Washington DC, Part 3

The day we went to the Jefferson Memorial & the Nat'l Building Museum, we also dropped by the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Museum of American History. They are right next to each other. I asked the kids what they liked best and the girls said the Hope diamond (see photo at left), and Thomas liked the Invention at Play exhibit (more on this below). Wayne and I both were impressed at the sight of the Star Spangled Banner; the American flag that inspired Frances Scott Key to write our national anthem during the war of 1812. The flag on display at the museum is awe inspiring. If you have some time, check out THIS interactive site. You can click on different spots of the flag and learn about how it was made, preserved, etc. The preservation and restoration of the flag is amazing. Check out the preservation project HERE. Picture #15 shows how the Star Spangled Banner is on display today. The national anthem words constantly move like a telepromter against the back wall; a truly beautiful and moving exhibit.

We also enjoyed visiting the exhibit dedicated to one of our favorite chefs, the legendary Julia Child. You can see the kitchen HERE. For all of her fame and talent, it's quite practical and functional, from the magnet covered fridge to the pegboard wall. Part of the exhibit is a constant showing of The French Chef. We stopped and watched her roast a pig (the ENTIRE pig) like it was as common as a baked potato. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Julia....

"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook."

"The measure of achievement is not winning awards. It's doing something that you appreciate, something you believe is worthwhile. I think of my strawberry souffle. I did that at least twenty-eight times before I finally conquered it."

Paleontologist Thomas guided us through the dinosaur exhibit, and a few other exhibits we enjoyed were the Lincoln, geology, and Invention at Play exhibits. At the center of the Invention at Play exhibit the kids and Wayne learned to wind surf...Wesley ended up on his back, but thought the ride was hilarious.

Can you tell our stop at the Gunboat Philadelphia was our last stop and last photo of the day?! Why the saluting? No idea. I'm sure Caroline is still showing her displeasure with us that we failed to lift her onto the dinosaur femur.

We DID cram 3 Smithsonians, and one monument into the day though. Even after a full day, we clearly didn't put a dent into all there is to do and see at the Mall and around DC. We'll just have to come back!

FYI....several of the Smithsonian museums have interactive and/or online tours of their exhibits. I put THIS link on a toolbar bookmark for the kids to go visit at their leisure.

Final thoughts about our family vacation:

Thanks to Mari I am now a confident cake pop baker maker dipper. We had a ball making cake pops Saturday night while Julee slaved away at her RS newsletter. I loved visiting with my SIL's... making party preparations, cake pops, out and about, and just hanging around. I loved time spent with my brothers too. I'm happy to see their lives so full off good things; blessings abound. They are both doting fathers and honestly good husbands. Sunday Dan hollared from the bathroom, "A little help here!" By the time I got over there, Julee & Mari were laughing in the doorway, Julee with her camera in tow, and Dan was standing there with naked Ceseley in his arms. Poor Dan; before he could get Ceseley in the bathtub she pee-ed all down his shirt and all over the floor. Sorry, Dan, but that this happened to you made it all the funnier.

I also love how our families genuinely enjoy being together. I think it was Saturday when the boys were playing the X-Box and baby Ceseley began to cry. Dan got up to pause the game so he could go get his babe. Thomas groaned and said, "Uncle Dan, you can't pause life." So true! So, we make the most of our time together and love our family beyond measure.

Thanks again for everything, Adam & Mari. We loved our visit with our DC & VA family!

Surprise!!!!

To say that my brothers married well is a huge understatement. I love my sister-in-laws like I love my sisters. They are so thoughtful.... Case in point, as we were hatching our plan to drive down to MD to visit Adam, Mari & Des, and Julee, Dan & Ceseley, Mari said that she and Julee thought a surprise "Un-Birthday" party for the cousins was in order. Since being there for our nieces' and nephews' birthdays is challenging, we would just celebrate while we were together. Genius! We blew up balloons, Julee made yummy "Bunny Munch", cupcakes, mini cakes to be decorated by the kids, and came up with some super fun old school party games. Remember the clothes pin drop, pin the tail on the donkey, croquet, and using a water gun to shoot a ball off it's mark? Mari had a prize bucket filled with $1 bin goodies; everyone got something. Nicest moment of the party: Thomas won a prize and chose a Matchbox car to give to Wesley for his upcoming birthday. The punch balls were a favorite item.

It was hard to narrow down the 300+ photos Julee took, but here's a good representation of the kids' memorable Un-Birthday Party. If you don't want the music on, just click on the volume at the top and it will mute. Enjoy...

Icing on the cake was the big reveal at the end of the party....a wheelbarrow full of water balloons. Game on!

Look out Thomas! Christina seems to be enjoying Thomas' fate.

Yikes....there's actual proof that we're mean parents.

Wesley tried so hard to reach the balloons..."A little help here!"

Look out, Wesley's in the game!

Apparently mom is fair game...

THANKS Aunt Mari and Aunt Julee for being the amazing aunts that you are! We love you & we love your hubbies and darling babes too.

Thank you for giving us cause for celebration.

We had a BLAST!

Washington, DC, Part 2

We started off the day with a family photo at the beautiful DC temple. The grounds were beautiful! We loved the tulips and the kids loved the fountain.

Next we headed off to the Smithsonian National Zoo. By the time we got there it was 90+ degrees outside. We met up with ACE, Mari & D, ate our sack lunches, and started our trek through the zoo. Is there any other way to describe a trip to the zoo? We definitely got our workout. We saw pandas, birds, the making of the future elephant habitat, gorillas, zebras, monkeys, beavers, sea lions, & more, smelled the zoo smells and called it good..

Thomas thought the owls were pretty cool. There were several kinds there.

Grace loved the flamingos.

We all thought that the bald eagles were amazing, especially so close up.

Wesley really wanted to swim with the ducks. Did I mention it was in the 90's?

After a couple of hours of walking around in the heat, we were done. We walked back to the entrance with tots crying because their legs were tired and they just wanted to go back to ACE & Mari's. We let them vent, walked as fast as we could, traded piggy back rides for the little girls, took turns carrying Wes, and found the spirit to say "hi" to any animals we saw on the way out. What a sight.

We piled in the car and made a quick stop at 7-Eleven for Slurpee's. So perfect! The kids sipped away in silence as Wayne and I quietly plotted our next outing. Mean parents, I know, but in our defense our destination, the National Air and Space Museum over by Dulles Airport does have air conditioning. That, and the drive from the zoo was just long enough for us to get a bit of relief from the heat and long walk, up hill both ways at zoo. By the time we arrived at the Air and Space Museum (& parked for FREE since it was after 4pm) 1 of our 5 kids was ready to smile again for the camera. Thanks, Thomas! We walked in the museum and our jaws hit the floor. The girls seem to be timid about showing their excitement in these photos, but deep down they were just as impressed as the rest of us. Seriously....what a great museum! It doesn't trump the Air & Space Museum at the Nt'l Mall, but it definitely is worth seeing as well. I'm sure we'll be back to spend more time there.

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk - WWII

Under the Space Shuttle!

The space shuttle Enterprise...

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird which was developed during the Cold War and is still holds the record for altitude and speed.

The Enola Gay- aircraft used to drop the first atomic bomb.

The kids are standing in front of the Concorde and under scores of all sorts of different planes.

One of Amelia Earhart's flight suits.

Reproduction of one of the Wright Brothers' planes

Here are the best airplane moves we could muster after two days of museums, monuments, a zoo, and a temple. Our pocket books didn't feel much of anything, but boy we were ready to call it a day.

Little do the kids know the surprise awaiting them in the morning....

Washington, DC, Part 1

We crammed quite a bit into 3 days in DC. Our budget is tight right now, so we chose to visit several of the Smithsonian museums and the Jefferson Memorial, which we hadn't walked through yet. I love that in DC there are so many free activities and sites (we even avoided parking fees for most of our outings). We took loads of photos, so I'm going to break them up into several blog posts over the next few days.

First off, we visited the National Building Museum with Aunt Mari, Uncle ACE, & cousin Des. The kids' "building zone" has a play house, giant soft Legos, plush tools, a reading corner, and more. There was a huge craft fair going on that took up space in the museum where the older kids can usually actually build a life-size arch. Mari & I walked through the Richard Ross photography exhibit and on our way out we did a quick walk through of the DC exhibit.

Caroline trying encourage fellow builder, Des to build...something, anything!

Caroline, showing cousin Des how to build a tower...to be knocked down, of course.

Grace & Caroline played dress-up....of course.

Wesley, peaking out of the window of the playhouse...

Wesley spent most of his time with this yellow truck. When he was done playing around he begged to leave....with the truck.

Between the indoor columns with intricate detailing at the top, and the carved trim around the perimeter of the building, the architecture of this museum is beautiful.

From there we headed over to the Tidal Basin to see the Jefferson Memorial and the cherry blossoms.

I love this picture of Wesley...this was a signature Wesley "No, I will not hold your hand" move, and the blur captures the photographer (moi) trying to keep up.

You can read all of the Thomas Jefferson quotes found at the Jefferson Memorial HERE.

Two handsomes...

Grace & Caroline had Wayne sandwiched for much of the walk back to the car.

Gotta love being a daddy!

...and I got to see some cherry blossoms. For a gorgeous photos of the cherry blossoms in full bloom during the DC cherry blossom festival, check out my friend, Macy's photographs HERE. We {heart} DC!