Grandparents and Carousels

Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center

My mom and step-dad, Jose, came to town this past Thursday for a conference being held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center located at the National Harbor, just a 5 minute drive from our house.

Jose was attending a two-day counseling conference on marriage and families Friday and Saturday, so my mom came along to spend time with us Olsen's!  Little did she know we were going to be decorating and building a teepee, as well as going to see trucks (see previous posts); but she was a trooper, and said she was just happy to be spending time with us.  Good answer mom, I owe you one for tolerating our planned adventures!

So after Jose was done on Saturday evening, we all went to pick him up before heading to dinner.  Once we got near the National Harbor, we saw there was some sort of carnival/event happening down by the water.  So we parked the car to go check it out.  We met Jose in the grandiose lobby of the Gaylord and then headed towards the water.

It's a big shopping area, so of course mom and I stopped a time or two on our way down to check out the festivities.  Upon arriving down by the pier, we realized it was some sort of Beer fest, not exactly our type of fair.  But Jose and mom had yet to see this area, so we walked around and showed them The Awakening Sculpture (large man coming out of the sand play area), as well as the carousel play area.  But before we went to play on the carousel, we stopped into Potbelly's really quick and had dinner. 

The Awakening Sculpture at National Harbor

I should mention that Lauren has been sleeping the whole time up to this point.  She fell asleep in the car on the drive to get Jose, and continued to deep-sleep in the stroller all the way up to getting dinner (large crowds, warm weather, up and down sidewalks--nothing woke her!).  So we had to wake her up in Potbelly's because we knew she'd be hungry and we were going to the carousel area next!  She was very shy and reserved after Nate woke her, very uncharacteristic of her.  But she began to liven up after eating a bit, and really livened up when we walked over to the carousel.  Olivia and Lauren rode the carousel until their fake horse's shoes were coming off!  Okay, not really, but they rode it about 5 times each (good thing Military families get a discount on the all-day carousel rides!).  

 Lauren with Papa Jose and Nana Barbie on the way to the carousel.

They also have a playground attached to the carousel area, so the girls played their little hearts out on the slide and bouncy riders.  After about 40 minutes in the carousel/playground area, we realized we were wiped and had been out in the sun pretty much all day (minus Papa Jose-he was the studious one of the day). 

Olivia lounging on Papa Jose while waiting to go to the car.

So we headed back to the car, stopping once along the way to look at a sports equipment/attire store.  But there was too much fluorescent in their shoes and clothing for Nate's taste...so we headed home...all worn out from our day's adventures (Truck Touch, final teepee construction, and National Harbor activities).  What a day!