family | SuburbanDaddy

Cherry Blossoms

I had lived in the Washington DC area for over twenty years and never experienced the most quintessential DC tourist attraction – Cherry Blossoms.

We went on a weekday during spring break to avoid the huge crowds. March was unusually warm and the blossoms were near peak.

We took the Metro from Reston to avoid traffic and parking. It was our first time taking the metro as family. I have to say driving, even with the traffic, is still easier, and cheaper, when you have 6 people.

Complaints were rampant as we had to do a lot of walking and standing in big crowds. But we can at least check Cherry Blossoms off the bucket list.

The most memorable part was probably right after taking this picture, when a tourist lost her phone in the water leaning over the railing trying to get a good angle for a picture.

Zoo In The Winter

It was unbelievably warm on December 27, so we took a trip drive to the National Zoo. It was crowded and smelly, but we got to see the panda moving instead of sleeping for a change. And I was able to log 18,000 steps in shorts in December!

Hershey Park

We took an overnight trip to Hershey Park this summer. There are plenty of rides, roller coasters, and a water park which means non-stop walking. I set the record for number of steps in 2 days on my pedometer.

One of the first rides we went on was the Super Duper Looper, a roller coaster that even Thing 4 was tall enough to ride. As the name suggests, but apparently nobody realized except me, looper means it goes upside down. I pretty much ensured that Thing 4 will never ride another roller coaster.

There isn’t enough chocolate syrup for Thing 3.

We went on a fun tour of the chocolate factory and made our own bars.

It turns out Thing 3 is the thrill seeker in the bunch. I rode several roller coasters with him. Even the ones where he was barely tall enough. We waited in line for 30 minutes for this one, the Wildcat, which had an 80 foot vertical drop. After waiting that long and getting to the front of the line, there was a long delay while the poor girl in the blue shirt cleaned out the car where the previous rider had gotten sick. The wait was too much for Thing 3, who really really really needed to go to the bathroom. So we climbed down without actually riding so he could use the bathroom. I wasn’t sad to miss the 80 ft drop.

Waiting for the 4D movie is lots of fun…unless you are Thing 3.

Getting ready to enter the park in the morning. Price of admission: sitting on the bench with your brothers and sister to get a picture.

A Trip Of Firsts

Thing 3 and I took a trip to Boston. It was a trip of firsts. We went to meet a new Urban Cousin that just joined the family. It was the first time I went away with only Thing 3 over night. It was the first time flying in an airplane for Thing 3.

Thing 3 was happy to have arrived at our hotel, but not so happy to be wearing his “fancy clothes”

Suburban Grandpa joined us from Florida. He was not happy about the frigid temperatures, and didn’t have the proper clothing.

Urban Cousin was the reason we were all there.

He wouldn’t eat there but liked that the restaurant had his name on it.

Too bad selfie’s weren’t the rage when my Things were little.

Suburban Uncle attempting to break the world record for longest time to change a diaper.

Suburban Aunt enjoyed time with her new nephew.

Lots of cousins.

Thing 3’s favorite part of the trip: a late night snack run.

Eating pretzels in bed! ?Can’t do that at home.

How about a donut for the flight home?

One more selfie on the flight home.

Elf not on the shelf

Our elf on the shelf, affectionately named Joe, made his return last night. We returned from Thanksgiving dinner with the Suburban Cousins to find Joe in the sink, relaxing in a bubble bath of marshmallows. And he had some company!

Beach Week

Our annual week at the beach has evolved considerably from the early years. I have to say, this year’s trip was by far the best so far. And by best, I mean the most relaxing. We still had to deal with the occasional meltdowns of a 3 year old who is used to napping every day. But overall it was a great week.

In a masterful display of packing, we had everything a family of six needs for a week in the trunk of the minivan.

The boys raced go-karts. Thing 3 had to stand on his toes to make the 46 inch height requirement.

SuburbanMommy and Thing 4 were all business at dinner.

On a sunset dolphin cruise we spotted many dolphins. Thing 3 insists he also saw a blue whale even though the water was mostly 3 feet deep.

Thing 3 took part in a July 4th watermelon eating contest.

It rained the first few days but it didn’t slow down Thing 4.

The sun finally came out and we spent plenty of time at the beach.

We were thankful to have an extra pair of hands with us.

Mornings began with a walk to the bakery. Donuts for breakfast.

On very rare occasions everyone will stand still and look at the camera at the same time.

No one was very eager to get back into the car for the long drive home.

On the drive home, Thing 1 was already looking at the catalog of rentals for next year.

Happy #3 to #4

Thing 4 celebrated her 3rd birthday today! She’s been talking about her party for weeks, and loves the idea of being the center of attention.

Keeping Busy

It’s been a busy few months. Nothing new there I guess. But I’ve been a little lax in posting. Here are some pictures of what we’ve been up to recently.

We are remodeling the basement. The main purpose is to make a new bedroom for Thing 1, so he doesn’t have to share a room with his brother anymore, which will give us him some peace and quiet. It also means we are without our basement right now and all the toys are in the living room.

Halloween came and went. It’s always a lot of ~~work~~ fun for me. This year, we had 3 power rangers and a princess.