Butterflies, Roses and Shrimps

We spent Father's Day weekend in MD with Noni, Grandpa, Jon and Oma. Drove up on Friday night and back home Sunday afternoon. I'd wanted to do a bunch of outside things on Saturday morning but of course it rained. By mid-afternoon the sun made an appearance and we decided to go over to a local botanical garden to see the roses in bloom. They also have a butterfly house that we've visited a few times and the kids really enjoy.

Even since Jeffrey's bee sting he's been terrified by any kind of insect. There were lots of bugs at the garden...including plenty of bees. He tried to stay calm, but really didn't enjoy the roses. Erin loved going around and smelling all the different roses. They also had found all the fountains where they could splash in the water.



The 3 of us visited the butterfly house with Noni. The butterflies were super active. Erin wanted so badly for one to land on her. As usual, they went right for Noni. Erin would sit super still waiting for a special visitor or holding her hand near one on a rock. Jeffrey got a few visitors. One actually landed on his head (and amazingly he didn't freak out). Just as we were about to leave, Erin finally caught one on her shoe. Totally made her day.




After butterflies we drove over to Bethesda for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. Grandpa loves their fish and chips and Tom and I were certainly willing to indulge in some seafood. They were super busy when we got there (at about 4:45 PM). We were seated outside near a little lake. It was the best place to sit. The kids could be a little loud, and eventually there was a band that set up just outside the restaurant. The atmosphere was really great. Tom and I both got steam pots that had crab and shrimp or clams, potatoes, corn and sausage. Really good. Jeffrey ordered a pizza and inhaled it, then ate 3 of Uncle Jon's fried shrimp and 3 of my steamed shrimp. I tried to convince him to order the kids shrimp plate to start, but he claimed he didn't like shrimp. Apparently he forgot.

As a great ending to the evening, Tom took the kids out to the band in front of the restaurant to dance. They had a great time. Then Grandpa drove them all home, while Tom, Jon and I walked around for a bit and caught a late showing of Angles and Demons.

Sunday morning, we had a nice breakfast together. The kids played in the back yard with Uncle Jon and daddy for a while. After a fun morning we had to get back to VA for a rehearsal later that night.