case.

But in true Little Miss style, not only did She refrain from tears during the whole thing, but She grinned at the onlookers all throughout the blessing, and when the water was poured on Her little head? She giggled. 

Afterwards we celebrated at a family haunt right on the water, just down the street from J's old house. We had yummy food and Miss enjoyed the VIP limelight.

The older kids danced to a jukebox and played in the sand. 

 

A lovely day.  And at the end of it, Little One I think explained what we were all thinking.
"Missy, you are a angel".