May and June

Here is the last round of pre-#3 pictures. These are rather out of order, but maybe that will help you experience our whirlwind of activities in a more realistic fashion! June pics are first, then May. Enjoy!

Even David can climb this wall now!

There goes monkey Josh too.

Ready to go.

What? A playdough sandwich at the pool? Not exactly.

Joshua loves to paddle about in this ring.

David likes it too but not so much in the pool.

WWII flying ace.

Another handsome fearless flyer.

Rrrr...rings.

All the above photos are from our weekly pool day at a wonderful friend's lovely home. Rachel thank you so much for providing this incredible time for our family on a weekly basis! Look forward to coming back with the little one next month!
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A family in our care group invited us over one afternoon and the boys had a great time playing in their yard, as seen below:

Slip'n'slide...

Ker-splash!

During a recent family fun night, we broke out the children's golfing set that Chris's aunt and uncle passed down to us. I have to say it was the best golf I've played in years. I think I aced every hole but one. Chris told the boys not to smile because golf is serious, but I didn't get the message. =)

Our harvest, about 8 lbs. Not quite as many as I hoped but quite enough to enjoy for a while.

Hot, tired, and happy strawberry pickers.

Josh and David with friends Sam and Matthew

We vacuumed and rearranged the van to install the baby's seat. Joshua has the back to himself now and seems to be enjoying it despite the more limited view.

For one family fun night we practiced a magic trick called "The Floating Egg."

Can you guess how it's done?

They won't tell, and neither will I.

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Memorial Day Parade, Washington D.C.

Joshua helped carry gear since I was so pregnant. I put their bathing suits on because we were anticipating getting to play in the fountain we've enjoyed before, but this year, alas, it was off. A pity too because it was quite hot!

But that didn't diminish our enjoyment of the parade.

In addition to all the various bands and floats, some new things this year included:

A model motor torpedo boat,

a fighter plane,

and the space shuttle.

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On May 28th, the day after skating, we went with friends to the butterfly exhibit at Brookside Gardens. We were amazed! So many gorgeous butterflies everywhere we looked, flitting freely around a large greenhouse. Here are a few examples:

They will even land on you!

Challenge: Spot the butterfly causing this crazy reaction!

These were so beautiful but difficult to catch resting with their wings spread. Joshua pointed out this one to me.

Daniel, in the middle, is a super active kiddo who gave a daring butterfly the ride of its life when it rested in his hair. For some reason, maybe shock, it wouldn't let go and fly away! I had been telling Joshua and David that if they stood still and waited maybe a butterfly would land on them. They did so for about 10 minutes with no result. Then Daniel ended up with that one on his head for a good 5 minutes, all the while jumping and running and bouncing around! I guess my philosophy about attracting butterflies isn't exactly correct.

After the butterfly house we went through the outdoor gardens and Joshua found this feather, which the other boys quickly coveted. Here David is having a turn with it. Thanks J for sharing your feather!

Then we headed to the children's garden, where Joshua tried life as a gnome.

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Still riding multiple times a day if time and weather permit.

And building Lego creations in between rides.

Race car.

Tractor with lawn mower attachment.
It is so wonderful to see his creative powers developing!

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Inspired by children's cookbooks, Saturday morning pancakes took on a slight variation one morning.

The boys came downstairs and were thrilled to see their names in pancake!

Just a tip if you want to try it, we used the turkey baster to squirt out alpha-numeric pancakes on the griddle and it worked really well!

Continuing the fun food theme, when we babysat some other boys overnight we made personal pizzas, and these were the kids' creations. David's has the upside down mouth on the lower left, and Joshua's is the most symmetrical on the lower right.

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May 26th, Last Day of Preschool!

The school year zipped by incredibly fast.

Last day on the school playground...looks like Joshua made the most of it!

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A friend invited us to go ice skating May 27th. Nevermind that I was 8 months pregnant, it sounded like a great opportunity, so we went! Renee came along to assist and I couldn't have done it without her. Being a careful (some might say over-careful) mom and to help the boys not be as afraid, we put their bike helmets on in case of crashes.

Joshua edging along near the wall.

David skating with our friend. Her son was confident enough that he didn't mind letting go of her for a few minutes!

A natural reward: watching the zamboni at the end.

Below see footage of Joshua in the pool:

And of Joshua describing his playdough creation:

Some day we'll get some movies of David posted! I don't have any recent ones. But with this new little guy coming on the scene, I expect the camera to be seeing plenty of action in coming weeks.

At the doctor today, I found out I am 3 cm dilated! He'll be here any time now...

May - Williamsburg

Jamestown Settlement

Here we are at our first stop, Jamestown Settlement. We loved this site for its hands-on nature. The kids had a great time watching the movie, then going aboard ships, into buildings in the fort and wigwams in the Powhatan Indian village, tying knots on fishing nets, touching all kinds of animal furs, grinding cornmeal, trying on armor, reclining on beds, washing clothes, lifting water buckets, and more. These good first impressions set the tone for a positive experience the rest of the trip, with the possible exception of the live gunfire demo.

We liked how this fountain represented the three ships. I'm glad the man who snapped this photo for us kept us small to fit the whole fountain in the frame because it is actually the end of our day, and we are tired, hot, sticky, sweaty, grimy, dusty, and dishevelled beyond description. We could not wait to check in at the resort and jump in the pool!

Like Almanzo carrying the maple syrup buckets during sugaring time.

Father working hard.

There's a man after my heart, doing the laundry.

Ready to protect his family from the dangers lurking all around the fort.

Pretending we're drifting downstream in our dugout canoe.

We were able to take tours of replicas of the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, the three square-rigged sailing vessels that brought the original colonists to Jamestown.

Grinding cornmeal at the Powhatan village.

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Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

We saw a duck family with a dozen children in the lake at the resort. That is one amazing mamma duck!

The boys did much better at miniature golf this year, although they were not too big on form and played ambidextrously as well (note the left handed putt). I guess I don't have any pictures from the pool, but they had a blast swimming. Joshua made a lot of progress conquering his fears and was floating with a noodle all by himself! David still vividly recalls his dunking in Williamsburg last year and was a bit more cautious than his big bro.

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Colonial Williamsburg

David was infatuated with these pigs. He kept asking to see them, and we did in fact make a point to go back the next day so he could admire them some more.

Bad Mommy.

Outside the Armory.

One of the boys' favorite parts of the trip, the Fifes and Drums.

I have to add here that while last year Joshua enjoyed the horses, this year he most decidedly did not. He insisted on turning away or covering his eyes anytime any horses were in sight, which caused him to bump into quite a few things while walking. However, a highlight for David came when George Washington's white horse dumped a huge load of you-know-what right in front of us during the Revolutionary City show. Maybe it even outranks the Fifes and Drums?

Williamsburg charm.

Hauling a bucket of water up from the well.

Having lugged it through the garden and received help to dump it somewhere, now they are going back for more. We later saw one of these handmade buckets for sale for $175. Anyone want to buy a bucket? And then let your preschoolers play with it?

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Yorktown Victory Center

This was another fun place for the boys with so many hands-on things they could do.

They had a room where kids could dress up in costumes (way too big for our boys but they still enjoyed it). We went there more to escape the cannon and musket demonstration, which they heard fired in Jamestown and decided was much too loud for their taste.

Love my young patriots!

Washing more clothes.

Armed and dangerous with his musket.

It seemed like we heard "there's something in my shoe!" a million times from both kids. Fortunately there was this handy Continental Army tent with a chest to sit on for easy removal of the offending objects.

All in all, we accomplished above and beyond what we expected in terms of sight seeing. In spite of the heat, the boys did a great job walking and being interested in the historic scenes around us. And it was so nice to be able to go back "home" and splash in the pool, eat popsicles, and rest in air-conditioned comfort. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Kinsinger, for a wonderful vacation!