Brigitta is FOUR!!!

I have to give mad props to Reagan for this photo shoot. It was sweltering hot and humid. All I cared about was having one good photo to capture Brigitta in all her fourness of life. Somehow Reagan managed to maintain her positive energy to get many, many beautiful shots of my girl. I feel like I always post too many of these, but I can't help it- I love them all! Ready? Here we go...

Gita adores this dress. I think Liesel wore it for her 4 year photos as well.

Twirling

Egads I love this one! It totally captures her features.

Doing an arabasque

Aurgh, another favorite! If you look carefully, she is doing the most perfect little curtsy.

Laughing, Reagan really makes photo shoots fun.

I love this detail. Brigitta's got the sweetest little legs!

Sentimental. Her hair isn't as perfect as I would normally make it but Reagan is always urging me to let the girls be imperfect- it really makes for a better picture.

Oh! Oh! Oh! I love this one too!!!

Profile shot.

This exact same scene is played out almost every Sunday as Brent takes a fussy little one out during Sacrament meeting.

After the shoot Brigitta made a beeline for the park and it didn't take long for her to muddy those pristine white tights. Ahhhh Reagan is right, imperfect makes a better photo. This is the real Brigitta.

While in Maryland, we celebrated both Brigitta and Rockwell's birthdays with cake and song. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but we sing absolutely every birthday song we know and always end with a rousing rendition of Sixteen Candles. This has been a Nielsen tradition for generations and yes, we've set a couple of cakes on fire upholding that tradition.

Good thing Brigitta and Rockwell had an ice cream cake!

 I have to say I think the cake itself was a beautiful combination of those two kids. She was able to take the Elsa doll home with her while Rockwell added to his car collection.

Back from Maryland, Brigitta was in her very own bed on the morning of her birthday and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast in bed. This is a bigger deal now that we've had new carpet installed and food is normally absolutely forbidden upstairs. 

Another tradition is that the birthday girl gets to pick out her own outfit for the day and Mom can't voice any objection. Brigitta spent the day in a dance leotard and skirt. She asked me to put her hair in an "Elsa braid". It's a little tradition, but the girls love it and really look forward to it.

We stopped by Portillo's for her free slice of chocolate cake. Her older sisters were breathing heavily down her neck as she ate and then looked crestfallen when Gita announced she was full and would have to save the rest for later.

While the girls were playing downstairs, I quickly made up Gita's bed with her present- a new duvet and cover. She rooms with Ireland over the garage and in the winter that room just gets downright chilly. There's also something about a well-made bed with beautiful bedding that starts and ends the day on a good note, ya know? When I saw there was a large bolster pillow to be had, I instinctively opted to get it. That "hot dog" pillow is Brigitta's very favorite.

Oh this girl! I always say Brigitta is the middlest of middle children. With 2 1/2 years between her and Ireland, she's just young enough to get a little left behind on the fun stuff. With just 15 months between her and Sydney, she's really not allowed to be a baby in any way. Sydney generally commands more attention. The two are so similar but Sydney is just younger and smaller that she gets noticed a bit more. When Brigitta has a meltdown, it's not ice cream on the sidewalk in August, it's Chernobyl. I'm constantly reminding her to change her tone (her whiny voice is octaves above middle C), and reminding her she can control her emotions. Sibling rivalry abounds in this house and poor Brigitta often gets stuck right smack dab in the middle. 

With that said, she's also incredibly sympathetic. This summer Gita has made a practice of pulling a Cherry Coke out of the pantry and placing it in the fridge in the morning. Mid-afternoon, often when I'm working on YW stuff, she quietly slides that cold can over to me with an impish smile. If I mention I have a headache, a few hours later she will ask if my head feels better yet. She's incredibly affectionate and tells me she loves me all day, every day. If she's misbehaved a lot, she assures me tomorrow she will try to be my "gold star". Brigitta tells me I'm beautiful- even when I'm in yoga pants, one of Brent's t-shirts and I'm on day 3 of a messy mom bun. Strangers constantly comment on her blue eyes which really are stunners. I have a feeling she's just going to take off this year and shake off the last bits of toddlerhood as she becomes a bona fide little girl. 

Happy Birthday to my Gita girl- I love you with all my heart and soul.

Philadelphia

Brent and I planned our whole Maryland trip around the Philadelphia Temple open house. Those opportunities are rare and we want to give the girls as much exposure as possible.

Sydney getting her booties put on by one of the local youth. 

Photos inside the temple are not allowed so the following are from the lds.org website:

This is the Celestial room. Such a special feeling here.

 I adore the stained-glass windows and beautiful furniture!

 This is one of the sealing rooms. The guides were a couple who lost a son 12 years earlier. They gave a touching testimony of how grateful they are for families that are sealed not just until death do we part, but for eternity. As the crowd filed out, we called the girls over to stand between those two mirrors so they could see our reflection repeating infinitely.

 There is a visitor's center adjacent to the temple where questions can be answered and with this beautiful statue of the Christus.

On the top floor, there is a roof top garden which would normally be ideal for photos. However, it was SO hot and humid, a good picture was not in the cards. I've heard people with light colored eyes are more sensitive to sunlight and well, our 4 blue-eyed beauties could hardly stand the brightness. I hadn't eaten for a while and was feeling lightheaded so I was constantly sitting down. This was as good a photo as it was going to get.

After spending a couple of hours in the car, then a couple of hours being told not to touch anything at the temple, Reagan had the brilliant idea to take the kids to this place:

We discovered Sydney has a fear of carousels. It's apparently not an official phobia (I checked) which makes sense since they just go gently up and down and around. Whether it was moving or not, she was just having a hard time.

She was happier to take some silly photos like this:

 There was a whole room dedicated to Alice in Wonderland. Here Liesel is trying to paint the roses red.

 The roses would go back to white after a bit of time so she scrambled to get them all red at once. She's pretty proud of that, as you can see.

Piper showed Sydney this kiddie area where little ones could drive a boat. The boat would then move gently up and down... not unlike a carousel. Regardless, Sydney loved being captain of her own ship.

We drove by the "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Reagan hopped out with Josy. She wanted to get a picture of Rockwell on the steps but he was fast asleep in the back seat. The two of them ran the steps while we kept the cars running.

On our way out of town, we stopped by Abner's to grab a Philly cheese steak. The kids had really had it by this point, so we didn't do the Liberty Bell or Independence Hall. That's ok, it just gives us another reason to come back to Philadelphia! I really love this town; I could totally live in Philly. After a good day there, Brent agreed.

Maryland Crabs

Going to Buddy's Crabs and Ribs in Annapolis is getting to be a fun tradition every time we visit Maryland. The restaurant is really laid back, with crayons and balloons for the kids which gives it a nice family atmosphere.

How cute is that? Sometimes being a mom honestly rocks my world.

Ireland is a hard-core seafood lover. While we were waiting for the crab, she kept sneaking salmon off her little sister's plate. Finally, the big moment arrived.

Keep in mind this was meant to feed all 6 adults at the table, some of whom ordered nothing else. Ireland polished off 3 of them all by her lonesome. 

Like I said, hard-core.

I don't know what it is about this girl that she just doesn't get creeped out by all this. Ireland gleefully dismembered and disemboweled those suckers digging out the meat and dipping it in vinegar. The gusto with which she goes at it takes my breath away.

 Grandpa was incredibly entertained as she went after the claws with a mallet.

Reagan and Rockwell. She can be credited with teaching us all how to properly crack and clean a crab. Brent had the ribs (yum) and I had the crab cakes (YUM) and we tried the fried pickle chips. No matter what we ate, there was a hint of Old Bay Seasoning in it.

I just about died laughing when Josy pretended the mallet was like Thor's hammer and she whipped it around and pretended to fly with it. 

Afterwards, we walked around Annapolis a bit. You don't have to go far to see they are serious about their crab in these parts.

Can we talk about that Maryland state flag for a second? You go Maryland! You don't just do some boring state seal on a field of blue like everyone else. No, you adopt something that came right out of Medieval Times dinner theater! Go Maryland!! You do you Boo!!! I wish Illinois would spice it up a bit and do something more coat of armsy like this. Maybe in the colors of Gryffindor...

How adorable is this teapot? It makes me want to drink my chamomile while dressed in chain mail with my battle axe next to me before mounting my horse to deliver a message from the king to the next village. Super cute teapot.

 We had some seriously delicious ice cream just down the street from Buddy's. As you can see, no complaints from the kids.

 Along the harbor there is this collection of statues (explanation above). This inspired me to collect heritage stories.

 Again, I love how family-friendly this place feels.

How adorable are my nieces? Reagan and I love it when our girls are not just sisters but also friends.

Yet another wonderful evening at Buddy's in Annapolis with good food, and good company.

Thinkin' on Lincoln

This past year, Liesel has really become interested in Abraham Lincoln. Maybe it's because we live in the Land of Lincoln, but she's read several books and will recite little factoids to me every now and again. I looked into a visit to Springfield but 3 1/2 hours away with tiny kids makes that a difficult day trip. However, I promised her when we visited DC, we would make the day all about Lincoln.

The last time I was in DC, I happened to drive by Ford's Theater. I'd just spent a rather frustrating day with rude and pushy crowds at the National Archives, what seemed like half the day hunting down parking and exhausted from walking around the Mall. Seeing that the place where Lincoln died was just across the street, I made up my mind then and there Ford's Theater was on my bucket list. Brent graciously took the little ones, who wouldn't enjoy a day full of walking and reading plaques, so I had Liesel and Ireland to myself.

One side of this hallway details what Lincoln did on April 14, 1865 and the other side details what John Wilkes Booth and the conspirators did that day.

 An outside view of the Presidential box. I did not know Lincoln had seen Booth perform before (he was a well-known actor) and had even expressed interest in meeting him. Booth never responded to the request. I did not know Booth's family was respected and well-known. His brother actually voted for Lincoln and was a supporter of his policies.

Near this door there is a sign stating this is where Booth entered and suddenly the profound history of this place hit me. I was standing where he had stood, and this is where Lincoln sat, holding hands with his wife, enjoying the play Our American Cousin- a comedy. 

This tour guide was excellent. He spoke of how Booth was an actor so he didn't take a shot and then sneak out the back. Rather he stabbed army officer Henry Rathbone and then slid down to the stage, shouting something in Latin about tyrants (reports varied), and exited in front of the entire audience. Booth was an actor, after all, and would make a show of it. He broke his leg in the fall, but still managed to escape Washington. Liesel loved talking to the tour guide who was so kind to her, and so interested in all she has learned about Lincoln.

I was surprised to see how tiny the pistol was. It was a single shot derringer and was ideal for Booth's purpose because it could be easily concealed in a jacket. Booth knew the play well and so he waited for the moment which would elicit the most laughter from the audience, and thereby cover the sound of the shot.

 I love these words. As I read them, it struck me how applicable they are to our nation today. 

One of the plaques mentioned Mary Todd Lincoln received a letter of condolence from Queen Victoria- who had also lost her husband. I was not aware Mary Todd had to fight for a stipend which was customarily given to war widows. She argued the President's wife should be afforded the same rights as a soldier's.

I didn't know there was a massive two-week manhunt for Booth. He was finally tracked down to a tobacco farm in Virginia and federal agents burned the barn down around him to literally smoke him out. He was shot in the neck and died an incredibly painful death 3 hours later. I also didn't realize the original plan was to take out President Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H. Seward. Even with the surrender of the South, Booth and the conspirators were hoping to save the Confederacy. 

Apparently the first woman executed in the US, Mary Surratt, was the one who helped the conspirators by providing a place to meet and passing along information. 

The house where Lincoln died was a quick visit. Apparently the actual bed where he lay is at the Chicago History Museum. Hmmmm, gonna have to put that on the list of places to visit. An elevator down the hall took us to another floor with more displays and information.

By this time, Liesel and Ireland had seen what they wanted to see and were growing impatient with my stopping to read everything. Everyone was getting hungry so I rushed through this last part but we all enjoyed this tower of books about Lincoln which stands 3 stories tall.

 I'm now more anxious than ever to read some of those books!

 After lunch, we headed to the Lincoln Monument. Liesel was crazy excited to see this and she took tons of photos on her tablet. I've heard the sculpture had a son who was deaf so he carved Abraham Lincoln's hands to make an A on his left and an L on his right. I love how his shoe peaks over the edge.

The girls with their cousin Paisley, Reagan, and Josy- one of her old mission companions from Chile. Josy is a big fan of Chris Evans and was thrilled to be in the spot where the opening scenes to Captain America: Winter Soldier were filmed. This is where Steve Barnes runs past Falcon, "on your left" in the early morning hours.

It is a pretty cool spot I have to say.

I challenged Liesel to memorize the Gettysburg Address. Here she is working on it.

Did you know the Lincoln Memorial has kiddie play equipment? Neither did I, but the girls had a blast doing this over and over. 

 Ireland insisted on this photo which turned my stomach a bit since it's a steep drop off on either side. That girl is fearless!

 I love getting a little more concentrated time with these two in such an amazing place like DC. I hope we made some memories.

If you are visiting the Lincoln Memorial, you might as well skip on over to visit the Vietnam Memorial. Here my mother is explaining to Ireland how people will bring a piece of paper and pencil to do a rubbing of the name of their dearly departed. I love this photo. Mom remembers the Vietnam War, and I'm grateful she was with us to talk about it a bit.

We really lucked out in terms of weather. It was hot and humid, but not unbearable. Because we just did Ford's Theater and the Lincoln Monument, we weren't stressed and rushing to get to the next thing on our agenda. This is my first visit to DC when there wasn't some kind of a rally or parade or something else that shuts down traffic. On our way out, we drove by the Iwo Jima statue (my favorite) and the White House. It was really nice to take DC in just small bites and I'm already contemplating our next visit. Maybe we will just do the White House, or just the Library of Congress. I understand if you are over 16 you can get a library card- how cool is that? I'm always a fan of Arlington and Mount Vernon- seeing the Eternal Flame and Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. There's always the Smithsonians which are fantastic and free. Who knows? But I'm sold on short and simple, for sure.