Halloween

We walked on East Capitol for a while and then back home when we happened about Walter Street SE. It was like Mardi Gras!  Juliet had a great time saying "trick or treat" and "thank you welcome" at all the houses.

Two Years Old

Whoa! Two years old. No one could have prepared us for the overwhelming sense of love we have for Juliet. Our everyday rises and sets on thoughts of her sweetness, curiousity, and kindness. She can do so many things now! She likes to eat spaghetti, apples, oatmeal and cake. She has been talking for a while, so she can communicate her wishes to us, and her observations of the world. She can count to five. She knows almost all the words to "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and can carry a tune. She can run FAST and jump and hop and climb and slide. We have so many adventures yet to come, and we are so blessed to do them with Juliet.

Denver

We just got back from a visit with Sara and Shaun, and we are already missing them.  Especially Juliet, who grew to know and love them in such a short time.  We did a lot of fun things, but I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Playing with Daddy in the car.

Goats.

There were horses, HORSES, did you hear me? I said horses.

Juliet opened someearly birthday presents with Shaun. The homemade bean bags are so special. An heirloom for sure.

Karen was GLUED to the iPad.

Sister and Brother.

In line for the Denver Zoo train.

And so many more pictures.

Michigan

Juliet and I had a fun trip to Michigan.  We spent a lot of time just chilling with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Margie and Kaitlin.  Sunday was our biggest outing to the Higgins family reunion at my Uncle Mike and Aunt Chris' house in Lapeer, Michigan.

Smiling Cute

With 3rd Cousin Isobel "Izzy" looking at a frog

Kissing Kaitlin

Hanging with Grandma

The Sperns

Hike in Rock Creek Park

This afternoon we took a nice hike through the "Rocky Central Section" (according to our trusty guidebook) of Rock Creek Park. It was a bit hillier than advertised, but we got some great views of the creek and even stopped by the old stone bridge for a break and to play in the water.

A full album of photos is up here.

From Rock Creek Hike

From Rock Creek Hike

From Rock Creek Hike

From Rock Creek Hike

From Rock Creek Hike

From Rock Creek Hike

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

Last weekend we went to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens - truly one of DC's hidden gems. Originally built by a Civil War veteran who dug a series of ponds on his property, it is now managed by the National Park Service and contains of the last tidal estuaries on the Anacostia river. So it's two things - a series of small ponds containing gorgeous lotus flowers, and a boardwalk / river trail around the tidal marsh.

The lotus flowers were in full bloom and we saw lots of turtles, heard lots of frogs, and even saw a goose and some brand new goslings!

From Kenilworth Gardens

From Kenilworth Gardens

From Kenilworth Gardens

Memorial Day in Ohio

So we've been a little slow on the blog posts lately - but here's a quick attempt to catch up!

At the end of May, Ben took Juliet to Ohio for a long weekend! We had a lot of fun - lots of good time with the grandparents, playing with farm animals and hanging out on the back porch.













The whole album can be found here.

Easter Afternoon - The Backyard & Beyond

After we got home and had a bite to eat, first we took a minute to dunk some baskets on her new Easter present - a basketball hoop!




Then we headed out to the backyard to play! Juliet loved helping out with the shovel! Then we got out a bucket of water and played with the cats!







And Ben managed to put in some brick edging to the vegetable garden. Here are some pictures of the garden (to compare with later in the summer)!







And then helped Mom shuck some corn and make a delicious dinner tonight!