roanoke childrens

If we lived in this area with little ones, I would've lived in this children's museum (adjacent to the science museum)... It was still fun for these big guys too.

roanoke science

We had this amazing science museum in downtown Roanoke nearly all to ourselves. There were so may fun things from a touch tank to a butterfly garden to programmable robots.

roanoke treats

We scratched some plans to slog around NYC in the heat advisory weather and headed for the mountains!  Our first stop was Roanoke which was full of treats.

"Something wonderful is about to happen" is written on that glass door to this amazing cupcake shop! The green treat and lemon cupcake - omg!

Right across the way was my first stop on the birthday week yarn crawl!  The owner (who is a quirky knitting celebrity) took a jumping photo with me, because that's her kinda quirk - but our hair came out to play!

tidbits

Brunch at a place with Into the Mystic lyrics (our wedding song) painted on the walls?! And an oyster bar?!

 Meeting up to fly some mini drones with some buddies.

We missed our milkshakes at Ted's ;)

Saw some good comedy at the State... a perfect date night!

climbzone

This place never disappoints! We switched up water park plans with our friends to take a trip up for some climbing. The boys have now mastered the walls and even made it up the ninja ramp without help.

lego 2

The boys were excited to find a Zelda scene and Link creations.  I was pumped that they had some lego creations sponsored by the National Parks - because that is our jam this year!  The woman that created the entire Harry Potter village was so nice to bring each building down to show the amazing interiors. We came home with a new set of mini figures the boys were thrilled to buy with their own mula.

lego 1

We caught the annual lego fair which has amazing new displays every year! We played some lego mini golf and the boys raced their lego cars. They built their best design - Aiden came in first, Keaton second, and J last place ;)

good list

An actual warped loom in my house! Feels like this is many years coming ever since I had that giant floor loom that would've needed at least three people to warp properly and was just overwhelming... I still remembered the basics from the class at the Art League but need to work on my tension.

This cupcake at the National Harbor was so memorable it has become the cupcake he compares all other to! It has a huge hunk of cookie dough on the top.

Reorganizing all the tsum tsums into his new cool shelf - will need another one!

Unleashing all the legos that were with us in Arizona and finding new spots for them ;)

tidbits

So much excitement for this Teen Titans Go movie and it met all their expectations and made the favorites list!

So many opportunities to get together with friends this summer and play outside (in between all the rain storms)

Make your own sundaes are a big favorite.

We made it to the Disney store for their mickey special pin release - since Mickey turns 90 in November! We were in the line before it opened with the second to last spot to purchase the pins ;)

good list

Ever since we left Disneyland these boys have been excited to collect more pins - thanks to this monthly subscription box we get deliveries of some surprises each month!

My sister, the giveaway master, asked as many questions as possible in this AMA (ask me anything) giveaway with this quirky yarn shop owner that was giving away this super expensive yarn bag. She won the bag and surprised me by sending it along with my parents filled with treats (like this yarn camera pin!) as an early birthday present! It makes me smile because every time I see it it reminds me of that rush of excitement when I saw she won! And now I win too! ;)

Playing Dweebies and making Dweebie sandwiches in this simple fun game we found at the book fair a while back. Card games keep us happy around here...

Finally getting this guy’s eyes checked and cleared up meant a funny pair of dilation glasses that he rocked on the way home.

poppop's bday

It was a nice day to eat brunch outside (yum Eggs Benedict with smoked cheese and all sorts of avocado toast, etc etc) and see the movie theater release of Newsies with the original Broadway cast with PopPop, the birthday guy!

by white house

So much buzz going on around the white house... This T rump street performer would activate with a dollar in his hat and really wanted the boys to floss with him. Aiden was on the mission to Make America Fun Again.

renwick 2

You stand on circles to get that folded sculpture to open and close. You can write on wooden cards that get added to the layers and layers of carved wood full of messages. Keaton wrote "Always be yourself "totally unprompted and that makes me happy.  The light through those lantern like sculptures... so much to feed the imagination.

renwick 1

The Renwick never disappoints and this Burning Man exhibit is no exception. You're not standing in the middle of the desert surrounded by a seven mile semi circle of people, and art, etc... but it gives you a really up close view at the unique art.

mom stuff

So much this summer has felt like a reunion... I've reunited not just with our neighborhood and friends that I cherish, but also new neighbors and fun. Especially fun are new yoga classes four doors up at the pool club, and these new sign painting parties everyone is hosting ;) I also feel like I've reunited with some knitting projects (watch me WIP - work in progress!) that had been hibernating for a long time (thanks to matching yarn I found in Tucson!)  I'm also pumped to get a new clue each week for another mystery knit along - this one is all about texture! I'm calling it a Peacock in the grassy knoll by the water ;)

I was also so lucky to get back in time to help celebrate with my wish kid who had been waiting since this time last year to go to the All-Star MLB game.  Oh, it exceeded his expectations and all of ours in so many ways. He shared the long weekend full of activities with his family and his brother (who donated bone marrow for him). His family is the most grateful, caring, and kind family I've worked with so far, and during the debrief meeting I nearly cried as his mom described how this shy 15 year old was interviewed on live tv with such poise that he even surprised himself. We don't get many chances in life to do something that may seem scary and prove to ourselves that we can do it, and I'm so grateful he had that chance. In their massive thank you note: "To our Wish Granters, for taking the time to know Alex, and for encouraging him so kindly, so that everything about his Wish (including the Wish Kick-Off) matched him perfectly!"

happy bday j

This rockstar had a birthday! We were so glad he had a fun day finding a great deal on another guitar topped off with his favorite giant chocolate cake from my sister and the best couriers from Ohio, my folks - Thanks!

pippin

Top left is the cast and crew from Pippin! Aiden and his Theo double Steven surrounded by a big group of Millennials. So excited and grateful to my folks and uncle coming to see the show! It was clear that all the late nights were worth it for Aiden. We are again in Pippin withdrawal!

pippin prep

Spent a big chunk of the last month and a half at Aiden’s rehearsals for Pippin... some all the way in DC at Catholic University and most at the Ainslie Arts Center in Alexandria. The stage manager jokingly renamed this second floor nook “the Brennan lobby” because we spent so much time waiting there during rehearsals. Not too shabby to be surrounded by art books and Picassos, despite it lasting over ten hours one day! Plenty of time to knit and the highlight was when Aiden would come find me at break time and fill me in on everything that “blew his mind!” It was such a commitment, but we will miss it.

pool n buddies

So much pool action (before the rain hit for a solid week!) and old friends visiting on the perfect weekend for backyard picnics!

camp fun

The boys had such a nice time at their Drama Club director's Musical Theater Intensive two week camp. It was such a great group of kids. Lucky duck Keaton was able to attend as a rising second grader even though it was 4-8th grade. He did so well keeping up with the big kids that they invited him to join Drama Club early this year! He's very excited. They are going to put on Mary Poppins in the Fall.

The final show for the camp was a montage of different songs. Keaton's group did Lion King and Aladdin and Aiden's group did Newsies songs. They had fun with crazy hat/hair day and favorite musical day (Aiden picked Hamilton and Keaton picked Seussical).  So fun!

headshots

Part of the fun at camp was taking a headshot... She did such a nice job (although poor Aiden had an eye infection that we are just getting cleared up now so his eyes looked kinda puffy and tired).

national harbor

We wandered around the National Harbor on a really nice day... great views and bellies full of marshmallow and bento boxes.

circus

The circus was in town again at the National Harbor and yet again J was pulled up on stage to dance - despite telling the boys not to point at him and sitting well in from the aisle!  It's like he's an audience participation magnet and they must know he'll put on a good show and amuse everyone ;) There is video, but I'm not allowed to post his moves ;) but we brought home fun memories!

good list

Reuniting with friends for the boys and me has been really nice over the last few weeks... and the bits are all reunited with their giant Pokémon collection and toys! I have spent a huge amount of time cleaning out extra stuff we just don’t need. We’ve been visiting old favorite places like Chuys and Xpo cupcakes at Mosaic. Guitar Center visits made more fun with Keaton’s favorite mandolin.
Visits from old friends swinging through town and doctor/dentist visits make us realize how quickly time flies! Keaton’s best buddy invited him on a private tour of the National Archives he won in an auction and they loved that adventure.

fun house

The Building Museum summer exhibition this year feels like a greatest hits of past exhibits. It was very fun to climb and crawl through everything. Another feast for the imagination...

balls

A big pool, baby pool, and bath tub this year! It’s surprisingly tricky to crawl around in a big ball pit, but it isn’t as deep as the Beach exhibit from a few years ago. Aiden really liked sinking down under the balls and peeking out.

building

These big blue blocks will probably be in those articles “You were a kid growing up in the Tens if you remember these...” Do you really say 10s?! Going on a weekday morning on the second day of their new summer exhibition meant it wasn’t too crowded, and we got a really great parking space right by the door.

4th karaoke

The 4th was sweltering and humid and we felt like the BBQ with karaoke at J’s friend’s house was the perfect way to celebrate...in air conditioning ;) The Brennan boys know how to sing it out!

pool groove

We’ve been grooving at the pool a lot lately! We kicked off the summer with an end of the school year conga line and ice cream party. It was great to reunite with old friends as we settle back in around here.

sleepaway camp

Aiden has been pumped for sleep away camp for months since he joined his buddy at the reunion weekend last October. He was joined by three of his buddies from our neighborhood which was very reassuring for him and for me ;) I knew he'd have a great time making memories. He signed up for horseback riding, farm, and drama as his individual activities and had a blast at the cabin activities too. His highlight was playing in the lake on the trampoline, giant slide, and zipline. He also could not get enough of the very nice farmer who lives next door to the camp and invited them all over to help feed his animals every day.  I sent him with a camera and he came home with some good shots (and some really shaky video ;)  The camp also sends along daily photos so you can get a peek at how it is going which was a highlight for me. Aiden created a fun secret code with me before he left, where a thumbs up meant I absolutely LOVE it here, hands at his sides or behind the back meant it's all good/okay, and a hand on his elbow meant come pick me up ;) So the first time I saw his thumbs up I was so happy to see it!