Spring Again in DC

In my book, spring in DC officially starts when the cherry blossoms bloom.  The peak this year was 4/8-4/10 and we made a special point to go see them Tuesday after work when it was a perfect 75-80 degrees.  I've heard that in Japan they celebrate cherry blossoms because of their fleeting beauty.  It's their version of stopping to smell the roses, I guess.  Even though we've lived here three years and can easily see the tidal basin in bloom, I feel like the year we fail to make time to do so is the year we probably need to move away from DC because that means that life has become too urban or busy.  If you can't stop and appreciate those special things that come along infrequently then you're not really living, right?

 Here are some photos of the family with the trees.  We walked from Nathan's office near the Washington Monument, along the Tidal Basin to FDR, then found a much less-crowded trail along the river to the Lincoln Memorial where I decided to hop onto a Capital Bikeshare bike back to the metro (because walking that far is just not as much fun with 25 extra pounds).

 On Friday, we also took Alison to get her first haircut!  She screamed bloody murder until I pointed out the happy 5-year-old who'd just finished his haircut.  With two lollypops and a bucket of toys, the rest was easy and now Alison no longer looks like a wild child....most of the time.

Easter Weekend

Last weekend was Alison's third Easter and we began the celebration with a trip to Great Falls Park.  The last time we were there was on New Year's Day 2012, when I got a similar picture to the one below, same coat and everything!

1-1-12 - Great Falls

3-30-13 - Deja Vu

The falls, as always, are gorgeous, but the park itself can get very crowded. By the time we left, the parking lot was full and there was a line of cars waiting at the entrance gate that probably stretched half a mile back to the road.

The next day was Easter and since Park Rangers never gets any holidays off (a growing pet peeve of mine), we decorated a cake and waited for the Easter Bunny to arrive during the afternoon nap.

This is what the cake looked like before several bunnies were decapitated by the lid I placed over the cake to keep it fresh.

The egg hunt was more fun than ever this year.  The Easter Bunny hid 20 eggs in the sunroom, kitchen, dining room, and living room, plus one chocolate rabbit, and an Easter Basket filled with a Rocknoceros CD, headbands, toy cars, and stickers.  Uncle Justin and his girlfriend, Annie, came over for dinner and stayed a while playing games.

Hunting for Eggs

Showing Off Some of her Swag

The Haul & Playing with Annie

Alison has already requested that the Easter Bunny return soon.  I just told her that he'll come back after Christmas and that seemed to cheer her up.  She'd forgotten about Christmas.