Before the week began though, we went to Alexandria St Patrick's Day Parade on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a lot of fun. There were lots of marching bagpipe bands, Irish dancers, and crazy shriners in go-carts to keep them entertained.
On Friday we decided that the curls on the back of Peter's head were getting a little too long so we went to our local barber to get his first haircut. It's a small place without much space and they're probably not accustomed to 4 people coming in together -- 1 person to get a haircut and 3 people to watch. Peter was a trooper and didn't cry (unlike his sister!) but he clung tightly to Nancy who stood next to him. Afterwards, the barber put Peter's hair in an envelope and gave us a "First Haircut" certificate. Then we went to celebrate at one of our favorite restaurants -- Atlantis!
On Saturday morning I took Katie and Peter for a book reading by gold-medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi at our favorite bookstore, Hooray for Books. We got there right as it started and Katie zipped right up to the front and sat on the floor -- the best seat in the room. Peter and I stayed back in case he decided to yell or cry (which he didn't).
Kristi read her kid's book, "Dream Big, Little Pig" and answered questions afterwards. She was asked if she still dances and she said no, because she doesn't have a partner. Then she was asked if her daughters are skating and she said her oldest one skates just for fun but her other daughter may be more serious about it. And she was asked if she had any advice for the young skaters in the audience on how to keep practicing on the days when you would rather sleep in. Kristi said the thing that kept her going was knowing that her competitors were out there practicing too and that kept her motivated to not let them surpass her. She was very interesting and well-spoken and seemed very down-to-earth.
After the book reading we went to Hard Times Cafe for lunch and Peter kept the waitress entertained by playing peek-a-boo with her.
On Saturday afternoon we went to the Kennedy Center for a special "Family Look-in" at the beautiful opera house. They performed some scenes from the current opera being performed there, Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart. They also discussed some behind-the-scenes topics like choosing the wardrobes, costume changes, lighting, and music.
It was fun and Katie seemed to enjoy it but I think it would have been better with a better opera. Cosi is a bit too "conversational" for my liking. Instead of powerful, emotional songs you get a lot of little bantering between six characters. This particular staging was set in contemporary times, which can seem strange at times. And the singing was in Italian which isn't a problem because they translate it into English on a screen above the stage -- except that Katie can't read. Amazingly enough, she was able to follow generally what was happening. And just taking her to the Opera house was fun in itself. Hopefully in a few years we'll go back to see La Traviata or Carmen.
Today Katie and I went to see "The Lorax" in 3-D and it was ok. I really wanted to like it but it just didn't deliver. It wasn't awful though and we got to enjoy some good popcorn at least.
When we got home, Katie rode her bike down to the playground with Nancy, Peter, and me following behind. The playground was jumping. It seemed like the whole neighborhood was out which was fun. There were impromptu games of soccer, duck-duck-goose, and tag going on.
Katie got her first bike-related boo-boo at the park and, in typical Katie fashion, it was quite amusing. She hopped off her bike and started to run around it to tell Nancy something but somehow she tripped over her tire and fell hard on the sidewalk. She scraped her elbow and was crying. We were so stunned that she tripped over her bike that we started laughing, which probably didn't win us "Parents of the Year." But Nancy walked her home to get bandaged up and she was back at the park running around shortly after. So Katie's first bike-related boo-boo came not from riding it, but from trying to walk around it. Go figure.
After the park, we hiked back home, cooked burgers on the grill, and called it a night. It was a very fun week.
The kids new favorite thing to do is to play behind the couch cushions.
Another new game the kids like to play is "climb all over mommy".
Probably watching the Caps.
Short video of the parade.
One of the marching bands in the St Patrick's Parade in Old Town Alexandria.
There were tons of dogs near us at the parade, which Peter loved.
The City of Alexandria's Pipe and Drums
Walking back to the car.
Peter's not so sure about getting his haircut
He clung on tightly to Nancy.
Katie was very helpful with keeping Peter happy.
"Is it over yet?"
Peter with his hair clippings and certificate
In front of the barbershop.
Kristi Yamaguchi reads from her new kid's book.
Katie and Kristi
Katie at the Kennedy Center. When she saw the statue of John Kennedy, she said "Who is he supposed to be?" The way she said it cracked me up.
Katie at the Opera House
Waiting for the show to start.
Standing outside on the beautiful Kennedy Center terrace that overlooks the Potomac River (Georgetown is in the background).
Watching a crew team practice on the river.
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