Nonstop

Daddy left at the crack of dawn Sunday morning for his annual trip to coach soccer at the JCC Maccabi Games, so Mommy has been keeping the kids constantly busy in an effort to keep them entertained while Daddy is away.

Sunday morning Mommy took all three kids to celebrate friend Zack's fourth birthday at a pool party. This was one occasion when Mommy was very happy that Kira isn't crawling yet, as she could put Kira down on a blanket by the pool while she took Alex and Ari in the water. The kids were having such a blast that they didn't even realize it was way past their nap time until we finally got home at 1:00 after a yummy lunch of pizza and ice cream cake.

After a solid (albeit late) nap, Mommy decided to continue the pool fun by taking a trip to our neighborhood pool where we ran into lots of our neighbor friends. Alex and Ari are true fish and didn't even want to get out of the pool to go home for a late dinner.

Monday morning we had a playdate with twin friends, including Madeline and Hannah, who are Kira's age, and Ari and Alex's friends Celia and Rina, along with their younger sister (and Kira's friend) Eliana. It was probably the first time Kira had more friends her age present than Ari and Alex!

Monday afternoon Miri and Opa came for a visit, as Miri just got back from Chile and hadn't seen the kids in a week. We then joined (more) twin friends Izzy and Sammy at their neighborhood pool and Alex and Ari were in pool heaven! In addition to a traditional baby pool, they have a pool that has a graduated entrance (like a beach) with fountains. Mommy practically had to drag Alex and Ari out of the pool to go home for dinner.

After dinner, Nana and Poppy came by for a visit and to help the kids get ready for bed.

This morning we had a big adventure planned- since Alex loves trains so much, Mommy decided to take the kids on the Metro subway to visit Aunt Lori and Uncle Sam, who live near a Metro station. It would have been quicker to drive but Alex and Ari (and even Kira!) had such a great time on the train that it certainly was more fun this way. We had to park on the top level of the parking garage that, to our surprise, had NO ELEVATOR, but other than that, it was a pretty easy (and doable) trip and the kids had a blast. Ari was quick to jump out of the stroller to sit by the window, but Alex, as much as he loved the "Metro train," preferred to stay in the stroller. Kira took it all in from her perch in the Baby Bjorn.

After a visit with Aunt Lori, Uncle Sam and Ozzie (which included a trip to the bookstore and two new books for Alex and Ari), we returned home for a nap and a return visit to the neighborhood pool where Alex and Ari got to play with bud Jacob and see his baby brother Asher. The kids (and Mommy) have been exhausted at night after our jam-packed days but we're having lots of fun and the time until Daddy returns is going by quickly!