Well, it’s the end of a long holiday weekend here in DC. Here is how we all spent it:

Maddie had her party on Thursday, and it was a big success. She had her DJ debut, everyone had a good time, nothing got broken, people hung out in the pool, and she was very happy with all of it. I wasn’t home for it and Dad stayed upstairs the whole time, so we have no pics, nor did we get to experience it in real time. But here are some pics of M setting up (how cute are the decorations??):

After the party, she went to see fireworks, and on Friday, she went to the beach in DE with her high school friend group. I think she had fun; she took a nap soon after returning home today.

Alexa spent the 4th in LA and sent us amazing pics of fireworks going off across the city. She went to a BBQ in Encino and played Scattergories and had a great time that night. She spent the rest of the weekend babysitting, having dinner with her supervisor, and getting ready to come home! She will be in DC by Wednesday AM – very exciting!!! Here is a screenshot of a video she sent us:

We have gotten some letters from Nate and it sounds like he’s having a great time. He said he has done every activity at camp, including mountain biking and windsurfing, and he seems to like his cabinmates. We’ll know a lot more on Sunday when we go to see him!!

Dad and I hosted the annual SRAP lunch/swim party here on Saturday and Dad made the flag cake, as usual, though this year we cheated and bought a plain white sheet cake. It was very very hot here but there were lots of little kids in the pool and everyone had a good time. Here is a screenshot of Kate’s Insta post:

Otherwise it was a quiet weekend. Dad and I did a lot of work. I am in intense bookstore planning mode and Dad is off to Brussels for the week for work. It’s very quiet here when the kids aren’t around!

Tomorrow, back to work – consulting starts up again for me, bookstore hiring interviews, book ordering, on and on. Can’t wait to see Alexa on Wed.!