ahoy matey....

one of our final adventures of the summer was made possible by yet another daily deals site. i scored half price tickets to do an urban pirate cruise in b'more. gg and papa were here too, which made the trip even more special for the boys. we were also joined by our neighbors, tyler & jake and their mom, sara. upon boarding the ship, everyone was given some pirate gear, a tattoo and a pirate name. it wasn't long before i became mom to "angelfish andrew" and "junkyard jacob." jacob was quite hesitant about the whole experience, but much to my surprise, andrew jumped right on in. he even volunteered when they asked for someone to come up and demonstrate how to properly use the life vests.

the funniest part of the adventure, was that even while jacob was whining/crying, he would listen and follow the instructions...so there were times he was dancing and shaking it, all with a face full of fear and uncertainty. it really was hilarious! the boat cruised around b'more harbor for about an hour.

along the way, we learned pirate games, songs and lingo....

we took the pirate oath....

and had to be on the lookout for "mad dog", the bad pirate who had stolen our treasure.

the journey ended with the capture of mad dog and our booty! everyone was then allowed to choose 2 pieces from the treasure box.

VIDEO OF ANDREW TAKING "PIRATE OATH" & JACOB DANCING (hope you can view them!)

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hot fun in the summertime...

my lack of posts on this blog is no indication of our summer....it has been busy busy busy....and we're having lots of fun along the way! the boys have been in camp 4 mornings a week, and typically we head to the pool in the afternoon. andrew has been doing private swim lessons and has made great improvements this summer!

here are some highlights of our adventures thus far....

CARS 2...

i was able to score 4 tickets to a private screening of CARS 2 the weekend it opened. i'm not sure who was more excited about this....we ALL know how much i heart FREE stuff! in addition to the free tickets, the kids each scored a CARS 2 tshirt, a color changing water bottle and a snack pack for the movie! despite my thinking that the movie was way over their heads, with the whole espionage theme, the boys seemed to really enjoy it. personally, i think CARS was a much better flick!

BEACH WEEK 2011...and the "I DO's"

as is tradition, we headed down to corolla, nc for a week of sun, fun, surf and....a wedding! yes, this year was special, in that, chris and morgan (my sister's bro in law and his now wife) tied the knot while we were there. it made for an extra special vaca! a few other highlights of the trip were...

*climbing the corolla lighthouse

*andrew swimming in the pool on his own

*watching andrew LOVE the ocean and the beach

*the four cousins having a sleepover every night...

and the BIGGEST highlight of the week, was that this was the first year (in 8 years of doing this trip) that neither my sis nor i had to bring a pack-n-play or diapers!!!!

STEVE SONGS...

another summer tradition of ours, is to see steve songs at wolf trap. i believe this was our 4th year! this time we made our way there with neighbors and we ALL had a blast! we almost didn't go, because the forecast was for over 100 degrees....and it is always 10 degrees hotter and stuffier in those good ol' woods! we made it though, with water bottles & fans in tow...and the temps were actually bearable!

STAY TUNED...

with about 4 weeks of summer remaining, we still have several fun things planned, including a trip to baltimore and also the cameron run water park.

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...not quite everything....

I know I said that would be my last post about the summer, but I couldn't skip posting about this FUN activity! Last Friday, we met friends at Kids N Motion. I was a bit nervous at first, because neither of my boys have ever loved these big bounce places....but...this place was AWESOME! First off, the gym time is split by age, so we went when it was a 6 and under time slot. It was really nice not to have to worry about big kids trampling our little ones. Second, they had plenty of toys other than the bounce equipment, which was great for Jacob, until he warmed up a bit. His favorite was definitely this roller coaster...which I might just have to buy him for Hanukkah!




Surprisingly so, Andrew jumped...or should I say BOUNCED...right in without any hesitation. WOW...how much he has changed in a year!

Lastly, the area is split in half, with only one half open at a time. So...just when the kids were getting bored (after about 45 minutes), they shuffle you into a second room, with all new toys and bounce equipment. It was SO much fun...for kids and adults too! The open session lasted 1 1/2 hours and then we took all the kids to Cici's Pizza for some much needed lunch.

All in all, it was a great day...and once again, I have Robyn to thank for planning such a fun outing!

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SUMMER'S (almost) OVER....

...AND I STILL HAVE SO MANY POST TO CATCH UP ON!!!

Yes...tomorrow is Andrew's first day of Kindergarten and I promised myself I'd be caught up on posts before writing about his first day...so, that means I've got a lot to share with you tonight!

In order to get it all in, and not take up too much time (mine or yours!), I will just do a recap of the rest of our summer...since our return from Texas. We completed MORE things on our summer to do list...

National Building Museum...we actually did this 2 weekends in a row. The first time we went, the LEGO exhibit we were hoping to catch was sold out...so we bought tickets to return the following Saturday. I don't have any pics of the exhibit, but can tell you that it was quite amazing! It was really neat to see it through both Derek's architectural eyes, as well as Andrew's, well...5 year old eyes! The exhibit included the St Louis Arch, Sears Tower, Empire State Building, and WTC Tower, to name a few. After the exhibit, there was an area to build your own creation, which was then added to the cityscape they are creating at the museum. Of course, the boys LOVED this! The LEGO exhibit is at the museum until Sept 2011...I definitely recommend it...especially if you have LEGO enthusiasts in your home!

Reston Zoo...Until this recent visit, I had not been to the Reston Zoo since I was a child...probably sometime when I attended RHOA day camp! What a GREAT place to take the kids! We will definitely make this an annual activity...if not more often than that! Highlights included feeding the animals, feeding a bottle of milk to a baby goat, riding a wagon around and seeing amazing animals (including a zebra!) up close and personal. The best part though, was being there with my sister and her girls too. The kids LOVE spending time together and it is so great to watch them all enjoy things together!

The Farm...The boys and I took a trip (quite a long one!) up to my aunt and uncle's farm house in NY. We were joined by my aunt and uncle, cousin Lisa and cousins Staci, Aleks and baby Asher and their dog Mason. Despite the lack of sleep I had there, due to both boys having difficulty sleeping, we still had a great time. Incredibly enough, the weather was not too hot, which is abnormal up there this time of year. We actually had to wait for it to warm up in the morning before we could head to the pond/stream. While there we also went to an apple orchard/petting zoo/playground...yes, all 3 in 1! We had a great trip, but I think next year we need Derek with us...one-on-one defense always works better than zone with these kids!

mixing up the compost

yes, that goat did climb up on the stumps...right next to us!

And now...we're going back, back, back to school.....

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Check it off the list...

Two years ago, the kids and I (yes, you did the math right, Jacob was 6 weeks old and enjoyed the show from the sling!) joined my sis and her girls for a performance at Wolf Trap. In trying to prepare Andrew for our day, I told him many times we were going to see a puppet show with his cousins...when we got there, my sis informed me that indeed, it was not a puppet show, but some guy named Steve Songs. Somehow I had looked at the schedule wrong, and thought we were going to a puppet show...so much for preparation! Well...from that morning, we were hooked! We came home and downloaded music, searched for future performances and joined his fan club!

Last summer brought Steve Songs back to Wolf Trap...and we were once again in the audience! This time with nanny joining us :) After the show, Andrew and I decided that daddy would have really enjoyed it.

One of the activities on our list for this summer was to see Steve Songs and to bring daddy! It was a Marvelous Day filled with smiles, laughter, singing dancing...and of course, lots of heat & sweat!!! Those of you who are familiar with Wolf Trap's Theatre-in-the Woods, know it is HOT HOT HOT back there!!! Luckily, the threat of rain seemed to have kept some people at home, so at least we weren't packed in there, like we have been in previous years! We left with SS new CD and have already been jammin out to it!

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