Playing in the Rain

Last week Bill took the girls out for a jog (HE ran, they strolled) and they got caught in the rain on their way home.  I was out running errands and this is what I came home to -- Daddy and Katie playing in the rain... actually, rain does not describe it, it was a DOWN POUR!  It didn't take long for Ella to join them, but I wasn't standing out in that mess to take any more pictures!

Play time

Our neighborhood play group met for play time at a little place in Falls Church.  The place is set up like a preschool, with lots of things to play with including a play kitchen. Ella and Katie LOVE to play with a little girl from the neighborhood, L, which I sort of find interesting because she's a good year younger than the girls.  But, they love her and look forward to seeing her and playing with her.  It's interesting because the girls, Ella, Katie, and L, head straight to the play kitchen while all the boys go straight for the building blocks...

 

Here, L is asking Ella if she wants some ketchup in her tea. "Oh, yes, please...", says Ella.

Looks like Katie is helping serve while Ella blows on her ketchup tea to cool it off.

"Mmmm, delicious..."

On to the doll house and playing "The Three Little Bears".

CHEEEZZZEE!

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

I remember as a kid what fun it was to roll (and I mean, ROOOOOLLLLLLLL!) down a grassy hill and the girls found a perfect spot to do so last weekend.  We were invited to a cook-out at our neighbor's house.  They live ON the lake and we had a great time swimming off their dock and jumping off their boat (reminded me so much of camping at the lake when I was a kid!), but they also have a very steep incline in their back yard -- a perfect spot to roll!

Ella starting the roll...

Ella with a big finish

Katie decides to give it a try...

Katie showing me the grass on her nose!

Philly Time!

From Sesame Place, it was only a hop, skip, and a jump over to Philly, so we took the girls to see the Liberty Bell and to tootle around Philly for a bit.

Katie (in pink) and Ella (in blue) in front of the Liberty Bell.

Katie taking a picture of the Liberty Bell.

Ella taking a picture of Mommy and Daddy in front of the Liberty Bell...

A little easier when we squat down.

Katie taking an experimental photo of Ella - behind the glass wall.

Afterwards, we walked down to have an ice cream cone.   When we started our Philly adventure the girls were insistent that we bring along the stroller.  Daddy and I refused, thinking, we won't be going THAT far.  Lesson learned: when a kid recommends bringing along the stroller, it's best to LISTEN TO HER. 

Ella and Katie's FIRST taxi cab ride! 

We walked much farther than we anticipated and because we didn't have the stroller, the girls got to have their first ride in a taxi in Philly -- which, of course, they were VERY excited about!

Sesame Place

We took a family trip to Sesame Place in PA and had a fantastic time -- we ALL LOVE Sesame Place and cannot wait to go back!  The best part?  It's FREE for military!  THANK YOU Anheuser Busch! Here are a few photos from our big adventure...

Daddy getting our tickets to dinner with Elmo -- in reality, begging for forgiveness because we bought tickets for Thursday and it was actually Friday when we arrived.  The folks at Sesame Place were great though and exchanged our tickets with no problem!

The girls waiting for Daddy. 

Not a great start to the day -- a little cranky and not wanting their picture taken.

We're in!  Here, Daddy and the girls (Katie in pink; Ella in blue)

are in front of the "tree" sculptures of Big Bird, Elmo, and Snuffy.

First stop? The carousel. 

I think they rode it about 4 times before they were ready to move on.

Then off to Elmo's Big Bouncy Bed

Katie is in the all pink swim suit and Ella has the green top.  We discovered after arriving that Sesame Place is more of a water park than a dry park, which put a damper on the picture taking.

The girls climbing this huge pile of bouncy balls to get to the top of a slide.

They made it to the top!

Hurricane Bill (honest, that was the name of the hurricane that came through) stopped by to water the flowers for a bit, but it worked out to be perfect timing... the girls took a little stroller snooze while Mommy and Daddy people-watched.

The girls woke up just in time to have dinner with Elmo and friends.  Elmo's giving the girls a big ol' hug.

They are showing him the prizes they won earlier that day.

One more photo op before he heads off to visit the other children.

Then Cookie Monster came for a visit!

And a hug.

And Grover!

And Rosita!

And Abby Cadaby!

After dinner we were just in time for the parade and because of Hurricane Bill, we were just about the only people in the park -- the girls had a front row view of the parade!

Zoe stopped by the say hello...

As did Cookie Monster!  It was cute because Cookie came up behind the girls while they were watching the parade and tapped them on the shoulder -- they were so surprised when they turned around to see GIANT Cookie Monster standing there!

All day Daddy had been wanting to ride the roller coaster, but he couldn't get any of us to ride with him.  Before leaving the park, however, he decided he HAD to ride, even if it meant riding it all alone.  The girls and I scouted out a good spot where we could see him when he came by, but before he even got on the ride (and much to my surprise), Ella said, "I want to go too!"  We had to wait for Daddy to finish his ride (snap shot above - he's in the next to the last car waiving - that's Super Grover topiary in the foreground), but then we ALL decided to ride -- mommy and Katie included!  And, if you know Mommy, you know roller coasters are NOT her favorite, but if Katie was willing to try, then so was I!  So, we all hopped on board..  Ella was a little scared at first, but LOVED it -- she giggled the entire way.  Katie hardly said a word the entire time and her eyes were as big a saucers when the ride came to a stop -- she said, "I don't think I want to do that again.", which sounds A-Okay with me!

The girls' first (and possibly Katie's ONLY) roller coaster ride!

The end of a wonderful day at Sesame Place -- this time we're all smiles!

Ella was so excited about her brave roller coaster ride, she wanted to call Grandma and Mimi and tell them.  I can't remember who she's talking to here (Mimi maybe?), but you can see how proud she is of herself for riding that roller coaster.

Under the Bridge

A favorite playground we go to has a trail that runs along a river and the girls love going down under the bridge and climbing around on the rocks, so I brought my camera and snapped a few shots.

   

Katie jumping from rock to rock, much to her mother's apprehension.

Ella and Katie, Queens of the Mountain

Katie exploring a little further under the bridge and Ella keeping a close eye.

A view from above.

Us Girls

The girls and I were playing around with my new phone - not quite sure if it's a phone with a camera or a camera with a phone! Regardless, here are a few shots from our photo shoot.

Mommy and Ella (making a funny face)

Photographed by Katie

Mommy & Katie (also making a silly face)

Photographed by Ella

Self portrait: Us Girls