labor day at nhm

i have come to count on labor day for some good sonyriiiiific weather, a day off from the grind and an anxiety attack over what to do and what to wear. this holiday was no exception. we decided to forgo a trip to the beach because, crowds, and it was just too dang hot to even look at a bbq grill, or 'chill' at the park. instead, we opted for a trip to the natural history museum. we figured we couldn't go wrong with dinosaurs and a/c. so off we went. after naps. and a few wardrobe and hair changes :->

>> maxwell was pretty obsessed with this video of an owl looking back at him. every few seconds the owl would blink and he would really lose it. it was, "mama where the owwwl?" the rest of the day. kids can be a real broken record at this stage. also, leave it to my little man to find the only television in the room :->

>> always running in opposite directions...who is wearing out who, now??

during our visit, we caught the last day of the butterfly pavilion exhibit. it was pretty magical. i mean papillons! how i love an excuse to say papillons! they are just omigosh soooo lovely. and it was a nice departure from prehistoric bones. gave the place some life i say :->

one disclaimer here: we spent a good chunk of our time not admiring the dainty creatures but, rather, policing the boys from picking the wildlife and trying to "pet" the butterflies. it was a bit exhaustive for us and annoying for them. requests for owl tv quickly commenced. but we weren't phased because really, isn't any outing with little ones tiring? and in the end it's (almost) always worth the effort! the looks of awe and wonder i saw on those little faces...yea i'll go there...priceless :->

>> butterfly pattern, meet plaid...

>> i spy the tiniest white butterfly! have i mentioned i have a  penchant for teeny tiny things? well i do. and more plaid.

after the pavilion we decided to push our luck (by this time it was almost 5 and the troops were getting cranky) and hit up the playground. we had always passed it up before because, let's be real, after the museum we are so read-to-go. but we have learned from experience that a half hour at the park will pay off at bed time and, of course, they have a lot fun, too.

the best part of the playground is that it has three arenas for any age. this type of set up can be problematic when i am at a park solo with kids. it can be a bit of a shit show managing two kids amongst a million distractions. but with joshy in tow it was a cinch. i may or may not have hid from them for a few minutes to check out mentally before gramming :->

toy bridge to more wood chips. kid does not care. kid loves wood chips, to mama's dismay.

>> and then we took some legit family photos...well we tried.

yes. that is a selfie stick shadow. don't worry, more on that later...and my ace&jig dress tho :->

and we're out. thank you nhm! and papillons!papillons!papillons!