Places to Go (Vacation) - Longwood Gardens in the Spring (Kennett Square, PA)

Even when the girls wear matching dresses, they manage to put their own "spins" on the outfits.



One of the biggest downsides of living in the DC area is that everyone always leaves. Well, maybe not everyone, but over the years several of our friends have decided to relocate - for jobs, for a "slower" pace of life, for different climates, etc. On the upside, this means we have outstanding invitations to visit lots of wonderful destinations (Philly; Burlington, VT; Charleston, SC; Rochester, NY; etc.). So a few weekends ago, we packed up the mini-van and headed to West Chester, PA to spend a a few days with good friends.

Years ago, when I started my job as a big-law associate the firm assigned me a "buddy" (their word, not mine) to help navigate the complexities of firm life. My buddy, A, and her husband quickly became good friends of ours, we even "borrowed" their backyard for our wedding ceremony. And a few months after I gave birth to F, A gave birth to a little boy named, E, whom F calls her "first friend." Another little boy, Z, quickly followed (making their family acronym "JA ZE", pronounced like the rapper, how cool is that?). A few years ago, A took an in-house job outside Philly and the whole family moved away. Though we don't get together as often as we'd like to, when do see each other all five kids play really well together, which makes it easy for us adults to relax, catch up, and drink a bottle of wine.

On the Sunday of our weekend visit, we spent the day at Longwood Gardens. We've visited Longwood in the fall (click here for post), but this was our first spring trip. I especially loved seeing the tulips in full bloom. The gardens provide children with easy-to-read maps, so we explored waterfalls, castles, fountains, and treehouses. And, of course, the kids tumbled through several rounds of ring-around-the-rosie (T's favorite game as as of late). Several. (Sidenote - did you know that some scholars believe that ring-around-the-rosie is about dying from the great plague? How depressing is that?)

RANDOM LINKS:

*This weekend is Claude Moore Colonial's Farm Spring Market Fair (Saturday and Sunday 11 am - 4:30 pm). Great fun for the whole family, click here to read my post about last summer's fair.

*This quote made my night. Thank you Ira Glass. Thank you.

*These hand-made "wings" are beautiful. And they look like so much fun.

*Una Hunderi = WOW!!! (link via a fantastic post on The Blue Hour)

*KidFriendlyDC has the scoop on strawberry season. Click here to check it out.

*I really like these. Quite a bit.


You really can't go wrong with tulips and treehouses. A great combo.