Rocklands and Bluemont Park

When Mark and I were fist dating all the way back in 2002, we both lived in Glover Park and were frequent customers at Rocklands BBQ.  Lucky for us, 4 months before we bought our house in Arlington, a second location opened here. We recently had a family date here with some friends for lunch. Rocklands is such an easy place to take kids and the outside space makes it a dog friendly location in the warmer months.

After lunch we hit Bluemont Park. The plaground area is great - fenced in, lots of shade, lots of different structures, swings and slides.  Here is Mason having fun with his future wife, Lucy!

Rockwall fun!

This sand and wood mixture looks delicious. They will be great at making dinners together!

Ocean Dunes Water Park

Earlier in the summer, I entered to win passes to one of Northern Virginia's water parks and in early August I found out I won - hooray! Thanks Our Kids for offering these great raffles.  After we got back from all our vacation travels, I checked out the passes and was surprised to see that one of the parks was located just a few minutes away from our house; I was also surprised to see that the water parks all close after Labor Day weekend, which was a week away - yikes!

We made plans to head over to Ocean Dunes Water Park on Monday afternoon of Labor Day weekend, the last day of the season. As soon as we got out of the car and Mason saw the water, he went crazy and was having a tantrum while we waited in line.  We need a plan to control this kid around water!

We got into the park and it was packed!  There were three pools - a kiddie wadding pool, a lap pool and a regular pool.  There were also water slides and a large water feature that I don't even know how to explain - picture below.  Mason bee-lined for the the water feature and we spend the afternoon going back and forth between that and the kiddie pool.  We wrapped up the outing with some ice cream.  

Ocean Dunes was a great way to end the summer and now that we know it is here, I'm sure we'll be back multiple times next summer. Hopefully next year, Mason will reach the height requirement for the slides!

Arts in the Park

Yesterday we decided to check out Arts in the Park at Mason District Park in Annandale. Arts in the Park provides a series of kids entertainers at various Fairfax parks between 10-11am over the summer. The performer for yesterday was Mr. Gabe.  I think I've mentioned in a prior post that anytime we can get Mason to sit still for more than 5 minutes - its a miracle.  He was so into Mr. Gabe that he sat and listened for the first 15 minutes so I think we'll be seeing Mr. Gabe again and likely purchasing his CD. Mark and I were so excited about the lack of movement from Mason that we were nervous to talk, touch him, move, breathe too loud,etc.

Anyway, we liked that Mr. Gabe was interactive with the kids and his playlist included songs that everyone knew.  There were probably 75 people there, mostly families with kids under age 8. Since most of the amphitheater was in the sun everyone was mushed over on the shady side.  Since I wasn't sure what to expect, I packed a picnic blanket and that gave us lots of space under a tree.  Nice family activity to start off the weekend!

Father's Day Weekend

Saturday night we had dinner plans with Andrew and Stefanie at Blackwall Hitch in Old Town. Parents night out - whoop, whoop! It basically opened last week so the few reviews online said great food, bad service and I'd say our experience was consistent with what we'd read. The restaurant is right on the waterfront and huge, with indoor and outdoor dining space and a small stage for live music. There are three bars, including one on the second floor with couches and a loungey space, which was perfect for a night cap after dinner. I was so engrossed in eating, drinking, chatting and the monsoon outside that I forgot to take a single photo. Lots of potential to be a great spot but I would give it a few months until service smooths out a bit!

After much discussion and planning about what to do for Father's Day, Mark woke up and just wanted to do something low key in Arlington. It's his day so low key it is!

We headed over to Lyon Village Park to enjoy the spray park, have fun and keep cool. Of course Mason was very happy!

For lunch we headed over to CIRCA in Clarendon. CIRCA is sort of kid friendly...they have highchairs but no changing station and no kids menu. There were lots of families enjoying lunch so we made it work.  These two are so cute with their matching head tilts!

Mark ended his day getting snuggles from our first son, Barney!

Charleston for Memorial Day Vacation

Mark and I love Charleston and for the past 6 years have been taking an annual trip down to the area. Four years ago our friends Mike and Alyssa bought a house in Mount Pleasant, aka our vacation home! We had an awesome vacation...here are some of the highlights:

As I mentioned in prior posts,  Mason is my little water baby! Here he is taking on the waves at Sullivan's Island like a champ.

Barney also got to enjoy Sullivan's Island during approved off-leash hours.  Dogs need vacation too!

The adults headed into Charleston for a parents night out! We started at Bay Street Biergarten which had a very cool layout and concept. There are beer taps places all over the restaurant and you can just walk around and help yourself to sample pours or pints.  It was a lovely night so we headed to the outdoors area.

We headed over to Edmund's Oast for dinner. Everything was delicious and they have a really pretty outside dining and drinking picnic table area. The Fresh Ricotta plate was heaven and we were still talking about it the next day.  Yum!

We checked out Palmetto Park, both the dog park and Big Toy playground. We also noticed there was a spray park but will save that for a future trip.  Mason was minimally interested in the age appropriate structures so here he is playing on the big kid equipment.

Even though I didn't meet/see/befriend Shep and Cameron (maybe next year!), it was a great vacation in Charleston seeing old friends, enjoying the beach, pool and playground, wearing Lilly everywhere, and eating and drinking too much! See you next year South Carolina!

Westminster Park and the Potomac Hunt Races

This weekend was full of family activities! On Saturday we headed over to 14th Street for a lunch date with our friend Sarah. I heard that Westminster Park was this little tucked away park in nearby Shaw neighborhood so we decided to check that out. The park had play structures, swings, tons of cars and a water feature. We weren't prepared for the water but that didn't stop us! Mason is such a water baby!

The park had an amazing mural that I thought was very cool....

After the playground we headed to lunch at Ted's Bulletin and enjoyed adult milkshakes, burgers and fries. Thankfully they have a lenient dress code (at least for kids) and Mason dined in a damp shirt, diaper and shoes!

Today we headed to the Potomac Hunt Races in Maryland for horse races and tailgating. We recently purchased a red rider wagon for Mason to ride around with his buddies, and it came in quite handy today!

Here is our kid friendly tailgate:

We had a great spot on the infield rail to enjoy the races. 

I saw on the race website that they were holding stick horse races for kids for the first time so of course I signed Mason up. The idea was cuter than the reality but I enjoyed the photo op. 

Our little #2 came in last in his heat (4 and younger) but he won best dressed for sure! My competitive nature is already scheming that I need to get Mason his own stick horse and start practicing for next year!

Mother's Day Weekend in CT

For Mother's Day weekend Mark, Mason and I went to my parents house in Connecticut. On Sunday we visited Elizabeth Park, where I played as a child. Last year, the park was renovated and dedicated to Ana Grace, one of the Sandy Hook victims. It is a lovely memorial and incorporates her artwork into the equipment.

The park has structures for small kids, big kids and swings. Mark and I had fun being kids with Mason!

On Monday I took Mason to Trinity College where I attended undergrad. It's important to start those college visits early! Here is Mason running around the main quad.

Lastly we had Masons first flight this weekend! He did awesome and we got lots of great tips from friends on flying with a toddler so thanks everyone! I'm especially pleased with myself for flying home solo with Mason, and a car seat, and a stroller, and a bag! Here I am being Wonder Woman:

Great Mother's Day weekend!

Officially a Part Timer! And Nostos and High View Park

Last month I was transitioning and now it's my first week with my new part time schedule - yippie! Yesterday Mark and I had a lovely lunch date at Nostos near his office. Mark commented that we've probably had 5 week day lunches in our 13 year relationship so I proposed we do this monthly. Nice part time perk! Anyway, the decor at Nostos was very simple and clean, and even though I haven't been to Greece (yet!), it was what I imagine restaurants are like there.

We started with the combination of dips:

This picture looks not very appetizing but they were! I liked the feta dip, Mark liked the eggplant and we were both "eh" on the fava. For lunch we both ordered items from the special menu, after I confirmed with the waiter that the fish was a filet, aka not served with a head. Pan seared trout - yum!

I love checking out new restaurants and this place was great!

Today was playgroup day and it was a beautiful sunny day to go to the park. Mason and I jogged over to High View Park which was a nice mile plus run. I think this is one of my new favorite parks. There was a section specifically for toddlers and it was all fenced it.  There was a play structure, swings, large sand area, and playhouse.

Mason had a great time playing and since everything was age appropriate and safe I enjoyed chatting with the other moms.  Great play group today!  (As a note, there is no shade in the tot area but there is a covered pavilion with picnic tables.)

Glen Echo Park Family Day

Today was Glen Echo Park Family Day in celebration of the opening of the 95th year of operation of the Dentzel Carousel so we decided to go check that out. Family Day offered lots of activities- face painting, art projects, magic shows, puppets and storytime, and of course, carousel rides!  I love carousels so in anticipation of a long line, made sure we left extra early. Here we are on the first ride of the season!

The activities were held 11am-4pm which is not so awesome for Mason's nap time and I felt like we were a little young for a many of them (and waiting in lines!). The weather was lovely so it was just nice to be outside doing something. Anyway, we stayed for an hour or so and headed out. It was a good thing we arrived early because the parking lot was a disaster by noon. Some frustrated parents got in a fight over our spot-yikes! My advice for future family days: get there early, this is best for age 3+ and the face painting line was super popular so lots of waiting for that activity. I have heard great things about the puppet shows which are held regularly so I hope to come back on a non-event day.

Westover Park

I was busy getting us ready for playgroup and I noticed Mason sitting in his chair like a little Puma model. He looks like such a cool guy!

We took the stroller over to the park and checked out the houses along the way. It's amazing to me that there are all these neighborhoods a mile from our house of 7 years that we've never explored.

Westover Park was great for our playgroup age (17mos-2yrs). It was much more compact than Hayes Park so I felt like I could talk to the other moms but also watch Mason. Here is Mason enjoying the slide and teacup spinner.

They had multiple slides, swings and some climbing structures for older kids. We spent an hour with everyone and took off. Mason was so worn out he fell asleep as soon as he was in the stroller. I think that's a sign of a good playground!

Hayes Park

One of my personal goals in going part time is to get back into a regular running routine. I'm excited to say that today I went on my first run since November! Here is Mason and me pre-run.

We took the long route to our play date at the park, got in a few miles and enjoyed the lovely spring weather.

Last year I joined MONA (Mothers of North Arlington) and through that recently joined a weekly playgroup. The playgroup is 7 other moms and their kids all similarly aged to Mason and we rotate meeting at homes, parks, etc.  We've only been involved two weeks but I think this is great for Mason and me.  Anyway, this week's playgroup was at Hayes Park. This park has a fairly decent sized fenced in playground and has activities for kids of varying ages. Mason loves the slide so we spent the majority of our time there, although somehow I have no sliding photos.

In the summer months they have a spray park which I think Mason will love.  We will definitely be coming back!