This past weekend I set out to plan a fun day with the boys on Saturday. Liam is at an age where he just wants to be on his new phone so much (grr, I have thoughts that I won't share on that topic...). Sam is getting into EVERYTHING right now. So, I thought it would be good to hit the road for a day and make some memories. We left at about 9 am.

Our first stop was The Lego Store at Arundel Mills. I enjoyed driving through my old stomping grounds of Ellicott City. And I always enjoy the windy drive down Rt 100. Arundel Mills is this large, extravagant mall that was built in the heydey of the late 90s/early 2000s. In fact, I went there my senior year of high school with Tim and Amanda to work at the Gap Outlet that had just opened and was swamped in its first weekend. What I remember clearly from that weekend was the food court. It had a model train around the top of the ceiling. That, and the ever present drama I experienced with my then on-again off-again high school boyfriend.
But anyway.
We went to the Lego Store. Liam loved the mall and all the stores. I was excited to see a Crocs store :) We got pretzel bites at Auntie Anne's (Liam's favorite). Then talked lunch. Typically we stop at Royal Farms on our way to Friendship Park. But I felt like driving more. The weather was unseasonably warm (high 50s for February!). I wanted to see water. I really wanted to go to Kent Island. Liam suggested we go to The Jetty, our favorite beachy restaurant that we always stop at on our way to Ocean City. I said okay! I was happy he was up for the adventure.
When we got to the Jetty we were surprised to see it was swamped with tourists. And the only seats that had a waterview were high top tables, which would have been difficult to manage with Sam's highchair. So, we went to the neighboring restaurant, The Bridges. This is a relatively new restaurant (I say that but it's probably about 10 years old, Matt and I watched it be built!). In my mind, it's a "fancy" restaurant but the prices were reasonable. Liam loved the view and the decor. It has a good waterview and looks like the lights inside are pretty at night. We all enjoyed our lunch.
Afterwards, I just felt like I had to walk along the water. I wasn't sure where to go, because Queen Annes County had a ridiculous parking fee at all of its parks (during our last trip )that I find difficult to figure out. The Chesapeake Heritage Center has a nice park behind it. We headed there.
I absolutely loved seeing my boys on the boardwalk path together. So adorable. Sam kept pointing and saying "Wat Daaaaa?" (his way of saying "What's That?"). Liam led the way. We got to the beach and met some nice men and an adorable golden retriever who just wanted to be near the boys. The men challenged Liam to walk out in the water for $5. He put his feet in and ran away :) They gave him $10! We had a nice conversation with them about the Super Bowl. They reminded me of my great uncle Hoppie.
On our way out from the beach, I ran into a former student, Gillian. What was amazing about this is that I hadn't seen her in 13 years. I taught her at St Michaels. She lives south of Annapolis now. Her sister just died and I literally had just been thinking about her and her family that morning. I was sad I couldn't make it to the funeral for her sister, and I thought "okay I will do something good in honor of Gillian's sister so that love gets back to her family somehow". And then I ended up 2 hours from my house and ran into her? Nah. The universe weaved that together for good.

We stopped at Friendship Park on our way home. We walked a mile while waiting for the next plane to come in (Liam uses the Flight Radar app). Liam enjoyed the playground while Sam looked at the bushes and tried to strike up conversations with passersby. Sam's favorite current conversation starter is pointing to men and emphatically calling them "Da". Their respon
After watching a few planes we all packed up to head home, happy, full of snacks, and satisfied from a day of family memories. I am so blessed.
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