At the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department

We spent the afternoon climbing up and down fire trucks, in and out of an ambulance, and through a medivac helicopter. To a little kid? That's about the coolest thing ever.

Today was the open house at the Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department. The fire station down Georgia Avenue that we pass every day without much thought puts on a fantastic annual event. This wasn't our first year visiting, and I'm sure we'll be back.

The kids loved the red firefighter hats and badges they received, as well as the lollipops and coloring books and running through the smoke maze and operating a real fire hose. It was a wonderland of fun for them and they absorbed good safety lessons, perhaps without realizing so.

And for us, the grownups? We spent the afternoon among the rescue workers that keep our community safe, and other happy families enjoying the autumn day. Just another nice feature of living in Olney.