summer ballerina

with Miss Heidi - we love Miss Heidi (from Bellingham, no less!)

 Our girl is the one in the blue leo and pink tutu.

2nd position

3rd position

relevee

action shot!

run run LEAP (over the lion - don't let him bite!)

A Day at the Zoo

Metro and then lovely walk to the zoo!  

How great is it that we have this FREE resource so close to home?

fruit stand on the way there - just caught my eye

misters placed throughout the park to keep everyone cool

This zoo is so large and spread out (and mamma so preggo) that we made a plan of action - first stop: PANDAS!

 passed by the ELEPHANTS in their newly renovated home:

next stop: PRIMATES (momma's favorite)

This Orangutan put on a show for us, swinging right over our heads!

fun little things to climb on, sit on, and look at along the path

 Next up?  Prairie dogs, of course.  They are too cute.

Happened to walk by the turtle pond - lovely!

to Ainsley's delight, mom's favorite part of any outing these days is the FOOD and TREATS 

The Sea Lions were closed for renovation - so we checked out the reptile house:

that is one TIRED girl!

Yards Park

Our favorite nearby summer-fun park on the waterfront:

fun videos

Ains rockin' out to a steel drum band at Eastern Market:

I only wish I had vids of her singing ALL of the pop radio music she has picked up during our summer.  (I've been a little lax on protecting little ears and have been blasting my favorite tunes -- which she promptly learned.).  Her favorites?  

Somebody That I Used To Know

Here's My Number, Call Me Maybe

Rumor Has It

Set The World On Fire:

Best way to learn how to ride:

catching fireflies:

El Derecho: the storm that marched through DC this summer and nailed the area pretty bad.  We watched as it approached, then skirted, our KOA campsite:

Ocracoke Island Bliss

Off we went - to our favorite OuterBanks location - to visit our dear friends, Justin & Joelle, and get away for our summer family vacation.

ready? set? GO! (Jake, sorry it's a little crowded back there!)

This trip should normally take 8 hours --- we expected a bit more since momma's preggo --- but between traffic and weather, it took 13 hours!!!  ABear was a rockstar.  And it was so worth it.

intent on catching a fish caught in the tidal pool

Glorious. GLORIOUS days!

attempt at a self-taken belly shot in the bathing suit

heavenly discovery - chairs in the tidal pool!

One of Ainsley's FAVORITE island things:

BIKE RIDING with DADDY!

 Justin and Joelle did it. Flipped their world.

They left metro DC and now permanently live in their Island home - and are the proud owners of the Ocracoke Coffee Company.  We went to the coffee shop every single day - and let me tell you - it's INCREDIBLE!

Ains tested every seat in the house

cool map to mark where you're from (is she being a pirate here? not sure)

fun things to do while chillin' inside with a java

mom restrained herself from buying a complete set - aren't these GREAT!?

the shop front

funky tables to discover on the porch

fancy "conversation" bench

mom and Ains logged nearly an hour, all told, in this relaxing hammock swing

ah. perfect seat discovered.

inside the shop

 We enjoyed staying at Justin and Joelle's.  What a great house.  A vacation in itself:

You have a boat garden!!!

Because she helped pick them, she ate these peppers like candy. Not kidding!

pepper 27 - or something

A fav of mommas: the outdoor shower!!

cartoon time!

who needs the beach?

wash those doggies! 

all tuckered out - this girl slept and slept!

 This time on Ocracoke, we discovered "Candyland" - a tiny island shop packed floor to ceiling with every candy and treat imaginable.  Ains and momma were in sugar-heaven! 

followed up by a fresh pepper from the garden, of course!

 And one of the things I'm particularly happy about - Ainsley's discovery of CLAMS.  Boy, can this kid down some clams!  She kept asking for more and more.  Since returning to DC, she's asked for them several times and ate more than mom (impressive feat) when we steamed a bunch at home.

We are the seafood girls - together forever!

Thank you, Justin, for your help with this one!  

Justin teaching Ains how to steam the clams:

what's cookin' without a little dancing??

testing a raw spaghetti

A staple of our visits: the puzzle

Kona, puppy, get out of the car!

Kona doesn't want to say g'bye to Jake

Sigh.  Time to leave the island.  

Farewell till next time!

on the ferry

 To break up the journey - and to add a couple of extra vacation nights (and, truth be told, a last hurrah at camping before baby 2 comes along) - we stopped at a KOA in Williamsburg.  We didn't actually explore Williamsburg at all - we were happy to soak up every minute of camping and family-togetherness.

"see food" !!

Yep - that's Jake - after a romp in the "river" - which turned out to be just a big mud pit.

Ainsley's assessment?  "Hey! Now we have a chocolate lab!" :)

Time to wash up!

goofy dog.