Come on, Irene

We came through Hurricane Irene just fine--didn't even lose power--but others in our neighborhood weren't so lucky. Below are some pictures of two trees that fell on the same block. 

 First tree. Luckily it fell right where a house had just been removed. 

 First tree. Different angle. 

 Second tree--a couple of houses up. No one was hurt. 

Second tree. Different angle. 

Still a bit gusty today, so there may be more downed trees and power outages due to the rain-soaked ground. But for now, we're feeling pretty lucky. 

A week of firsts

First grader at last. 

The throngs of teary-eyed parents. (I missed it due to a work trip in Atlanta the first half of the week. So I also missed the earthquake and evacuations on Day Two of school. And with Hurricane Irene expected later today, this has been quite a week.)

The woman holding the flowers is Ms. Stevenson, Lily's first grade teacher. Rumor has it that she doesn't believe in homework--as if it's like Santa Claus or something. Oh, and Lily informed me today that hers is Ms. Stevenson's 31st first grade class. Impressive indeed.

Lily and best bud Sophie. They're in separate classes this year, but I'm guessing that will only make their relationship stronger. Like how it's advisable for spouses not to work together. 

OK, so this picture helped solve a mystery for me. When I got back from Atlanta this week, Lily was in a serious water-drinking mode, apparently based on the belief that it would help her hair grow faster (a claim put forth by her friend Tehya). Now I believe I understand the motivation. That's Tehya's hair Lily is lovingly stroking above. 

Now time to batten down the hatches for Irene's arrival. 

Like Disneyland, but Dutch!

That's how Lily described Dutch Wonderland, which is an amusement park up in Lancaster, PA where all the rides are just for kids. (Or as the promotional brochure says, "Where Kids Rule!")

But first on our road trip, we stopped to have family-style lunch in Amish Country. Complete with chow chow, fried chicken, and shoofly pie, it was delicious! Plus we met some lovely people at our table.

Then, to set up our tent at the campground, which we shared with a herd of cattle.

Highly amoosing to our city girls. 

Amalia really enjoyed the tent and her new birthday gift sleeping bag.

Ma and Pa Pierce. Photo by Amalia. 

Morning glories. I kept having to remind the girls about "quiet hours" at the campground. Apparently the country air turns them into early birds. 

Ah, story time at Dutch Wonderland. It's a good thing Lancaster is so far away from Anaheim. Otherwise, I think they might have some copyright infringement issues on their hands. Right down to the music they were playing in the park.

Andy obviously took this picture. I've no explanation for my expression. The ride was not at all worthy of it.

Steering cutie. 

 Same. 

This Hannibal Lecter-looking ride was one of their favorites. It's called "Wonder Whip," and would whirl the cars around each of the ends of the track.

Amalia rode it three times. 

And true to form, we did see many horse-drawn buggies while driving around Amish Country. So the replica at Dutch Wonderland was a sure bet. 

A good camping/road trip to cap a pretty nice summer. School starts tomorrow!

15 minutes

Lily's hula hooping skills landed her on the front page of our neighborhood newspaper.

And it's already paid off. Her buddy Gabe just called after seeing the paper at his house. (First phone call from a friend!) Perfect timing--what with the first day of school coming up on Monday.

Update: photo added

The next generation

Last night, Andy and I took the girls and my cousin Logan, who is visiting D.C. from Ohio, to see Guster at Wolf Trap. I just love that place. It's so beautiful. I used to be a first-aid volunteer there when I was an EMT just to see free shows (mostly treated folks who were drunk, overheated, or both). 

 One thing has changed. They definitely did not used to have a mascot. Meet Wolfie.

 Logan and Lily rocking out on the lawn. 

 Whirling dervish. 

That's Jack's Mannequin way down there on stage. Fantastic band. The lead singer, Andrew, is amazing. 

 Amalia and I did a lot of this. 

 And this. 

 We moved down into the house for Guster's set. (Thank you, Ryan, Cookie, and Ross!) 

 Logan, who has taken drum lessons for 4 years, was pretty much entranced the entire show. 

The upside of being irresponsible parents and taking your young children to a show way past their bedtime is that you get to sit down for much of the concert. Lily fell asleep about two songs into Guster's set. Trying not to miss a thing, Amalia held on for another hour until about 10:30.

Thanks to our backstage passes--thank you again, Ryan, Cookie, and Ross--Logan got to meet Brian and get his sticks signed.

Top this, Library of Congress.  

 Conked out. Thank goodness for the couches. 

 Logan and a crouching Ryan. 

(Ryan was critiquing Andy's picture-taking posture.)

So, I wouldn't generally recommend taking a 3-, 6-, and 12-year-old to a rock concert and keeping them out past midnight on a school night. But it was so worth it. Great band. Great show. Great venue. And I think I did my part to create another Guster fan for life.

Dear Guster

We're taking the girls to see Guster at Wolf Trap on Monday--the first time they'll see them since the cruise earlier this year. Amalia was disappointed in the change of venue.

Of candles and cathedrals

Lily finally turned 6 on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I was at a conference in Atlanta much of the week, but here are some images captured for posterity. 

  

I swear I don't know how there's so much girliness in my house, but I think this is a really cute picture of the girls.

For her birthday treat, Lily got to have her friend Sophie sleep over for the first time. Plus, apparently Sophie gave Lily the Zhu Zhu pets I denied her at Christmas.

Lily also got a suitcase full of American Girl clothes that Grandpa Colin outbid some poor grandma for at their church auction.

Later in the week, Lily's cousin Logan (and his parents) arrived from Ohio to take in the D.C. sights. First stop, National Cathedral (mostly because it's really close to our house).

 Amalia was very fond of this child statue. 

 Perhaps a little too fond. 

 Who knows where this relationship would have gone if Andy hadn't put a stop to it.

Amalia the docent.

After the cathedral, we headed down the street to check out the farmers' market and the Sauca food truck. Muy delicioso.

In the front yard with Logan. 

Expensive taste

Yes, I grew up in Southern California, but my parents were both from the Ohio Valley, which means my hyperlocal eating environment (i.e., the dinner table) was more reflective of Midwestern meat-and-potatoes meals than my Pacific Coast upbringing might otherwise imply. All of this is to say that I feel quite proud that my daughters eat many things that make me gag to this day. (It's a texture thing.)

I've long since become accustomed to their gobbling up all the tofu in the hot and sour soup, for example. But Lily's latest love of salmon sashimi is beyond my comprehension. (Exhibit A above: tonight's takeout.)

Amalia's not quite there yet in terms of raw fish, but she does eat edamame like it's going out of style.

We're jammin'

With an overabundance of blueberries--and with blueberry pancakes only requiring a handful at a time--we decided to make jam. Amalia used her destructive power for good by mashing the blueberries. Lily read out the ingredients and instructions.

Viola! (to borrow from Tommy Smothers)