Field Trips

    Every week the boys and I go into the District to see a new museum, art gallery, or tourist attraction before the crowds hit the downtown area in March.  Last Thursday we went to see the Old Post Office Pavilion.  The views from the tower of the Old Post Office are amazing, and the building itself is beautiful.  From there we walked to the East Building of the National Gallery of Art.  Once again, we took the guided tour.  On a side note, I highly recommend taking guided tours of the Smithsonian buildings.  They are informative, interesting, and add so much to the experience.  The boys even enjoy them!  The docents give details that you would not get by just looking at the sign posted by the exhibit or piece of artwork.   Last week the boys and I learned about nonrepresentational styles of art such as abstract, cubism, and dada art.  It's a wonderful education for us all.   We also walked through the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden on our way to the East Building. 

Old Post Office

One of the views from the tower.  The FBI office is the tan building on the left. 

The docent is busy answering the boys' questions. 

We loved this!

Last of January In Review

Inauguration Day-We arrived to catch the last little bit of the big day, on a jumbotron.  I loved being there with so many people to celebrate such a historic event, even if I am not an Obama fan.  We opted to walk home rather than fight the HUGE crowd on the Metro.  It's a four mile walk, and we stopped by the Jefferson Memorial on the way home.  

Waiting for the train in Metro

Can you see Obama on the screen?  This is as close as we got! 

Jefferson Memorial

Looking back as we crossed the Potomac on the way home.

Brock found an Obama pin on the ground at the Inauguration!

As January wound down, we also went to the Museum of American History, the Air and Space Museum, it snowed (much to our delight), and Cory celebrated a birthday.  

Grant was chosen by our docent to demonstrate how a plane flies.

Touring

    Before we arrived in DC we knew that we would have great neighbors/friends just 2 floors down.  Cory and the husband already knew each other through work, and we actually have mutual friends.  Our kids are around the same ages, and they are home-schooled as well.  The 1st week we were here, Cindy, the mom, offered to show me and the boys how to use the Metro and to take us into the District.  I was so excited!  It was the boys' 1st time there, and it had been about 13 years since I had been. 

National Gallery of Art

In front of the National Gallery of Art

 Yesterday the boys and I went to the National Gallery of Art.  We all picked up our devices for the audio tour and set out.  Grant and Brock became bored fairly quickly, but then one of the security guards came around the corner and asked if he could show us something fun!  You bet!  He described a technique used by the artists to manipulate perspective in some of the artwork.  As you walk in front of a painting, it looks as if objects or faces follow you.  Amazing!  He also circled more artwork on my museum map that he thought the boys might like to see.  He gave us a lot of great information and totally changed the way our day was going.  The boys loved finding all the artwork he discussed, and they're excited to go back!                                  

Delays

On the first full travel day our moving truck broke down.  And we were only in Kilgore, Texas.  We were stuck at a truck stop for 6 hours waiting for it to either be fixed or traded for another truck. (The rental company brought a replacement truck at 11:30 pm and a load-shift crew to transfer everything to the new truck.) This was actually a really nice truck stop.  There was a stone fireplace in the attached Wendy's and toys for the boys to play with.  We wound up calling it "Wendy's Lodge." Lovely!                         

Brock playing with Grammy's phone during the long wait.

Toys we didn't buy but played with for hours.

Our moving crew, Betty and Mickey.  Love you guys!

New Year, New Start

On January 1st, 2013 we drove away from Midland and started our new adventure after so many precious friends and family helped sort, pack, clean, throw away, and store our belongings.  We could not have done it without them!!

A Blog Adventure

Walking down our street on 1st night here

I'm starting this blog to document the fun we are having on our adventures in D.C.  We are loving life here so far (5 weeks in) and have already done and seen lots of great things!  I am absolutely shocked that I am doing a blog.  I am not eloquent and only moderately computer literate, so read at your own risk.  And you might also be bored to death, but at least I'll have a record of what we did for 18 months in a place far away from home.