kaleidoscoping chaos...: An Arboretum Adventure, At Last...

I know, I know, I know...

For those out there in the Metro DC area, this is quite frankly super old news. All the bloggers have blogged about it, multiple times. It is on every one's go to list for cool thing to do when it is nice out. My favorite blogs (Not-So-SAHM, No Monsters in my Bed, Kid FriendlyDC ) all have awesome posts about it... so Ms. Kaleidoscoping Mommy (that's me), where have you been?

Well, quite frankly, we have been busy and a bit out of sorts. When Jonah turned one in 2010, we skipped out of town to Chicago because Mama had a fantastic job opportunity. Jonah and I adventured all over Chicagoland and had a blast. We got back and it was winter. In Spring 2011, I got cancer and we adopted Vera. It was not until this past fall that I slowly started to get my groove back. So here we are - almost summer 2012. I've got all those Top 10 lists from my favorite blogs and we are working our way through them!

Hello National Arboretum!

It was going to be another gorgeous day today. The kids got up early which meant Vera would take an early nap. I decided today was our day to go exploring the wilds of the Arboretum.

We were out by 12:15pm and on our way. I only made a few wrong turns so we got to the park by 12:50 and guess what... both kids were sleeping!!!

My kids are not used to car time and apparently it puts them to sleep?!?!

Smart mommy that I am I decided to take the single, not double stroller, today - so one of them was going to get up... preferably the one that walks. We parked, I figured out where we were and I got the stroller out. Of course Vera wakes up. I put her in the stroller and spend a good 10 minutes getting Jonah up... you have got to be kidding me...

I know you all don't believe me because I seem to always be writing about how Jonah is falling asleep all the time and napping - but seriously the kid refused to sleep for any amount of time for the first 18 months of his life... but I digress.

He finally got up and we were off on our adventure. Basically we hit the "beginners" loop. The Koi Pond, Bonsai & Chinese Garden, Herb Garden and the Columns. We had a ton of fun. The Koi Pond is like better than crack for the little ones. The fish basically jump out of the water and perform little dances for you. not one or two, but like 30! And these fish are huge and come in a rainbow of colors! Jonah and Vera were basically high off the fish. We started there and went back at the end to have the first of two snacks there. We had our fruit cups there.

The Bonsai Garden and Herb Gardens were also fun. Jonah particularly enjoyed smelling all the Herbs. And there is a bit of a rose garden there too - which Vera was thoroughly pleased with.

We "hiked" up to the columns. Not a hike, just a little walk. We had fun running around up there. Vera got out and toddled around too. One thing was funny, every time the kids saw any kind of water they basically went running towards it looking for more fish... but they didn't find any.

On the way back from the columns, Jonah looked at me and pleaded, "Mommy can we take a rest on the bench and sit, I need to rest." Seriously, kid, then maybe you should sleep later in the morning! We sat on the bench for a little bit, until he told me he was ready to go again - he also mentioned he would happily sit in the stroller and Vera could walk?!? Really Jonah... you are something!

We rounded back to the Koi Pond and had snacks. At which point (after we finsihed our snacks) Jonah remembered that I had promised him ice cream in the morning to get him out of the house. So we walked over to the very cute gift shop and we each got an ice cream/ices treat. Back in the car and home.

Guess what? They both fell asleep in the car...

My kids... can't sleep with them... can't sleep without them!

Seriously though, the Arboretum is a big hit in my book! THUMB UP! So much more to see - and that Koi Pond - it is like a gift that just keeps giving!