Repatriating Our Clan

Ever since the Olympics opening ceremony, when our kids cheered loudly and exuberantly for the South Korean team instead of the Americans, My Man and I have been looking for opportunities to remind our children that, while we loved our time in South Korea, we are proud to be Americans. 

This Saturday was the perfect opportunity.  Soon after we got here, I started looking into setting up a White House tour.  It's gotten a bit more complicated over the years!  Funny Guy and I were reading a Magic Treehouse book about Abraham Lincoln a few days ago, and it talked about how anyone could just walk into the White House and try to talk to the president.  It's definitely not that easy anymore!  You have to contact your congressman (or woman) and request a tour from them.  Then they have to get a bunch of information from you, do background checks, and set up the tour time.  All of this must be done at least 30 days prior to the date you want the tour.  Then to get in to the tour, you have to walk through several checkpoints where they check your ID against the approved guest list, have you walk through a metal detector and past a K9 unit.  Phew!  But it was fun to go inside.  The kids regaled us with interesting trivia about the White House such as, "Did you know there are 35 bathrooms?" and "Wow, the only thing that survived the fire in 1814 was the painting of George Washington that Dolly Madison saved!"  We also thought it was pretty cool that the First Lady's portrait, though hanging in the Red room several rooms away from the East room where the George Washington painting hangs, has a direct line of sight to George Washington.  There was no picture taking allowed during the tour.  I was tempted to snap one of the kids looking especially cute but Darling Daughter was shocked when  I pulled out my phone and blocked the picture, vehemently insisting I follow the rules. 

After the White House tour, we headed over to the National Archives where we got to see the original Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, among other things. 

It was really amazing to see the documents that made such an impact on our history.  Again, no pictures allowed inside.

Afterward, it was getting late and everyone was starving so we headed out to look for some lunch.  As we were walking past the Natural History Smithsonian, however, Funny Guy realized he hadn't had enough time inside last time we went.  Everyone else groaned--they were too hungry to even think about another museum!  But Funny Guy said he would rather go to the museum than eat, so we split up and I took him in while My Man took the other kids to go have lunch.  As we were walking in, Funny Guy said, "Thanks Mom!  I really love nonfiction, 'cuz it's real, and this museum is FULL of nonfiction!!"  I sure love this kid. 

We wandered through the gem stones exhibit where Funny Guy was amazed to see all the beautiful and varied minerals and crystals on display.  Then we browsed a beautiful exhibit of the 2012 winners of the Windland Smith Rice International photography awards (you can see the photographs here--they are stunning, especially in the huge printouts the Smithsonian has up!).  Then Funny Guy asked to go see the insects and mummies (his favorite from last time).  He also talked me into getting tickets to go into the butterfly room.  It was so beautiful.  The butterflies are huge and flying all around.  Not many land long enough to get good pictures, but it's so magical.  Funny Guy was hoping one would land on him but even though he was very good at pretending to be a flower, none did.

Finally, after almost two hours, Funny Guy relented and said we could go home if I promised we could come back again soon. :-)

Field Trip!

Friday was a "professional development" day, so the kids were out of school. Seriously, between snow days and holidays and professional development days, the kids haven't had many actual school days the past two weeks!  But they aren't complaining.  Friday was a beautiful sunshiny day perfect for a field trip, so I wasn't complaining either. 

We'd arranged to meet friends in at the American Indian Smithsonian.  We missed our first subway by about 10 seconds (little did we know that would be the theme for the day . . .) so we got to hang out with all the serious commuters heading into DC.

The train was totally packed and I had the only kids in sight.  We stood out from the commuters like the thing in the picture that doesn't belong. It was a pretty long ride standing, but despite quite a bit of sibling jostling and a few dirty looks from business suit clad, coffee drinking professionals, we made it through the morning rush hour crowd and to the museum, even a few minutes early.  (It was only about two blocks from the Federal Center orange metro stop; turn left after you come out to the street.)  Both friends who drove had trouble finding parking so I was glad we used the metro.

The American Indian Smithsonian a beautiful museum (architecturally) and filled with wonderful exhibits.  There is a great kids area on the third floor called "ImagiNation" with lots of hands-on exhibits, including basket weaving, kayaking, a skateboarding video game, an art center, and more.  It was geared toward kids a bit younger than Young Man, but Funny Guy and Darling Daughter absolutely loved it (probably best for kids ages 3-8).

After that we enjoyed wandering through more exhibits of beautiful artifacts, pottery, masks, etc.  On the fourth floor, there is a beautiful exhibit that is dark with stars all over the ceiling and several movies about Native American life.  It was great.

After that, we said goodbye to our friends and had a picnic lunch (we brought our own, but I've heard that the cafeteria there is really great) before heading over to the Air & Space Smithsonian.

There we were excited to touch an actual moon rock.  Some of our favorite displays included the Wright Brothers exhibit (where the original Wright Flyer 1 is on display), the Apollo exhibit, and the observatory where scientists showed the kids actual equipment they are using to study the sun.  It was especially interesting to see how different filters affected the sun's image.

We didn't have time Friday, but there are also IMAX shows, a planetarium, and flight simulators.  When we were finally done exploring all the exhibits, the kids headed to the gift shop where they had trouble deciding what to spend their money on.  Funny Guy found a Boxcar Children Mystery set in Washington, DC, which we read all the way home on the metro (and while we were waiting for the next subway after we got there in time to watch ours pull away).  Every mention of something we've seen here sends him into exultant enthusiastic exclamations:  "I'VE BEEN THERE!!!"  "WE JUST SAW THAT!!!!!!!" etc. It's great.

We got home just before My Man returned from his three-day offsite team building exercise in West Virginia.  It was fun to hear about all his adventures and to have him back.  He's halfway through orientation now and we're less than two weeks from Flag Day!  Amazingly the kids weren't too tired, so we went outside and played baseball, then hide-and-go seek in the dark until bedtime, taking full advantage of the unseasonably warm weather.

It's a good thing we did because it's already raining and sleeting again today. :-)

Martin Luther King Day

Monday was a beautiful winter day and we had the pleasure of spending it in Washington, D.C., at the national mall.  First we walked down toward the Washington Monument (which is unfortunately closed for renovations).

The WWII monument was next and the kids loved reading the quotes etched into the walls.  It's a beautiful monument.

The monument everyone wanted to see most, however, was the Lincoln Memorial.

It was the perfect place to be on such an important holiday, and as we stood where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech and considered the incredible impact of one courageous leader, I was moved.

Reading Lincoln's Gettysburg Address from the wall of his monument was equally moving.  Our kids were surprised by the emotion in my voice as I choked up, reading those powerful words.  I hope they felt something of the awe and respect that I feel for that great man and president.

We then walked through the Vietnam Memorial, where we learned that more than half of those MIA have now been identified, including the remains of the soldier who used to reside in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery.

We then walked to the edge of the White House property where the kids were excited to see the president's house for the first time.

By then, we were already running out of time, so we hurried over to the Natural History Smithsonian.  Wow.  I visited the Smithsonians many years ago, but I'd forgotten their scope.  We barely had time to scratch the surface of all that was there and can't wait to go back.

We enjoyed exploring the dinosaur exhibit, the Hope diamond, and the mummies.  Finally we had to drag the kids away, promising to return soon.  It wasn't nearly enough time, but we had tickets to the NBA Wizards vs 76ers game with My Man's A-100 class.  On the way, we passed several street musicians.  Our favorite was this jazz ensemble right outside the basketball game.

The game was fun (Wizards dominated and won), but my favorite part was when we asked Funny Guy if he was having fun.  He'd been dancing to the music and glued to the game so we thought he'd say YES!  Instead he said, "Not really--I liked the museums the most."  That's my boy!

All in all, it was a fantastic day--beautiful, interesting, and fun.  And maybe the best part?  Finding out that the next day instead of heading back to work and school, we got a snow day!