Splash, Slide, Float, Repeat ...

Despite being averse to water parks in general (ICK!) I fought my germ-phobia and took the kids to a fantastic water park in Reston today. There is, what appears to be a cute zoo next door which I had hoped we could check out beforehand but we had a few issues getting out the door by 9am. The re-entry to school life is going to be rough. Luckily, we still have two weeks. 

The kids had a ball and I must admit that as water parks go, this one is the best in the area. The water still creeps me out and my imagination runs rather wild at what could be in said water but the kids' enjoyment helped distract me for most of the day. That is, except for the first giant slide I went down and inhaled an obscene amount of bodily fluids pool water.  I'm still shuddering at the thought. 

You have to be 48 inches tall to ride the largest slides. I thought William would make the cut when he was first measured but there was apparently at least an inch of hair "fluff" that the bar cleared. As you can imagine he handled the news with grace and aplomb. *insert laughter* 

William: Bring it on water!!!
Colin: My eyes, my eyes!!! 

Colin almost made it across. That dastardly drifting snake was too much. 

Farewell Lil' Pete! 

Cheers, 

Mamma Frog

Hail to the ... Best Pizza and Parks!

William, being William has a monuments "check list" and we finally got to see his No. 1, the Washington Monument. Over spring break he shocked me by asking if he could see all the monuments, especially the Washington monument. As any good parent I said, "of course!" Then I found out that apparently a lot of more proficient parents planned to take their kids over spring break. I was finally able to book our tickets several months out and this week was our time! 




We had a bit of trouble getting out of the house on time (shocker) so we were a few minutes late for our timed tour, plus a ticket hiccup meant that we were running about thirty minutes behind. The fantastic Park Rangers couldn't have been more friendly, helpful and frankly entertaining. Our guide, Ranger Steve Miller got the kids laughing with a few jokes about a required bungee jump off the top. Colin understood and got a good laugh out of it. I think William was more than terrified and kept his guard up for rogue "jumpers" the whole visit. 

I was surprised by how much we all enjoyed the tour. The view is absolutely amazing! How have I lived here for seventeen years and never taken this tour!? I pointed out the White House, OEOB, Capitol and House buildings where mom and dad worked-- spoiler alert the kids couldn't have cared less. But they LOVED seeing the Masonic Temple and "seeing" our house. 

I most enjoyed the elevator ride down (again with Ranger Miller and his jokes) with frequent stops to highlight the donated and carved stones. There were even a few stones from the library in Alexandria. The original Alexandria, Egypt. Simply amazing!  Again, the kids more enjoyed the stop and go nature of the ride. 







Afterwards we hit 2 Amy's pizza shop- the best in town! And then made our way to the National Cathedral's Beauvoir Outdoor classroom. This is with out a doubt the best playground in the city. A two story castle slide, multilevel treehouse with climbing elements where William told me he "conquered my biggest fears!" and a zipline!?!?! Not to mention all the other things you might find in a playground. We spent at least two hours and the kids asked to come back tomorrow! I can tell this is going to be somewhere we go frequently. 

It was a long day but a great one! Here is to more sun, more fun and more cocktails at the end of the day! 

Cheers, 
Mamma Toad

I Spy a Bull Moose...

In a rare moment of inspiration I worked out this morning and by "worked out" I mean ran err, jogged ok walked, fine I admit it, it was more like a stroll on the treadmill while watching Odd Mom Out, incidentally its my new favorite show. If you're not watching do yourself a favor and catch up on Season One. They're only seven episodes in. But I've digressed haven't I? 

Since I was already dressed for a walk I thought I'd take the little rascals to check out Teddy Roosevelt Island in DC. I've wanted to go for years and just haven't ever done it. "Apparently" Jim used to go running on the island trails.  Uh huh, right. Of course this was conveniently before I met him so I'm going to go ahead and give him the benefit of the doubt because I'm charitable like that. 

Creating their own Monuments

While I was going through their website I found printable Jr. Ranger packs that kids can complete and send in for their own National Parks Junior Ranger badge. An activity I don't have to come up with? Hooray! 

On the hunt for wildlife

I spy a butterfly mom!

William, you're doing it wrong!  

Of the two, Colin probably enjoyed the morning more than William. Of course he would only sit, stand and walk in shady areas. I don't know if that's just good smarts or just... we'll leave it at good smarts. 

I'll admit that nature isn't William's favorite place to be but he was a trooper for the most part, we won't talk about the "run in" with the terrifying daddy long leg that sent him running. That said, he even completed more pages than necessary to acquire his "badge." 


Cheers, 
Mamma Toad

A Day at the Beach...

Every year the National Building Museum comes up with a spectacular interactive exhibit. Two years ago, they offered an indoor mini-golf course designed by 18 different architecture firms and last year was a larger than life maze, that apparently I forgot to blog about. Maybe its because I couldn't find my own way out and needed the help of my 4 year old, who was incidentally the youngest in our group and the first to find the way out! #mammabrag 

This year they created a "beach" complete with ocean, white "sand," umbrellas, lounge chairs and even had their own beach side snack shop. It was pretty awesome. That said, I was more than a tad concerned about the germ factor. We arrived right as they were opening the doors and were easily one of the first twenty people in the exhibit. The balls are supposed to be self-cleaning and I've also been assured that every night, they remove and thorougly wash their balls. *giggle-snort* Sorry sorry sorry. I consider it an accomplishment to have gotten this far with only one inappropriate joke. 

William canon balled right into the deep end and proceeded to sink immediately. After awkwardly pulling him out on several occasions, I decided to jump in myself. It was much more difficult to get around and pull myself out of the "ocean" than I'd thought it would be. We decided to wade around in the shallow end with our friends Mateo, Valentina and their daddy. After about 45 mins and one requisite stop at the snack shop for a popsicle and water we escaped to explore the rest of the museum. 

"Cutie Valentina!" 

Lego Pinguin Family

Lego Robot!

Despite some discomfort and a lot of itching by our sweet friends, the morning was a big hit!

Cheers, 
Mamma Frog

Camels and Carnivals

Delilah love fest

Just a quick jaunt down the Dulles Tollway and an hour later we arrived at the Loudoun County Fair. Aside from the 90 degree weather (did I mention I forgot sunblock?) and humidity we had a ball! The kids started by bouncing their way through two inflatable obstacle courses.
[Note: Colin has requested a story correction. Only HE could bounce on both as you had to be six. William wasn't old enough, this is an important distinction.]

Next up was the petting zoo. We purchased cups of carrot slices to feed the animals, of course the boys needed a lot of persuading to actually feed said animals. They managed to feed bunnies, donkeys and goats but by far and away, it was Delilah the camel that stole our hearts. Her fuzzy lips tickled our hands over and over and over again as we emptied our cups of carrots.  She even, dare I say happily posed for a picture with the boys!

The other heart melting sight were baby goats snuggling with each other and of all things, a rather surprisingly speedy giant turtle! They were too little to eat our carrot slices but they did let us pet them. 

I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the acrobat family-- The Hensons'? Hansons? Anyway the kids were enthralled with the mom and wondered if I could climb a 100 foot rope and hang upside down balancing on my ankle. #momfail #again

 The carnival seemed to make up for my lack of interest in the insane acrobatics. After a quick google search of the company's safety record and previous complaints (three back injuries since 2012, incase you're curious) I forked over cash for an all inclusive wrist band for the kids. This of course made it much easier for them to ride the four same rides over and over and over and over again. 

I loved the fishing "pond" attendant who thought the kids deserved not one but two stuffed animals! Cause that's just what we need. Colin was thrilled! And frankly a stuffed corn on the cobb is PERFECT for William since its his favorite summer food. 

Not to be "that" mom but Colin would have won this contest if not for the full grown adult man competing. He was pretty proud of beating all the kids afterwards. #coolguy










We finished up with three enormous pizza slices and headed home! 








Cheers, 
Mamma Toad