Who’s got #natitude?  We do!  As I’ve mentioned, I’m on a mission to make my family into Washington Nationals fans.  Steve is ride-or-die for the New York Yankees, but he’s open to a solid second-favorite team (and the Nats almost never play the Yanks).  Peanut couldn’t be less fussed about sportsball if she tried, but I’ve faced down challenges before.  And Nugget is a blank slate when it comes to baseball (he’s already committed to the Buffalo football and hockey teams, poor fella).  So I feel like there’s room to play here.

For Phase One of my mission, I dragged the family down to the Ballpark Boathouse for a morning of exploring the Anacostia River by way of our paddles, and checking out the view of Nationals Park from the water.

Super cool.  Let’s go, Nats!

Yes, Mom, that is a very nice ballpark.  Can we go home and watch cartoons now?

It was crazy windy on the river – you can’t tell from this picture, but paddling into the wind we were almost stationary.  Definitely a good workout for the crazy kayaking adventure Steve and I have planned.  (About which: more soon.)

Definitely a home run on the water.

A few weeks later, we got a different view of Nationals Park – the inside view!  For Phase Two… that is, for Father’s Day, I bought Steve four tickets to an afternoon game against the Atlanta Braves.  He was surprised and delighted.  The tickets were for last Sunday, so we packed up the dugout and headed to the game.

First things first: food!  I was looking forward to trying out Field of Greens, but it was so far away from our seats that other options seemed better.  Nugget and I grabbed veggie dogs from Nats Dogs, and Peanut and Steve picked up chicken tenders and fries next door.  Eaten while wearing a hooded towel version of Screech, the Nats’ mascot, because obviously.  (It was a free kids’ promotion, and I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t part of my decision to buy tickets for this particular game.)

Dessert was cotton candy, obviously.

Nugget had a blue goatee and blue hands.

Also a blue tongue.  And got blue goop all over the Buffalo Bills jersey he insisted on wearing.  Luckily I’d stopped in the fan shop and bought him his own little Nats jersey, so he had something clean to change into.  Were Peanut and Nugget the cutest little fans at the game?  Yes, yes they were.

Nugget brought his red baseball glove in case of fly balls, but none of them made it up to the nosebleed seats.  Maybe next time!

In any Nats game, the Presidents’ Race is a highlight.  Giant-headed George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt teeter around the field and sometimes fall down, which is everyone’s favorite.  This time, it was a relay race – Washington and Jefferson against Lincoln and Roosevelt.

Teddy anchored his team to victory, and George was MAD.  Look at him waving his arms angrily at Thomas.  Run faster next time, Tom.

Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!  Go Nats!

What’s your favorite baseball team?  If you don’t have one, would you consider rooting for the Nats?

Summerrrrrrrrrr!  I wait all year for this season.  Bring on the heat, bring on the humidity, bring on summer thunderstorms and campfires and late sunsets and lemonade and (vegan) s’mores and tie-dye day at summer camp and lightening bugs (fireflies, lampyridae…) and sand-between-the-toes and splashing in the pool and paddling the Potomac and Belmont Bay and… I could go on.  I love basically everything about summer, and last year’s weather was such a bust that I’m determined this year will make up for it.  It has to.  I want to do everything, of course, but I’m holding myself to ten things and here they are:

• The BIG one: spend five days on a kayaking eco-tour around the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State.  I can’t wait!
• The other BIG one: take a family vacation to a new-to-us spot on the Outer Banks.
• Build up my running base, and sign up for a fall 5K.
• Take the family to a Washington Nationals game.  #natitude
• Make mini pizzas on the grill.
• Read from my own shelves.
• Celebrate Litha by candlelight in the garden.
• Go back to Shenandoah National Park and hike a new trail.
• Make homemade popsicles.  (This is basically mandatory if you’ve seen Nugget’s popsicle dance.)
• Help Peanut host her girlfriends for a “reading party” in a neighborhood park.

I could think of so many more, but the above should make a good start toward a pretty epic summer, don’t you think?  Now, pass me a vegan s’more.

What’s on your summer to-do list?

I’m not recapping all of our spring fun here – just the highlights.  Mainly that’s because I don’t want this blog to turn into a “family activities” blog – I’m trying to keep it mostly focused on books, with some fun here and there.  And I don’t want to burn out on writing recaps before the high season of summer fun hits.  But I’ve been snapping pictures all over the place as we are out and about, enjoying the warmer weather.  In addition to daffodil picking and the Raptor Fest, we’ve done quite a lot.  Here are some snippets.

We visited Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens for the first time.  My parents and our family friends joined us, and we had fun exploring the ponds and boardwalks.  The kids earned their Junior Ranger pins – adding to the collection.

I hear it’s really beautiful in July, when the water lilies are blooming!  Made a note to go back.

Steve’s mom visited for a weekend.  She loves the zoo, so that’s always on the agenda when she’s in town.  Grandma thought she was going to the zoo with two kids, but – SURPRISE! a cheetah and a wolf came instead.  (Fun fact: I was the face-painting girl at my church’s children’s programs in high school, and at Peanut’s request I recently dusted off my old skills.  Steve said that I could have a lucrative side hustle if I set up with my face paints at the entrance to the zoo – at least until someone asks me to leave for not having a valid vendor permit.)

Nugget got a new scooter for his birthday (thanks, Nana and Grandad!) and obviously, the first place he rode it was the firehouse.

We took a walk around Old Town to look at the blossoms.  Don’t you just love redbuds?

Visited #MirrorMirrorALX, a cool new art installation by the waterfront.  If you think it was hard to get Peanut out of here – it was.

Picked strawberries on our neighbor’s patio (with permission – she’s sweet and generous and planted these just so the kids could pick them)…

And at a farm out in Bealeton – or at least, we did our best.  Nugget and I were the only ones picking (Steve is colorblind, so he had an excuse) and I was in Birkenstocks, so I couldn’t exactly wade into the puddles between the rows.  But we came home with a good haul even by picking around the edges.

Steve and I went on a date night to a secret bar.

And I met up with my friend Susan to see “Rightfully Hers: Women and the Vote” at the National Archives museum.  The perks of working in downtown DC = free museums!

So – not a bad spring!  Lots of fun here and there.  But I’m ready to move on, now.  My nose is finally clear, the sun is baking down, and Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner (we have fun plans!).  SUMMER, let’s do the thing!

While I may not have spring fever, one thing I love is the sight of blossoms and blooms everywhere!  I’ve come to enjoy flowers more in the past few years, and Peanut has always loved them.  So the chance to pick flowers directly from the field is a huge treat for her, and I love the sight of flower fields exploding in color.  Longtime friends might recall that we went tulip picking at Burnside Farms out in Haymarket, Virginia, back in 2017.  We couldn’t go in 2018 because a freak storm killed all of the flowers – the farm calls it “the great tulip tragedy of 2018” – so I really wanted to make the trip in 2019.  But as it turned out, the only day that ended up working out was at the very tail end of the season.  The tulip fields were picked over and what remained was barely worth picking.  But the farm put out a note on social media that “the daffodils are the star of the show” at the end of the season, and encouraged would-be pickers to come on out and grab some golden blooms.  That sounded good to me, and we loaded up and drove out to Prince William County for a day of sunshine overhead and at our feet.

We had a little trouble finding the field, but once we finally located it, it was brimming over with golden blossoms!

Nugget consented to pose for a couple of pictures in the flower fields, then handed me his basket, asked me to pick him some flowers, and wafted off toward the bounce house and playground with Daddy.

Just the girls, then?  Works for us.

Peanut had a glorious time choosing daffodils and picking them.  She struggled a little with the tulips two years ago – picking a lot right near the head of the flower – but was able to remember to pick near the base this year.  She even got a couple of bulbs, and since it was the last weekend of the season, we had the option to buy the bulbs too.  I did, and planted them in my front garden a few days later.

Peanut wanted to head over to the tulip fields and see what was left.  I warned her that she wasn’t going to find much, but she was able to spy a couple of tulips that looked good enough to take home.  So with our large bouquet of daffodils, we brought back a small posy of tulips.

After she’d had her fill of picking, we joined the boys in the play area.  They had a bounce house, a bounce pad, a big inflatable slide, a playground, tractor swings and a playhouse.  Nugget was in his element.

After playing for awhile, the kiddos had a snack and then we headed over to sort and wrap our flower haul.  Look at this glory!

Definitely another successful year in the flower fields.  I love this activity and am so glad that we found a flower farm and have been able to make the trip out there twice now!  I’d love to make it a spring tradition, weather permitting.

Thank you for a glorious morning, Burnside Farms!  We’ll see you in a few months for the Summer of Sunflowers!

As Kelly of Lovewell Blog would say, spring is my fourth favorite season.  It just doesn’t speak to me.  Between the fluctuating temperatures, the soaring pollen counts, the crowds of cherry blossom tourists, and the weeks of juggling work, home and school responsibilities before the exhale of summer, I’m usually frazzled and over it.  There are certain consolations to the season – flowers, for instance.  And longer days, and the approach of summer.  And – of course – the fun of working my way through a list of seasonal delights (while hopped up on Allegra).  Here’s what I’m thinking this year:

• A MUST: hike the Bluebell Loop Trail at Bull Run during peak week.
• Help Peanut and Nugget hunt for eggs in the churchyard after a joyous Easter service.
• Host my mother-in-law, my parents and our dear family friends on successive weekends in April.
• Stock up on the gear that Steve and I will need for our kayaking trip to the San Juan Islands this summer.  My REI dividends just arrived and will be put to good use!
• Related: get into eco-touring shape with regular gym-going during the week and weekend paddling as soon as the boathouse opens.
• Read Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell.
• Clear the winter detritus off the back patio, stock up on herbs, veggies and fruit (!!!) and get my container garden started for the season.
• Get my dad’s old camera fixed and cleaned, and start shooting film.
• Listen to the new Decemberists limited edition EP, Traveling On, on my record player by an open window.
• Take a photography walk with my dSLR through my neighborhood once the blossoms are out.

So much of my spring to-do list, every year, is about shifting seasons.  Dusting off winter, preparing for summer.  But I hope that I take some time to appreciate the season and the particular glories that spring brings.  Sometimes I forget to do that, and I need to remind myself.

What is on your springtime agenda?

Dearest, sweetest, cuddliest, cutest, munchkinest, puppiest prince,

You are FOUR!  How is that possible?  How have you been here on this planet, making it a sweeter place, for four entire years?  I could have sworn the nurses were just laying six pounds, nine ounces of you in my arms for the first time, but here you are three feet tall and brimming over with joie de vivre, and I really don’t know where the time has gone.

You are SO looking forward to your birthday party at Pump It Up! this weekend.  You’ve been dreaming of this day for months, even before you’d been there yourself.  We walked into a birthday party at the very swank Army Navy Club a couple of months ago, and you looked around at the grand staircase and chirped hopefully, “I think this is Pump It Up!”  It wasn’t, but you got to go the next day (accompanying your sister to a birthday party for one of her friends) and soon you’ll get to sit in the inflatable throne yourself, and I know you’re going to be just gleeful about it.  I can’t wait to watch.

Really, you’re such a fun guy.  You’re getting quite the sense of humor, and you love to tell jokes.  Most of them fall flat, but hey – you’re four.  You always get a laugh out of “Knock, knock!  (Who’s there?)  Fix!  (Fix who?)  Fix the doorbell, it’s broken!”  So that’s your go-to.  But you’re always looking for the next hit.  (Recently: “How do you pick up a house?  WITH ANOTHER PERSON BECAUSE IT’S HEAVY!”  I couldn’t argue with your logic.)

For all I have tried not to press gender norms on you, you are 100% boy.  You love trucks – fire engines, still, and construction vehicles – and boats, climbing on everything, pushing your sister’s buttons, riding your bike, and being attached to my side every moment of the day.  You are a gigantic mama’s boy, and I LOVE it.

You’re sports crazy, and you love working off your puppy energy by kicking a soccer ball all around the field near our house.  You’ve also gotten very interested in football, and Daddy finally has a buddy to watch his beloved Bills with.  You have to wear your Bills jersey almost every weekend, so I guess that’s it.  The next battlefield will be baseball, and this is important: do not listen to Daddy.  This is a Nationals household.

Another love: your sister.  You two fight like cats and dogs, but when you turn on the sweetness, you can really melt hearts.  Lately, she’s been trying to get you to call her “Mama.”  I do not appreciate this.

(See what I mean about the Bills jersey?  We can’t get it off you.)

You’re still a Darth Vader kind of guy, although you’ve expanded your fandoms to include Ghostbusters, thanks to your best buddy, who loves Peter Venkman as much as you love Anakin Skywalker.  Daddy has enjoyed introducing you to the classic Ghostbusters movie and to The Real Ghostbusters cartoon, but we have been less excited about all the nights you’ve spent in our bed due to scary dreams.  You’re probably sleeping with us five nights out of seven these days.  We’re all a little tired, but it won’t last forever, and I for one will miss the snuggles when you’re back in your own bed full-time.  Another recent fandom: the Marvel universe, and Spider-Man in particular.  I think it’s pretty cool that you’re getting into comics, although the last thing we needed was for you to imagine radioactive spiders in your room at midnight.

Here’s another of your recent obsessions: air hockey.  (Thanks, Grandad.)  You cheat on every point and you change the rules whenever you’re losing despite your cheating.  Yet somehow it’s still really fun to play with you.

You’re a total library kid.  We’re at our local branch every weekend without fail – you and me, at least.  Sometimes your sister joins us, but more often, it’s just the two of us.  You love to pull all the stuffed animals (you call them “lovies”) out and scatter them all over the floor, and you insist on checking out at least fifteen books every week.  I hope you grow up to be as big of a bookworm as your sister is.

(These are your “happy feet pajamas,” because you “dance so well in them.”  I can’t explain.)

I think we disagree on one fundamental point.  You see, you think you’re all grown up, and I think you’re still a baby.  When I see you running and jumping and climbing, racing down the hall at school into your classroom, or watching Jurassic World without batting an eye even during the scariest parts, I have to concede that you do have a point… maybe.  But then you fall asleep like this…

…or like this.  And you are SUCH a baby that my heart just explodes.  You’re my gift, my delight, and my heart’s joy.  You have taught me new ways of loving and looking at the world.  Every day I am grateful for the opportunity to be your mom, and I try to be worthy of you.

Happy birthday, buddy.  Thanks for being my boy.

Love,

Mama