christmas on 34th street...

the sunday after christmas we wrapped up the season by going to 34th street in baltimore- it was insane. like nothing i've EVER seen! the weather was warm again (70), so how could we go wrong? (we'll keep our traditional sunday walks going as long as we possibly can.) (also, it's 22 right now. sooo... not 70. that sucks.)

we got there early and walked around the neighborhood a bit before all the lights turned on...

i'd also like to throw this out there- there isn't much i can do better than mike, but i am one talented parallel parker. minus the one time i crushed mike's knees because the dumdum thought he would stand behind our car, in front of the car behind us? that's just silly. and not my fault. but back to the task at hand: it's one of my only talents. so there we go. this was done on the first try. ^^ thumbs up.

this was jude being a robot- i have no idea where it came from, but he requests to be winded up, then marches around like a boss. 

also we found this super bizarre store where we saw through the window real body parts and a doll eating an octopus...??...

and then the lights turned on!

i was literally speechless. pictures do NO JUSTICE! the neighborhood is on their 69th year, and let's just say they've figured a thing or two out over the years. just watch/read this. it helps.

there wasn't an inch of some of these houses not plastered in lights, trains, song, dance, doll, you name it. amazing!

it was a perfect close to a season of joy and love and time together. 

the national WWII memorial & reflecting pool...

there's only one thing better than roast and mashed potatoes on a sunday, 

and this is it. 

since we can't go to my parent's for sunday dinner anymore, our sunday walks & picnics have become our new favorite tradition. this day in particular we talked about our walks being the highlight of our time here. they're also what i think we'll miss the most when the weather turns and/or we aren't this close to the city. 

mike's picnic-packing skills have improved exponentially since this first picnic when we all shared an apple, bundle of grapes, and 1 package of crackers. these days he's creating sandwich-bag-art, and filling us with bowls of fruit, pb&j (j only for elle- which i'm sure has zero nutritional value when it's without it's trusty pb companion), chips, and fruit snacks!    on-point, man.   we relaxed in the shade and the kids chased each other around while mike and i chatted about what the heck we're doing with our lives. (hashtag typical daily conversation.)

also, it's been mentioned in passing, but mike considers himself to be a squirrel whisperer, and is teaching my kids his ways. i'm trying to convince him i would like to keep everyone rabies-less, but no one is listening to me.

once a few months back, mike trained "his" squirrel friend- yes, there is a specific black squirrel he knows (which elle named heshe)- to ride his penny board.   no joke.

today? mike and the kids made friends with this fearless fella...

eh, waaaaaay too close for comfort if you ask me.

across to the WWII memorial for some foot-cooling...

then we meandered down alongside the reflecting pool...

ducks like chips.

^^ typical faces.

... and a typical model pose, complete with her new lunch bag from nana & papa. jude has a minion lunch bag, and these two carry them everywhere. too bad my mom didn't fill them with roast and mashed potatoes before she sent them......
which now brings us full circle since the start of this post:)

walk around the tidal basin...

i love our sunday walks. there's something so peaceful about the fact that we just walk- no pressure to do anything special or be anywhere, we just take time on sunday afternoons to be a family and explore nearby. last sunday it was time to hit the tidal basin. first up, the jefferson memorial!

i'll give this one props- i assume because of the shape, it's so breezy! compared to lincoln memorial, this one wins "best memorial with columns and lots of steps to visit on a hot summer day" award:) it was also much quieter- the whole area was. maybe it was just luck? really nice though. we even found parking that was free and easy. 

no joke- the first time in his life he uttered the words, "mommy! my pitch-urr pees!" 

ok!

we then kept going around the tidal basin. stopping to feed geese pringles along the way. 

and, yes, that is sweat on my poor son's head. 
sweat!! so much sweat!

have i mentioned? it was 91 with a thousand percent humidity? the only saving grace is the sun was hidden most of the time... it actually started to rain for about 12 seconds at this point. then stopped, tragically. but first! sweat and a dance party on the rocks.

the franklin delano roosevelt memorial was really nice! 

there was lots to see- a few pretty waterfalls, shade, lots of space, and bathrooms! bathrooms without any people! (it wouldn't be a post these days without bathroom talk. speaking of... bodies... any suggestions how to get my 2-year-old to stop screaming, "booooobieeees!" incessantly? literally, he says it on repeat constantly. it's usually sparked by seeing a girl. any girl. or guy for that matter. or a statue. or a car drive by. basically, it's what he says when he feels like talking. then he laughs hysterically at himself like it's some inside joke and he is the keeper of the punchline. i'll give him that- it's darn funny. but mostly embarrassing when we're in the middle of church. someone send help! and sorry mr. roosevelt for the poor placement of this amidst your memorial. but really. distracting him does not work. i'm sure it's a phase. let it be noted for the petersen history books that amidst all this genuine american history, jude at 2.5 ran around the places of reverence screaming, "booooobieeees!!"   classic.) 

oh! and there was this dog. with which jude had an entire conversation.

next up was the martin luther king, jr. memorial... also really pretty. with quite a view! 

another loop back around to where we started, just as the sun came out to cook the remainder of our sweaty bodies, and we slithered into the air conditioning.