Days 40 – 42: Levi Turns 4!

Saturday was a fun day – we had a get together with a few other adoptive families and chatted about Congo.  It was a relaxing afternoon and the kids had a great time with others their own age.  One extra special fun part was our hosts thoughtfulness at buying a cake…

Some mild excitement, can’t you tell?

Levi’s 4th birthday was Sunday and this was a chance at a party – it was so great to have this celebration.  Do any of you remember Levi’s third birthday party?

Sunday morning we woke extra early and began the two hour drive to DC to have a day of fun in Levi’s honor.  First was a stop at church with our very special host for the day: Auntie Jenny!  Jennifer, Matthew’s sister, lives in DC and we were thrilled to be able to spend this day with family!

Once church was over, we headed downtown for some lunch (ironically, at a restaurant that also used to have a franchise in Kinshasa…no joke…Nando’s, anyone?).  It was delicious and Levi was really getting into the birthday spirit…he was four, thus so big like Daddy, right?

Trying out Daddy’s glasses…(photo by Jennifer)

Next up we drove over to the National Mall for the main event: dinos, whales, airplanes, and spaceships – all of a boys’ favorite things all in one place!  Our first stop was the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History for some dinos and whales…

Yay for Auntie Jenny’s company!

Dinos!

Whales!

Matthew and I took a detour into the African section – it was a surreal experience to see so many things from our home in DRC!  There was a section on the fabric, such a love of mine, the markets, and the food.

This was in Ghana, but it is so similar to DRC – cassava, tomatoes, garlic, and pili pili.

Next stop was a hot walk across the mall to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  Because of her brother’s passion for dinos and airplanes, Amelia was also having a great time seeing all the fun stuff.

Amelia loves airplanes

After we were finished and the kids were tired, it was time to head out of downtown DC and back to Auntie Jenny’s apartment for some dinner, pool time, and presents!

Drive by…

Levi flies his gift from us that he got to pick out – a biplane from the museum

Family picture, away from the sun, with the Capitol in the background…(photo by Jennifer)

Fitting in a quick nap on the drive

After a trip to where Auntie Jenny works and a Chipotle stop, we cooled off in the pool and headed up to the apartment for presents!

Amelia tackles Chipotle

Lind kids on the Lind piano

We didn’t leave until 10:30pm and still had a two hour drive home.  Thankfully the kids fell asleep right away…and I did eventually, too, but we were exhausted when we arrived home at 1am (half hour delay due to construction) and collapsed into bed.

The morning came too soon and it was time to move on.  We drove today for seven hours making it to the border between South Carolina and Georgia.  Tomorrow’s destination: Orlando!