Fall Visitors From Minnesota

This fall a great friend from Minnesota came to visit and brought her family.   

Our kids have seen each other fairly regularly since they were little, and we were really excited to see they still get along well.  In fact, we think the older two girls would be great friends if they lived closer together.

Cute Kiddos!

Fall Visit from Missouri

Let the visits continue!!  Our very dear friend, Andrew -- who is like family -- came to visit us in September.  He's come to visit us at least once a year for the past few years and we were excited for him to see our house and all the other changes since the last time he was here.

Andrew has a great sense of humor, and the girls thought it
was hilarious when they invited him for a bike ride and he
chose to ride Elise's old bike.

Hitting the town:  farmer's market

Market Square

This girl loves to get rides.

Getting a little refreshment at our favorite coffee/snack shop:  Hyperion.

Andrew's mom, Ruby, made the girls hats.

We are already looking forward to the next visit!

A Weekend in D.C. with Fall Visitors From Minnesota

Each year, one of my cousins from Minnesota comes out to D.C. for a conference.  This year, he brought his mom (my mom's sister) and his nephew with him.  So, we all headed up for the weekend to spend time with them.  We had a great time!

We headed up Saturday morning and ran around a bit while
we waited for the rest of our group to arrive from Minnesota.

Ice cream from a food truck on a warm day tastes pretty good!

Outside the capitol.

The girls had a lot of fun looking at the trees
around the capitol, though not all were as
big as this monster.

I think the girls would have been happy hanging out at this
pool watching the ducks all day.

The Botanical Gardens was having a special
hands-on program for kids, which the girls
thoroughly enjoyed.

Planting at the Botanical Gardens

The butterfly whisperer at the Botanical Gardens

Clowning around outside the Museum of the
American Indian.

Here's the whole gang!  I tried to get the White House in the
background but it didn't work.  You can see a corner of the Old
Executive Office Building, though.

I think these two have missed each other.  They held hands
whenever we walked.

We did a lot of walking this weekend!

Experiencing everything there is to do around the
Mall, even the public water fountains.

Ahh, cousins :)

All the walking wore out Anja.  Fortunately
Grandpa was there to give a lift.

This bench is at the foot of the
Washington Monument and is curved so
when you lay back on it you can
look up and see the monument from
a very cool perspective.

Washington Monument!

White House!

Silly kids

The Air and Space Museum is really cool, with some great
hands-on exhibits for kids.

One part of the Air and Space Museum had an exhibit about early
navigation and exploration.  This was my favorite part, I think.

I thought this dog statue was a little out of place at the Air and Space
Museum, but the kids loved it.  The dog is modeled after one that
accompanied an early Arctic exploration who was brought with
to rescue people who fell overboard.

My mom and her sister, Margaret.

After Air and Space we hit the Museum of Natural History.
  The girls LOVE this museum!

We wandered through a sculpture garden
on our way from one museum to another.

It was a great weekend in D.C.!