This is it. My last officially Friday with just me and H. Next Friday, the Mr. will be off to enjoy the day with us. You guessed it…the countdown to the end of summer vacation is going on in my head! What a great one it has been! Here are five things that pertain to this week!
{ONE}
Virginia Aquarium – H and I went off on an adventure to the Virginia Aquarium. He was a reluctant participant (!) and said that he would rather “stay home all day.” Umm…you are not the boss here, and Mommy wants to go! 
H loved checking out this map and asked me to point where all his family members live.
This scuba diver was kind enough to give H a wave. He was cleaning tunnel tank.
Love seeing the animals from a different perspective!
H said his favorite part was the special dinosaur exhibit. These dinosaurs were robotic and very life-like. We visited this room twice. 🙂
Inside the crab pot
Pretending to be in the marsh
The Marsh Pavilion is about a fifteen minute walk (for a preschooler) from the main aquarium building, but I thought it was well-worth it with all the kid-friend activities on the way and once we arrived.
Gator Ally! – We jumped around on the logs and pads trying to avoid being eaten! 🙂
The outside activities (plus many more!) pictured above were a part of the Discovery Path. Very kid-friendly! We even dug for earthworms!
I was a little skeptical that we would really “get our money’s worth” out of our visit. It’s a little pricey at $37 total for the two of us. BUT…Basically, we could have stayed about a couple more hours. H was completely beat after about three hours. He was a busy boy too! We didn’t take the stroller or the carrier, so he was hoofing it the whole time. He did a great job holding my hand which made things easier. I may or may not have given him a big lecturer about “bad people” and how he has to stay close to Mommy in public. Parenting success or fail? I’m going with a tough love answers of success.
{TWO}
Picnic Lunches – We’ve had tons of picnics this spring/summer, and I plan to keep it going as much/as long as I can. We had a little one this week with Daddy. We topped off our lunch with some coin tossing and chocolate.
We went to the Royal Chocolate, a favorite dessert treat for us.
See that blonde blur in the foreground? Someone was a LITTLE excited about the chocolate!
Love this quote on their sign! – Seven days without chocolate makes one weak…
Town Center was looking mighty pretty on this sunny day!
{THREE}
No Dessert and then DESSERT! – Let me tell you why we were all so excited about dessert…we’ve had no dessert since the weekend! I know, I know…first world problems! I put into effect a dessert law which I can do since I do the grocery shopping. Instead, we’ve been having fruit and graham crackers (Thanks Moochie and Poppy for the dessert idea!). Today’s treat was extra special and extra sweet. The Mr. got two chocolate covered Oreos, and H got a chocolate and sprinkle pretzel rod. I pieced out a big (no mini for me!) dark chocolate peanut butter cup. I ate the first half at the shop, but don’t think I didn’t polish off the other half once H was resting!
{FOUR}
Super Serious Yoga Class – I purchased a 10 class pass at a local yoga studio on Groupon for less than 50% of the regular price! Although I feel a tad silly paying for a class when there are so many good resources online + the DVDs I already own, the class was great! It really was nice to just chat with the other women in the class and be in a relaxing atmosphere. The place was beautiful, and the studio rooms had padded floors! No knee pain or uncomfortableness! Let’s face it…sometimes our homes aren’t relaxing. Especially when you’re trying to do down dog and your kid is trying to jump on your back! I plan to go once a week until my classes are up. Then, I’ll make a decision about how I’ll continue to practice yoga.
{FIVE}
Christmas Shopping – OH.MY.GOODNESS – I admit that I’ve been doing a little Christmas shopping this summer…mainly for H. We do Secret Santa for some family members, and this Christmas will be all about my sister and brother-in-law’s (to be) wedding for my side of the family. We can’t forget about the kid though! In an effort to budget our money better, I like to buy a few things as I go along. I usually end up buying enough to set some aside for his birthday in March. I know! I’m a planner. I’ve bought a book, a board game, and a toy so far. I got Magna-Tiles after ready great reviews online. I purchased from Zulily for a great discount. Here’s an Amazon listing. I also got Count Your Chickens – a cooperative game – praying beforehand may be necessary for cooperative purposes. 🙂
Image via Amazon
Image via Amazon
Do you do any Christmas shopping this early? If so, what do you buy/who do you buy for?
If you practice yoga, what style do you prefer? I’m a relative newbie, but I do like Vinyasa.
fit • full • fun 
