Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
National Aquarium in Baltimore
My March picture file is about to overflow... we've done a lot this month. Today was no different.
For Baby X's birthday in January, Grandma and Grandpa L wanted to send money for something fun we could take him to do. We decided to use that money for a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. My friend and former roommate, Kate, moved to Baltimore this summer and we've been trying to get together for months, so it was convenient that we were heading to Baltimore, and it also happened to be her spring break, so we met her there.
Strollers aren't allowed into the National Aquarium (too many escalators and people movers, etc.) so Baby X got to break in his doggy leash he got for Christmas. So far, he's just worn it around the house pretending to be a doggy.
None of the pictures are great because it was dark and full of reflective glass... but we tried.
Here are some month old sea horses PS wanted a picture of. Teeny.
Baby X loves fish. He yells "FISH!! FISH!!" excitedly every time we enter a pet store. So this was all especially fun for him.
Turtles. Baby X liked the turtles.
I splurged and paid a few extra dollars per ticket to see the dolphin show. It was worth it... the kids had a blast. Baby X kept saying, "dolphins. dolphins jump. up down. dolphins jumping." He sat on my lap and was mesmerized for the 20 or so minute length of the show.
Dolphin dancing... the kids think this is hilarious and incorporated it into their own dolphin show when we got home.
This was Buddy's favorite part. Plus there was a big splash (and we weren't in the Splash Zone).
This is the best of all the pictures I got after the dolphin show... you can barely see a couple dolphins in the background.
After the show PS asked the dolphin trainer taking questions what the most fun part of being a dolphin trainer was. She said working with the dolphins, forming a relationship with them and getting to know them as individuals, etc. PS was very brave. She has added dolphin trainer to her VERY long list of future careers.
The kid area had dress-up props.
Buddy as a dolphin.
Baby X as a fish.
I was surprised by how much he wanted to wear this and not take it off.
PS as a dolphin.
Their first synchronized dolphin show (with puppets). When we got home, they took turns being the dolphins and the dolphin trainers.
Shark jaw. PS liked this.
Jellyfish. These spooked/bored the kids. I thought they were neat.
The favorites.
Princess Sparkley: Nemo fish, dolphin show, sting rays, baby sea horses, rain forest room
Buddy: dolphin show, rain forest room, escalators that were flat (not steps) but still inclined
Baby X: octopus (even though at the time it freaked him out a bit), dolphins, turtles
Me: dolphin show, sting rays
For Baby X's birthday in January, Grandma and Grandpa L wanted to send money for something fun we could take him to do. We decided to use that money for a trip to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. My friend and former roommate, Kate, moved to Baltimore this summer and we've been trying to get together for months, so it was convenient that we were heading to Baltimore, and it also happened to be her spring break, so we met her there.
Strollers aren't allowed into the National Aquarium (too many escalators and people movers, etc.) so Baby X got to break in his doggy leash he got for Christmas. So far, he's just worn it around the house pretending to be a doggy.
None of the pictures are great because it was dark and full of reflective glass... but we tried.
Here are some month old sea horses PS wanted a picture of. Teeny.
Baby X loves fish. He yells "FISH!! FISH!!" excitedly every time we enter a pet store. So this was all especially fun for him.
Turtles. Baby X liked the turtles.
I splurged and paid a few extra dollars per ticket to see the dolphin show. It was worth it... the kids had a blast. Baby X kept saying, "dolphins. dolphins jump. up down. dolphins jumping." He sat on my lap and was mesmerized for the 20 or so minute length of the show.
Dolphin dancing... the kids think this is hilarious and incorporated it into their own dolphin show when we got home.
This was Buddy's favorite part. Plus there was a big splash (and we weren't in the Splash Zone).
This is the best of all the pictures I got after the dolphin show... you can barely see a couple dolphins in the background.
After the show PS asked the dolphin trainer taking questions what the most fun part of being a dolphin trainer was. She said working with the dolphins, forming a relationship with them and getting to know them as individuals, etc. PS was very brave. She has added dolphin trainer to her VERY long list of future careers.
The kid area had dress-up props.
Buddy as a dolphin.
Baby X as a fish.
I was surprised by how much he wanted to wear this and not take it off.
PS as a dolphin.
Their first synchronized dolphin show (with puppets). When we got home, they took turns being the dolphins and the dolphin trainers.
Shark jaw. PS liked this.
Jellyfish. These spooked/bored the kids. I thought they were neat.
The favorites.
Princess Sparkley: Nemo fish, dolphin show, sting rays, baby sea horses, rain forest room
Buddy: dolphin show, rain forest room, escalators that were flat (not steps) but still inclined
Baby X: octopus (even though at the time it freaked him out a bit), dolphins, turtles
Me: dolphin show, sting rays
Lego Air Control Tower and Airplane
We've been getting Buddy a lot of National Geographic movies from the library. He really likes the ones about lions, Arctic polar bears, Air Force One, and one called Ultimate Factories that shows UPS sorting facilities and airplanes, etc. So while Baby X, Princess Sparkley and I were grocery shopping yesterday, and B was at home studying, Buddy built an airport control tower and a UPS airplane and used a Fisher Price parking garage from the 80s as his package conveyor belt.
UPS airplane (I think he just turned a car/truck into a plane)
Airport Control Tower
UPS airplane (I think he just turned a car/truck into a plane)
Airport Control Tower
Sunday, March 28, 2010
National Cherry Blossom Festival
Yesterday was the start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC, and, according to Bloom Watch, which I've been checking all week, the blossoms are in the "puffy white" stage, just before peak bloom. Yea!
I know you are all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to see how my cherry blossom project turned out. The wait is over:
Princess Sparkley modeling her new bubble skirt and cherry blossom t-shirt.
It was touch and go with the skirt. I ended up finishing it and it being WAY TOO LONG. So I ended up taking it apart, and taking 4 inches of the interior (which I haven't even gotten a picture of yet) and exterior fabrics, and then resewing it. Craziness. And it ended up being a cold day, so she had to wear a sweater and leggings. The t-shirt has a brown felt tree, and pink flower shaped buttons as the blossoms. Click to zoom in.
I knew it would be crazy visiting on the first day of the festival, also on the day of the Kite Festival, and on a Saturday, during lots of spring breaks... especially after tourists practically abandoning the city all winter. And it was. We got to the Metro station (11am ish) and had to wait in line more then 15 minutes to buy our tickets from an automated machine (mainly because everyone buying tickets was from out of town and didn't know what they were doing... I'm so past that:) ).
The train was super crowded and we got on at the end of a line, so it just kept getting more and more crowded. And it was me, three kids, a stroller, a diaper bag, a lunch bag, and a picnic blanket. When we got off the train, I hadn't put enough money on our Metro cards for the 10 cent per ticket fee increase that just happened (because they didn't mark the fee increase clearly... it was just a giant green dot on the overall price board, not at each destination. And I was looking at "S" for Smithsonian while the green dot was hanging out by the "A"s. So it turns out I was one of those amateurs. BUT, they had tons of extra Metro employees working due to the large crowds, and our guy just told me the problem but waved us through). Then, I kept the stroller folded up so we could take the escalator and end up closer to the Mall but the escalator was broken, so I had to carry the stroller, Baby X and one bag up it. And it wasn't even the escalator that I wanted, this one brought me up right next to the elevator. Argh.
The Kite Festival was Saturday as well. There were people flying kites all over the Mall.
For some reason, I think I have a picture of the kids in front of the Washington Monument each time we've gone into DC... why stop now. We even have a picture of me, B and baby Princess Sparkley in front of it from December 2002 I'll have to scan in sometime.
The Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin.
Buddy and Princess Sparkley walking around the Tidal Basin towards the Jefferson Memorial.
Me and the kids. I offered to take someone's picture, so they took ours in return. We also saw a man taking a picture of his wife and their two dogs, but the two dogs were facing the other way, so it was a woman, and two dog behinds.
Jefferson Memorial.
Cherry Blossoms up close.
Picnic by the Jefferson Memorial.
Airplane coming in for a landing at Reagan National Airport.
Inside the Jefferson Memorial. Baby X got in trouble for eating (he was holding a bag of goldfish leftover from lunch and our walk over).
Pretty pretty.
Steps of the Jefferson Memorial.
The kids in front of the Jefferson Memorial (my first time here as well).
Washington Monument reflected in the Tidal Basin.
The sign on this tree said it was damaged in the February 2010 blizzard and was guessed to be 80-90 years old and the stump will be removed soon. It's right next to the tidal basin.
PS with some cherry blossoms.
This might have been Baby X's favorite thing... the ducks. We got them to quack at us. He also liked the airplanes landing at Reagan and the kites.
Regular blossoms, not cherry... I think.
The Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial. Buddy and PS wanted to pose by Benjamin Franklin's signature. They were also excited to see John Hancock's signature. We also saw the Vietnam and the Korean war memorials for the kids' first time, but I didn't get pictures.
Kites.
Those circles on the Washington Monument are a kite.
The Kite Festival.
The kids loved this airplane kite.
Different organizations/museums had booths to make "kites." We got to the kite area later in the day, so the only booth still doing it was the National Aquarium. So we made kites that look like Stingrays. Buddy "flying" his stingray "kite."
One of the kids' favorites was this octopus/jelly fish kite.
I love all the kites around the Washington Monument.
PS flying her "kite."
Baby X holding onto his "fish kite."
On the Metro on the way home. Princess Sparkly has invented this game called "Fish" that she
and Baby X like to play. He requests is saying, "[PS. PS.] Fishy game." The game consists of them making fishy open and close mouth faces at each other. They also have "shark game" where they clap their hands real big like in the "Slippery Fish" song. And there's a new one when they growl at each other like lions or something.
Going home on the Metro (late afternoon) was just as crowded (or more so) as going. We had to wait in line forever to take the Metro elevator. Then the first train was a short train and really crowded (and I was hoping to not have to fold up the stroller) so we waited for the next one. It was packed. Luckily a bunch of people got off at Metro Center just a couple stops after we got on, and we grabbed a bench with enough room for the stroller in front of us. And we saw a lady get her purse stuck in the train door. That was sort of exciting (as long as it wasn't me or one of the kids).
I know you are all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to see how my cherry blossom project turned out. The wait is over:
Princess Sparkley modeling her new bubble skirt and cherry blossom t-shirt.
It was touch and go with the skirt. I ended up finishing it and it being WAY TOO LONG. So I ended up taking it apart, and taking 4 inches of the interior (which I haven't even gotten a picture of yet) and exterior fabrics, and then resewing it. Craziness. And it ended up being a cold day, so she had to wear a sweater and leggings. The t-shirt has a brown felt tree, and pink flower shaped buttons as the blossoms. Click to zoom in.
I knew it would be crazy visiting on the first day of the festival, also on the day of the Kite Festival, and on a Saturday, during lots of spring breaks... especially after tourists practically abandoning the city all winter. And it was. We got to the Metro station (11am ish) and had to wait in line more then 15 minutes to buy our tickets from an automated machine (mainly because everyone buying tickets was from out of town and didn't know what they were doing... I'm so past that:) ).
The train was super crowded and we got on at the end of a line, so it just kept getting more and more crowded. And it was me, three kids, a stroller, a diaper bag, a lunch bag, and a picnic blanket. When we got off the train, I hadn't put enough money on our Metro cards for the 10 cent per ticket fee increase that just happened (because they didn't mark the fee increase clearly... it was just a giant green dot on the overall price board, not at each destination. And I was looking at "S" for Smithsonian while the green dot was hanging out by the "A"s. So it turns out I was one of those amateurs. BUT, they had tons of extra Metro employees working due to the large crowds, and our guy just told me the problem but waved us through). Then, I kept the stroller folded up so we could take the escalator and end up closer to the Mall but the escalator was broken, so I had to carry the stroller, Baby X and one bag up it. And it wasn't even the escalator that I wanted, this one brought me up right next to the elevator. Argh.
The Kite Festival was Saturday as well. There were people flying kites all over the Mall.
For some reason, I think I have a picture of the kids in front of the Washington Monument each time we've gone into DC... why stop now. We even have a picture of me, B and baby Princess Sparkley in front of it from December 2002 I'll have to scan in sometime.
The Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin.
Buddy and Princess Sparkley walking around the Tidal Basin towards the Jefferson Memorial.
Me and the kids. I offered to take someone's picture, so they took ours in return. We also saw a man taking a picture of his wife and their two dogs, but the two dogs were facing the other way, so it was a woman, and two dog behinds.
Jefferson Memorial.
Cherry Blossoms up close.
Picnic by the Jefferson Memorial.
Airplane coming in for a landing at Reagan National Airport.
Inside the Jefferson Memorial. Baby X got in trouble for eating (he was holding a bag of goldfish leftover from lunch and our walk over).
Pretty pretty.
Steps of the Jefferson Memorial.
The kids in front of the Jefferson Memorial (my first time here as well).
Washington Monument reflected in the Tidal Basin.
The sign on this tree said it was damaged in the February 2010 blizzard and was guessed to be 80-90 years old and the stump will be removed soon. It's right next to the tidal basin.
PS with some cherry blossoms.
This might have been Baby X's favorite thing... the ducks. We got them to quack at us. He also liked the airplanes landing at Reagan and the kites.
Regular blossoms, not cherry... I think.
The Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial. Buddy and PS wanted to pose by Benjamin Franklin's signature. They were also excited to see John Hancock's signature. We also saw the Vietnam and the Korean war memorials for the kids' first time, but I didn't get pictures.
Kites.
Those circles on the Washington Monument are a kite.
The Kite Festival.
The kids loved this airplane kite.
Different organizations/museums had booths to make "kites." We got to the kite area later in the day, so the only booth still doing it was the National Aquarium. So we made kites that look like Stingrays. Buddy "flying" his stingray "kite."
One of the kids' favorites was this octopus/jelly fish kite.
I love all the kites around the Washington Monument.
PS flying her "kite."
Baby X holding onto his "fish kite."
On the Metro on the way home. Princess Sparkly has invented this game called "Fish" that she
and Baby X like to play. He requests is saying, "[PS. PS.] Fishy game." The game consists of them making fishy open and close mouth faces at each other. They also have "shark game" where they clap their hands real big like in the "Slippery Fish" song. And there's a new one when they growl at each other like lions or something.
Going home on the Metro (late afternoon) was just as crowded (or more so) as going. We had to wait in line forever to take the Metro elevator. Then the first train was a short train and really crowded (and I was hoping to not have to fold up the stroller) so we waited for the next one. It was packed. Luckily a bunch of people got off at Metro Center just a couple stops after we got on, and we grabbed a bench with enough room for the stroller in front of us. And we saw a lady get her purse stuck in the train door. That was sort of exciting (as long as it wasn't me or one of the kids).
Friday, March 26, 2010
Cherry Blossom Festival Project
The National Cherry Blossom Festival started in Washington, DC yesterday. A couple weeks ago in a gift shop in DC we saw the 2010 festival t-shirts. I loved the artwork. Princess Sparkley wanted one. I wanted one. As I was looking into the different events of the festival I kept catching glimpses of the wonderful cherry blossom art and decided instead of spending $15+ for a t-shirt that will fit Princess Sparkley like a pillowcase, I should create one. I'm afraid I've been reading the blogs of too many crafty people.
I looked around online and at Etsy for ideas and then the kids and I made a trek to Joann's trying to find what I needed to create what I had pictured in my mind. At first it was just going to be a tree branch and blossoms added to a t-shirt PS already owns. Something like this.
But then I found this fabric.
At first I thought I'd use these flowers on a tree branch, but wasn't sure how I'd do that, and was not very confident in my sewing nicely around anything small skillz. But I loved this fabric, and continued to carry it around in the shopping cart finally having the brilliant (yet questionable) idea to make a skirt out of it to go with a shirt.
So, following this tutorial for a bubble skirt, I'm going to attempt it.
I looked around online and at Etsy for ideas and then the kids and I made a trek to Joann's trying to find what I needed to create what I had pictured in my mind. At first it was just going to be a tree branch and blossoms added to a t-shirt PS already owns. Something like this.
But then I found this fabric.
At first I thought I'd use these flowers on a tree branch, but wasn't sure how I'd do that, and was not very confident in my sewing nicely around anything small skillz. But I loved this fabric, and continued to carry it around in the shopping cart finally having the brilliant (yet questionable) idea to make a skirt out of it to go with a shirt.
So, following this tutorial for a bubble skirt, I'm going to attempt it.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Buddy's Report on Betsy Ross
As a Kindergartner, Buddy needs to learn about some famous Americans. One of those people is Betsy Ross. This is why we made a special stop at her house in Philadelphia (and because PS was excited to see it because Betsy Ross sews). With my help, Buddy created this flag based on the one Betsy Ross sewed for our new country. Here's his report, he got nervous when I started filming and was a little goofy.
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