A Trip to the Museum

Yesterday, we went on a trip to DC to see the Museum of Natural History with the kids and my parents. It was supposed to be in the low 30's, but I think it was a tad warmer (whew!) Somehow, my amazing husband scored us a 3 hour parking space RIGHT IN FRONT. Woo hoo, Mike! (OK... pure luck, but it happened.)

We had a great time looking at all of the dinosaurs, the Hope diamond, a huge magnetic stone (I think the kids spent 20 minutes throwing paperclips at it!), and so much more. I saw a pair of gorgeous huge earrings of Marie Antoinette. Supposedly through a genealogist cousin of ours, we are descendants of hers... think they'll give me those earrings now? Ha ha ha. Mike, Dad, and I enjoyed the photography exhibit. It amazes me how close to nature some of these photographers can come. My absolute favorite was probably the oddest one. It was a photo of the top of the water of a river. A lone trunk stuck straight up into the air, the only part of an elephant above the water and being used as a snorkel of sorts. Until I read the title "Crocodile Attack" and the description, I had no idea that the ripples around the trunk were actually a crocodile attacking the base of the trunk of the elephant. Apparently, it was trying to pull the trunk underwater, but the elephant was strong enough to make his way out of the river. The guide to the photographer said it was the first time he ever saw a crocodile attempt to attack an elephant! You just don't see things like this in suburbia. A friendly fox is the closest I get to nature. :-)

Tommy was a wild man, of course, at the museum... running left and right and straightforward at a million miles an hour. Fortunately that building is HUGE!! At one point, he turned around and said, "Come on, Nana! Are you coming or NOT???" Ok, that doesn't seem funny until you hear it from a goofy 3 year old who has just recently begun to speak well. He had the most fun in a section of bones. Apparently there was a pile of bones in one exhibit (I wasn't with him at this time). He said, "Oh man! This one is broken." My parents teased him that he needed to put the puzzle back together. He refused.

After this, we took a pitstop at a huge mall nearby. After lunch at Brio (my favorite restaurant), the kids had a blast going on a spending spree. Add Nana and kids to a mall, and I guarantee the kids will leave with a bag or two and a smiling face. They got 3 Webkinz (including the newest Love Frog and Easter Duck... two exciting finds) and much more. Tommy got a whole Cars set from Disney, which of course was necessary to add to his collection of hundreds of cars. LOL Mike and I had a good ol' time in the Apple store. The kids got their toys... why didn't we get ours? We did decide on the laptop we'll be getting next. :-) Which reminds me of the reason we need a laptop... our upcoming trip to China.

In case you haven't seen my other blog... we have FANTASTIC NEWS! We are matched up with an adorable girl from China. We'll be flying out this summer to pick up "Gracelynn"! For more detailed adoption news, check out www.ourjourneytofour.blogspot.com .