East Coast Trip: PA, DE, and VA

We made our annual visit to the east coast in June this year. I, per usual, took too many pictures, so bear with me.

Daddy came with us for the frist part of our trip,where we spent some time in Pennsylvania, with friends in Philly:


(happily, believe it or not!)













And we also visited Sesame Place as a family, just north of Philadelphia.















And the girls were wiped enough to successfully share a bed for the first time! They were actually both thrilled by it.



We also made our annual pilgrimage to Bing's Bakery



and our friends' house and gorgeous pool! The girls (especially Sabine) stayed in until they were prunes.











We were all very happy to see them.

We also made it to Milburn's Orchards with Uncle Butch:







and found baby apples just starting to grow, along with the famous apple cinder donuts, that were ready-to-consume!

For the last leg of our week, we went down to Virginia to see family.



The girls picked up with their cousins like no time had passed at all,







and so did the grown-ups!





Aspen also made her first attempts at catching fireflies in Aunt Judy and Uncle Fred's yard. That was a highlight!





We also managed to make it into Washington D.C.



And the girls got to see the White House



and part of the Smithsonian. Sabine was impressed by anything presidential, and all kiddos seemed to enjoy the display of Inaugural Ball Gowns in the Museum of American History.



We even got to enjoy the cousins' pool





before returning back to Delaware.

We had one last night with daddy, and then took him out for really good ice cream before he had to head back to the airport. Aspen won the flavor contest with "Winterthur's Green Faerie Mint." (Although they were all delicious!)

Summertime Is for Swimming

Sabine is not the only swimmer in our family, anymore! Aspen started her lessons on June 5!



She started at Colorado Swim School, the same place Sabine went to for years, and she seems to love it. It helps that her buddy, A, is in class with her,





and she talks about her teacher, Mr. E, constantly.



Although she and A are usually happy to play in water anywhere they can find it!



H is another good friend we have been getting to know better.



And Sabine is always happy to tag along to swimming whenever and wherever it is happening! Swim team practice fins turn out to be great mermaid fins when she's not at practice!

B&B

We had a fun visit from (Great) Aunt Betsy and Uncle Butch! We took them to Pearl St. in Boulder, where we had lunch at the Russian Tea House



ran in the fountains



ate shaved ice



and brought them home, where they did lots and lots of reading (and even a little math!)







We ended their visit with a trip to Cheese Importers, and the only thing that made saying "goodbye" bearable, was knowing that we'd be seeing them at their house in less than a week!

Memorial Day

Mommy's cousins came out to visit for a long weekend, and we enjoyed getting that time with them!



We toured Liberty Puzzles in Boulder, and found out we were all puzzle fanatics!



We went up and visited Grandmom and Grandpa and had a great time together celebrating Grandpa's birthday very belatedly!





We took them to the Boulder's Farmer's Market and happened upon some sort of art festival that day.



The girls had a blast getting henna tattoos on their hands



...and their cousins (and Nana and Aunt Dani) were even able to join for henna and lunch at the Russian Tea House!





Come back soon, guys! We miss you!

May

May kept us busy, as well!

Grandmom's cousin, Nancy, and her husband Mike came to town to visit, and we got to have lunch with them.



Both girls continued to squeeze in as many of their own play dates as possible!





Sabine has become quite adept at putting all of our critters to sleep.





And we got to spend an evening at a lake in town, where they brought in some goats (and a llama!) for weed control! Aspen liked the goats,



Sabine liked the lake!



We got to celebrate Mother's Day with both grandmothers and Aunt Dani, that was really special!



Sabine had Japan Day at school, which was fun to watch!







(Aspen and her friend attempted their own version)

Followed closely by Field Day!



Swim team also started!



And Sabine had her first swim meet!



It only reached about 52 degrees and was drizzling off and on, but Sabine and her teammates swam well. We were very proud!



Mommy and daddy went to California for a weekend,



and spent a day at Universal Studios,



which, most importantly, is the location of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Sabine was beside herself with envy.