We're back to the land of computer hardware! DC was fun, although we spent very little time in the District. Mags and I hung out with Aunt Annalise and Uncle George at their house and at the Ritz while Bill went to conferences and toured government buildings. (I think we had more fun.)
Cherry blossoms were first on our agenda. They were very pretty, but you know, not as spectacular as my imagination had conjured up. But Maggie really liked just being allowed to wander on the lawn and run around picking up sticks. She spent quite a lot of time going down a hill and then up it, then down, then up. And applauding for the little kids on stage singing in Japanese.
That was our big outing. Then it rained and we went mall walking (yeah yeah, I know, but it was attached to our hotel in the boonies and there was an awesome play area where Mags climbed and scooted and slid and got patted on the tummy by a little boy). And every morning we took the elevator down 18 floors to the spa and had a nice swim followed by a luxurious shower and cucumbers on our eyes (Maggie tried to eat hers).
One of the big successes of the trip was when we dropped Maggie off with babysitters and went out to dinner, just us grownups. It was the first time we'd left Maggie with "strangers" (i.e., not blood relatives who've known her since she was two days old). We were a little nervous about how she'd do, since she normally clings to my leg at Gymboree and won't let me get out of her sight for quite a while, even though we've gone twice a week for forever. But not to worry. We took one step into these people's house and she was off and running for the basket of toys. Never looked back. Awesome!
And now back to normal life where children get colds and parking tickets have to be paid and no one wheels in waffles for breakfast. Woe is us.