In Reflection.

We have been home for five days and have barely had time to think about our trip. We all enjoyed ourselves and we were all ready to get back home.

It is an amazing experience to travel to our nation's capitol. Where all the *stuff* happens. It was interesting watching the news with Archer the other night and he said "Hey, we were there" (in reference to the Capitol building). I think now, even more than when we were there, is when the real learning happens. This is when it all starts to connect, to come together. Reflection, remembering, connecting - that is learning, that is how this experience (the trip) will affect him for his whole life. Fabulous isn't it?

Air & Space MuseumSteering a plane. Harder than it looks evidently.
Loving this picture...My guys.
The fountain at the National Gallery. I loved this when I was back there (14 years old).
GamesWorkshop. 'Nuf said.
at the George Mason Memorial.
Monkeying around at the National Zoo. Go to the website. It has quite a bit of information for parents, kids, and teachers.

Almost home...

We are at the hotel, packing up for an early morning departure. No photos tonight. I will post some that as of yet have not been seen sometime when we get home. We are looking forward to getting in to Bellingham around 1:30 p.m. (pacific time) and heading home to our kitties, our beds, our lives. We are ready. We came, we saw, we walked and walked; now we are ready to be home...back to reality. As Dorothy said, "There is no place like home." (We did get to see Dorothy's red shoes and the Scarecrow today - while the American History Museum is closed til next year they had a small exhibit at the Flight Museum).

More on our adventures later. See you at home! :)

Boy day!

And boy what a boy day it was. We rented a car and drove up to Maryland, past Baltimore to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds to the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum. It was like a little piece of heaven for Troy. Tanks tanks everywhere and guns as far as the eye could see (well...almost). I reallly haven't seen so many tanks in my entire life. Maybe I never will again. :)




We ended the day by visiting the Games Workshop headquarters. They changed their hours (but not on their website) and were not actually open today. However we met a nice man who got them to open up for us and Troy and Archer were able to do a bit of shopping and looking around at all the cool stuff! Fun times!


Tomorrow we hope to see the Declaration of Independence and eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. We are looking forward to going home. Getting back to our real lives. This has been fun, but fun can only last so long. Archer even wants to go back to school. I think mostly to see his friends - he has been stuck with his parents all week :).

National Zoo

As you might be able to tell today we went to the National Zoo. We took the Metro up to the zoo and spent about six hours exploring. It was 75 degrees today, the zoo was busy, but it was great! Favorites were the water animals - bevers, river otters - they weren't too warm to be active. Archer really enjoyed seeing the pandas (the only ones in the U.S.) and the sloth bear, who has issues - he paces constantly. We met a volunteer who is keeping records on the bear and his pacing. Very interesting. We really enjoyed the volunteers at the zoo who were very informative and friendly. They were available at almost every exhibit to talk about the animals and some even had objects, such as skulls, to share. Here is a sampling of our zoo pictures. I didn't write by each one as I am tired and most are self explanatory...If you have any questions let me know.

Tomorrow we are renting a car and are off to Baltimore. Yes, I said Baltimore, I know don't be jealous. Evidently Baltimore houses the headquarters for Games Workshop! Fascinating! We are also going to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, a tank museum. This is obviously all boy stuff. I am just along for the ride! Fun times!

D.C. in Pictures

The Backyard Habitat at the U.S. Botanic Gardens. I thought this was just a wonderful slice of heaven in a very busy city. Reminded me of being at home in my mom's yard.
The U.S. capitol. Where all the *stuff* happens.
We went back to the Einstein Memorial today because Troy hadn't seen it. It was fantastic. On the floor is a map of the constellations as they were in the sky on the date the statue was dedicated. Very cool.
Still a few cherry blossoms!
Artwork at the FDR Memorial Park.
Climbing the "I Hate War" blocks at the FDR Memorial Park.
Mrs. Roosevelt and I.
So true. (Thomas Jefferson)
On the walk across the tidal basin of the Potomac River to the Jefferson Memorial.
I know this one is sideways but it kinda reminded us of Alex. (I love you little brother!) These were all over...kept reminding us of Alex for some reason...I dunno.
Natural History Museum. Troy's favorite dinosaur.
I think this squirrel just poses for pictures all day long. Really. He moves, holds the pose for a bit then moves again. Stinkin' adorable.
My "thinkers"

D.C. - Day 2

We went to the Spy Museum, which was ultra cool, however "no pictures allowed," so I snapped this of the FBI building...makes me think of Mulder and Scully. I don't remember seeing the FBI building last time I was here, but this wasn't overly impressive...I wanted HUGE, BLACK, SCARY! Nope, just another big building in D.C.Another trip to the E.S.P.N. Zone. I think it will be our last, as now Troy isn't working and we will have more of a 'plan.'
This one is for Lorinda...Archer and I found at least 20 Starbucks by now. We have gone to several as well. It is like being back home...The Albert Einstein memorial. This was impressive, far bigger than we thought it was going to be. I have a better pic of 'Arch and Al' but the whole rotating pictures thing is messing with me. Archer really enjoyed this one. He has a fascination with Einstein. The monument in itself is pretty cool. The floor is a map of the constellations...Archer had to point that out to me...I had no clue. We were able to identify several constellations, however we got there early in the morning, so the floor was still wet and had many leaves, etc on it.
Some may recall that back in October Archer studied Einstein and portrayed him in a class project. On our way to town as we crossed over the freeway...

D.C. Update

Greeting from Washington D.C.

Here are a few pictures of the first day of our trip. I will try to get some pics up of today, but it is getting late and we need dinner. We have seen a lot and walked a lot.
There have been quite a few street closures and today Archer and I saw a motorcade on Constitution Avenue (many motorcycle cops, some black vehicles - Secret Service?, and a limo...hmmm...)
Archer really enjoyed the E.S.P.N. Zone. We had lunch there for two days. Downstairs there is an arcade and he played many games. I think he drives a motorcycle like Alex though...
Korean War Memorial. These faces are carved into the wall. It is very neat to see.
World War II Memorial. This one was very cool as well. It was very large, with a water feature in the middle as well as the outsides. Archer's favorite was the Washington Monument, I have pictures, howevern they will not stay rotated and post correctly on Troy's computer.

Until next time...

Here!

Here we are in wonderful WashingtonD.C. It seems as if getting pictures on here may be a little difficult, so am not sure if we will or not! We are having fun. Seeing sites. Walking alot. Troy is working and evidently a bit disagreeable! :)

Will update more later!

Ready

Bags are packed. Animal care is taken care of. Mail is stopped. I think we are ready for our grand adventure. I will let you know when we are there. Settled. Pictures are promised (given that we have the promised internet connections). I think we are ready. And we're off......

The Countdown

As we wind up this Spring Break we start the countdown to our real family vacation to Washington D.C.

We will be leaving in 9 days! Wow! Archer is getting very excited. We have checked out books from the library, received some free stuff in the mail, and been checking the weather online. I haven't been to D.C. since I was in 8th grade, Alex was just a baby. There are so many new things there now...looking forward to experiencing our nation's capitol. Troy was there last year and saw a fraction of what he wanted to. We have a full week (Wed-Wed) so we will be able to get a lot of sightseeing in.

Looking forward to experiencing this with Archer and Troy and getting away for a few days. Family togetherness. It doesn't get much better than that.

Troy Update

Today is day four of Troy being in D.C. He finished up the work he went to do yesterday and today is his fun day. I talked to him this morning (5:00 a.m. my time) and he was getting up and ready for his adventure. He enjoyed his work and met quite a few (at least 9) museum professionals who he could talk shop with. He is starting his adventure at the capital, which he walked to a few nights ago. He says that is the center and he will venture from there. It is fun to hear his impressions since I haven't been since eighth grade!

He will be home Sunday midnight...and we will be glad to see him. I miss my husband and friend, Archer misses dad, Horton misses his person, Fill-up misses his playmate, and Ellie May is just realizing he is gone....

Duck Days

Traveling Troy:
Troy is off to Washington D.C. He checked in and made it there safe and sound. He didn't have a lot of time, or energy, to look around much ~ but what he did see he enjoyed. Tomorrow and Friday he begins working, then has the weekend free to explore. He did share that he didn't go out to eat, but ordered room service instead ~ he had a fifteen dollar quesadilla. That better be some super tortillas and cheese! Aaaahhh....he is living in luxury now!

On the Lynden Front:
We went to the pond today to see the ducks. The momma and her 13 babies weren't there, but the others were and they were ready to eat! It is really fun to feed the ducks and see them fight for the food with the fish. Both the ducks and the fish are very aggressive ~ it is always a battle! The white duck is the big eater, pushing others out of the way and smacking them with her beak for the bread crumbs...Yesterday Archer got chased by the goose! It scared him a bit, but Troy and I found it a bit amusing! No goose chasing today! Lucky boy!
I was looking through pictures and here is one of Archer feeding ducks, who are probably our ducks ancestors, when he was four. This picture was taken by Grandma Lee, who always took him to the ducks when she would visit!

They grow up so fast! Amazing!