Memorial Day Weekend with the Family

For Memorial Day weekend we traveled to NC to spend a weekend with my family for my dad and his twin brother's 60th birthday celebration. We took over a quaint inn in the mountains of NC and enjoyed lots of hiking, boating and downtime. It was great to get away from the craziness of DC and enjoy the outdoors for a bit. The only drawback was the 9+ hour drive home. Funny enough, Ellen handled it better than her parents thanks to the handy portable dvd player and a couple of Elmo videos!!

Ellen and Gramps steer the boat!

Enjoying the bonfire and lots of family time

Uncle Ted shows Ellen how to ride a bear

Ellen and Great Grandma Jerch (aka Gigi)

Ellen's first boat ride was a success!

New Look

As Ellen gets a little older and her hair a little longer, we're experimenting with some fun new hairstyles! It's fun to see Ellen turning into a little girl. We think she's going to be a great big sister!

Day on the Farm

We recently spent the morning visiting Frying Pan Farm out in Herndon, VA. The farm is run by the Fairfax Park Authority so it's free and very accessible to kids. We enjoyed see all the "typical" farm animals and laughed as Ellen tried to imitate them. Ellen also enjoyed a tractor pull with her dad, as seen below. This is a great place to visit for anyone with kids in the DC area.

Enjoying the Flowers

Here are a couple of fun shots taken of Ellen in our driveway enjoying the new flowers that are blooming all around us. Spring is FINALLY here!

Spring in the City

Andy and I took Ellen down to the mall to enjoy the spring weather and check out the carousel. We met up with our good friends Frank and Ann Marie and their two boys. Although Ellen didn't particularly love the carousel, we had a good time just letting the kids run around and enjoying the familiar sites of this great city.

The crew hanging on the mall

Ellen enjoys the warm weather We catch a smile from Miss EllenGrant and Ellen contimplate their next move... "Hey Dad, are you still taking pictures?!" It looks so fun but it was a little scary for Ellen!

Grandma and Grandpa Come to Town

Andy and I recently had the chance to get away for a couple of days with my sister, her husband and some friends to Park City, Utah--our favorite winter destination. Although it was hard for me to leave Ellen for four days, it looks like she didn't miss a beat. Her schedule included a trip to the zoo--as seen below--several trips to the library, breakfast, the park and many walks. I know Ellen had fun, but will my parents want to come back!! Let's hope...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today Ellen celebrated St. Patrick's Day by wearing some green (see her hair bow and striped pants) and going to the library for a free sitting of an LA silhouette artist. Apparently he usually charges for these hand cut silhouettes but it was free if you made a reservation early (my mom was all over this!). Although these pictures were taken with an iPhone so they are a little hard to see, you can see the below for how it turned out. We plan to conclude the holiday with corned beef and cabbage at a neighborhood St. Patrick's Day party!