Get the hose

As the hottest month ever for D.C. comes to a close, we finally broke out the water balloons. 

Aging gracefully

All portraits by Lily:

 Blue, age 12. 

 Dana, age 13. 

Andy, age two years older than Heather. 

Fashion week

With Lily's interest in the creative arts, we've often joked that she's going to grow up to be a fashion designer. Well, here's her early start. What it lacks in durability, it makes up for in pizzazz and affordability.

 The designer with her model, who needs to work on a more runway-appropriate slightly bored pout.

Matching footwear, of course! 

Animotion

 This kind of freaks me out. Like the giraffe is looking right at me.

 Me! Take a picture of me!

The girls came downstairs yesterday all gussied up in dresses, heels, and headbands like they were auditioning for one of the Mad Men wannabe shows. What cracks me up about this photo--and the previous one--is how Lily is still and Amalia is in constant motion.

As big as my head

Lily took this picture of one of the humongous sunflowers in our front yard. 

 Saving Amalia from Seymour. 

 "I hope Daddy didn't trade our dogs for these magic beans." 

"You should've seen the other sunflower. It was this big!"

Promises, promises

Amalia, the other night at the dinner table: "When I am three, I will cooperate."

Parallel paths

You know how parallel lines can be really close to each other but will never, ever meet? The following events took place at the exact same time in our house: 

Lily was dancing with the Wii when a Justin Bieber song came on. She immediately said, "I'll be right back," and ran out of the room. Only to return wearing jeans and a black hoodie.

Amalia was helping Andy cook dinner in the kitchen when she said, "I want to wash dishes." So Andy set her up with a sink full of suds and she's happy as a clam.

Horsin' around

Today we visited Gettysburg's only slightly lesser-known landmark: The Land of Little Horses.

 Complete with tire horse swings. 

 Trevor, the donkey, freely roamed the grounds. 

 In the clink. 

 Amalia riding Lil Bit. 

 Lasso Lily

Amalia is a huge fan of animals and quite comfortable putting her hands in and around their heads and mouths. Good thing she's also a fan of hand sanitizer.

This big guy was a bit of a bully. I saw him knock the feed cup out of someone's hand. Not Amalia's, though. She's pretty tough.

 Feeding the animals. 

Pedal pusher. 

Nothing but flowers

 Here's a photo tour of our front yard. Flowers by Andy; photos by Lily. 

  

Lily also took this picture of Amalia and her baby doll.

Lily's also become a bit obsessed with Toyotas. She went in search of one to take a picture of.

Andy took this one. Apparently a mommy and daddy finch are thinking it's a good idea to build a nest in our bird feeder. I'm not so sure. 

Miss Independence

 This was one of the more celebratory Fourths of July we've had in years. 

 First we decided to sneak over to a local parade two neighborhoods over. I hope we blended in.

 It featured all kinds of celebrities, including an Uncle Sam of normal height. 

 Our Congresswoman, Eleanor Holmes Norton. 

The parade does not require any sort of pre-registration. People can just line up at the starting point. So it tends to feature politicians, local businesses, and lobbying for various local issues. This one was for D.C. statehood. 

On the up side, pretty much all of the parade participants throw candy to the kids. Andy said it's like Halloween, but where the candy comes to you. Here, Lily and pal Sophie are comparing their grabs.

There were a few cool entries, like this dance troop from Bolivia. As Amalia pointed out, they had jingle bells on their legs.

After the low-key parade, we went home to chill out for a bit and watched all of the America-themed Schoolhouse Rocks songs. My favorite is the Preamble. Then we decided to try out the neighborhood fireworks viewing spot: the local cemetery.

 Upon arrival, Andy spread out the blanket and Amalia asked, "Where's lunch?" It was 9:00 p.m.

Through that clearing in the trees, in the distance, is the Washington monument, over which they set off the national fireworks (the same ones you can see behind Jimmy Smits on the PBS special).

I'm sure the old souls enjoyed the company for the evening. It was an interesting mix of Glover Park families and inebriated Georgetown students.

Amalia was not a fan of the sparklers our friends brought, nor of the home-bought fireworks some of the G'town students set off. But it was sure nice not to battle the crowds on the Mall or on Metro. Instead, we simply walked home and had the girls in bed by 10.