D.C.

I've been to D.C. on several occasions and have seen all the typical touristy attractions.  I'm glad I've had the chance to do that, but I wouldn't be sad if the kids didn't want to visit the city.  However, they really did want to take the opportunity. 

 

We drove to the Metro station that is closest to PK's apartment and took metroed in.  I took the subway all the time when we lived in Boston, but it was a first for the kids.  The Metro was actually part of the excitement for them.  I was happy to not have to fight the traffic and try to find a place to park.

 



 

Aaron and PK on the Metro

 

Once we made it into the city we walked around to all the memorials.

 







Hannah was excited to find this tree near the Washington Monument.  It was a perfect climbing tree.



 

This picture is from the Vietnam Memorial.  Veterans apply to Honor Flight members.  Those accepted are flown to D.C., given an escort and taken to see the war memorials.  This gentleman in the yellow shirt was a member of an Honor Flight group and his escort was taking a picture of a name he found on The Wall.  I imagine he fought in Vietnam and found the name of someone with whom he served.  This is the epitome of why The Wall and the other memorials exist.

 



 

Aaron and PK at the Lincoln Memorial

 

 

The rest of the pictures were taken at the World War II Memorial.  It is a beautiful place to reflect.

 



 

 

 

 

After we walked around visiting the memorials, we went to one of the Smithsonian museums.  By that time we were hungry, so we had lunch at the museum.  It was overpriced and lacking in quality, but we were fed.  We spent time walking through The Museum of Natural History and The Air and Space Museum before heading back to PK's bachelor pad.





The Bachelor Pad

Since PK is geobatching, we decided to go visit him for Spring Break.  The day we arrived he was going to take us out to dinner at Macaroni Grill, but when we arrived where it was supposed to be we were disappointed to find a building that was closed.  Luckily, it was in an area with tons of other businesses and this great lake with paddle boats.  We had a blast on the paddle boats and enjoyed walking around.  It was a great start to our visit!



 



 

That Last Step's a Doozie



 The kids had another snow day today.  At this point that really isn't news or blog worthy.  We all get excited over the first snow day maybe even the first couple, but at this point we are over it.  Rachel has an AP class and is starting to stress over the missed class time.  The teacher can control what she covers on in class exams, but the national AP exam material and test date are set in stone.  Our schools already start later than most in the country and now the kids are missing instructional time due to the weather.  I agree with the officials that school should be cancelled when the weather is bad.  I would much rather be safe than sorry where our kids are concerned.  I just understand the stress that it causes.

 

We had some ice last night and were on a two hour delay this morning.  PK left around 4:00 am and said the roads were clear.  Doug and Shannon were going to be out of town so we had already planned for Lori to be here tonight.  They were also on the road early and decided the roads were clear enough that Lori could drive to school.  We were shocked to receive the call around 8:00 am that school was going to be cancelled.  Our county extends northward and my understanding is that many of those roads had significant ice.

 

Lori came over to our house early and I decided to run to the store to make sure we had things for lunch.  I went bebopping down the stairs and the next thing I new, I was planted on the ground.  So in this day and age what does one do when one flies off the steps?  Take a selfie, of course!

 

 

I was really thankful that I took the fall on my backside and didn't hit my head on the bricks.  I slowly moved my parts to make sure there was no serious damage and then looked around to make sure no one witnessed my slip.  The part of the step that looks wet over my shoulder is actually ice.  I guess that is why school was cancelled today!!



A Snow Week

The kids and PK had last Monday off for Presidents Day.  We were expecting wintry weather to hit late that afternoon or early evening.  The forecast had predicted anywhere from 4-12 inches.  As the storm approached, the local meteorologist said 5-7 inches.  They were pretty close.  We measured right at 6 inches.

 

The kids were thrilled when the call came cancelling school for Tuesday.  I was happy because the kids get so excited for a snow day.  It does seem like it should be a right of childhood to have one snow day a year.  We all slept in and I needed it because Holly got spooked around 1:30 in the morning and I couldn't go back to sleep for a while after that.  The snow changed to freezing rain or sleet and I think the sound of it hitting the skylights woke her up. 

Aaron and Hannah were ready to get outside in the snow as soon as possible. 

 

The layer of ice allowed them to walk across the snow without falling in.

 

Hannah and I noticed we had several birds visiting our front yard.

 

 



Hannah set up some birdseed for them.

I spent the morning finishing up a cross stitch project for Lori.  She just received her drivers license, so I thought making her first car would be a fun project.

 

Tuesday afternoon we received the call from the school district cancelling school for Wednesday.  I was especially glad as I had put off shoveling the walkway and driveway and that needed to happen to get anyone out of the house the next day.  I was pleasantly surprised when I looked out the window and my friend and neighbor, Allison, was outside with her family shoveling for us.

 

Aaron asked if we could play Monopoly on snow day number two, so that is what we did.  He won.

 

 

That afternoon Aaron went outside with his friends, Christopher and Everett.  They were walking through the neighborhood and came across a mail truck that was stuck in the snow and ice.  They helped push it out.  They are all in the same scout troop, and a scout is always helpful.

 

Andy's parents dropped him off since they had to get out for a meeting at work.  He and Rachel were supposed to be studying, but I think they looked at old yearbooks.  Hannah had Emily come over to hang out.  As dinner time approached, we decided to brave the roads and make a run for Chick-Fil-A.  The main roads were clear, but the secondary or residential roads were still covered in ice.  Then we received the call for snow day number three. 

 

We didn't do anything very eventful on snow day number three.  The temperatures dropped to near record lows which kept anyone from playing outside.  It seems that my kids are always over playing in the snow after snow day number one.  I made a big batch of sloppy joes and a large pot of chili. UPS delivered a movie Hannah had been waiting to see, so she spent her evening watching Star Gate

 



 

and I introduced Aaron to Jurassic Park.  Then, believe it or not, we received the call for snow day number four!

 

We once again slept in and I realized that we have been out of our routine for long enough that getting up early when school resumes is going to hurt.  I found a package of cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator and made those for breakfast. 

 



 

We ventured out for lunch at Cracker Barrel and stopped by Kroger for milk.  Aaron's science teacher emailed out a list of science related snow day activities that could be used for extra credit.  Aaron decided to make a snow slingshot. 

 



 

He had to make a video and explain how it used kinetic and potential energy.  When I saw "make a slingshot" as an option, I knew he would choose that one.

 

I woke up this morning and the meteorologist was spewing the "S" words, sleet and snow.  We just received the call that school is running on a two hour delay in the morning and then my neighbor sent me a forecast calling for snow on Thursday.  I love having the kids home, but when it is too cold to get outside, we get a bit stir crazy.  Who ticked off Mother Nature?  If it was you, please apologize and beg for spring.

Do It My Way

The kids have a chore chart we follow.  It works on a three week rotation.  That way no one is stuck doing the same chore over and over.  It also allows them all to learn how to do different household chores.

Hannah's least favorite week is probably the week she has to do the dishes.  I laughed out loud when I walked into the kitchen and found this sign taped over the sink.



Bake Day

We started our Valentine's Day the way we do most holidays, with a morning sugar rush.  Everyone received their own special treat.

 

PK's favorite.

 



Nail polish for Rachel because she can never have enough.

 



 

Hannah loves those ponies.

 

Yoda for Aaron .  Need I say more?

 



Rachel asked if she and Andy could have a "bake day" at our house for Valentine's Day.  I thought that was a great idea.  They could spend supervised time together and not feel the need to buy each other an expensive gift.  Andy had never been to the commissary, so we took their list and went shopping.

 

They spent the entire day making desserts and then Andy's family came over to enjoy Nacho Bar with us for dinner.  That way they were able to share in all those desserts.

 



They made each other the same gift.  They were shocked that they did the same thing. 



A Warm Day

The weather report called for temperatures in the upper 60s today, so we knew we needed to find something to do outside after church.  Hannah suggested the zoo and we happen to have passes.  Rachel had plans with Andy, but the rest of us got out in the sunshine.  The high actually reached 70 degrees and it was a beautiful day.

The parking lot was pretty full when we pulled in, so I guess the rest of Hampton Roads wanted to get out and enjoy the long awaited warm sunny day at the zoo as well.

I know the warmth was just a teaser, but it was a nice break from the winter weather.