Aunt Sandy Visits Us

Thanksgiving week was quite busy, but very fun for us. My sister Sandy came up to Maryland to visit with us. She is so brave !! She drove more than 10 hours with just her and two little ones, Connor and baby Kaylee. They all did awesome!!

Sandy arrived on Sunday and on Monday we started our DC tour. On Tuesday we headed down town to visit the Natural History Museum. Connor wanted to see animals and since it rained the whole time they were up we were not able to go to the zoo. He saw stuffed animals and animal bones at the museum. He liked this but most of all I think he liked the dino bones!! After we finished the Natural History Museum we stopped by Air and Space to see some airplanes and spaceships. Connor really liked this.

Again on Wednesday it was raining so we thought it a good idea to visit the Aquarium. Connor got to see live fish. He enjoyed that. Then we stopped by the American History Museum to see things like the preserved flag and C3PO.

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, we headed for Ga. We made it in record time. We only stopped once to fill up with gas and potty!!

We enjoyed our time with Aunt Sandy, but most of all the boys enjoyed having Connor and Baby Kaylee around.

On Saturday, November 14 was our big appointment tour day. We had to have reservations to see the White House and the Capitol. So we started our day off at the White House at 9 am. We walked though the Red, Blue, Green Rooms. We also walked through the Senate Dinning Room. We were not allowed to take pictures in the White House. So there goes that scrapbook page. I guess we will have to rely on our memories, which is fading the older I get. Ha Ha ha

Our tour time for the Capitol started at 2pm. They allowed us to take pictures, YEA!!! We enjoyed our tour and our to guide. She was very informative and entertaining. At the end of our tour we were allowed to sit in on the Senate as they debated on the Health Care Bill. This was a very historic day, we were so glad that we were able to observe this in progress.

We had a full informative day !! There is still so much more to see. More for another weekend.

Aunt Gladys Turkeys

When we were kids Aunt Gladys Sunday School Class always made apple turkey’s during Thanksgiving time. We never really ate them , but they were fun to make. I thought it would be a great idea for our boys and their friends to make Aunt Gladys’ Thanksgiving Turkeys.
Sunday was a beautiful day here in Maryland. The sun was out, the thermometer was up. Great evening for a grill out. Johnny threw the burgers on the grill and the neighbors all chipped in whatever they had. Dinner was great. Our small little apartment held 5 families. It was great !!!! We all enjoyed hanging out.
After dinner we got all the kids together for a Turkey making. First we put raisins and dried cranberries on tooth picks, we made 4 of these, topped with baby marshmallows which were used for the turkeys feathers. Then we took a big marshmallow, stuck a candy corn in it for a beak and 2 raises for eyes then attached the head to the apple with a toothpick. Now Aunt Gladys use to use an olive for the head, but I thought a Marshmallow would be a little sweeter.
To finish the night off we roasted the rest of the Turkey Head Marshmallows to make smores. YUM !!! YUM!!! YUM!!! Of course living here in the city we can not have a bon fire sooooo we just roasted then over our little grill. Great ending to a super night!!

Navy Tour

What a great Saturday !! No rain !!! It has rained up here all week long. Today was a cloudy day but no rain. We hopped on the Metro and rode down to the Navy Yard. The boys attended a class at the Navy Museum. They learned about submarines and made a periscope. After the class we walked around the Navy Museum. The boys climbed on and played in submarines. They loved pushing buttons and pulling leavers, but their favorite part was looking out a real periscope and honking the sub horn.
We also were able to walk aboard a real USS ship. We saw all sorts of different rooms. We saw the bunk room, the galley and even were able to go into the control room and turned the stern.
Our little friend, Owen tagged along with us today. That is the extra little guy in our pictures.

Home school day at the Colonial Farm

On November 3 we went to a Colonial Farm that is not far from us. The farm was hosting an eco friendly day and invited the local homeshooler. The boys learned about compost, recycling and how to make our earth a little nicer looking. Now they want a compost bin out side, the worm kind. They thought that was just too cool, letting worms eat our trash. But of course they did not like it when the man said what you have left is ‘worm poop’.
After we learned about making our earth a little ‘Greener’, we took a tour of the working Colonial Farm. This experience was eye opening, and I am so thankful for our nice warm modern homes. We were able to watch the Colonial mother spin on her spinning wheel. She also was cooking in the ‘kitchen’, which was a small building away from the house. This looked like a hard life, although these people knew no difference. I am so thankful that God our Father allowed me to live in this day and time.