Bicycle Built for Two

While in Irvington we borrowed the the bikes at the Inn and went on a little bike ride. Charlotte seemed to like riding behind Daddy. She held on tight the whole time, except for when she reached up to hit Chuck on the back!

Irvington, VA

Chuck had a business trip to Irvington, VA,....Charlotte and I tagged along for a little family vacation. We stayed at the Tides Inn which is bordered by the Chesapeake Bay to the east, the Potomac River to the north, and the Rappahannock River to the south. It was an awesome setting. We stayed three nights and really had a great time. Charlotte had the most fun, I think! She slept in a Pack N Play in the corner of our room. I was amazed that she took 3 hour naps each day and slept straight through the night. Here's some highlights from our trip.

The patio outside our water front room! This was early in the morning when Charlotte first got up. It was so nice and quiet there. Charlotte loved all the birds, especially the family of ducks that would cross by every so often.

The mini bar kept Charlotte busy for hours (really, I am not kidding!).

This is the Inn's large patio. Charlotte spent lots of time pushing her cart around on here!

Enjoying dinner and drinks on the patio.

Charlotte and I loved sitting on these benches near the water...... We liked playing silly games here, including getting smooches through the iron chairs :)

The Inn also had a sandy beach. Charlotte was not too sure about the sand, but she did have some fun digging. Here I buried her foot.

On a rainy afternoon and went to a local winery to do a wine tasting.One claim to fame of Irvington is Christ Church, a church built in the early 1700's. Charlotte and I checked out the church early one morning. It was a beautiful church in a very pretty setting. Charlotte loved climbing on the steps!

All the Right Moves!

Charlotte dancing to the Electric Company at the White House Easter Egg Roll!

White House Easter Egg Roll

Chuck, Charlotte and I had the opportunity to take part in a great White House tradition....the annual White House Easter Egg Role! The Egg Role has taken place on the White House lawn for over 100 years. For the event the First Family invites children and their families to the White House lawn for some Easter fun (including rolling an Easter egg down the White House lawn). It is extremely hard to get tickets to this event. I was lucky enough to be asked to work at the Egg Role this year. The nonprofit I work for, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was asked to set up a booth to teach kids about the science of eggs. Through work I was able to get tickets for Chuck and Charlotte too.
It was really cool to be a part of this historic event....and very cool to be so close to the White House. The highlight was definitely seeing President Obama, Mrs. Obama and their girls. The First Family welcomed everyone and invited us all to "hang out and have fun!"
Charlotte had a great time watching all the kids, seeing the dressed up characters, and listening to the music. Chuck and I had a great time walking around the White House grounds and taking pictures. It was a great day that we'll always remember!

President Obama welcoming everyone!

First Lady Michelle Obama tells us all to "have fun!"

I arrived at the White House at 6:30am, way before the crowds at 9am.

Charlotte hanging out on the White House lawn!

Chuck and Charlotte....so close to the White House!

The family in front of the White House with the sign for my work's egg education booth behind us.

Charlotte meeting Winnie-the-Pooh....she "hugged" him, it was so cute!

Charlotte in the egg chair!
The theme of the 2009 Egg Role was "Let's Play", focusing on being active, exercising and eating right. They had basketball courts, soccer, and yoga. Here's Charlotte doing her best yoga move on the White House lawn!

The Cousins Visit, Part 5: Artwork!

Chuck had the great idea to have Anna and Mary Jane paint pictures for Charlotte's playroom. The girls loved the project and their paintings turned out awesome. Anna painted dogs for Charlotte and MJ painted flower and a house. The paintings are proudly hanging in Charlotte's playroom. When we are in there playing she points at them and says "get! get!". She wants to go over and touch them.

The Cousins Visit, Part 4: Washington, DC

Their visit happened to coincide with the blooming of the Cherry Blossoms in Washington, DC. We decided to fight the crowds on Sunday and headed in to DC (via Metro) and check out the blossoms and, of course, see the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed it on the National Mall. It was quite a little adventure, and everyone enjoyed it. While we fought the crowds to view the blossoms Charlotte was totally relaxing and eating O's in her stroller (see pic below!).

Picnic on the National Mall

Charlotte checking out the books at the Kid's Discovery Center at the Natural History Museum

MJ catching a ride from Uncle Chuck.

Charlotte sprawled out in her stoller, relaxing!

The Cousins Visit, Part 3: Downtown Annapolis

One afternoon we ventured to downtown Annapolis for a little boat ride on the Severn River & the Bay. Everybody enjoyed getting out of the water (although it was SUPER windy!). After the boat ride we had lunch at a cute little diner and then ice cream! Charlotte just loved being one of the girls. She was happy as a clam to be hauled around to all the activities. What a great day!

MJ and the bunny boat!

A little cousins silliness!

A little cousin love!

The gang at lunch. (Charlotte watching the ceiling fan.)