Mellifluous Mommy Musings

Last weekend we played in DC.

The weekend before that, we played in NY with largely the same cast of characters.

Matthew chowing down at the all-you-can-eat maple breakfast at Critz Farms.

The rest of the crew enjoyed the breakfast too.

After all, what's there not to love about blueberry pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, maple-soaked ham, and all the yummy real maple syrup you can squirt?

Cousins in cuddly caps waiting for a demonstration at the sugar house.

Amber may have had a little too much syrup...

Guess it's not just Amber.

Grandma and Grandpa ready to go for a tractor ride out to the sugar bush! (Aren't my mother-in-law's scarf and mittens cute? :)

Yay! A semi-respectable family picture!

Snuggling with one of the few things sweeter than syrup.

Katie savoring an ice cream cone from Grandma on Sunday afternoon with true two-year-old zeal.

Bryan getting ready to throw a snowball at his sister on the other side of the car.

Bryan nailing his mother with a snowball instead. It's amazing we were still invited for Easter the next week!

And with so much fun so recently in the rear-view mirror, we decided to keep things simple this week for Robyn's spring break. We've mostly just been savoring being home and realizing how luxurious it is to not have bus stops and preschool runs dictating out day.

Taking it easy has also given the girls some time to make up a lot of their own fun, one of my favorite examples being the "Fairy Houses" they set up one day.

This is Amber's fairly complex fairy complex. I love the slide and water fountain out front.

If I were a fairy, I'd definitely want to stop and eat here.

Robyn's pixie palace.

A little bedroom for a little visitor.

No fairies have taken up residence yet, but with this sort of an invitation I expect a nice fairy family to move in any day now:

Robyn's sign: "I want you to live here because it's cold out! I love you."

It's spring break here, but since it snowed all day yesterday and seems intent to do the same today (we've had over 8 inches from this storm already!) I think I'm going to go ahead and indulge in pictures of our wonderful warm weekend in Maryland and try to forget about the wet winter wonderland outside.

Stole the idea to make bunny rolls (we called them Bunns :) from Pinterest to make sandwiches for the drive down. Since the interstate was closed part of the way and even the side-roads backed up, we were grateful to have lots of food on hand for the ride.

We've wanted to see the cherry blossom festival and kite festival in DC for years, and since it happened to correspond with Easter weekend this time around it seemed like the perfect year to couple a visit to Bryan's folks with some fun in the capital.

Taking the train into D.C.

Matthew loved the subway: he clenched the front of the double stroller and laughed like he was on a roller coaster the whole way.

Katie enjoying the view out the train window with Grandpa.

The girls stretching their legs on the mall.

Unfortunately, the cold spring meant the blossoms weren't really out yet, but since the weather was so warm the day we were there I suppose it's forgivable.

We had a great picnic not far from the Washington Monument. The girls loved that some of their cousins were able to come for the festival too.

After eating lunch, Aunt Jennifer whipped out a couple of small kites for the kids to try flying. Yes. Robyn is wearing her hoodie upside-down. I'm pretty sure it's a genetic defect... :)

Robyn trying her hand at kite-flying.

Amber's turn!


The weather was warm, but the winds were fairly calm, so it was hard to keep our little kites up in the air. Here's Bryan trying to help the girl cousins out.

Amber was just glad to be able to play outside in the sunshine. (It's been a long winter where we live...)

Little Cousin Grant (who isn't nearly as little as I remember him!) looking on at all the kite-flying fun.

I made cherry blossom-themed mini-cupcakes before we went down to Maryland. They ended up being used as edible packing peanuts for a lemon meringue pie I tried to make with a bunny face, but the girls didn't mind eating them, dents and all.

The calm winds didn't stop the kite-fliers from being out in force. (Although you could tell when the winds really died down because all of a sudden all the kites would suddenly drop :)

Besides picnicking and kite-flying, we also took a quick stop in a couple of the Smithsonians. They were packed, but it would have been a shame to not at least take a peak in them while we were there.

Robyn was tired of walking, so she found a nice seat while we waited in line for the Museum of Natural History.

Which meant Amber found a seat too.

Bryan took the big girls in the Air and Space Museum too. (He was smart enough to know the line at the back entrance would be a lot shorter than at the main entrance.)

Little Matthew finally surrendered and took a nap while we waited for the big girls. He gave up mid-graham cracker-bite, leaving half a cracker wedged under his chin.

Just a cute picture of my sister-in-law snuggling little Grant.

Cousins Katie and Lylia playing outside the Air and Space Museum.

Matthew was sleeping, so he missed our attempt at a family picture. Oh well!

And before we knew it it was time to hop on the train and head back to Grandma's.

Yay! We didn't lose anyone in the crowds!

Of course, going back to Grandma's wasn't the end of the festivities: there was still a lot of Easter fun to squeeze in.

The Easter bunny found Grandma's backyard and left over 100 eggs!

Looking for Easter eggs as the shadows start to grow long.

The Easter Bunny didn't forget the grown-ups either. In what has become a VERY MUCH LOVED (note: VERY MUCH LOVED!!) part of our Easter visits to Maryland, the happy hare's helpers also left bottles of soda scattered through the yard.

Matthew guarding me and Bryan's basket-o-bottles.


So much for "guarding." Hands off, little man!

There were also hard-boiled eggs to color.

Coloring eggs with cousins.

This was very serious business for Katie.

For Matthew, on the other hand, it was all funny business.

And children to un-color.

Rub-a-dub-dub!

The Saturday fun spilled into a nice Easter Sunday, complete with an amazing--and beautiful--lunch after church. The girls' Easter eggs even found a home in the meal's centerpiece. (The lucky ones...the other ones found homes in deviled eggs and potato salad :)