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!

ceiba leaf

We were all charmed by the funny hat our tour guide made out of a giant ceiba leaf.  I think it was the boy's favorite memory from the rainforest.

el yunque

We took the 100 some steps up the Yokahu Tower to see the full view of the top of the rainforest canopy.  The Sahara dust was really showing off...  That purple flower was an example our guide showed were he created those blue dots with heat.  There was also a plant were the leaves folded up when you tapped them. The boys thought it was magic!

el morro

After lunch we headed to the fort on the other end of the city wall, El Morro.  The lighthouse at this fort was really awesome.  We went down every level all the way to sea level.  The boys really enjoyed using their schnazzy and actually very good binoculars to peek at everything - thanks G&P!

cristobal 1

The old forts in San Juan were so fun to explore. We started with a trek through the breezy underground tunnels or what the boys called the dungeon.  The matchy shirt guy (thanks to Gran!) were peeking and climbing all morning long at St. Cristobal.

cristobal 2

The views from the fort! The most iconic part (even on the PR license plates!) of these forts are the sentry boxes or “garitas” that give you a great view from the corners.