National Building Museum: The BEACH

The new temporary architectural installation at DC's National Building Museum is at once incredibly awesome and my worst nightmare. I know I tend to think of myself as more laid-back than I actually am, but The Beach turned me into a germaphobic, claustrophobic lunatic convinced that my children were going to suffocate under a sea of clear plastic balls. It was not a pretty afternoon for me.

Flag Ponds Nature Park

By this point in the summer, we've usually been to the New Jersey shore at least twice. But with new school schedules, extracurricular activities, and my attempt to right the disaster created by sending the kids to only two weeks of summer camp last year, we just haven't been yet. But I wanted to go to a beach for my birthday and I wanted an adventurous day trip. I started researching around a bit and then I remembered that my friend Darcy (from No Monsters in My Bed) had blogged about a super cool beach in Maryland where you can find fossil shark teeth: Flag Ponds Nature Park. When I realized it was only about an hour and a half away and close to Solomons Island (which has been on my list for a while), it was a go.

Great Country Farms

Last week we took a day trip out to Great Country Farms for our strawberry picking trip of the season. I really wanted to check out a new place and had heard good things about Great Country Farms, so we decided we were up for the big schlep (1 1/2 hour drive). It was actually quite a pretty drive through Virginia wine country.

Keep It Local: Library of Congress

We seriously hadn't been to the library all summer! So when mom pointed out that we had a "new library" on our Summer Bucket List, we figured we'd go straight to the top -- to the "library of last resort," as it's known -- the Library of Congress. We're going big this summer.

Mom told us all about how our Grammie B traveled to DC with her parents when she was in grade school and received special permission to research in the Main Reading Room. And we couldn't wait to get a look at it ourselves. So we headed down early and waited just a few minutes for one of the free tours. We had a great docent and the tour was super interesting, but, to be honest, at 45 minutes long was probably a tad on the long side for us. But it's mom's general feeling that it's good for us to learn to do those kinds of things and there was so much for us to look at that we were well behaved, even if not entirely attentive. We were pretty excited to learn, however, that the Library of Congress houses many unique objects besides books, including the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets on the night he was killed. You know how much we love us some Lincoln! Plus we got a quick peek at the beautiful Reading Room and giggled as we made up stories of Grammie B sitting down at one of the little desks working away. 

(btw, anyone over 16 years old can become a Registered Reader and get access to the Library for research. While there is a limit on the number of books you can request per day (10), there is no limit on the number of days at which you can stay and research. Word is that if you're there for more than 6 months, they'll give you an office. If we ever can't find mom, we know where to look).

After the tour, we hightailed it to the Young Readers Center, which includes a tot room (with story hours), an elementary age room, and a teen room. HOLY COW. We could have stayed there all day. So much cool stuff, including the Harry Potter series in braille. We read and read and read. Until we were too hungry to hang any longer. There is plenty of room for comfy reading, playing games and puzzles. Such a cozy, free spot to read! 

In addition to the Young Readers Center, the visitors desks offer a great Treasure Hunting packet for kids, which we took but didn't have time to do. Obviously we'll be back. Plus, since our visit we've been repeat watching both National Treasure movies, which feature the Library -- can you guess where else we're headed next? You can check out more suggested activities for kids and families right here. 

Keep It Local: The BIG Maze at the National Building Museum

For the past few years, the National Building Museum has set up pretty awesome architectural putt-putt golf courses. And we've been excited. And we've waited and schemed for the optimal time to go. And then we bombed.

So we were really psyched when we heard that this summer's feature was going to be a BIG maze instead. I mean, you're talking to the kid who asked mom if she could set up a labyrinth with live minotaur (AKA Uncle Steve in costume) for his birthday party. A BIG maze is a BIG deal (and we also now know the difference between a maze and a labyrinth).

We went early one morning this week and had no problem getting tickets (which, to be honest, seem a little ridiculously overpriced even with our membership discount) and ran the maze over and over and over again. Then we spotted a buddy in the maze when we were on the second floor and went back for more. We took a break at Play Work Build, and then went back for more maze. So, it's safe to safe that we got our money's worth at least. Mom loved the grand reveal design and we loved that we could do it endlessly.

It is pricey, but it's worth a visit (given that you get admission to the other museum exhibits) before it disappears on September 1st.

Keep It Local: Spelunking at Crystal Grottoes

One of mom's most favorite summertime activities growing up was the various spelunking trips she took with her family. As she reminds us every time we board a plane for vacation, when she was little, family vacations meant road trips (which she happened to love). And that meant breaking up a trip with stops at a whole variety of roadside (or somewhat off road) attractions, including caves. So mom has had spelunking on our list (and both of our official Summer Bucket lists) for a while. But she was a little worried that one of us (me) would totally freak out underground and in the darkness. So she was hesitant to trek out to Virginia to a large spelunking trip.

Cue Crystal Grottoes in Boonsboro, Maryland. Mom found it kind of randomly and, given that it was privately owned, wasn't entirely sure if it would be hokey and random (like our trip to Good Knight's Enchanted Kingdom a few years ago). Then she saw it was near Antietam National Battlefield and figured if we could loop that in, it would be worthwhile. And it turned out to be awesome!

It is a little expensive, but it was just our size and speed. You go about 45 feet underground, but no elevator is involved and the tour lasts just about 1/2 hour. Our tour guide was a local high schooler who had literally tunneled red clay out of the cave with his bare hands, and he was eager, knowledgable and friendly. We learned a bit about geology, a bit about the cave's history, and a bit about what it's like to grow up as a quadruplet in a small town. And he put up with Kane's running list of questions, which is worth a lot of money in any of our books. Plus, if mom's memory serves correctly, the size and scope of this cave (and perhaps the fact that it's privately owned) made for a much closer-up view of the various geological features than she's seen before.

We were both champs and even thought it was fun when our guide turned all the lights out -- it helped that there were no bats present.

If you have younger kids and are interested in spelunking, but have concerns similar to mom's, this would make an awesome foray into cave exploring. We hit up local Boonsboro for lunch and treats before heading on to Antietem and found a good number of decent spots to eat (we ate at Dan's Restaurant & Tap House, which had a good selection of local brew and a nice kids menu). If you're in the market for a super easy day trip (the cave is just about 1 hour, 15 minutes away), we highly recommend it!

p.s. it's really hard to take good photographs in a cave

Keep It Local: Strathmore Backyard Theater for Children + GIVEAWAY!!!

Honestly, I feel as though we drafted a bum Summer Bucket List this year. Because some of the coolest new things we've done aren't even on there (and you know that deprives mom of the satisfaction of crossing things off that list!), including Strathmore's Backyard Theater for Children. Each summer, Strathmore puts on a set of fabulous theater, music and dancing for kids right in its own backyard, under a comfortable tent, complete with free snowcones! I mean, you know we would have gone just for the snowcones, but we loved the Mister G: ABC Fiesta show Strathmore kindly gave us tickets to see.

Now we both like to play it cool. I told mom "I'm really not into doing hand motions, clapping, participating .... you know," but by the end of the show, we were both flapping our pretend insect wings and buzzing along to the music (we were still too cool to get up on stage, though. thank goodness they gave away sunglasses to perpetuate the cool). Mister (and Mrs.) G did a great job of getting everyone participating in their bilingual tunes and we insisted mom buy some CDs at the end. And a kind person fudged the "one snowcone per person" rule for us and we finagled our way into each getting a cherry and a raspberry ice.

But you have no excuse not to go. First, because we're telling you. And, second, because we're giving away a family four-pack of tickets to see one of the remaining three shows of the season! Check out the schedule right here and then follow Rafflecopter link at the end of the post and enter to win. You can earn points to win by two ways:

(1) liking the Not-So-SAHM Facebook page (earns you 2 points); and/or
(2) commenting on this post (earns you 1 point)

BUT all entries must be made through the Rafflecopter to count (otherwise it makes randomly picking a winner difficult)!

You have until 12 pm on Monday, July 14th to get your entries in. Don't miss out!

THE CONTEST IS OVER -- CONGRATS LIZ R. FOR THE WIN! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Keep It Local: Washington Monument

The Washington Monument just recently re-opened to visitors after being closed for repairs since the August 2011 earthquake that shook DC. And we were sure to get advanced tickets for our very first official day of summer break! Mom picked an 11 am tour start, just to make sure we didn't need to rush out of our jammies the very first day of vacaye.

We got down to the Mall just after 10, which was perfect because parking along Constitution opens up right at 10. We ran around a bit, but it was HOT out. So we scooted over to the correct waiting area by 10:30 -- perfect timing to be in the front of the 11 am tour group we booked (mom cannot stand waiting in lines). After about 5 minutes, Cam decided she HAD to go to the bathroom, immediately. That meant losing our spot in line since mom had us by herself, but she figured it would be quick. And we were. But the throngs of other 11 am ticket holders were faster and we returned about 10 minutes later to a huge, long line. And that meant that we waited until 11:30 basically to get our turn to head in. We were hot, thirsty and ready to get our history on.

Fortunately it was worth the wait. It's actually not much of tour, but it is insanely cool to go up 500 feet above the city (although slightly claustrophobic). You do get a little history from rangers on the elevator ride up and down, and there are some displays as well. We thought the coolest thing was getting to compare today's views outside the windows to the historical photographs of the same view back in the day. We also loved getting a peek at the stones donated by each state -- you get a relatively quick view on the elevator ride down.

The Monument's summer hours are 9 am to 10 pm, with the last tour beginning by 9:45 pm. The National Park Service gives out about 2,000 tickets for tours each day, with half of them being released the morning of from the on-site ticket window starting at 8:30 am (but word is the line grows long before that and tickets go quickly in summer). You can also make advance reservations online for a small fee. All tickets are for a specific time and we suggest getting in line a half hour before your tour starts (and having someone hold that spot!).

New historic site visit? Check. Bring it, Summer Bucket List.