Proof that Lee was always an actress

First Day of Summer School!

No more daycare for Lily! She started summer school today, at the same school she will attend in the fall. She took it in stride, but Mommy and Daddy were a little nervous. She came home wired and happy, so we think she liked it, but we can barely get any information out of her. Except that her favorite part was the donut they gave her for breakfast. Donut? Really? Why not just straight sugar cubes?

New shoes, skirt, top, backpack, and hair flowers. Plus her fingernails were painted purple.

Happy 4th of July!

Lily and I started the day down at the Archives, where we have a ceremonial reading of the Declaration of Independence, and all sorts of fun family activities.

Fantastic dress, courtesy of Grandma Fran.

Waiting for the ceremony on the portico steps.

Abigail Adams, taking a break.

Speechifying is boring!

Speeches over, got a temporary tattoo, when do the fireworks start?

Sprinkler Time!

What we have here is a failure to communicate...

Actual conversation:

Deb, driving car, Lily in backseat holding brand new Sound of Music DVD.

Lily: Mommy, what does the sticker say?
Deb: Ummm, I don't know, what does it say?
Lily: I don't know.
Deb: Well, what are the letters?
Lily: What letters?
Deb: On the sticker.
Lily: I don't remember.
Deb: Are they letters or numbers?
Lily: Where?
Deb: On the sticker.
Lily: What sticker?

Kind of reminds me of some meetings at work.

Graduation Day!

And happy 44th anniversary Mom and Dad!

Ocean City Weekend

We've lived here on and off since 1984, and have never been to Ocean City - so that's where we took this year's "hotel vacation."

Our balcony overlooked the ocean. We loved sleeping with the windows open listening to the pounding surf.

View from our balcony down the beach and boardwalk. Our hotel was at the very north end of the 3-mile boardwalk.

Assateague ponies.

Assateague wild ponies have roamed the beaches, pine forest, and salt marsh of Assateague Island since the 1600's. Assateague Island National Seashore has a combined total of over 300 wild ponies in Maryland and Virginia. Some people believe the horses arrived on Assateague's shores when a Spanish galleon ship (with a cargo of horses) sank offshore. Others believe the horses arrived by early colonial settlers that allowed them to graze there. A Spanish ship wreck was discovered recently in the waters off Assateague which lends credit to the first theory.

Brrrrrr. The Atlantic in May is cold. This was Lily's first view of the ocean. She did get plenty of swim time in the heated indoor pool at the hotel.

Lily's first experience at miniature golf was a big hit.

Lots of fun things to see and do on the boardwalk - not to mention eat! We didn't have the famous Thrasher's fries, but did have Fischer popcorn and funnel cake. And several crab cake sandwiches and crab soup.

Sand Jesus.

Trimper's Rides
A trip highlight was definitely Trimper's, which has been operating in Ocean City since 1900. Many of the kiddie rides still exist and operate. The carousel is one of the oldest in the country.

Mommy and Daddy were very generous with the tickets. We bought a lot of sheer joy for $25.

She nailed that dork with the purple hair. (Did I mention there was a "Raven's Roost" convention in town - hundreds of purple-clad Ravens fans.)

The "Fairy Whip," one of the original rides and a big hit with Lily. Definitely built in the days before lawsuits - you get whipped around the turns pretty hard for a kiddie ride.

Fun house mirrors. There's Mommy.

See the big ferris wheel?