Last weekend, we took Mio to Clemyjontri Park in McLean. It’s a ginormous park and we’d been to it before, and we took Mio again because it was such a nice day — sunny and warm but not too hot, as it’s been cooling down lately. My sister Miwa tagged along, and we had a great time outdoors with Mio. Here are some pictures we took at the park.
Afterwards, we went out for lunch and desserts! It was an enjoyable Saturday for everyone!
Dan had been talking about wanting to take us to the Water Mine for a while, as it’s a water park he passes on the way to and from work every day. We decided to go this past Sunday, and it was a whole lot of fun for the whole family! Mio had never been to a water park before, so it was a new and exciting experience for her! She really enjoyed the park, but I think she was also at the same time kind of overwhelmed by all the things to do and all the people there, so she was half in a state of shock… as you’ll see in the pictures.
Dan even got some video with our point-and-shoot camera (we have an underwater casing for it, and that’s how we took photos and video in the water). Excuse my frowns in the beginning — I was distressed that we were getting sprayed. lol
We ended up spending almost four hours at the water park because Mio couldn’t have enough, and Dan and I were having fun too. The Water Mine is such a fun family activity for the summertime. We’ll definitely be back againbefore summer’s over!
Dan and I have always wanted to start our children early on swimming lessons, as swimming is such a valuable survival skill and the earlier kids learn, the better! I think I got my first swimming lesson at 7 or so, which is pretty late, and my swimming skills are still mediocre at best… My siblings are kind of in the same boat, although some are slightly better than me. Dan is a really good swimmer, and is much more comfortable in the water. We want to make sure Mio takes after Daddy and not after me!
As soon as summer registration opened for programs at the local rec center, I signed Mio up for Toddler & Me swimming classes. I quickly came to learn that these are much-coveted spots by parents and they fill up super fast! The June classes were already full by the first hour on the first day of registration, so I had put Mio on a waiting list just in case a spot opened up and also signed her up for July classes. June passed and no spots opened, so we just waited until this month’s classes. The Saturday Toddler & Me classes are for half an hour every Saturday for four weeks, and requires an adult to accompany the child. During the class, the kids get used to the water, and practice basic swimming poses and strokes while being held by their parent. It’s a great start to introduce your child to the water, get past any fears and make them comfortable and ready to swim. There were definitely one or two kids who were terrified and screaming their head off in the water, but most kids seemed to do just fine. Mio was a little scared and apprehensive at moments when she had to lie flat against the water, as she doesn’t like getting water in her ears, but overall she did great and seemed to really enjoy the swimming lessons!
Here’s a compilation of video clips that I took on my phone during Mio’s first swimming lesson!
Afterwards, we got together with our friends Pat and Theo and their adorable girls at Fairfax Corner for lunch and an afternoon of fun in the fountain and pottery painting!
While I was in Philadelphia last weekend, Dan’s company had their annual family picnic on Saturday. He took Mio along and she had a blast! I’m so glad he took all these pictures so that I could see all the fun and share a little in the experience!
Mio had so much fun that afternoon that she conked out immediately once they got back in the car to go home. I’m glad she could have such a fun time with Daddy even while I was away! The picnic looked like so much fun and I hope that I can go with them next year! 🙂
My best friend Debbie moved up to Philadelphia earlier this year for her postdoc, and I’ve been wanting to visit her for a while now. Dan assured me that he could watch Mio for a weekend while I took the bus up from DC to go hang out with her, so I was able to finally make the trip this past weekend! As much as I missed Mio and Dan while I was away, it was so nice and relaxing to take a break from motherhood for a couple days and enjoy some girlfriend time. I’ve known Debbie since we were freshmen in high school, and my fondest memories are of us hanging out in college together, being roommates and watching movies and just chatting and pigging out on delicious eats. Last weekend felt almost like those good old college days all over again!
I woke up at dark o’clock to go into DC and take the bus from Union Station up to Philly, and got there in the late morning. We promptly headed over to Chinatown to get some dim sum!
After brunch, we got us some bubble teas and walked around some of the parks in Philadelphia and UPenn’s campus.
Later in the afternoon, we went to the movie theater and watched Sofia Coppola’s latest film The Bling Ring. It was really interesting, especially because it’s based on true events and how accurate its portrayal is.
We stayed up late chatting and watching criminal documentary shows like 48 Hours, and reminiscing about high school and college days! It felt like we were in our old dorm room 251 Slusher all over again (except Debbie’s apartment is much much nicer!). We got to sleep in until almost 11am the following morning (unheard of these days as Mio is usually sure to wake me by at latest 8am), and then we went out to get some lunch before I had to catch the bus to go back down to DC.
Many thanks to Debbie for her awesome hospitality and taking me around to eat so many delicious things and see such cool sights in Philadelphia! I felt like we ate so much in a short weekend — my tummy, heart and soul returned to DC full and happy. ♥ Thank you so much bestest!