June

Friday June 2nd there was a massive Marvel collection sale on Kindle (which transfers to Comixology). I let Chris he could get the entire Star Wars run for $20. That night was a Daddy/daughter dinner night. Usually we’d just gone to Flippin’ Pizza, but Nina had seen the 2 person tables between Red’s table and Cafesano, and wanted to eat pizza plus Cafesano’s lentil soup. Too bad Cafesano didn’t have their lentil soup that night, but it was redeemed by feeding pizza crusts to the geese on the lake.

Nina

Saturday I took Nina to get a booster seat, then to her tee-ball game (Jill was gone for the weekend at Maddie’s graduation). That night we sold restaurant coupon books for the Reston Herndon Little League at the North Point Glory Days, then had dinner there with the family we were selling with (plus an ice cream cone afterwards). They have a genius drink called Shark Attack, which is a Sprite with a toy shark filled with red grenadine that they can mix in themselves (it was a big hit).

Nina

Sunday Nina and I went to the Herndon Festival, checked out the vendors, watched Cal Everett and Nelly’s Echo, ate some food, and did some arts and crafts. I let Nina get one thing from the vendors, and after much consideration, she went with a rainbow ponytail holder. That night I watched The Leftovers finale – I didn’t have great expectations of this series, even with one of the creators of Lost, but I really enjoyed seasons 2 & 3. The last episode really stuck the landing.

Nina

Wednesday the 7th it was Nina’s graduation from Sunset Hills Montessori after 4 years there. I had to go back to work afterwards, but Sue came to visit and she and Jill took Nina out to lunch and to Zoofari. Thursday Sue watched Nina in the morning, then Jill and I came home from work to take her to her class party in the afternoon (which included an ice cream truck).

Nina

Saturday the 10th was Nina’s final tee-ball of the season. Dad and Patricia came in addition to Sue. That evening Jill, Nina and I went over to Celebrate Fairfax. I got to eat from a delicious Indian food truck and see some of Vertical Horizon and Everclear, and Nina got to ride a lot of rides; the Ferris Wheel was her favorite.

Nina, Dad & Patricia

Friday the 16th Nina had her rehearsal for her dance recital the next day, then Nina and Sue and I went to Red’s Table for dinner (Nina refused to have anything but fries). I was disappointed to learn that night that half.com would be closing. Nina’s recital the next day went well, then Jill and Sue went to Leesburg for tea, and I took Nina to the Bready Park playground and the Taste of Reston (she really liked the Hen Penny fried chicken and no longer liked her old favorite strawberries dipped in chocolate). I was glad I had a change of clothes for her as the thing she most wanted to do was go to the spraypark.

Kerry Nina Jill

Sunday I got a great Father’s Day with 2 of my favorite Davids: Tennant and Matthews. First up was Awesome Con where we got there just in time for our photo with two Doctor Who castmembers: David Tennant and John Barrowman. We got to meet some comic creators and Nina got some prints and coloring books, and she was more excited to get her picture taken with Shimmer and Shine. We drove up to Columbia and stopped at a playground for a bit, then had dinner at the Mall of Columbia (the Veracruz salad from Noodles & Company is delicious), then over to Merriweather Post Pavilion for Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds.

Us, David Tennant and John Barrowman

Friday the 23rd was Summer concert #1: Jonathan Coulton and Aimee Mann. That was friggin’ delightful (if she’s looking for another partner after Ted Leo, he’d be perfect), and the surprise duet at the end on “Voices Carry” was welcome. Saturday we took Nina to The Burger Shack for diner, then to Monster Mini Golf where her tee-ball team had a party for selling the most coupons. It was Nina’s first time playing mini golf, and she had a blast (I also enjoyed playing Aliens: Armageddon while they golfed).

Nina

Monday the 26th I was excited to see Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie that night at Wolf Trap for Summer Concert #2. I was surprised by how much I like their album, considering how meh I was on his last 2 solo albums. I wouldn’t have argued if they’d slapped the Fleetwood Mac name on this. Then Jill got a sinus infection, and I had to sell her ticket. It was a fine way to kick off the Wolf Trap season, great mix of new and classic songs. Nina also started a new camp that day with the Reston Association, her first camp not at school. Happily she loved it, especially going to the pool just about every day.

Nina