Road Trip

Yesterday was the one Saturday out of the year that hubby has to work for his company's inventory.  Which meant that we declared today an official Family Fun day.  We took a road trip to the historic district of Alexandria, VA, one of our favorite cities.  Noah loved seeing the water, and he was a huge fan of the giant fountain in front of the city hall.

We went into the CVS and changed a dollar for two rolls of pennies, so he got to throw in a hundred coins!  He was sooo excited.  He ran to the fountain shouting, "Oh boy...oh boy...oh boy!"

We also visited one of our favorite attractions, the Torpedo Factory Art Center, which is a huge building with three floors of artists' galleries featuring paintings, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, stained glass, and all kinds of art.  You can even see some of the artists at work!  Noah liked seeing the old torpedo. :)  He also liked all the steps and elevators.

We did lots of walking...

 ...and of course, no trip is complete without a trip to Starbucks, or as Noah says, "Farbutts."  I've always wanted to eat at one of the restaurants where you get to sit out on the sidewalk, and this was my chance...Starbucks had outdoor tables right on the walkway.

Little Crafter took this picture "all by hisself."

Daddy took this one.

My favorite stop on the trip was the Potomac Bead Company.  You know I've just recently gotten started with a jewelry making hobby, so walking in here about knocked my socks off...

It was soooo fun looking at everything...here's what I came home with.

Can't wait to start playing again...

I'm kind of toying around with starting an etsy shop to see if I could sell a few things; any feedback?

We had a fantastic day, in spite of some on and off rain, and Noah was a great sport.  One other bit of good news; remember when I asked for opinions and your votes for a photo contest I was entering?
The contest asked for entries that were "Signs of Spring" and this is the photo I submitted:

I got word today that this photo won the contest, so we get $50 off a family photo shoot with the photographer who hosted it.  Yay!  I can't wait!  Thanks to everyone who voted for us!

Well, hope your day was as fun as it was for this Artsy Mama...