Happy Halloween

The pictures say it all!

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

The most exciting part of the field trip was the fact that Ava got to ride on the SCHOOL BUS!!!!

The kids actually waited fairly patiently for 2 year olds to get the tickets and then ride the hayride to pick pumpkins.


Ava found the hayride itchy. A less for next year...jeans on the field trip to the pumpkin patch and not leggings :)


After we picked our pumpkins the girls had a great time playing in the hay stacks before lunch.


After lunch we saw the animals before we headed back to the bus to go back to school.

Baltimore Aquarium

We had talked about possibly going to Sesame Place today but with Daddy having to drive to Baltimore 3x next week for work he didn't want to drive 3.5 hours each way but he suggested we go to the aquarium instead....a very good compromise. After naptime we headed to Baltimore. We got to the big tank just in time for the 2:30 feeding. Ava was very excited to see the hude sea turtle having some lettuce.

Next we checked out some of the exhibits before the 3:30 dolphin show. Ava was amazing by the all the beautiful fish with bright colors. I was so excited she shares my love of aquariums.




Next it was on to the dolphin show. We sat in the third row right near the platform. We were in the splash zone but we managed not to get wet. This was so worth the entire trip. Dolphin are beautiful and smart creatures reminding me why had originally wanted to be a marine scientist. A lucky little girl got to pet the dolphin, and I could tell Ava wanted to pet the dolphin too!





Our other favorite part of the aquarium is the underwater exit ramps where you can see the sharks and the sting rays.


We ended the day with dinner at the cheesecake factory. Ava loved the bread as did we!

More cookies and crazy hair

When Daddy and Mommy picked up Ava today at school Miss Melissa had done her hair in a fun (funny) side bun. We got home late so we made a quick dinner and then enjoyed a few more of our home-made cookies for dessert.

Cookies

After dinner tonight Ava help make cookies and by make cookies I mean we put the blocks of cookie dough onto the cookie sheet. And then Ava watched them bake in the oven. We let them cool a little and then had warm chocolate chip cookies before bed. Yum!

Twice in one weekend

Grandma, Aunt Alexandra, and Uncle Shannon came to town today to visit American so after naptime we met them at the zoo. Ava was excited to see "her" panda again and pose for pictures. To my amusement Ava found her sunglasses in the car as we were parking the car and wore them most of the trip. The first time she left them on her face for mre than 10 seconds.

Oktoberfest and the Library

This morning we took Daddy to work so he could help setup the Emergency Management Tent at Oktoberfest. We then went to Petsmart to see the kitties and other animals before Oktoberfest started.

We got a snack at whole foods.

Then we headed over to the festival on the village green and listened to the music and painted a pumpkin.

We then headed home for naptime. When Ava woke up we took a trip to the Montgomery County Library in Rockville Town Center. This was Ava's first library trip. Ava was very overwhelmed by the selection. We got 2 Eric Carle book and "Time for Bed". After we played in the square for little and I manage to snap this picture with my iphone. This could be one of my favorite pictures ever!

National Zoo

After Daddy woke up this morning we got ready and headed to the zoo. Ava fell asleep for about 30 minutes of the trip down Connecticut Ave to a parking spot right near the Marriott. Ava woke up ready to go see the animals. We stopped at Starbucks for an iced coffee and a potty break before heading in. Our first stop was the sea otters, which were playing in a log above the water. We headed over to the bridge to see the elephants. We moved closer to the building because 2 of the elephants were having lunch. Ava blew them a kiss and we headed inside to see the panda.




The littler panda was having an bamboo feast. Ava was very interested in watching him eat. We stood there for about 10 minutes watching him pull the leaves off of the stems and eat them.


Next it was the Ape House. The whole family was in the one room playing. The baby was leaping around and swinging from the ropes. The Mamma was perched at the top watching and Daddy crawled up in the nest with a pile of hay making a bed. Ava was trying very hard to be just like all the big girls standing up against the glass.




After a trip to the potty we stopped to see the turtles.


As we walked up the hill to the Big Cats a group of people was stopped talking a picture in front of this Tiger cut-out. Ava crawled up behind them and popper her head through. Just like the girls at Hershey this group taking pictures thought she was the most adorable thing they had ever seen and after I snapped a picture the young guy in the group said "Oh that's facebook worthy!". All of the Cats were out. Both tigers and the 8 female lions.





As we headed out we got a special treat. The orangutan was crossing the wires. With all of the times we have been to the zoo this was the first time we saw the monkeys up on the wires.



We walked down to Open City for lunch. Delicious and such a great end to a wonderful day.