A Royally Good Week

Like many Americans, I caught the royal fever this week (who am I kidding-I've always had it), and as such, found a fun pop up bar and had a jolly good time, despite standing in line for 40 minutes to get in. I didn't do that in college, so I figure, in some ways it was a rite of passage. We enjoyed drinks such as the Markle Sparkle, American Princess, and Kensington Garden Party. Of course we couldn't leave without paying our respects to the bride and groom and ladies of Windsor.

The kids and I also visited an old favorite that we haven't been to in months-the American History Museum. We are big Sesame Street and Mister Rogers Neighborhood fans in this house, so this mini exhibit was of particular interest, maybe to me even more than the kids. Henry just about died seeing the Batmobile.

Last week was entirely rainy and full of thunderstorms which on one level I love, because thunderstorms are still a novelty to me living here, but it does make it hard to get outside. When the storms finally subsided, we went puddle jumping along the Mall.

This last weekend was a big weekend of firsts-Henry lost his first tooth, played his first game of pin the tail on the donkey (which was hilarious to watch), and went to his first MLB game-the Dodgers at the Nationals. It was such a fun and memorable experience to do that with just him, while Josephine hung back with neighbors. We even ran into one of his t-ball teammates at the gate. He desperately waited to catch a fly ball, yelled in support of the Dodgers, enjoyed popcorn and ice cream, and probably most of all, the Jumbo Tron.

While our weekend was really special, I do feel compelled to say that it was still sober in the aftermath of the Texas school shooting. It's hard for me to fully embrace happy occasions following such tragedy. Enough is enough. 

Feels Like Home

This past week has had a California feel to it, since Scott and I went to a Dodgers game at Nationals Park (and they won!), thanks to a great birthday present from my Dad. We had great seats and while the Dodger blue was outnumbered, there was still a really great showing of fans representing LA.

This week we also took a mini getaway to visit to the Atlantic Ocean in Bethany Beach, Delaware, about a 2.5 hour trip. As every drive out here has turned out to be, it was beautiful. The drive through Maryland and across the Bay Bridge into Delaware was full of agricultural fields and the cutest produce stands selling pumpkins, melons, and mums.

I was rather excited to finally see the Atlantic-it's been high on my bucket list and the anticipation was worth it. I was pleasantly surprised with the beauty and contrast to the Pacific-sandy shores with wild grasses, warm waters, and a picturesque boardwalk.

While spending time along the shore, we made sure to enjoy crab cakes, oysters, ciopinno, and swordfish.  And chocolate ice cream, of course.

Henry was stoked to have some sand time and Josephine was all about playing in the water. We had a trail across the street from our AirBNB, where we were able to watch nesting osprey, spot a few cardinals, and even a rabbit to Henry's delight.

This trip has afforded us many adventures, and weather wise, we came a little too close to a hurricane. Thankfully, the warnings were lifted from our area as it veered another direction, and we were able to watch the limited effects it had on the beach with chopping waves, whipping winds, and rain. However, silver lining--we visited just as the area turned to the off season, so that combined with Hurricane Jose meant free beach parking and the coast to ourselves!