Changing Lives

Washington DC always makes for a long day.  We rode the train (exciting if you are a little boy!), saw museums, monuments, and even fit in the zoo!

I'm trying to get the pictures ready..I was planning to try something new.  Amy uses software to get the biggest, most beautiful collages together, and I was thinking I could try (even though I have a Mac!).  It's taking me wayy longer than I thought, so I'll keep working.  We have a super-long drive tomorrow (to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee!), so that should give me time to get them ready. ; )

Here are a few that I really like:

You can't learn anything from experiences you're not having.  -Louis L'Amour (and so..we give our kids experience!) : )

This was a display on medical devices that changed our lives.  Pregnancy tests...and a One-Touch Home Meter.  They've both changed my life.

Mary Claire with Michelle O'Bama's inaugural ball gown-it was beautiful.

The kids on the National Mall with the Capitol Building in the background-but it's all washed out.  (well..I know it's there.) : )

My kids in the National Zoo (sign)!  We are totally the zoo. ; )

And the big ferocious reason we took two extra Metro rides, and walked for a couple extra miles: a real, alive Tiger.  (and suffered at least 5 meltdowns and pee behind a tree on the way there)

Do you already know not to go to DC in the hot, steamy summer?  'Cause if you ask...I'd say to wait till fall.  or Christmas.  or even Easter for the Egg Roll?  Summer is so stinkin' hot!  I love it though, so we persevered.  In thin flip-flops...I gotta take a hint from the tourists and whatever book they read.  I should wear better shoes and a fanny pack.  Bahahahaha..  Not.

At least I didn't wear heels and a Chanel bag (Seriously, people-it's gravel.)  (Did you outlet shop yesterday or something?)

Organic Road Trip

Well, besides the fact that I got to sleep at 9:30 last night! : )  Ches and I are sharing a room with Ethan (yes, Ha.), and he needs it dark, so I go to bed with him.  And he had no nap yesterday.  He did wake up at 10:30 crying like crazy, and I couldn't console him. I think he was still asleep, he couldn't tell me what was wrong or what he needed, he didn't want to get in bed with me-just CRIED!  Ches had to get him (Yes, I had to call him-he was working out)-he can take the loud unrelenting tears.  We finally calmed him down, only to put him in our bed (yes, crying again) at 3.  He stayed till almost 6, and he likes to sleep with his feet shoved in my stomach, and his head perpendicular to me and Ches.  GOod thing it's a king size bed.  We each slept on the outskirts while he took up the big fat, squishy middle.

What a day we had yesterday! : )  Long, but filled.  We started at the Museum of Natural History (well, we started with lunch there in their cafe-they had Organic Peanut Butter and Jelly: bread, Jif, and jelly from an industrial size tub-I don't know what part was organic..oh, maybe the $3) where we saw dinosaur exhibits, dug in sand/dirt for bones and fossils (I just have to post the pictures!), then saw fossils of footprints, lots of body exhibits on DNA, weight/square feet of skin per person, reproduction (with nasty liquid) of vomiting, one of mucus, a huge nose that sneezes every minute or so. Ches was playing with the DNA and finding mutations.  Then we went to the Children's Museum and played farm, planted seeds, collected eggs, played on the fire truck, played in the spider webs and ant holes, saw real snakes/turtles/BIG cockroaches (some hissing), tons more sand with little trucks/sifters, etc, a play house (Mary Claire made a friend and had to go back to say bye), Mary Claire went low and she'd left her meter in the van-Ches had to go get it (she wasn't low), then we went to the IMAX to see Dinosaur in the 3D dome theater.  It was good, not too much for Ethan (he actually made it through!!).  We got some yogurt for snack, and headed to the mall!


Just telling you about it makes me tired again!  I wanted to nap in the car for the 15 minutes or so to the mall, but I (and Mrs. GPS) had to keep Ches on track. Sometimes she tells you 20 feet too late, sometimes 20 too early.  We love it when she's "Recalculating..." then tries to get us back there.  When I'm watching, I read the streets, and I can yell louder than she can.  Then we make it.


So, then to the mall (NorthPark Center) to look for me some pants to wear.  Did I mention in my packing frenzy I forgot to pack my favorite jeans?  I even washed them, hung them to dry (if they shrunk any, I'd have to give them to MC!), and then left them in the clean laundry basket, all nicely folded and ready to wear.  Just not here.  We walked in to Macy's, and Mary Claire spied a dress she LOVED!  I let her try it, and we got it for her Easter dress, and finally found a little sweater for her First Communion.  The boys had all gone to the Lego store, so we went looking for them.  We mapped our way to PF Chang, had dinner (and Ethan loves Lo Mein-shocking!  Beige Spaghetti!)  got bum fortunes, then a tiny bit more shopping (me-jeans, remember??) and Ches went to the Apple store to get a cable to connect his new laptop (just like mine, hmm) to his extra monitor (doubles his screen size!).


So after all that fun, we came back to the hotel and swam until after 8.  What a long day!  The kids were then hungry again, and ate everything they could find.  And we brought a lot since we knew it could be a while, and we might lose everything in our freezer!


Funny: Clay wasn't being so nice (all day), and when he wasn't being nice to Ethan, Ches told him he was banished to Hades (I don't know if he heard), but guess where that was!?? With me-jeans shopping!  We went to this hip store with all young people, and the kids didn't want to go in the dressing room, so they sat in the floor with their treasures.  Clay thought I'd be a long time, so he dumped out his new Lego set-about a hundred pieces!  Then I walked out triumphant after two minutes, ready to go!  He had to scramble around to pick up all those tiny pieces!


Funnier: Yesterday morning Ethan was coughing when he got up.  When I asked him if he was okay, he said, "Yeah, I was coughing up my heart."

Funniest:  Ches was worried about our power being out and losing all our food.  So, he loaded a bunch of cold food into a cooler and a tub, and set them out on the back deck!  He figured the high was only 37, and they'd be covered and packed with snow, therefore colder than our fridge/freezer if they lost power! : )  He said I wouldn't use the ketchup, salsa, etc. if the refrigerator lost power, and our deductible is $500! (which means we'd be buying our own new ketchup...)


Note to Self: Skinny jeans only come in odd numbers (juniors sizes).  Maybe this is a clue that I should not wear them?  I could divide by two and be a teenager.

'Nother Note to Self: Don't dress kids in red, navy, or white to a museum in a big city, especially on a Friday.  There are lots of field trips, and they are mostly private schools. In red, white, and navy.


ps-Slideshow of yesterday is down below! : ) You're welcome, Mom!

DC: Metro, Museums, and Monuments (aka: Blisters, Boys, and Bathrooms)

We have Official Blisters to show that we saw Washington D.C. properly!

Saturday, Washington, D.C.
We got ourselves together, and made the drive to D.C. It was a longer drive than we thought due to traffic. On a map, it’s only 120 miles, but driving it takes much more than two hours! We arrived, checked into our very cool hotel (we were room 1001 on the tenth floor, and at the corner of the triangle shaped building overlooking Thomas Circle. A beautiful roundabout with traffic, people, and great architecture. I took pictures from the balcony, hope they turn out! I haven’t even started to upload the millions I’ve taken!

We went downstairs, walked two blocks to the Metro station, bought tickets, and made ourselves familiar with the “subway/train/monorail” as Ethan called it. Then got off at Smithsonian, and walked the Mall area. We just missed the closing of the Museum of Natural History, so we toured the sculpture garden, outdoor sculptures-very thought provoking, then the Air and Space Museum-out of this world! (heehee) We ate dinner there, then as we came out there was a huge storm blowing up! So we ran-walked to the Metro, took our train back, then had to walk in the rain back to the hotel. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be-we weren’t totally soaked.

We watched the end of the Hulk movie, ordered Chinese (at 9:15pm!), ate again, and then then went to bed. If the kids’ room hadn’t been facing the east, they might have slept in just a bit longer. They were just so tired! It is an invigorating, busy city though. I can see how they don’t want to sleep.

Sunday, Washington, D.C.
We rode the Metro into the Smithsonian Mall area again. We went to the Museum of Natural History first since it was closed yesterday when we showed up. Actually, it wasn’t closed, but you had to get in by 5 or 6, then you had to leave by 7:30 I think. I’ve already forgotten. It’s data you hold in your head as long as it’s important, then it’s gone.

What a fascinating trip. This alone was worth the drive/trip. We saw so much in one day, my head can barely hold it all. All I can say is Clay was in Heaven. He loved everything. He would run from one thing to the next, he made the volunteers and employee guides turn their heads, he couldn’t take it in fast enough. He was the perfect age, and just was amazed. I can’t say enough-I lost him twice and started yelling his name, then got downright mean. I was so worried, and there were sooo many people there!! He could only think of himself. He wants to be a paleontologist, and working for the Smithsonian preparing fossils would be a dream. We encouraged him, but then he’d be far from us. (Kinda scary not knowing what your kids will do when they are grown.)

Anyway, we saw dinosaurs, early plant and animal life, ocean life (and a 32 foot long squid *real* if you can imagine), rocks, minerals, land formations, the Hope diamond and so many more real gemstones it’d make your head spin (all more lovely than the last), insects, birds, ate lunch, saw more, gift shopped, and went out to sit on the grass for some ice cream and decompression.

What we consider relaxation, the kids considered playtime! Clay ran around and chased the pigeons (naughty boy), Ethan peed on the grass (I know, SO Not Okay-he started to have an accident, then sat, pants down (while I was changing his underwear, and finished on the grass), then I insisted on seeing the Lincoln Memorial.

We walked the very long walk from the National Mall past the Washington Monument (truly beautiful, surrounded by flags), and then past the WWII Memorial with the massive slabs for each state and wreaths on each. There is a long walk beside the Reflecting Pool before you actually make it to the Lincoln Memorial. I wonder if they planned for it to be so far away. Anticipation builds as you near it. We stopped a couple times to rest, as it was so very hot. There are some trees, but they only block about half the path from the sun. Clay walked along the water (to be able to tell us about all the duck poop along the sides), which only stressed me a little. After walking along the subway, it wasn’t as death-defying. He was fine (it’s just me). I know he’s growing up, and I’d hounded him so much in the museums, I just had to let his leash out a little.

Emphasis on Museum and Lincoln Memorial Restrooms: What is with the messy bathrooms? Why can’t women sit on the toilet properly? Could they avoid the messes/toilet paper nests (and newspaper nests)? When you balance above the seat, please be courteous and wipe it off afterwards (and flush or trash your nest). I don’t want to sit in the drips. If after I flush, there are no splashy bits on the toilet, that means what was there before me was not toilet spray. Ick. I’ve had to clean the toilets BeFoRe I use them! I’ve seen the nastiest bathrooms in the last day! What a pity for our national city.

We took the elevator up to see Lincoln. It was as great as I’d thought it’d be. He almost glowers over you! I took a close up of his face, and thanked him for all he did. I had to explain to Mary Claire all he did. There were so many people, so it was hard to explain in front of them too, but it was worth it. I photographed the walls, the pillars, the eagles, and then we took photos on the steps out front. It was wonderful. I just insisted, so I was thankful they’d all trekked that far just for Lincoln (and me).

Then we headed north back to catch another Metro towards our hotel. We’ve picked up the luggage, car, and now making our way back to Philadelphia. What a great day! The kids are sound asleep in the back seat, as I type away. The rain held off (but should hit later tonight). I’m just pleased with our trip. Valuable time with family, beach playtime, enriching museum time, and education to boot. Could it get any better? We’re only five days in, but precious time. Thanks for your prayers. I know God heard you (and me too!). I’ll keep you posted.

Tomorrow is Philadelphia-touring: Manayunk (my fave!!), Chestnut Hill, Philly cheese steaks, the Love Statue, Liberty Bell, and maybe Hershey or Crayola? We’ll see what gives in the morning. We can’t do it all. Tuesday night is dinner at Rita’s, and I don’t know about Tuesday day. Hmm..more to come! : )

Say a prayer of thanks for Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and all of our founding fathers for their time and dedication to giving us a land of freedom.