Maryland-Sunday

On Sunday we checked out of our hotel nice and early.

And headed to Silver Spring, MD to meet Uncle Michael. He took us out to an amazing brunch at Mrs. K's Toll House . The food was amazing, the ambiance was beautiful and the staff was terrific and so kind to the girls. Ella mentioned in passing to Ricardo that she wanted french fries. Ricardo told her that it was breakfast food and there were no french fries. 10 minutes later a waitress showed up at our table with french fries! She heard Ella talking and went in the kitchen and made them for her! That was very sweet.

After brunch we went to Uncle Michael's house so the girls could meet his 4 dogs and we could watch the wedding video of my cousin Jenny.

The girls loved the dogs!

We then headed to Baltimore to check out the Aquarium-which is fabulous!

Ella enjoyed holding Uncle Michael's hand
And petting him
What was the first thing we saw when we walked in? Christmas Carolers..on November 17th!!
But the girls really did enjoy them. (Sofia is teething her canines so it was near impossible to get that paci out of her mouth!)

It was really hard for me to get pictures inside without them being blurry, so I didn't take many. But it was very cool. We got to see a lot of sharks and we got to watch the staff go in the giant tanks in scuba gear to feed and give some love to the sting rays and turtles. It really is a wonderful aquarium.

Before we left we stopped at the Cafe to get some snacks and in typical Ella fashion she quickly made friends and had a dance party in the middle of the cafe.

Sofia even got in on the action
We then packed up and started on our way home. We got to stop at The Cracker Barrel right at the Maryland/Delaware boarder for dinner which is some good ole' Southern comfort food. A great way to end the weekend!

Ricardo made up a new state slogan for Delaware too- "Delaware: Don't Blink"

We had a wonderful weekend and the girls were both really great. Ella slept like a champ in her own queen bed, Sofia not so much, but we pushed them both and they both really did great. It's really nice taking trips with the girls. I'm glad we did it and we'll definitely be taking some more come Spring. We have so many places we want to visit with them-Hershey, PA, Boston, MA, Sesame Place, and more.

Washington DC-Saturday

We had a really wonderful time in DC this last weekend. The entire car ride home Ella cried, "I don't want to go home. I want to go to Washington DC!" and "I want to see Uncle Michael!"

We'd really like to go back in January for the inauguration of what will be the greatest President ever (sorry-had to do it!) but with a projected 4 million people in attendance and a cold, cold winter day, we'll just have to see.

I already posted that Friday night we went out with the Mark, Jenna, Jack and Bennett. Ella and Jack hit it off and Ella decided that they were getting married the following night and that we should just drop her off for her date...oy!

We didn't really take pictures on Friday though, except here is a cute picture of Mark, Jenna, and Jack

Saturday we met and walked around "the mall" for a bit and then went for lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill and then got caught on the street because the G20 leaders motorcades were coming down. It was actually very cool to see-until it started pouring.

Washington Monument

Ricardo and Ella in front of the White House where the are building the bandstands for the inauguration.

Ella and Jack gearing up for the storm

My view of Ricardo while huddled in a door way waiting for the rain to pass.
This is what I looked like after the storm (click to enlarge to see how wet I really am)

This picture is blurry, but it's cute of Mark and Jack-especially with the
Pennsylvania Ave. sign behind them.
We finally made it to The Natural History Museum

Ella and Jack had a great time running around telling each other, "Look at this!" "Oh wow!"

Ella also enjoyed being with Baby Ben-she has a thing for Baby Bens! Oh, this is what Ella looked like after the rain storm!

I loved the Hope Diamond

Ella loved exploring

And well, Ben and Sofia thought it was all rather boring
It was a very long day and Jack was not having it. He threw himself to the ground just to make sure his parents knew how done he was but as soon as he hit the ground, Ella was there rubbing his back. It was very sweet and ended the tantrum quickly.
When it was time to go, it started pouring again so Ricardo ran to get the car while we waited for him. The video I posted the other day is of Ella dancing and singing while we waited. I tried to get a picture of her next to the museum sign but Ella took this as the perfect time to do a handstand!

We had a great time with the Husons and Ricardo and Mark had a great time talking about college!

Next up is Sunday in Maryland with Uncle Michael.

Prima Ballerina? American Idol?

We're still in DC and having a great time. We went to dinner last night at a fabulous French restaurant in DuPont Circle called Bistrot Du Coin with Ricardo's good friend from college, Mark, and his awesome wife Jenna, and adorable boys Jack (3) and Bennett (6 months).

We spent the majority of the day with them today eating at Old Ebbit Grill which is known as a place where many political deals have gone down and very yummy too.

We then headed down to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum but along the way we got held up first by the motorcade for the G20 Summit. It was definitely a cool thing to see but Mark and Jenna mentioned it's cool for the first year you live in DC, then after that it gets OLD. I bet. We weren't even allowed to cross the street for fear that the cop would yell at us, "GET OUT OF MY ROUTE!"

Right after they let us cross "NORTH TO SOUTH ONLY OR YOU'RE GOING TO JAIL!" I looked up at the sky and said to Jenna, I think it might rain again, and within seconds a torrential downpour started and people scattered like mice trying to seek shelter, but the cops wouldn't let us go down one street until one cop felt sorry for me with my giant stroller and yelled, "Ma'm (or in Ella talk- MAN!) come this way" andtried to let me into a building which was locked so we all hovered for the 10 minutes in this doorway. Ultimately, we were still drenched but it was funny.

We finally made it to the museum and the kids had a blast.

It's 11 pm now and Ella's sleeping in the bed next to me, so I'm going to wait until Monday to post all the pics (we're going to the Baltimore Aquarium and out to brunch with Uncle Michael tomorrow!) but I had to post this video tonight.

Ella has been OBSESSED with Barbie movies recently. We borrow a new one every week from the library. But her all time favorite is Barbie Island Princess. I think we've borrowed it about 800 times...

Anyway, it was pouring again when we went to leave so Ricardo ran to get the car while we waited and Ella spent the entire 25-30 minutes just singing and dancing at the entrance of the Natural History Museum. She couldn't be bothered by the people coming in and out. She was in her own (dancing/singing) world.

I can't watch this video without erupting into a fit of laughter. I have NO idea where she got these "moves". They have to be from Barbie, or maybe gymnastics, but wherever she got them, she's got a little practice ahead of her to perfect them. YIKES!

Wow! She must get her musical abilities from her Daddy...