family fun

williamsburg stop #3: colonial williamsburg

Melissa 8 Comments

Well, I can’t include everything, since we took approximately a gazillion pictures during our day in Colonial Williamsburg, but here are a few highlights. It was amazing! I’ve wanted to go there pretty much forever. Colonial Williamsburg is a living museum – there is truly nothing else like it.

It is gorgeously restored, utterly unique and captivating. I was a bit worried about the kids losing interest, but we all loved it! Seriously – with all the technology we’re used to, who could have imagined how fun a stick and hoop could be?  We were there all day and the kids were sad to leave – and were asking if we could come back tomorrow. Even Colin, who is only three, had a great time…
Whenever he saw a soldier, he got really excited and got out his gun. He is also quite fond of pointing it at his sisters. Imagine that.

The kids got really into talking to people, asking questions about what they were doing and such. When they ran through the town shouting, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” Gracie asked nervously, “They’re not really going to fight… right?” (Good question! Everything else was real!)  The Revolutionary City Street Theater was so really cool – the kids were really into that! Colin loved seeing the soldiers ride their horses.

The kids had a blast playing RevQuest, where you play the part of a Patriot spy trying to thwart an assassination attempt by the British. The kids were running around, deciphering secret codes, and hunting for clues in secret locations around Williamsburg. It was a little advanced for our kids to do on their own (ages 8 and 6) but they still had a great time and were really into the whole process!

working together to figure out the clues...

A few tips with young kids:

  • Plan on more than one day. We really found that one day was just not enough to see and do everything. With young kids, two days is probably the limit. Without the kids, I could probably wander around much longer!
  • Bring some snacks. Colonial Williamsburg is truly restored properly – so there are not tons of drinking fountains and food stalls like an amusement park. Have bottles of water and a few snacks for the kids, especially if your kids are like mine and go from zero to starving in three seconds.
  • Pack sunscreen, plenty of diapers and wipes, band-aids, and whatever else you think you might need. Again, not lots of supply shops in Colonial Williamsburg.
  • Take advantage of all the programs for kids! Use the Kids Adventure Maps where kids can get a special prize for getting their map punched at different stops and the RevQuest activity.
  • And don’t worry… if your kids aren’t behaving, you can just put them in a Colonial Time Out:

For more information on travel to Williamsburg, visit www.visitwilliamsburg.com.

disclosure: we received complimentary admission to colonial williamsburg to facilitate this post. as always, all opinions are my own.

williamsburg stop #1: water country usa

Melissa 2 Comments

Today, we went to Water Country USA in Williamsburg and had such an amazing time.

Now first a confession: I hate water parks. I do. Maybe there is something wrong with me. But its true. I only go for the kids. So imagine my surprise when I had a terrific time at Water Country USA. The park was amazingly clean, had great activities for kids, and was honestly really relaxing and enjoyable! It was so easy to navigate and to watch the kids, even in the busier pools, that I would take all three back by myself with no qualms. Really.

my little sea monkeys

We loved the lazy river, the wave pool and – of course – the water slides!

Gracie was fearless!

that splash is my husband ZOOMING out of a water slide. the kids decided to skip that one.

The little details – like changing areas right next to the kiddie pools, tons of healthy food options everywhere, clearly marked bathrooms, friendly employees – made this park stand out.  Our only complaint was that we only had 4 hours to play. None of us wanted to leave – we could have stayed and played much longer!

According to Ellie, this is MUCH harder than it looks.

This was such a gorgeous park. We left only hours ago and the kids already want to go back! (And I have some great videos of the kids on the water slides that I promise to post when we get home! HILARIOUS!)

Thanks for hosting us, Water Country USA!

For more information on travel to Williamsburg, visit www.visitwilliamsburg.com.

disclosure: we were provided complimentary admission to water country usa. as always, all opinions are my own.

 

on my own…

Melissa 3 Comments

So on Saturday, my mom packed up my kids and took them to my grandparents house for a week.

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!

The kids were really sad to go. I believe a very brief “Yeah, Buh-Bye, Mom” was reluctantly uttered as they yelled for Grandma to get on the road already. I was kissing their cheeks and trying to get one more hug.

Apparently our kids like to be away from us.

But that’s okay. Sometime we like to be away from them back.

We have a wild and crazy week scheduled, packed with exciting adult activities like powerwashing the deck, picking out tile at Home Depot and shampooing the carpets. Don’t worry – we’ll throw in one or two or five date nights as well. And possibly a few extremely competitive rounds of MarioKart.

We’re looking forward to it 🙂

But this begs the question… what is a mommy blogger to write about when she’s not mommying?

the lazy days of summer

Melissa 7 Comments

…are a myth. Its practically August and I swear we’ve barely stopped moving for weeks.

I survived last week’s VBS. During a heat wave. (Is there some kind of rule that VBS week has to be at least 100 degrees every day? Cause I swear it happens every year.)  I was so exhausted by Friday that I could barely lift my arms. It was totally worth it – the kids had such a blast!! I did crafts and decorations, which gave me free reign at Michaels. This is dangerous.
**sidebar: I will not be featuring my killer outfit you see there in What I Wore Wednesday. For obvious reasons.

We’ve been playing with friends, hitting the pool, enjoying fresh veggies and fruit from the Farmers Market, blueberry picking, trying not to melt, plowing through summer reading, and getting ready for vacation.

I’ve been swamped with my job and some extra freelance design work, which is half fun, half crazy with the kids at home.

Today I get to clean the house. Because nothing shows that you’re having a busy summer like a disaster of a house!!!

 

 

movie star moment

Melissa 6 Comments

Last night we went to the world premiere of Smurfs in New York City. We had a blast picking out the perfect outfits and getting red carpet ready with Suave Kids!

It was incredible.

Lets just say I found myself waiting in like at the bathroom behind Sofia Vergara and as we were chatting… Brooke Shields walked by. We saw so many celebs – I was having a blast! I kept saying things like “Look! Its Neil Patrick Harris!” and the girls would say “Who?” But there was one name they recognized.  “Look! Its Katy Perry!” And the girls SHOT out of their seats “WHERE? WHERE IS SHE?? AHHH!! KATY PERRY!!” And after the show, the girls got to meet the singer of their favorite song (who was sweetness itself, by the way). Which we have an extremely blurry cell phone picture of:

I can’t share it all the red carpet footage just yet… but here’s a preview snapshot of the girls getting interviewed about their favorite Smurfs!

More to come 🙂 I can’t wait to share it all with you!!!

potty training: 90% complete!

Melissa

Its been an EXHAUSTING week, to say the very least. I came so, so close to dragging the diapers back out.

Tuesday and Wednesday he was crying and screaming that he “hated that potty.” He claimed underpants and Pull-Ups were “hurty” and he begged for diapers back. I couldn’t turn my back on him for a second.
Colin does not adjust to change well.
But I did not cave. I was determined not to go back to diapers. When I was close to caving, my friends who were living the horror via Twitter and Skype were encouraging me to stick with it, not to give up, offering to deliver margaritas to my door.

And I am super happy to say that Colin has been virtually accident free since Thursday! He’s having trouble at night still but I am so so proud of my boy.

I’m a little worried about this week, because we have VBS and he’ll be so distracted. Hopefully it won’t mess things up too badly.

Speaking of VBS, if you don’t hear from me, it means the kids won and I’m probably glued to the wall of the church with glitter glue or in a prison made of popsicle sticks. Or I’m hiding under my bed, afraid to go back into the craft room….

to the beach

Melissa

This week we’re headed to Ocean City for a week at the beach. So excited to lay in the sand, play with the kids, sleep late, drink coffee out on the porch listening to the ocean, walking along the boardwalk, indulging in boardwalk food…

Love.

But, alas, we will have no internet at the beach. So enjoy some pictures, some oldies and be sure to check out my fashion blog,  All Things Chic while I’m gone!

 

xoxo