Gravelly Point Park

Another July adventure that we had was to take a trip to Gravelly Point Park. We had never been there before but have had friends go and heard that it was a lot of fun. It is right next to Reagan National Airport. As the planes are arriving and landing they fly directly over the park. Although we have heard people say (and even seen pictures) that the planes fly right over your head as they land you don't realize and appreciate how close they are until you are there. Kylee has since named this place the "Airplane Park." She insisted we take Nana, Grandad, Aunt MayMe, and Jack there when they came to visit ... they seemed to enjoy it too! : )

First we walked around to explore the different areas. We found a little path that lead down to the Potomac. All Ryland wanted to do was throw rocks in the water. Luckily, we were able to find a spot where we could hold on him and let his toss the rocks in. Kylee liked just sitting and watching the boats and planes.

Then we walked over to the field to watch the planes from a different spot. The field is definitely the best place to watch the planes as they really do fly right over your head. At first the kids were too sure what they thought of this. Kylee decided she liked watching the planes but not standing directly under where they were flying (she did start to venture out more though as the night went on.) Ryland didn't care for it at first either. Each time he heard the sound of an approaching plane he would run over to me and bury his head in my shoulder. By the end of the night though, he would stand with us and look at them go over his head. When we went back the second time, he was even clapping for the planes!

This is definitely a place that we will be visiting a lot in the future. : )

Playseum Take 2

Earlier this month we decided to head back to the Playseum. This time Pete got to come with us ... I think he enjoyed it as much as we did the first time. We are hoping to try the new Playseum in DC soon too. The kids had a great time again ... Kylee really liked the fact that she could show Daddy where everything was since she had been there before.

We played in the eye doctor's office for a little bit.

Kylee was off to fish for letters again. This time she decided it was important to wear a hat to help her. : )
The construction room was another big hit. Even Ryland gave the pulley system a try!

Right next to the construction room was the fire station. While Kylee was occupied with the pulley system, Ryland was off on the road driving the fire truck and police car. We also made stops in the Around the World room, which we hadn't really seen last time, and the Beauty Parlor. Kylee sat for a while doing the hair of one of the dolls. Ryland also hit up the slide a few times and practiced brushing teeth in the dentist's office. : )

Once again though, the biggest hit for Kylee and Ryland (and every other kid that visited) was Safeway. We went food shopping a couple times while we were there. I love the picture of Kylee in the upper left corner from when she told me she had to check the coupons before she went shopping. Ha!

Sesame Place ... Take 2!

A couple of weekends ago we decided to head back up for another trip to Sesame Place. It turned out to be another great visit. To start the day off, Kylee decided she wanted to ride the roller coaster! (I was VERY excited about this!) There was no line so her and Pete were able to walk right on the ride without much time to think about it. Ryland and I watched as all the "trains" went by in order to see them on the ride. Kylee did great! When I asked her how it was she said, "I was a little scared at first but then I smiling at the end." Although she didn't want to ride again she has been talking about it and I see more roller coasters in her future. Cedar Point here we come!!!! : )


We did of course get to go on all of our other favorite rides. Ryland is still unsure of whether or not he likes these rides but I think I have him figured out. He is still so small that he can't really see what is going on while he is on any of these rides so he isn't a big fan. But when he gets on the Merry-Go-Round or any other ride that he can see more than just the safety bar he loves it! (This was very evident during a recent trip to Knoebles ... unfortunately our camera died during it but as soon as I get the pictures from Aunt MayMe's camera you will see how much both of these kids love amusement parks! Again, something I am VERY excited about!)
The Merry-Go-Round is always a big hit. We stopped and rode it more than once.

This time around we were able to hit a lot of the areas that we didn't get to last time. Mostly the "nonride" areas. Kylee did do the ropes before so that was another favorite. This time we ventured into the sand area with the monster bean bags. Both kids liked this area. Kylee and I even got to ride the swings. This is a new ride this year and once Kylee rode it she couldn't get enough. She was nervous at first but once we were in the air and swinging she yelled to me, "Mommy I really like this ride." We rode them twice while we were there!

Snuffy's Slides was another big hit. This time we decided to send Ryland down a few times too. He LOVED it! The slide does not go fast at all and it actually took he quite a few "skooches" to get down (luckily there were patient people next in line that thought he was cute while he tried to make his way to the bottom.)

While we were in the pool area, we discovered a "ride" that we had never seen before. This was another one that turned out to be a big hit with the kiddos! Ideally, the rider pulls on the handle in the train car and it moves along the track. Kylee was able to move her train a little on her own but Pete and I did most of the pushing along the track. The kids loved the train and going around the track over and over again.
Cookie Mountain was another area that we hadn't done before but thought it was worth a shot. Kylee was able to climb all the way to the top on her own and slide down. Ryland gave it a good effort but after I put him up about halfway he enjoyed sliding down.

Big Bird's Nest was a spot we had gone to a little bit before. We went there to give Ryland a place to run around while Kylee was on all the "big" rides. He LOVED it again this time around. He built with the blocks but really enjoyed just running in circles and Kylee had fun running with him.
The last new thing we got to do was watch the new Sesame parade. We decided to stay and watch the night parade with the lights. We all really enjoyed it. Kylee was calling out and waving to the characters as they went by. Ryland was so into the parade that he actually stayed in his stroller the entire time to watch it (which is quite a feat in and of itself.) : )

We know we will be heading back to Sesame again soon ... and we are all looking forward to it!

Another Trip to Burke Lake

Living so close to Burke Lake has been such a plus for us. Not only have Pete and Grandad enjoyed the numbers of caches around the lake but the kids love to walk the trails and go down to the water too. One day we decided to head on out for a little trip to the water and Kylee packed up her backpack (and "friend Doggy") with all of her essentials: binoculars, magnifying glasses, snacks, and apple juice.

Along the way we caught sight of a frog. The kids were amused as it hopped across the path (to get away from us) and into the plants. They got to really see him up close and loved it. Pete tried to get him back out to say hello but he seemed to want to stay away from us. : )

Ryland has become a HUGE fan of throwing things into the water. Kylee always loved this too (and still does) but Ryland really has no fear when he is on his mission of getting as many things into the lake as he can. Rocks, sticks, mulch ... it all goes right to the water.

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day weekend, we took a trip to Pennsylvania. One of the highlights of the weekend was the Memorial Day parade. We had been to the parade last year too and Kylee remembered it as the parade where they throw candy! Needless to say, she was pretty excited to go again this year. (I, of course, grew up with this parade and didn't realize that it isn't a "normal" occurrence for candy to be thrown at parades. Pete was pretty surprised last year when the Tootsie Rolls started flying threw the air!)

The kids enjoyed an empty parking lot and some running around before the parade started.

A look at everyone watching the parade including the peanut gallery that was behind us (consisting of my parents, aunts, and uncle.) : )

And the best part ...... filling the bags with candy! We ended up coming home with a gallon size Ziploc bag filled to the top! I guess I know what we will be doing next Memorial Day. : )

Kylee's Own Blog

Kylee has been very into taking her own pictures lately so we set her up with her own blog! Be sure to check it out at kyleesview.blogspot.com (or click on the link at the right of our page.) Enjoy!

Playseum

We did decided to go on a little adventure with our Brayden (and his mom Julie) up to the Playseum in Bethesda, MD. It turned out to be a great little adventure and one that I'm sure we will end up doing again. There weren't too many people there (aside from a school group that we kept our distance from!?) so the kids were really able to spread out and enjoy each of the rooms. We spent a good 2 hours there and I think Kylee and Brayden could have stayed there for another 2 hours but Ryland was starting to get hungry and tired so we headed out. All three of the kids really seemed to have a great time!

We went shopping at Safeway! Be sure to check out the mini freezers that are there to hold the frozen and cold items!

The "outdoor" area was a big hit too. Kylee and Brayden spent a while "fishing" for letters while Ryland just liked standing and jumping around on the bridge.

Then we went to the Eye Doctor's office. There was some eye stuff there but also a lot of things you would find in the waiting room.

There was even a Domino's Pizza where the kids could make their own pizza (with felt pieces) and put it in the oven (which had a heating lamp in it to make it feel warm!). Kylee and Ryland enjoyed taking the orders with the phone and computers so luckily Brayden and Julie didn't mind working in the kitchen. : )

The music stage was a big hit too. Ryland was just enjoying all the noise he could make without anybody stopping him. When he found out he could stand and hit the drums with the drumstick he was in heaven!

One of Kylee's favorite things was in the Construction Room. There was a bucket that was connected to a pulley. You could fill it with "bricks" and than raise and lower the bucket.

The fire truck was a popular place for everyone. Ryland kept wandering over to the room only to find that it was alway filled with kids we didn't know. When he finally saw it empty, he was all excited to get behind the wheel.

We also went into the Pet Store (which had real animals!) and into the Bakery. Kylee and Brayden got to make their own mud pies. There is also a picture here of Ryland going through a tunnel connecting the Construction Room to the Fire Station. This was where he kept going to see if the fire truck was available or not. : )

We had a great time and can't wait to go back. We didn't even make it to the Art Studio this time and some of the rooms (like the Dentist Office) were crowded so we weren't there too long so there is still more for us to explore there! : )