In honor of Presidents' Day today, we visited Mt. Vernon, VA – first for some ice skating and then for a quick drive-by of George Washington's residence. (We got there too late to tour the grounds). We spent a lot of time talking about presidents and Washington and how long it would take to get from Mt. Vernon to downtown DC back before there were cars.

M did a lot better today with the skating, and while she fell a lot, she had fun and had a smile on her face. She skated so fast that she was dragging me and Daddy across the rink. A, once again, was frustrated with her skating. She took several breaks and was on the verge of tears many times. She had been excited to go this morning, and was happy when we got there, but she got frustrated quickly.

We also dropped off some valentines for Nana and Grampy, and went to dinner at Cactus Cantina, where the girls enjoyed the coloring books, mints, and tortilla machine.

M talked A LOT today… and came up with a bunch of really old, random memories. A did too – it's amazing what they remember and retain from month to month. They watched a ballet on DVD with Daddy last night and remembered every little plot twist, even though they hadn't seen it in a long time, and had only seen it twice.

We also read A Very Young Dancer from start to finish, between last night and tonight. Ballet obsession continues.

Buppie gave the girls a piano lesson today. I haven't been as good about encouraging the girls to practice. Hmm… reminds me of when I didn't practice when I was a kid… hopefully not disappointing my mom again!

Here is a photo from Mt. Vernon today, taken on Daddy's phone: