McCrillis Gardens

The hotel we stayed at in Bethesda had odd swimming hours (6am-10am and 4pm-8pm) so on Thursday when I had the girls to myself all day while Ryan was at his conference I researched something fun and free to do in the Bethesda area. 

So I discovered...

 McCrillis Gardens.

It is a home that sits on a large lot and is beautifully maintained. It was eventually donated to the Maryland National Parks Commission so that the public could enjoy the beauty of it.

We were so excited to go in.

Sarah asked me right at the front gate to take her picture by these "Beeeeautiful fowers"

As I was trying to get Abby to get in the picture as well we pleasantly discovered this fuzzy brown and black caterpillar (just follow where Sarah is looking, it is on the underside of a leaf).

With all of the tall trees, and the overcast day it was the perfect setting for lots and lots of pictures.

Sarah cooperated so well.

Abby... not so much. She had a cold, and was sort of being miss I'm-grumpy-and-don't-want-to-listen-or-do-anything-mom-says pants.

Here is the best I got...

Any halfway decent shot of Abby... was the one shot Sarah wasn't looking. *sigh*

They had several pavillions and gazeboes in the garden.

Here is my attempt at getting a shot of the three of us together. 

Don't those trees in the background look great... they're at least in focus. 

This is such a sweet picture, and you can really see that Abby wasn't herself.

The one and only smile of the day
(that I caught on camera, she did enjoy running around the paths of the gardens)

I LOVED this mossy gazebo. It made me think of Ryan's G'ma June. 

He promised her to build her a gazebo one day... I'm sure once we settle down and own a home, there will be a similar gazebo built in our backyard dedicated to G'ma June. 

Do you think I can get it delivered pre-mossy? I just love the moss!

Sarah is such a great big sister. 

The following shots were more like this, Sarah being oblivious and Abby picking the petals off of this hydrangea and throwing them at Sarah. 

CHEESE!!!

I wanted to get a picture of this hosta with gianormous leaves. They were seriously bigger than my face... of course it was at this point that Sarah informed me that she had to go potty and couldn't hold it any longer.  

So we ran to a potty... and she was right... she couldn't hold it any longer. 

Of course, I didn't have a spar anything for her in the car.

*sigh*

The joys of being a mom. 

It was a beautiful afternoon, I loved being outside in the cool fall air and letting the girls run around and explore the gardens. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be, but it was still beautiful. I hope that maybe we'll be in the DC area at the time of spring or early summer to see it in full bloom. I bet it is breath taking.