pokemon go live

It's my birthday and I'm scheduling this post while thinking back on this fun year! ;) A great addition to my life this year has been my experience with Make-a-Wish. The kids that I've managed to sign on with have taken Disney trips and one is trying to get a seat at the all-stars baseball game in the Spring. But being able to volunteer at their other events and including the boys is especially fun!  This wish was a unique all day experience for a 7 year old who wished to experience Pokemon Go in real life!  They had all sorts of stops throughout DC, and these photos are from the Grand Finale at the Hyatt where we welcomed him and cheered him on as he caught that giant Snorlax. There was a cosplay convention going on right down the street so there were tons of cool costumes. I brought my Pokemon experts to talk to him about all his catches throughout the day ;)  Gotta catch em all!

tidbits

Making posters to cheer on a Make-a-Wish kid who wanted to experience Pokemon Go in real life!

The hammock is swinging again after one of the nylon straps broke ;)

good list

Our friends invited us to the 38 Special and George Thorogood concert and it was truly Bad to the Bone ;)  I was so surprised that I recognized so much of the music and especially enjoyed 38 Special's 80s prom music and George strutting all over the stage with his hand on his hip. 

Catching up with good school buddies at the science center is a treat!

Check out that Tsum Tsum collection of cuties!

The Book of Why was a fun book club complete with science experiments of floating play dough and fresh popcorn.

The boys made these lego minifies really happy by buying then accessories like Brick Pieces, brick tarts, and pokemon go players.

The new rolled ice cream place at the mall is pretty amazing!

brickfair 1

So many cool lego MOC - my own creations!  The boys were immediately inspired to build themselves.  The derby was a great spot where you could build your own car to race down the ramp.  Aiden came in first and Keaton second in the six car race. I loved seeing all those cute little habitats, the trains, and especially the mindstorm robots.

brickfair 2

These guys were pumped to check out the Lego Brickfair.  We hadn't been back since 2011 when Keaton took a nap in the Moby the whole time while Aiden gawked at everything.  This year we learned the best time to catch it is after the initial rush on Sunday afternoon.  

hidden oaks

After all these years, it's fun to see the boys continue to enjoy the awesome nature centers in this area.  They had fun saying hi to the corn snake.

eclipse news

We met the local meteorologists at the science center to hear all about what to expect with the eclipse.  They filmed live over three different segments and you could see us in the background doing experiments and then during the pinhole viewer workshop.  The kids were especially excited to enjoy some rolled ice cream afterward too ;)

fossils

I've been wanting to head to this spot in Maryland along the Potomac for years, and we finally found the perfect day with the tide schedule just right for a fun afternoon. We packed a picnic and took off for the less than hour drive to Purse State Park. The water was warm and the weather was perfect to search out tons of shark teeth and vertebrae fossils. Check out the teeny tiny crab J found. We believe that the first big tooth that Aiden found is an otodus (megaladon) tooth. The teeth are from the Paleocene era, 55-60 million years old. Most are goblin and sand tiger shark teeth. Awesome spot!

climb trailer

Climbzone from LB on Vimeo.

climbzone 1

This climbing gym up in Maryland is such an amazing spot!  We hadn't been since Aiden was about Keaton's age, and it was good timing.  The walls are great for both their ages with the auto belay system.

climbzone 2

The boys had a blast wearing the go pro on their heads while climbing. It was really fun to get a live view from my iPhone app of them climbing up and looking down.

face paint

Simple pleasures of Glory Days (crab cakes!) ice cream sandwich dunking and face paints!

national night out

Our neighborhood has a pretty long tradition of National Night Out block parties. I think this year there were over 20 to choose from scattered all around.  The police show up to hand out coloring books, sidewalk chalk, and let you check out their cruiser and its really loud sirens.  It was genuinely fun to meet some new neighbors and greet some we don't see that often.

green springs

These summer buddies using summer reading coupons to collect presents at Green Spring Gardens. They had some preschool memories of field trips at this spot. The blossoms and leaves this time of year are enormous! 

carousel

Everybody loves a carousel ride, even the bird that swooped in and hitched a ride with us.  

clemyjontri

We were determined to enjoy a nearly perfect weather day after a bunch of rain but so was everyone else in this area. We struck out for parking at our first choice spot and then it was 45 min to drive up to the gate of Great Falls... so we ended up at a favorite playground which was packed but they pretty much always are and have plenty of satellite parking ;)  The kids aren't too old for some genuine fun on the playground.  We found some painted rocks that you are supposed to keep or rehide after showing them off in the Fairfax Rocks group.  It really is fun to find them by surprise!

cartooning camp

The long awaited summer cartooning camp was a big hit!  The Brennan bros were in their element and getting along so well the whole week. There was even a special dedication to the "best bro ever" at the beginning of Aiden's comic book.  Here is a sampling of the giant batch of illustrations they created:

flashback OH beach

Flashback to the beginning of the Summer in Ohio at Headlands Beach:
Headlands from LB on Vimeo.

would you rather august

Smiles for Miles is written on one of this guy's favorite t-shirts, and it rings true nearly all the time with this guy... 

Would you rather grow Yoda ears or only be able to talk like Yoda?

Only be able to talk like Yoda is actually way better because people would still be able to understand you if you talk like him.

Would you rather have a camera in your eyeball or a pair of scissors for a tongue?

Camera in your eyeball because all we'd have to do for pictures of Aiden all you'd have to do is just have me look at Aiden and say, hey guy say cheese!

Would you rather eat only uncooked eggs or only raw cocoa bean?
Raw cocoa bean because it could taste like chocolate.

Would you rather only shower under a waterfall or with a garden hose?

Actually it would be better if it was a water hose because a waterfall would be too strong!

Would you rather have spikes on your skin or breath fire every time you open your mouth - like a dragon?
Actually dragons don't breathe the fire everytime because they can control when the fire comes out, so that is what I'd like.

Would you rather always wear ice skates everywhere you go or have piano keys attached to your fingers?

Piano keys attached to my fingers because I'd have random cool fingers that could play and be really fun!

book club

We were the hosts for book club and Aiden chose a Sir Cumference book. We played a name game and everyone talked about their favorite characters and how they related to math concepts.  We then made crowns and everyone played ;)

summer cabaret

The summer cabaret was dubbed "singing our favorites" and there were plenty of duets for everyone. Aiden sang with the newest studio member, Oh What a Beautiful Morning and with a seasoned character, Anything You Can Do. The whole group joined in with a song at the beginning and the end, Everything's Coming Up Roses and There's No Business Like Show Business respectively.  

I helped out by making those flower bouquets from flowers in Anne's garden.

Summer Sing Our Favorites from LB on Vimeo.

tidbits

Raft night is so much fun!

Friends visiting from far away for some dress up time... someday they will grow out of this but for now we will enjoy it ;)

PR quik videos

This new little GoPro Session I picked up from the Amazon Prime Day is so easy... but the best part are the apps on the phone, including this Quik video maker where you just pick the videos and it mashes clips together for you:

PR Beach from LB on Vimeo.

PR Pool from LB on Vimeo.

san juan videos

Old San Juan from LB on Vimeo.

Forts of Old San Juan from LB on Vimeo.

PR forest videos

El Yunque Rainforest from LB on Vimeo.

La Marquesa Forest Park from LB on Vimeo.

happy bday daddy

J is tricky when it comes to finding good presents and ways to celebrate his birthday...  But we spent a day traveling to two different guitar shops where he played a lute for the the first time and collected some new music books.  My sister nailed it with a very special delivery of J's all time favorite triple uber super chocolate cake from Costco!  Cake for birthday breakfast!

marquesas

Marquesas Forest Park is a place that locals visit.  More great views from the gondola rides and the tower at the top.  

parrots

The butterfly garden and aviary were real treats. The parrots were huge and let us walk right near them...  That blue lizard spotted lizard guy was spotted when we were just walking home from dinner one night.

waterfall

The rainforest waterfalls are beautiful!