Port Discovery!

A couple of weeks ago we went up to Baltimore w/ Jenny and her two boys, Nicholas and Michael, and Jackie and her two kiddo's, Elise and Elijah.   We went to check out the Port Discovery Museum.  It was so much fun.  We were there almost all day, and the kids were running around being busy the entire time!   There were all kinds of things for the kids to do...climb up huge towers, ladders, nets, go down huge slides, ball pits, crazy mirrors, a "Water" themed room - with rain coats for the kids, a pretend Restaurant room - and those are just the things that we went to....there was much more that we didn't get to! 

Michael, Elise, and Damon loving the ball pit

Damon and Elise jammin' on the drums

You have to match up the puzzle pieces while the pieces are moving along the belt....They had to be quick! 

These pictures don't do justice to how cool the Water Room was....it had this big thing through the middle of the room showing how water comes from the clouds, down the mountains...then down through the valley, cities, etc....Damon was obsessed with it! 

Another angle of the water thingy....I have no idea what to call it.  

With Elise and Nicholas loving it! 

The kids stand in this circle, and make a huge bubble that goes around them.  Damon pulled the rope and made the bubble go around them.  It was very cool

Our wannabe Surfer

This huge dryer is in the Water Room, it was hilarious to watch the kids get dried off

Part of the 3 story climbing gym....with the nets, ladders, towers, slides...etc...

Elise and Michael

Damon checking out who's coming....

Biggest Caterpillar I've Ever Seen!

So a couple of weeks ago we were meeting some friend at our favorite park, Norwood....and as Deb and her son Bobby were walking over, they spotted this huge Caterpillar!  They got it on a stick, and brought it over.  It was good for at least 45 minutes of entertainment between the kids and adults.....After staring at it for so long, I actually started to get kind of grossed out!  The brown blob at the end is its face!  Gross! 

Elise, Damon and Elijah...checking this  thing out....

More examining....

Still Obsessed....

Elise, Deb, and I still in amazement....

Kids finally decided to play....Their new favorite...the tire swing   (makes me so dizzy)

so cute!  

Jackie - thanks for the pics and for pushing the kids on the swing for so long!  

The County Fair

I realized that I never posted about our little trip to the Montgomery County Fair.  It was here back in August.  My sweet friend Sue invited Damon and I to go with her and her kids.  Taylor is the little girl who I babysit a couple afternoons a week, and we absolutely love her.  

Damon and Taylor - posing for the camera

There might have been a huge rain storm 5 minutes after we got there....thank goodness for this random tent that we took cover under

Sue with her two older kids, Merrel and Nate - waiting out the storm

Yes, Nate and I were standing in a river....my shoes got thrown right in the trash when I got home.  

The rain stopped, the sun came out, and we had a great time! 

They had SO much fun

Had to do the pony ride....(Mike's parents have a picture of Mike exactly like this when he was about this age...I couldn't help it!) 

That's a wrap

A Quick Post...A Few Outings...

I owe a big thank you to my friend Adrienne, the friend of mine who recently moved out East....for finally getting me to go and do a few things in DC that I've been meaning to do for YEARS - and have never gotten around to.

We visited Mt. Vernon (the home of George Washington), The Natural History Museum (no pics), and the Air and Space Museum

The front of George Washington's beautiful house, my pictures don't do it justice.  

Some of the gardens

The back of the house - which overlooks the Potomac River

By the end of the trip....we had a very tired boy.  

Wesley, Austin, Damon....future astronauts?  

This museum was actually really cool...we wished that we could have actually enjoyed it - instead of literally chasing around 3 little boys

Adrienne and her boys...Damon and I...we finally caught them for a picture! 

Wesley and Damon

Another First!

Just like everyone else in the blog world...I had to post about Damon's first day of Pre-School...(more like Nursery School since he is only 3)....I am so excited that he's started school, and that he will have much more structure to his day.  He's been so excited about it for months so I'm so glad that it is finally here!   My good friend, Annette, has been involved with this school for at least 5 years, and has raved about it since I've known her.  It's just 3 mornings a week - a perfect amount of time for Damon (and for myself).  It's absolutely crazy to realize how quickly they grow up....

kind of a super cheesy picture....but I only took 3 pictures...so I just added it anyways...
Running up the sidewalk w/ his school bag
Our little guy standing in front of his school.  

What a Week!

Two weeks ago, I spent the week watching house-sitting, baby-sitting, and dog-sitting for a good friend of mine who recently moved to Maryland - Adrienne (mentioned in an earlier post).  She and her husband had to go on a business trip, and Damon and I were happy to be able to help out.  Wesley (4) and Austin (almost 3) or "his boys" as Damon would call them - are such cute brothers and such cute little friends to Damon.   

We had a busy but low stress week - it was great to be able to go out and do so many fun things, but  to not really have a schedule for it all....we went to a movie, splash park, many many play grounds, swimming pools, and thanks to two very rainy days...an indoor park inside a mall, and last but not least....Chuck E Cheese.

You should have seen the crazy looks I got from people when I took all 3 to the grocery store! We have to eat too!  

Austin - so cute and super photogenic! 

another event for a rainy day....DRESS UP!  yes, boys can play dress up...they had some awesome super hero costumes!  Yes, Damon might be wearing a Nacho Libre mask!   I love that Wesley is mid-air in this picture!  

The boys thought they were hilarious leaving their shirts on their heads....

So cute, but kind of cold....it was a really over-cast day...but we went swimming anyways! 
Such cute brothers! 

Adrienne was back in town for this outing....the husbands went golfing, and Adrienne and I took the boys to Great Falls, I didn't get too many good pics on this little trip, but here are a couple of cute ones...

so cute...he just kills me!  especially when he speaks Spanish! 

I really like this one.  The Wilson boys wear hats all the time, so they got Damon into it too...He borrowed Wesley's hat all week..what studs! 

Mike came to join me the last night I was there...he picked up Adrienne and Jared at 11 pm from the metro, we stayed the night in their guest room, and enjoyed a great breakfast of biscuits and gravy - courtesy of Jared.  Thanks for the yummy breakfast!  

Back from the Outer Banks!

random pics from our amazing trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.  I, of course, didn't get as many good pictures as I would have hoped...but here are a whole bunch of what I did get pictures of.  We stayed at a beach house with 5 other families.  It was a blast to be there with so many people, and so many kids! ....It was probably one of my favorite vacations that we've been on.    (Pics are totally out of order)

yes, we felt very cool at this point of the trip....cruising in the express lanes while everyone else in the city was in traffic...it did eventually catch up with us and we still ended up in major traffic...but when I took this, we thought we were the coolest! 
 My boy and me, at the beach after the bonfire  (our last night there)                Yeah dad, thanks for the smore!
 more of everyone's kids at the bonfire...

                                         

first day at the beach

a small fraction of the kids at the house...damon, madeline, christian, piper

the group going crabbing...

 Mike - the lone crabber...but he caught a few! 

Damon with his new friend....the crab

Someone might have brought a water balloon launcher....

Damon with a new talent...cruising around on a razor scooter

 Twinners Damon and Andrew jumping on Andrews bunk bed...