Surprise visit

We got a phone call from Clay's 2nd cousin, Steph, saying she was in town for just a couple days. So right after church we drove out to DC to pick them up and take them to the Iwo Jima memorial. We had a great time catching up.

 While we were chatting Rebekah was taking selfies:

 After our visit we drove back and went to a farewell open house for a couple of young men in our ward leaving to serve full-time missions. They had a great house with a wrap around porch and a great porch swing. Clay & I enjoyed the breeze as we sat on it. Then Emma and my visiting teacher joined me on the swing.

New park coming

Today was the ground breaking on the new park going in right next to our house. And I mean RIGHT next to us. We are the very last house on the street. It is not a cul-de-sac, just a dead end street with a barrier blocking the end of the road. 

This got dropped off a couple days ago.

 Time for the ground breaking ceremony. They actually brought in a pile of dirt for the VIPs to stick their shovels in. Notice how think the trees are behind the barrier. They are all going to be taken down... :(

 Here's the plans to the park. Now the construction will officially begin.

Animal Park

Betsy is great at finding discounts. She found one for the Animal Park in town. We went and had a great time walking around and seeing all the animals. They had a white chinchilla! I haven't ever seen a white one before.

Happy Fathers Day

We got together with the Rosenlunds for a special Fathers Day dinner. Then we let the boys pick the game to play. We played Puerto Rico. Georgia joined in the game for the first time. And she won.

Last Day of School party

Last day of school!! We had ice cream sundaes and water squirters for the kids to celebrate. All the kids on the block had a great time soaking each other.

Clay had to clean it all up when he got home. He wasn't happy about all the ants that were attacking all the spilled sugary treats.

Character Counts

Emma was selected for a Character Counts award at school. They only pick about 12 kids from each grade for the award. Great job Emma!

Cupcake and Macaron tour

My friend, Betsy, found a groupon for a cupcake and macaron tour in Georgetown. She invited anyone who wanted to join her for a tour. Just to give you a little education, this is a macaron, not to be confused with the american macaroon.

We started our tour at the Old Stone House. It is located right in the middle of Georgetown. It was built in 1765, making it the oldest standing building in Washington, DC. It has a beautiful garden with benches. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed strolling through the garden before out tour began.

Our first stop was Sprinkles. We got to sample their mini dark chocolate cupcake. It was very good. We went back at the end to buy some. I got the key lime, dark chocolate, black and white, and vanilla. They were all very good, except I was disappointed by the key lime.

Then we walked up Wisconsin Ave to Macaron Bee. On our way we passed Martin's Tavern. Every sitting president since Harry Truman has dined there (except Obama). In fact, JFK proposed to Jackie there. At Macaron Bee we tried the fleur del sel, caramel, and vanilla bean. We really liked the caramel & vanilla bean.

 We stopped at Patisserie Poupon and Thomas Sweet. We were not very impressed by them.

(Betsy, Melinda, Heidi, Stephanie)

This is the house where JFK & Jackie lived when he became president. They walked from this home, up the parade route, to the Capitol building for his inauguration. 

We walked past this very cool old church on our way to Dean & Deluca. It is a very cool grocery store. They gave us macarons, but I ended up with the hot chili chocolate one. Not good. Right next door was Olivia Macaron. They were good, but we still liked Macaron Bee the best. 

Our final stop was Georgetown Cupcakes. There is always a long line outside. This is probably my 4th time having a Georgetown Cupcake. I just got to say, I don't understand the line!! They are okay cupcakes. Sprinkles, just a block down the road, is so much better. Actually, I can name several other cupcake shops in the are that are much better. Oh well, I guess it is just the fame of their TV show.

We had a great time walking around and talking together. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day. A fun afternoon with friends.