More KCIJ!

The next day we made it "downtown" and got a good walk in despite the insane heat. 

White House

(Amazingly, we did not intentionally all hold our children on the same hip for the photo!)

Can you tell someone much shorter than us took this photo?

Lincoln Memorial

WWII Memorial (with Washington Monument in the background)

Air conditioning, cold water, and yummy food at a fave MTR restaurant from HK-- Pret A Manger. 

Two 3-yr-olds holding hands. Be still my heart. 

A little evening sport before bed. 

And some vegan marshmallow roasting. 

Goodbyes are hard! We miss them already!

Reunited!

We've been missing our best Hong Kong friends (Kathryn, Chris, Iris & Jasper) for the last year, but the time finally came for their visit to SS! It was only for a weekend, but it was so fantastic to see them! 

We took them to our favorite playground. Iris is quite the climber!

Finley and Iris trying to figure out how much they'd grown and who was taller. 

This is when the train ride broke down because of the extreme heat. 

Elise wasn't too happy about the walk. 

But the consolation was a merry go round ride (and that didn't break!). 

More fun in a different park that afternoon , shooting off balloon rockets. 

Dinner at our favorite pizza restaurant. This one has fried eggplant, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and kalamata olives. Yum!

After dinner, we walked over to the fountain to cool off and hear some live music. The kids thought it was hilarious to soak their clothes!

Thumb Guard

It's been a monumental past 6 days (yes, we're counting) as Elise has started wearing a thumb guard 24/7 to break her thumb sucking habit! Considering how often she did it during the day and night, she's actually been doing quite well so far. Don't get me wrong-- there's been significantly more crying and almost no napping (which leads to even more crying in the evenings), but it could be much worse, and she's fortunately not putting other objects in her mouth as a replacement. She's going to seem like such a big girl without that thumb in her mouth!

Trying to make that difficult first day more fun with a lunch date at Chick-Fil-A. 

She was in mourning the second day.

But I got a brief smile out of her. :)

Great Wolf Lodge

We needed something to break up the drive from MI to MD, and there happened to be a Great Wolf Lodge on the way. It was such a great little family bonding experience. We arrived early enough for the kids to play a couple of hours before dinner, then we got in more water park fun before we left in the morning. They were so brave and tried every water slide in the place-- even Elise! The family favorite was a 4-story intertube slide we could ride in pairs. 

Our little wolf pups in their adorable ears. 

Waiting for the clock tower show and bedtime story. (Finley wasn't really as scared as he looks-- just in the middle of eating animal crackers they were given. :)

Michigan

Lots of road tripping this summer. Off to Michigan!

Both kids braved the chilly water this year. 

Not a bad view for a playground, even on a cloudy day. 

We love swinging in Fafee and Grandma Holly's swing. 

Scenic view during our hike through the woods. Questionable idea to take a 3.5-yr-old on a hike, though. 

Date night!

This one likes to have his legs buried in the sand. 

This one likes to show off the "tutu" on her swimsuit. 

Cuddle time with Cooper's dog. 

Monday night dance at the CSA. 

Sparkler fun the morning we left. The kids were a bit scared of the sparks at first. Happy 4th...a week late!