Family Vacation!

After an extremely busy first half of June, it was time for us to get away on a little vacation. We had not seen any of my family since Christmas, so we headed up the eastern seaboard and did a little family tour. Both my older brother and sister and their families have moved into new homes this year, and none of them had met Eleanor yet, so this was quite a fun trip! We started out last Sunday morning at 3am, putting three sleeping girls in their carseats and heading north to Washington, DC. After one quick stop for breakfast, we arrived at their new rowhouse on Capitol Hill around 11am and were greeted by Sarah, Dustin, Wesley, Cooper, Colton, and my mom who had been there for the past week. The girls had such a great time with their three boy cousins! We made trips to the park, shopped at Eastern Market, played in a splash park on the Potomac river, visited the monuments and memorials, and just enjoyed being together.

Smiles from Grandma and Eleanor

 Grandma snuggling best buddies, AK and Cooper (just 10 weeks apart in age)

Cooper and Eleanor getting acquainted

 

Honoring Great-Grandpa Burgin at the WWII Memorial

 

Grandma with 6 of her grandkids at the Lincoln Memorial

 

Grandma with the girls

 

Our family

 

Anna Kate and Caroline with the Washington Monument

 

A carousel ride for everyone!

 

Caroline (ever-cautious) chose the bench seat

 

Splashing with cousins!

 

This awesome splash pool/fountain is 11 inches deep and about as big as a football field!

 

Walking with Grandma

 

Colton REALLY loves his mama, but Aunt Patty is a close second!

 

After three days in DC, we made the 2.5 hour drive to Norfolk, VA, to see Stephen and Rachael and their girls, Leah and Bekah. They had such a fun few days planned for us! We spent Thursday morning at their Botanical Gardens and splash park.

 Bekah - because she's adorable

Leah, Bekah, and Caroline

 

Leah and Caroline

 

Running and splashing

 

And then AK dressed up as a monarch butterfly

 

And Caroline swept up the playhouse

 

Ellie even got in on the splashing!

 

Heading home for great naps!

 

Friday morning, we went to a lovely beach on the Chesapeake Bay and enjoyed some sunshine.

This is how Eleanor spent quite a bit of the morning!

 

But then she woke up for a while!

 

All five girl cousins!

Eleanor (4.5 months), Bekah (18 months), Caroline (2), Anna Kate (4), Leah (5)

 

Friday evening we went out to a fun little pizza place and then enjoyed another splash park and some live music downtown.

Throughout the week, we of course enjoyed lots of baby snuggles!

Bekah enjoyed practicing her new big sisterly duties (baby Burgin is coming in just 6 weeks)!

 

Early Saturday morning, it was time to head back home. It's always sad to say goodbye to everyone, but we are so thankful for such a wonderful week!

Anna Kate's first violin recital!

Friday night was a very special night, as we had our end-of-the-year violin recital for all my students. This recital was especially exciting for me for two reasons. First, these are the most advanced students I have ever taught. I have never lived in one place quite this long, so this is the first time that I have students that I have taught from beginners who are now in Suzuki Book 4 and 5 (quite advanced music!). Secondly, it was very special because this was Anna Kate's first recital! We gave her a violin for her third birthday, and she spent a lot of that year just exploring the instrument, learning posture and position, and bowing open string rhythms. After she turned four, we started to become a little more disciplined with our violin lessons. A few months ago she put "fingers down" for the first time, and was ready to play "I'm a Little Monkey" on the E string for our recital.

Here are a couple of pictures of the evening.

And, of course, a video of Anna Kate, accompanied by yours truly. I was so proud of her, not just for playing well, but for being so professional as she walked on and off stage, got into position, and performed for well over 50 people.



Way to go, Anna Kate! Caroline...you're next =)

May catch-up!

May has been a busy month for us! I've blogged about some of the happenings around here, but I've missed a few, so this will be a catch-all post. Here are a few things that have happened this month:
Luke planned and led youth Sunday at church.

 

AK performed with her church preschool choir.

Caroline got walking pneumonia.

Our baby birds hatched...

And left the nest!

Aunt Allison came to visit!

We had our last day of Monday preschool.

Caroline with Ms. Darlene and Ms. Rhonda

 AK with Ms. Michell, Ms. Susan, and Ms. Carla

We played at the park.

 

We did AK's hair in a star for Memorial Day.

 The girls occasionally read quietly and sweetly together :)

Anna Kate had her last T-ball game...

Last team huddle

With Coach Josh

and she even got a trophy!

We also had my end-of-year violin recital (in which AK participated!), but that will be a separate post coming soon...with video!