Last week’s buzz about Leesburg’s 4th place ranking on Money magazine’s best small towns list, and the video clip on why kids love Leesburg got me thinking. What do I love about living here? What do my kids love about living here?

No place is perfect, but there are more than a few things I love about living in Leesburg:

• Watching the sun set at Ida Lee
• Community Garden plots where we don’t have to worry about someone stealing our tomatoes
• Live music downtown on summer nights
• Hiking to the Potomac River at Balls Bluff and Red Rock Wilderness Overlook Regional Parks
• Spotting turtles on logs at Olde Izzak Walton park
• The W&OD trail
• The Rust Nature Sanctuary
• The Leesburg Dog Park
• Awesome library system
• Exploring Goose Creek at Kephart Bridge Landing
• Walking or driving through downtown Leesburg

Most of the things on my list are free, but all but one of the kids on the video clip have favorite things about Leesburg that cost money. Did someone coach those kids? Did they put the video together to favor certain businesses and town programs? Or is the slant of their answers determined by the fact that they look like campers at Ida Lee? As a test, I asked my kids what they love about living in Leesburg. They both immediately named chains that we rarely visit and that could be found almost anywhere: Chuck E. Cheese (in Sterling!) and Pump it Up. Hmm… NOT what I would use to talk our town up.

I guess I’d better fess up. I admit I do love spending money at plenty of places in Leesburg:

• The Salvation Army Thrift Store & The Resourceful Woman Thrift Store – I take The Story of Of Stuff pretty seriously…
• Loudoun Learning (It is educational! We get a special exemption to allow for a little materialism, right!?)
• The Farmers Market
• Picking blueberries at Eagletree every year
• Wegmans
• Fireworks Pizza, Aiyara, Thai Pan
• South Street Under, Shoe’s Cup and Cork, King Street Coffee
• Razzle, Milwaukee Frozen Custard, and the newest addition Cultured

(Don’t worry, none of these places paid me to mention them!)

Put my experiential and material lists together, and you have one mom’s somewhat balanced list of what makes Leesburg special. What do you like about living in Leesburg, Virginia?

February is a great time to make snowmen and drink hot chocolate start thinking about summer camp. Dulles Town Center is hosting a summer camp and activities fair on Saturday February 26 and Sunday February 27, 2011. It’s a perfect opportunity for those who wish to meet representatives from many local camps at once.

If you like to do your researching online, here are a few local options to check out:

YMCA Summer Camp

My six year-old tried a week of nature day camp at Camp Highroad last August and he loved it. I signed him up thinking a full day camp experience might be helpful in the transition to first grade, and he came home completely exhausted and missing some item he had taken with him (lunch box, socks, towel, etc.) every day. I’m not sure I’ll send him again, but he can’t wait to go back. They offer before and after care, which allows for working parents to drop off and pick up without taking time away from the office.

Audubon Society Nature Camps

The Audubon Nature Society (ANS) is my go-to source for nature-based early education in the DC Metro area. They offer camps at the Broadlands Nature Center in Ashburn, the Rust Nature Sanctuary in Leesburg, and the Woodend Nature Sanctuary in Chevy Chase, MD. Both my kids enjoyed first camp experiences at the Rust Nature Sanctuary in Leesburg. The camps are small enough to be intimate, true to ANS’ mission of connecting people with nature in the DC Region, are lots of fun, and manage to stay low key enough not to overstimulate and exhaust the average child to the point of meltdown. To preview the ANS style of working with kids, I encourage you to stop by their annual Spring Nature Fair.

Vacation Bible School (VBS)

I know very little about the many vacation bible school options, but from what I hear the local churches often offer summer camps quite cheaply, so if budget and/or faith are a top priority, VBS might be a fit for your family. The following churches have offered vacation bible schools in past years. You can check their websites for 2011 information as summer approaches.

• Ashburn Presbyterian
• Bethel Presbyterian (Leesburg)
• Blueridge Bible Church (Purcellville)
• Cornerstone Chapel, (Leesburg)
• Hamilton Baptist Church
• Loudoun Bible Church (Ashburn)
• Our Saviour’s Way Lutheran Church (Ashburn)
• Purcellville Baptist Church
• St. Francis deSales Catholic Church (Purcellville)
• St. James Episcopal (Leesburg)

There are many other options!

• C3 Cyber Club (Ashburn)
• Destiny Preschool for the Arts (Leesburg)
• Ida Lee Summer Camp (Leesburg)
• Loudoun County (guide available online 3/4/2011 includes camps @ Douglass and Claude Moore)
• Red Gate Farm (Hamilton)
• Sportrock (Sterling, ages 9+)

You can also search the American Camp Association database of ACA accredited camps if you are looking for camps for a specific activity or age group.

Please don’t hesitate to use the comments feature to share your Loudoun County area camp offerings or camp experiences. The more local families who post, the better this resource becomes for all of us!

I wrote about these concerts in greater detail a couple years ago, but just wanted to remind you about them and post a link to this year’s schedule. The end up summer is sneaking up — only five more Wednesday evening concerts left. Enjoy!

8-4-2010 ETA — Blueberry season is long gone in Northern Virginia. Mark your calendars to start looking into local farms next May!

Hooray! It is blueberry picking season again! We picked 10 pounds Saturday morning to restock our freezer and are still eating fresh berries by the handful.  Everyone I know who visits seems to be complaining about the gnats and recommending dryer sheets to keep them away. Otherwise, they still come away raving. We were excited to find a port a potty on site this year… potty access is always a plus on any adventure with little kids.

Here’s the scoop from previous years:

Eagletree Farm & Vineyard
15126 Harrison Hill Lane
Leesburg VA 20176 (map it)
(703) 777‑5954 or
(703) 851‑0699

Loudoun Valleys Office of Rural Economic Development says:

Eagletree is a private setting with a personal touch.

These folks are right. Located off Rt. 15 north of Leesburg — you turn off 15 like you are going to Temple Hall Farm and then follow the U-PICK signs — the setting is so private that I at first felt like I was trespassing in someone’s back yard, but that is exactly what makes the picking experience so wonderful.

Eagletree’s pick your own blueberries are $4 per pound this year and worth every cent. They are tasty and the experience of picking is perfect. I have been twice and both times it was a serene experience. No chaos, no crowds, no shortage of blueberries… just a nice little family experience and some yummy blueberries to boot.

If you are looking to round out your blueberry picking experience with some literature for little people, check out Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal. It’s been a favorite since my childhood… so much so that I feel I am shortchanging my children if I don’t manage to hunt down their little metal buckets so that they can hear their blueberries go “Kerplunk!”

Now that we are fostering a dog I meet local families at adoption day each weekend and some have shared stories of recently losing a pet. I tear up when I hear them. Our wonderful vet is involved in a Pet Remembrance Candle Lighting Ceremony in Leesburg next week, and I offered to help get the word out. The event will be held at St. James’ Episcopal Church (14 Cornwall Street NW Leesburg 20176) at 6:00 P.M. on Friday March 5th. The deadline to include your pet’s photo in the slideshow has passed, but you and your family can still attend to remember a pet together and put a picture of your pet on the Memory Board. Here are some details straight from the flier:

If you have questions you can reach Dr. Krisi Erwin of the Leesburg Veterinary hospital at this email address.

Info about the upcoming Ashburn MOMS Clubs’ preschool forum is quickly spreading through various moms groups throughout the county. The announcement follows.

The MOMS Clubs® of the Ashburn Area are pleased to present:

Ashburn Preschool Forum

Saturday, January 23, 2010
9:00am – 12:00pm
The Mills Recreation Center
43895 Grottoes Drive in Ashburn Village

Are you considering preschool for your child?

Come get the parents’ perspective on our local schools!
Information about the preschools in our area will be available and moms with children in the various schools will be speaking about their personal experience with the teachers and schools.
Open to ALL Ashburn Area parents!

For more information, please contact MOMSClub@tjdjmail. com

**** We’re currently looking for parents of children in the preschools to speak at the forum. This is the 4th year we’ve held the forum and the people attending always seem very grateful to have some “inside knowledge” about the schools.
Here are the schools we hope to include at the forum, so if you’d like to volunteer to speak for about 5 minutes about your experience with one of these schools please email momsclub@tjdjmail. com. We also hope to have some of the special needs programs represented so if you are willing to share your experience with those we’d love to have you. Your participation would be very much appreciated!

A Child’s Place Preschool
Arcola Christian Preschool
Ashburn Children’s Center
Ashburn Village Country Day School
Audubon Nature Preschool
Bean Tree Learning
The Boyd School
Briar Woods Early Learning Lab (Preschool at the Woods)
Broad Run Early Learning Lab
Busy Bees (Kari Vance)
Celebration
Chesterbrook Academy
Christian Fellowship School
Classroom of Discovery
Claude Moore Preschool (formerly Sterling Annex)
Discovery Oaks Academy
Dulles South Preschool
Fit 2 Learn
Goddard School (Belmont Greene)
Goddard School (Ashburn)
Golden Pond
Growing Minds (Judi Ratcliffe)
Heaven Sent Christian Preschool
Hope Christian Preschool
Kids Under Construction
KinderCare Learning Center
KinderWorks in Brambleton (formerly Winwood)
Little Learners Academy
Little Sprouts Preschool
Loudoun Country Day School
Minnieland
Montessori Academy at Belmont Greene
Montessori Children’s House of Loudoun
My Favorite Place Preschool
Open Arms Christian Child Development Center
School of Spanish (Magnolia Inmon)
Sha’are Shalom Rosie Uran Jewish Education Center
South Riding Children’s Center
St. David’s Episcopal Preschool
Sterling Annex Preschool
Stone Bridge Early Learning Lab
Virginia Academy/Ark Preschool
Willow Montessori
Winnie the Pooh
Winwood Children’s Center

]]> http://activefamilyservices.com/blog/2010/01/09/ashburn-moms-club-annual-preschool-forum/feed/ 5 http://activefamilyservices.com/blog/2009/12/03/new-skate-park-opens-on-dec-12-2009-in-south-riding/ http://activefamilyservices.com/blog/2009/12/03/new-skate-park-opens-on-dec-12-2009-in-south-riding/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:54:01 +0000 admin http://activefamilyservices.com/blog/?p=1165

I just received this email from Loudoun County and thought I would share. My kids have always loved stopping to watch the skateboarders at the Catoctin Skate Park in Leesburg and are hoping to skate with the big kids someday soon. Maybe your kids feel the same way?

The Loudoun County Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services and the South Riding Proprietary are pleased to announce the opening of the new Dulles South Skate Park on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.

The skate facility represents a collaborative effort by the county and the homeowners’ association to provide safe recreational skateboarding opportunities for community youth. The original concept, presented to the public in August 2008, called for skate spots along a planned trail near the Dulles South Multipurpose Center. An alternative location adjacent to the center was later identified, which required only minimum site preparations, and a new design was created by SITE Design Group, Inc. of Solana Beach, California.

The 5,600 square-foot park accommodates skateboards, inline skates, and non-motorized scooters with concrete features including ramps, rails, stairs, stacked ledges, floating quarter pipes, and a pump bump.

Under a memorandum of understanding, the South Riding Proprietary assumed one hundred percent of the costs associated with construction of the skate area. California Skateparks from Upland, California was the general contractor on the project. The property is owned by the county, which will be responsible for the maintenance, operation, oversight, and administration of the facility.

The Dulles South Multipurpose Center is located at 24950 Riding Center Drive.

For more information, call 703–777-0343 or visit www.southriding.net.

The annual Bluemont fair is coming up again this weekend (9–19 & 20). Here’s the scoop from two years ago. Please remember to check their website for this year’s details!

The Monroe Technology Center in Leesburg is holding its fall plant sale this week!

I am a failure as a gardener, but the plants I bought at MTC’s spring plant sale held up better than the rest of my attempts. I have found the students, staff and volunteers working past plant sales to be courteous and helpful. Most importantly I enjoy the feeling of community I get from buying my plants at a local high school rather than a large overwhelming box store and my kids love pulling the wagons around and helping me choose a couple plants.

Don’t forget to bring cash or a checkbook!

While you are in the neighborhood I highly recommend a stop at the Rust Nature Sanctuary at the end of Children’s Center Road. It has been beautiful lately!

Here’s the scoop as shared on their website and mailing:

Monroe Technology Center (MTC) will hold its annual Fall Plant Sale from Wednesday, September 16th through Friday, September 18th. The hours of the sale will be

•  10 am — 8 pm on Sept 16th
•  10 am — 6 pm on Sept 17th
•  10 am — 5 pm on Sept 18th

Proceeds from the sale will go to scholarships for MTC students.

Plants for sale include:

• Mums
• Hardy Winter Pansies
• Fall Perennials
• Trees
• Shrubs

MTC is located at: (map it)
715 Children’s Center Road
Leesburg, VA  20175

I did not get around to working Regal’s Free Summer Movies into our summer schedule until their final weeks. This left my children with a taste of the movie theater and a hankering for more. Luckily, the folks at Tally Ho in Leesburg know school hasn’t started yet, and have us covered with their $1 Kids Summer Cinema series which they have extended through September 3rd.

Space Chimps is showing this coming Tuesday through Thursday at 11am, and Ice Age will be showing at the same times the following week. If you are not sure if either movie is appropriate for your kids I suggest checking the reviews over at Kids in Mind.

Here’s a sneak peak at the inside of the theater as of July 2008:

the movie is only $1, but you have to walk past this to get into the theater…

… and this!

then you get to sit in chair like this!