I was planning on taking the girls to River Farm, yesterday, on my first solo jaunt with both of them. But, when I tried to turn off of GW Parkway and onto the road that leads to River Farm, there was a construction worker blocking the road. They were repaving the area and weren't allowing traffic.
I immediately decided to drive on to Mount Vernon.
I did this forgetting that I hadn't packed a stroller for Nye-Nye.
If you have ever been to Mount Vernon, you know visiting entails a LOT of walking, especially if you are two years old. Even the parking lot is far away.
Mount Vernon doesn't allow outside food, so there went the picnic I planned. We ate in the car instead.
I popped Anala in the Moby and off we went on our Little Adventure. Nye-Nye was a trooper. My strategy for avoiding a massive melt-down (where I would have to carry both girls plus a bag) was to keep the visit as short as possible.
We headed to the animals and then back. This took an hour and a half.
She was having a good time and didn't want to leave, so I bribed her with a chocolate cookie from Mrs. Field's. It worked beautifully. I let her take photos on the walk back, during which told me frequently, "I need a break." After each little rest, I reminded about the cookie waiting for her at the "restaurant."
When we got to the Food Court, I let her carry the cookie in the little brown bag to the cashier and then outside. We walked a bit and then I let her sit on the bench to eat half the cookie. I took the other half and told her she could eat it when we got to the car.
I was terrified the entire time that she would throw a tantrum because she was too tired. But, she was amazing! We walked at least 1 1/2 miles.
Anala slept in the entire time.
All in all it was a positive experience. Below are some photos. I love the photo of the trees. They're so gorgeous. Doesn't the photo feel so timeless?
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