Rainy Day Weekend

The DC region received a record amount of rain this weekend, and we can only think of what might have been if it had been a little colder. Instead, we had to come up with activities and ways to get exercise that didn't destroy the house or the Papa.

Saturday afternoon didn't quite fit the bill. Two of the boys' friends from the neighborhood, Parker and Carter, came over, and the first forty minutes of 4 boys under the age of 8 in the house was intense; it was a bit of madness. However, they calmed down somewhat, though both Maceo and Cassius were awfully goofy, making silly noises and jokes the whole time. We have some friends who have 5 boys, and I cannot imagine how they function on the weekends.

Sunday was a little better. In the morning, the boys and I went to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, braving the elements.

The intrepid explorer in his foul weather gear

It wasn't raining too hard, but we were the only folks there. We walked right past a Great Blue Heron, which was pretty cool, and out onto the boardwalk. Both boys had fun throwing rocks and being silly.

Cassius and his favorite coat, which is not so waterproof

From there, we went to the College Park Aviation Museum, which we hadn't been to in years. It's a small place with some hands-on activities, and this time of year, there's a model train running, so I figured it'd be a good diversion. Of course, their favorite activities were the video game flight simulators.

They pretty much just try to crash.

The trains were also a hit!

They also "flew" a plane, a real one. 

We then came home for lunch and quiet time, and, with the rain stopped, we walked over to our old street and visited our friends Daniel and Lillian who were hosting their annual Hot Cocoa Open House. Our boys went immediately to the playroom and I didn't see them for quite some time. 

NEW TOYS!

We ended the evening by riding around the Brookland neighborhood in a trolley to see the houses with their Christmas lights. At the best houses, we would call out, "Ring that bell!" and the trolley driver would ring the bell, a 12 year old boy on the bus dressed as Santa would get out and go knock on the door, and we would sing a carol to the residents. It was a very nice community activity and the boys very much enjoyed it, especially the one house on Newton were a man dressed as Santa got on and handed out candy.