Today wasn't nearly as adventurous as the previous three days. No new forms of transportation. BUT, we did go to the Air and Space Museum (the big one at Dulles Airport:http://www.nasm.si.edu/UdvarHazy/ ). To quote Braden, it was "awesome!" Watching the little boys walk into the hanger and see all the airplanes in the air and on the ground was just really cool. The big boys reacted almost the same way. In fact, Linsey and I kept having to call Kyle and Matt to find out where they were...looking at the engines, in the middle of the hanger, taking a last minute trip through the space wing.
Speaking of the space wing, when Garrett saw the Space Shuttle he said, "Wow! A party airplane!" I wonder sometimes what goes on in that little head of his. He had a great time "taking pictures." He held up his little hand in front of one of his eyes and made a little "pakow" noise and blew his hand up as he took his picture.
Braden rode a simulator with Linsey and Matt, which he declared as "awesome" (we might need to work on expanding his vocabulary).
Some of my favorite things included the only WWII Japanese Kamikaze plane known in to be in existence. How on earth do regimes convince people to commit suicide in the name of their ideals?
I just asked Braden what was his favorite thing today, and he said, "uhhhhhh airplanes."
"Which one?" I asked.
"Uhhhhhhh. The Blackbird." That would be the fastest airplane ever recorded, the Lockhard SR-71A. It was cool.
Kyle, the boys, and I used the Garmin to find a park on our way home to let the boys run off some steam. Kyle was the victor of the jumping off the swing contest, although I came in a close second.
Braden wants me to write, "Garrett was having fun at the Space Museum."
"He was?" Linsey asked. "I thought he was fussy."
"No," said Braden. "When we walked into the Space Museum, and somebody told me to look down, somebody told me that there was a big Blackbird that was the fastest ship ever. I don't know who told me that."
"Braden, tell me about the observation deck--where we took the elevator up," I said.
"I could see cars and trucks. And I saw airplanes landing and taking off. It was cool. I could see people and, what are we talking about?"
"The control tower observation deck thing," I said.
"But Mommy. Just erase everything. Quit. Don't do that mommy...quit it mommy...quuuiiiiiittttt."
And thus ends our session on Washington DC day 3 and blogging with a five year old.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Adventures, adventures
What an adventurous two days!
Braden counted on his hand, and in the last 36 hours, he has been on the following modes of transportation:
1) our truck
2) a bus--his first (really?)
3) an airplane--his first
4) two of Granddaddy's cars
5) a DC Metro train--his first
6) a National Zoo stroller
We've seen some pretty cool things. We flew into Washington DC National airport right over the Potomac River--we could see the Pentagon out of our window. Once we were in Granddaddy's Element and driving to his house in Falls Church, we could see the Washington Monument, the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial.
This morning we slept late and took our time getting ready (we are on vacation after all!). Kyle, the boys, my dad, and I took the Metro to the National Zoo. This involved changing trains from the orange line to the red line, and all of that was perfectly okay with Braden. He LOVED the trains. He took really funny pictures with his camera: the hexagonal tiles on the floor, the red lights along the edge of the platform, strangers on the train, etc.
We had a long walk to the zoo (the boys were great!) where rented a double stroller (the boys were not so great!). The National Zoo is wonderful, mostly because it is FREE (it is a Smithsonian institution) and visitors can get pretty close the animals. We visited the pandas first, then the elephants, the baby gorilla, the orangatans, the lion and lioness, the tiger, and the alligator. My favorite? Hard to tell: I love, love, love elephants and the baby (several years old now?) was very playful and cute. The baby gorilla was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. It was smooshing its face up against the glass and making funny faces, just like my boys do in the shower! The pandas are just plain awesome. Huge, majestical, and so, so pretty.
Garrett fell asleep on the long walk back to the Metro and I carried his sweaty little body all the way home. He slept all the way through the train transfer and woke up just as we were getting off at the West Falls Church station.
True to their personality, Braden told me his favorite part of the day was the trains, and Garrett just told me that he forgot to feed the pigs (what???).
Oh! And we talked to a very nice Washington DC police officer who was riding a Segway. He was more than happy to show it off and tell us all about it.
More on the plane ride later--tomorrow, maybe? It looks like rain and will probably be an inside day.
Braden counted on his hand, and in the last 36 hours, he has been on the following modes of transportation:
1) our truck
2) a bus--his first (really?)
3) an airplane--his first
4) two of Granddaddy's cars
5) a DC Metro train--his first
6) a National Zoo stroller
We've seen some pretty cool things. We flew into Washington DC National airport right over the Potomac River--we could see the Pentagon out of our window. Once we were in Granddaddy's Element and driving to his house in Falls Church, we could see the Washington Monument, the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial.
This morning we slept late and took our time getting ready (we are on vacation after all!). Kyle, the boys, my dad, and I took the Metro to the National Zoo. This involved changing trains from the orange line to the red line, and all of that was perfectly okay with Braden. He LOVED the trains. He took really funny pictures with his camera: the hexagonal tiles on the floor, the red lights along the edge of the platform, strangers on the train, etc.
We had a long walk to the zoo (the boys were great!) where rented a double stroller (the boys were not so great!). The National Zoo is wonderful, mostly because it is FREE (it is a Smithsonian institution) and visitors can get pretty close the animals. We visited the pandas first, then the elephants, the baby gorilla, the orangatans, the lion and lioness, the tiger, and the alligator. My favorite? Hard to tell: I love, love, love elephants and the baby (several years old now?) was very playful and cute. The baby gorilla was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. It was smooshing its face up against the glass and making funny faces, just like my boys do in the shower! The pandas are just plain awesome. Huge, majestical, and so, so pretty.
Garrett fell asleep on the long walk back to the Metro and I carried his sweaty little body all the way home. He slept all the way through the train transfer and woke up just as we were getting off at the West Falls Church station.
True to their personality, Braden told me his favorite part of the day was the trains, and Garrett just told me that he forgot to feed the pigs (what???).
Oh! And we talked to a very nice Washington DC police officer who was riding a Segway. He was more than happy to show it off and tell us all about it.
More on the plane ride later--tomorrow, maybe? It looks like rain and will probably be an inside day.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Splish Splash, Garrett takin' a bath
Sooooo.....I'm a good mom, right? And I shouldn't be terribly worried that I forgot about Garrett in the bath tub the other night, right? I mean, Kyle remembered. And Garrett was super-dooper happy:
Notice his plate of crackers on the edge of the tub. Yep, I'm a good mom alright!
Splash Pad
Ahhhh....summer! Time for family, fun, and water! We discovered a new place tonight--the splash pad at Tiffany Park. I'm not sure why it never occurred to us to take the kids there. It is free! And fun! And tiring! They had a ball...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
photographer pictures
About a month ago, we had our first "real" pictures taken since Garrett was born--yes, he just turned 3. The pictures are awesome! Check some of them out:
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
THE BEACH!!!
We knew that this weekend was going to be tough. It is our first mother's day weekend without mom, and everywhere we looked we found reminders of mom. Kyle, the boys, and I drove down to Seabrook Friday night, and I must say that packing for a trip to my mom's house for mother's day weekend when I knew she wasn't going to be there was one of the hardest things I've had to do in a long time.
Fortunately, I have an awesome sister and brother-in-law who planned a great trip to the beach for us. All we had to do was wake up Saturday morning (I ran five miles first--go me!), throw the boys in the car, and head down to Galveston. Matt and Linsey had shopped and were setting up our beach camp for the day on The Seawall across from a bar called The Spot. Our spot across from The Spot was a great one: both the people and the seaweed were less crowded than further west. Linsey and Matt thought of everything. We had a giant umbrella; we had kites; we had sand toys and boogie boards; we had (lots of) beer; we had cheese and salami and crackers. Kyle and I brought the two best parts of the day, though: two super cute boys!
Garrett, meanwhile, was perfectly content to play in the sand and shallow water with the toys.
Tom and Linsey had taken the boys to the seawall a few weeks ago, and the highlight was feeding the seagulls. That proved to be a big draw this time, too. These birds weren't nearly as brave as the birds last time who ate a cracker off of Garrett's head.
My sister and Kyle's brother. Yes, they are dating. No, it isn't weird at all. It is a lot of fun!
Tom and Kyle spent most of the day (when they weren't driving around "looking at storm damage") firmly camped out under the umbrella. Kyle didn't even bring a bathing suit!
Sisters!!
1. 2. 3. Kiss!!
Fortunately, I have an awesome sister and brother-in-law who planned a great trip to the beach for us. All we had to do was wake up Saturday morning (I ran five miles first--go me!), throw the boys in the car, and head down to Galveston. Matt and Linsey had shopped and were setting up our beach camp for the day on The Seawall across from a bar called The Spot. Our spot across from The Spot was a great one: both the people and the seaweed were less crowded than further west. Linsey and Matt thought of everything. We had a giant umbrella; we had kites; we had sand toys and boogie boards; we had (lots of) beer; we had cheese and salami and crackers. Kyle and I brought the two best parts of the day, though: two super cute boys!
Braden loved playing on the boogie board. He wouldn't go far out, though.
Garrett, meanwhile, was perfectly content to play in the sand and shallow water with the toys.
Tom and Linsey had taken the boys to the seawall a few weeks ago, and the highlight was feeding the seagulls. That proved to be a big draw this time, too. These birds weren't nearly as brave as the birds last time who ate a cracker off of Garrett's head.
My sister and Kyle's brother. Yes, they are dating. No, it isn't weird at all. It is a lot of fun!Tom and Kyle spent most of the day (when they weren't driving around "looking at storm damage") firmly camped out under the umbrella. Kyle didn't even bring a bathing suit!
Sisters!!
1. 2. 3. Kiss!!
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