American Girl Day

Today dawned sunny and bright. It's a day that Margot has looked forward to since April. It's the day we planned to visit the American Girl store.

I will refrain from analyzing the cultish nature of these dolls and just report the facts: Margot had a glorious time. Her cousin Riley slept over the night before and they performed for me while I drank my coffee this morning.



We ate lunch in the cafe.



Margot saved $30 over the past year with the goal of blowing it all today. She admired items in the store for almost an hour before deciding to buy a pet carrier for her stuffed animal and hair accessories for her doll (total = $32. She owes me two bucks.). The value of the item truly is in the eye of the buyer; it was all I could do to not dissuade her from those items but I reminded myself this was her money and her choice.

I 'treated' her doll to a hair style in the salon (note the cape! and the chair!)



By the time we got home, the excitement of the afternoon caught up with Min. I saw this in my rearview mirror as we pulled onto our street:

Flashback to 2007

Our dear friend Vivian just sent me this photo that she snapped of Margot in 2007 on our trip to Italy.



I remember it clearly: We had just gotten gelato after dinner. We were walking in Positano, getting ready to head back to the villa. I pushed Margot up a cobbled hill in her stroller. Margot felt impatient and wanted to walk. She jumped out. Amidst the shops and restaurants there was an art gallery. The door was open, so Margot wandered in. And then she studied the art.

Independence Day

We celebrated the long fourth of July weekend with all of our favorite activities - boating on the Eastern Shore, fireworks, dinners with family (both sides!) - and a new activity: the Palisades parade. The parade has a small-town feel (it's nice to not fight traffic or crowds for something in DC for once) and had a heavy political presence (although the absence of several corrupt councilpersons was noticed by all - I suspect they feared booing). All of the floats - er, modified SUVs - toss candy out the windows and the kids end up with a haul that rivals Halloween. Margot had a fine time collecting candy with her friends Ella and Leah, and the girls traded and swapped candy with a maturity that surpasses their six years (18 years combined).

Summertime catch-up

Since I am so behind on posting, here is a quick catch up to get you up to date.

Friday night picnics are happening!


So is rock climbing in Rock Creek Park


Brodie did a triathlon and Margot and I woke up before dawn to cheer him on. He rocked it!