butterflies at brookside

The "Wings of Fancy" butterfly exhibit at Brookside Gardens was AMAZING! We've been in several butterfly houses but I've never seen as many butterflies as we did here. And so many different kinds of butterflies. The kids absolutely loved it.

Amelia wanted a butterfly to land on her finger so badly.

Oliver spent a lot of time going in and out of these flaps.

Of course the rest of Brookside was beautiful and green and lush.

We ended the evening at Ben's parent's apartment (which wasn't too far from Brookside) where we had dinner outside by their pool and went swimming (in the very cold water). Oliver had such a blast in the water but sadly, I forgot to bring my phone to the pool so no photos.

wheaton regional park

We ventured out to Brookside Gardens one day and made a stop at Wheaton Regional Park first, which is right next door. We met some of our friends there and had a picnic. There is a fantastic playground with a huge artificial hill you can climb on, extra long slides, and a fun climbing structure. They also have a train and a carousel, a nature center, and lots of other fun things.

saturday outing part 2: leesburg animal park

After our visit to Oatlands, we couldn't pass up a trip to the Leesburg Animal Park which was only a few minutes away. The kids loved every minute of our visit. Oliver couldn't get enough of chasing the animals around. He was particularly into grabbing their tails and ears (see video below). The kids were able to go on a pony ride too.

We stopped at Doner Bistro in Leesburg for a delicious dinner. I hadn't had a doner (it's kind of like a gyro) since I was in Switzerland so it was definitely time to revisit this sandwich with its yummy sauce.