A Family Get-Together

A cousin and an aunt of Ji was visiting over the weekend and we got together with Yilei's family for lunch to meet them

Later in the afternoon we went to a new park on the Georgetown waterfront to meet up with them again.

Unfortunately Mia fell into the water when feeding the ducks but luckily it was not deep we had a change of clothes for  her. The only thing missing were dry shoes so after feeding the ducks a bit more with cousins Ella and Ben we had to go back home

Clarendon Day

We had great weather for our yearly neighborhood festival. So we could enjoy all the activities just a short walk from our doorsteps.
For Mia one of the main attraction of "Clarendon Day" was all the bouncing and climbing for the children

She could also pick a balloon animal from a clown - a dog on a leash -

 and try some hula hoops

After her nap she went back for some more action and met Luca who pointed out some things at the stands to her

 She also enjoyed the live music and of course the funnel cakes for lunch. That evening she really needed her bath.

Potluck Dinner

One of the last nice summer-like evenings of the year we met with some friends and neighbors for a potluck dinner on the rooftop. Mia was looking forward to her würstchen:

Ji enjoyed the view from the barbecue set that was installed earlier this year

Everybody enjoyed the food

Even though the pool was too cold for a swim it was still a great evening

A Sunday evening Picnic

This weekend Erika and Jacob's parents were out of town so we invited them for a picnic at the park next to the Iwo Jima memorial.
After some climbing at the lions next to the Netherlands Carillon we had our picnic with a beautiful view of Washington DC

We also found some nice wooden fans in the grass that might have been a leftover from some kind of wedding event. The girls used it for a little open air performance

Clemyjontri Park

A quick dip in the pool an Friday evening confirmed that the water is too cold now and the pool season is over. But it is still perfect weather for the playground.
Sunday morning we checked out Clemyjontri Park a huge playground not too far from the CIA headquarter and a 10 minute drive away.

 Mia was really excited about so many things to check out and to play with.

There was also a nice carousel ride

The new zoo exhibit

After a long summer we checked out the new "American Trails" exhibit at the National Zoo on the first weekend with cooler weather.
It had just opened last weekend after a construction that lasted many years and it turned out really nice with many new animals. One of the highlights are the four California sea lions

After watching a special feeding time demonstration we also checked out the seals,  the wolfs and some other animals

Of course Mia also wanted to see her favorites at the kids fars. She gave a pet to Tulip and Rose

and thee was also a baby goat she could pet

No more shopping for diapers

Mia has been without diapers during the day since May of last year. Now we also stopped putting on a diaper at nigh after she had a dry diaper in the morning for quite some time. 

National Geographic Family Day

This Saturday there was a Family Day event at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington DC. It turned out to be a lot of fun.
Of course the were some great photos to look at.

Then Mia could get a henna lady bug tattoo:

After that we watched a Middle Eastern dance performance

All this dancing inspired Mia to a few dance moves on her own

After that that she tried some art work and put together a mosaic

Then there it was story time in an oriental tent

Even though we came early we still stayed late and napping time was a bit later than usual

Lorene and Gale

Our neighbor Lorene and her mother Gale came for a chit chat. Mia got some little presents and a story time with Lorene

Back to Preschool

After a three month summer break Mia had her first day in her new "Busy Bees" class today.

Some of the children she knows from her old "Happy Apple" class and also Jacob is in the same class now

Two beaches

A few steps from our beach house was the Atlantic ocean where the water was surprisingly warm and clean. But Mia didn't like the the waves too much.

 There was another beach just a mile or two away which was facing the bay. The water was much calmer and very shallow. Even a few hundred yards from the beach just three feet deep or so. Even the kids could wade out. Mia liked that beach much more

So we endes up going there quite often - especially in the later evening when we had the evening sun