One Beautiful Day.

Saturday, May 19:

We headed to one of our most favorite spots in the Washington, D.C. Metro area...Gravelly Point.  It is located next to Reagan National Airport and has one side bordering the landing strip of the airport and another side bordering the water of the Potomac.  On a sunny, beautiful day, there are few places our Toppall team enjoys more than being in the shade of this park.

We packed up our stuff and headed to the park.  We didn't pack for the 2 to 3 hours we expected to hang out, but packed like we were never coming back.  That's the way we roll.  It is a bit obnoxious, but we are ready for any adventure that comes our way.

We had the following:

Picnic Blanket
Hats for everyone
Bug spray
Sunscreen
2 soccer balls - one for Ian, a pink princess one for Sam
Assorted balls to throw
2 gloves - one for Ian, one for Jeff
Cooler - filled with snacks, fruit and drinks
Barbie Wii game instruction book - Sam wanted to bring this.
Camera
Change of clothes for Sam (you know, just in case)
Pull-ups, Wipes
Ian's bike
Sam's tricycle
Helmets for each kid
Nail polish, nail polish remover - Sam wanted me to do her nails
Sunglasses for everyone
Robyn's kindle
2 Brookstone portable, battery-operated fans - you know, in case we get hot.
Band-aids, neosporin


Yep, that about sums up our list.  Believe it or not, we used it all. Well, except for my kindle.  That got utilized by being a hard, flat surface for me to paint Sam's nails.  Sam even "read" her Barbie Wii game instruction book.  It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time.  The kids played ball, rode their bikes on the trail, climbed trees, and I did Sam's nails.  Ian even made a new friend Riley, who hit a few baseballs together.  And of course, every 10 minutes or so, we looked up and watched planes go over our heads, very, very low as it took off into the big, blue, sun-shiny sky.



Some favorite pics:

Ian and Sam doing a great job, biking and staying in their lane.

 Two funny moments:

Sam kept asking, "Why do we have so much stuff?!?!?"  "I just don't understand why we have so much stuff."

Ian, at one point asked, "Do you think they have wifi out here?" 

What are the odds?

Ian received as part of his Hanukkah presents from his Nana and Papa a remote controlled airplane. All through Winter, Ian has been begging us to let him fly it. We kept saying we will go when the snow has melted, the ground is dry and the sun is shinning. Also, we have to wait until there is nothing on the calendar that requires us to be doing something else. And, on Easter Sunday, there was literally "nothing" on the calendar. Jeff made sure of that and wrote it in weeks ago. So off to Popes Head Park we went to ride bikes, have a picnic, play on the playground and of course, take Ian's remote controlled plane for its inaugural ride.

It was a gorgeous day and the conditions were perfect to fly the plane. Unfortunately the plane was a piece of crap (sorry Dad & Rita if you are reading this, but it was) and even though it said it had a 100 foot range, in reality, it was more like 10 feet. The plane was made from this lightweight foam and any kind of gentle breeze would take the plane out of the range and make it sail on its own. Flying the plane became more like a game of fetch and Ian got a great workout running after it over and over again.

Jeff and Ian made sure to fly the plane in only big open spaces, but 3 times the plane flew into trees. It was quite humorous trying to get the plane out of the tree limbs. I came up with the idea of throwing sticks and rocks trying to shake the plane loose. Most of the sticks we threw at the tree ended up getting stuck in the limbs too. The first 2 times it finally came free and the plane fell to the ground. It was the third time when the plane flew into dense bushes/trees that neither Jeff or I could find it. It just disappeared. Completely. We must've looked for it for about 10 minutes and it was nowhere to be found. The plane was red in color and you would think it would stick out, even a little bit against the green (with leaves) or brown (without leaves) background. How strange.

Fortunately Jeff and I had already decided we would be buying Ian another remote controlled plane for his upcoming birthday. He was having so much fun with it and we can only imagine how much better the experience would be if the plane was better quality.

Losing the plane happened towards the end of visit to Popes Head. It always amazes me how fantastic this park is and how little it seems to be used by other Fairfax County residents. The park is a little off the beaten path and not readily visible from the street. My mommy friends and I love going to this park, because you don't have to worry about cars and there are wide open spaces for the kids to play, a fabulous playground and a great trail to ride bikes. Even on the weekends the park is hardly ever crowded and at the most maybe one or two other families will be using it.

We were there for approx. an hour before anyone else showed up. This family had the same idea as us and brought a picnic to enjoy this gorgeous Sunday. Turns out the husband's name was Jeff and the wife's name was Robin. I kid you not. And, they had a little boy and a younger girl. Pretty wild. What are the odds that the only other family at the park with us would have the same exact names as Jeff and I? Oh, and they had as much luck as getting their kite off the ground as we did with the plane staying in the air.

I definitely believe the spooky same name coincidence means other forces are at play and this is a sign of some sort. Just not sure what.