space

The Air and Space Museum is the perfect spot on a rainy day with grandparents visiting. It was especially nice because they had a special event all about space and Mars. The boys love the stations they setup with interactive space training equipment. The most memorable was a vacuum that imitated what would happen to a marshmallow in space.

KC's first day

Keaton finally started back to school this week and he was readdddy! He was lucky that G&P were here to see him off in the morning. He was pretty pumped and his expressions during some of the pics are classic wild eyes! He was just ready to get to school just like on his first day a few years back (click to see that tiny school boy). He calmly walked in and even asked to get a photo with his teacher at the door. He's such a lucky duck and has the same teacher he had for the 2 year old class who is now teaching the 4 year olds.

At drop off, he bounced right in the door and gave his buddy a big hug. He switched his photo on the welcome board, washed his hands, and was ready to play!  A funny stories from his teacher: On the first day during snack time someone asked if anyone had any jokes to share, Keaton didn't skip a beat and threw out a dark one - "What did the little pig say when his mom offered him bacon? Grandma?!"  His teacher was laughing about how impeccable his delivery was and I was grateful that the other kids didn't really get it ;). He's following in his jokester brother's footsteps and it reminds me of the joke book Aiden's preschool class created to teach the kids about appropriate humor - ha!

great country

Flashing back to a nice warm day when the boys were covered in corn dust, dirt, and sweat after a really good visit to the farm.

home depot

Playing some catch up as the school year gets going, so here are some photos from our home depot latest creations... Keaton wanted to the make the same football game from the picture with the addition of some dots that he carefully explained were supposed to the be the crowd from a distance.  Aiden decided to make his footballs into torpedo instead and paint his board to look like a battleship. Two different toss games to take home!

corn maze

The boys conquered their first corn maze. The mystique and excitement quickly wore off when they realized it wasn't just running around giggling and chasing each other because we had to stick together and not get lost.  Instead these setups are more like marches back and forth under the hot sun while making sure you don't get eaten by bugs or snakes... We made it out without trouble, but it may be the last time they beg for a trip through a maze.

sci cen

This summer saw a shift away from the kiddie play area especially for Aiden, but luckily there are convenient spots like the new Children's Science Center where we can hang out and pop in whenever we want with a membership. They had added these Little Bits magnetic electric circuits and a new salt battery station this past time. They had finished creating the hologram they were fabricating when we were there last time. 

happy first day

Aiden and Keaton never started sleeping in this summer and are usually up revving the engines in the 6 o'clock hour.  This is literally three hours before Aiden's bus is scheduled to arrive at 9:03am, so we have plenty of time for breakfast and fun and games all around. This morning felt like any other morning and like we'd already clicked into a routine. Both boys geared up in their new skechers sneakers   and they were ready to go. The bus showed up on time today and Aiden marched right on ready to see his friends and greet the same teacher that he had last year in his 1st/2nd grade split- but this year he's an older kid and gets to take the lead. It's such a long day we definitely missed Aiden since he doesn't hop off the bus until around 4:20. It felt like a pretty familiar day because this summer seemed so short, but I'm glad that Aiden was happy to be back in the groove. Keaton is ready for his turn next week.

one sec summer

This summer flew by! Seems like my big guy just ran off the bus on the last day of school and he marched right back on this morning... Here is our summer in one second a day:
One second summer from LB on Vimeo.

good list

The fall playdates have resumed and they snuck one in before school starts, so Aiden got to come and cruise around on his scooter.  We attempted to take a ride on the new nature cruise boat at Burke Lake, but it was sold out, but we'll go back when the weather cools off. Instead, the big playground called our name and a trip to the ice cream shop topped off the warm day. 

We got another set of crazy pipe cleaner type fuzz oodles.  Aiden takes custom faux hat orders.  The little animal drawing that Aiden added to this matchup page were fun. The paper rocket boosters jet around the house, and Keaton is so happy Aiden made one just for him - all blue!  We were playing with our buddies as the moved into their new house, which came with a fun foosball table - score! 

the new chair

We have some celebrating to do around here because in addition to earning tenure earlier this summer, J was just appointed to a named research chair position. This happened on the same day that his sixth book came out. The boys were excited to get balloons and decorate our driveway with chalk drawings of chairs (especially rocking chairs because he rocks) and a red carpet - teehee!  Keaton asked where his actual chair was that he earned ;)

lancaster

While we were away in Lancaster, we got a chance to see a bit more of the area. We stayed at an old cork factory converted into an inn. The restaurant was serving chicken and waffles soup I still can't stop thinking about - so yummy with a slight sweetness.  We had some time to burn before bedtime so we went to check out Franklin and Marshall's campus. We found the longest, yet slowest slide built into the hill. 

interview with KC

You are such a funny duck, especially when you insist, "I sleep with my eyes open!"  You loved going to two little camps this months and the counselors were so nice to you. You liked one in particular and you'd want to say bye to her everyday, "See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!" 

You were dying for your chance to talk to Abs0lutely Mindy on the radio and you finally got your chance. She was asking what you can't absolutely wait for this summer. You started right in telling her you can't wait to go on a train, and when she asked what kind of train you said you love the metro and any kind of train. You were sad I didn't get to record it or hear it replayed, but you'll still have the excitement of the moment. Your other favorite excited moment is every evening as you read stories to daddy you run over to tell me what words you've read! You get so excited your little smile doubles!

One word to describe you would be: funny!

Why do you like being a kid? It's just fun because you can play with toys and I don't want to turn into a grown up 

If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? I would be a boy little baby lion because I like babies and I like lions

Tell about a funny time in your life. 

When we were playing tug of war with the bubble pop stuff and it kept ripping and we'd go ahhhh!

What is your favorite thing to do? Why? 

Field trips because they are awesome and I can go to Great Wolf Lodge

What do you love most about your sibling? He plays with me especially castle and batman!

What was the nicest thing you did for someone? Help at my camp cleanup

What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? Typing stuff

What is the grossest thing you can think of? Aiden's boogers

What is your happiest memory? Great Wolf Lodge when I beat the red dragon and the goblin king

more williamsburg

Some more favorite spots at Williamsburg included the Palace which has walls covered in over 550 weapons including Keaton's favorite swords! The well with a hidden drinking fountain was a surprise.

They had a kid's program to help with an archeological dig of an old store. The kids found all sorts of treasures including lotsa gnarly nails, old plates, ceramic pipe pieces, bone, teeth and tons of glass. Keaton especially liked finding the metal with his magnet. It was a really cool experience and everything they find will actually be catalogued and recorded.

We were so jazzed on the RevQuest hunt that we took on the continuation at the art museum. They earned a pin by finding the second half of the cipher and clues hidden amongst the coolest old dollhouses.

fav williamsburg

If you ask these guys their favorite parts of Williamsburg, you will hear something different nearly every time, which to me is a really good sign that they had a great time exploring there. Both boys never wanted to leave the hedge maze behind the Palace. Keaton was determined to get the hoop and stick game down. 

By far the most exciting part of our visit was playing the RevQuest which is like a secret spy mission around the entire town.  You collect clues from "agents" and secret maps and codes that are hidden all over. You figure out how to save the revolution by determining the size of enemy forces and where they are headed. When you succeed you reunite with an agent who rewards you a cool coin.

The military encampment was definitely a favorite. They trained the boys in drumming and holding a bayonet, and then showed them their living quarters. While we were there we even inadvertently ended up in a marching unit that followed the reenactors to the center of the field where they were acting and shooting the canons.

The warm ginger cakes straight out of the wood burning oven were such a treat and smelled so good. The Woodlands were we stayed had a rocking cool splash pad that was the perfect spot after a long day .

williamsburg

We made it the Revolutionary City in Williamsburg on this swing down south. I was worried I was going to have some boys begging to go back to Great Wolf Lodge, but instead the boys were continuously excited by all sorts of hidden gems all around the historical town. They were begging for three point hats the minute they saw other kids wearing them. They helped out at the most interactive house where they put you to work and play 18th century games with you. I have plenty more photos to share, coming soon...

more great wolf

Great Wolf is really a treat and even more than just the water fun! Once they jump out of the lazy river, water slides, or wave pool, these boys cannot get enough of the dry land fun. Aiden earned master magi and Keaton beat the red dragon this time! Aiden figured out how to navigate it all and essentially completed every rune and challenge, so he can move from Magiquest to Shadowquest next time. They added a new adventure with your stuffed friend that activates another scavenger hunt throughout the building. It was cute and sends you photos so I liked it too ;)

great wolf

We took one last summer road trip down to Williamsburg. The boys have been dying to go back to Great Wolf Lodge so we planned a very early birthday visit for Aiden. He got the special paw pass just like Keaton where he got a new magi topper, an etched leather wand, a cape, a new stuffed friend (which now has a microchip that leads you on a new scavenger hunt), and access to games and bowling. This place is pretty much made for the Brennan boys because they love everything about it.

echo

We ventured over to Glen Echo on a beautiful day to catch the last showing of Garfield the Musical!  The set and costumes were just like the comic strip in real life. It is a great setup where there isn't a bad seat in the house. We took a spin on the carousel, played on the playground, peaked in at the pottery studio, and topped it off with some popsicles.

strasburg

When asked what thing he "looked forward to the most," Keaton enthusiastically told the radio host live on national radio that it was "riding a train!" It was a little unclear if he just meant the metro, but I think the Strasburg Railroad did not disappoint. We took the cruise on the first train of the day on the most beautiful summer day with the windows wide open. The 50 cent train ride-on and playing in the Thomas the train store topped off our fun visit.

dutch

After some really hot weather cleared out,  we made it to Dutch Wonderland and it turned out to be a really good match because both boys were eligible to ride every single ride offered at the park. So that meant that Aiden could still squeeze on the Whirly Whirl kiddie whip and Keaton was tall enough to ride his first big coaster.  My favorite are the diving shows in the water arena - for some reason the hokey show reminds me of many shows at Seaworld in my childhood, minus the whales ;)  The boys loved blending right in with the very realistic moving dinosaurs on Exploration Island. They also loved digging and sifting for sharks teeth, fossils and minerals - which Aiden carefully matched with the chart.

tidbits

The last of the summer reading library shindigs was this One Man Band guy. He had the kids grooving! Keaton randomly started the choo choo conga line ;)

The hose in the backyard on a warm day is always fun, minus the bug bites...

We've nearly doubled our geocache finds the past few weeks! We even met our old buddies again to cruise around west of town for all sorts of grab and go finds. I think Jack wins the youngest geocacher award.

We found this tiny nano magnet cache at the library under a bench. Pretty cool tiny log roll!

Swinging on the rings is a favorite for these guys...

balls!

The National Building Museum has a different special event each summer (architecture firms that setup cool mini golf holes), but this year they installed the very popular DC Beach. It is considered an art installation full of white balls and structures. It is wildly popular! We went on a weekday expecting it to be less crowded, and got in without much of a wait, but it was at its 400 person capacity nearly right away (I think the tourists were on it!) Now I expected to be able to hop in and "float" all around, so we headed straight to the edge of the "pier" and hopped in... Plunk, and you are essentially stuck in nearly four feet of balls with nothing to push off against.  It was sorta hilarious and scary all at the same time. Eventually you could squeeze a foot to the bottom and trudge along, but the kids needed to be rescued nearly every 30 seconds. They would disappear as they sunk down and just a little hand or foot would shoot up for someone to yank them up. Thank goodness J was there to help rescue all of us. We hung out in the shallow spot since it's all on an incline. After we picked up some snacks (marshmallow s'mores pops) from their food truck setup. Then we got an aerial view from the Play zone upstairs. We love the NBM, but even more when it's nearly empty. And I guess we will leave the ball pits to the kids...