Rocket Man

On Wednesday, we went to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. It was pretty sweet. We saw lots of planes and spaceships and stuff. They had stuff that explains how planes fly. They even had a paper airplane contest (Daddy's plane was great).

They also had a room on planets. We've been talking about planets in school, so that was cool to see. I even learned something new: there are rings around your Uranus. Did you know there are rings around Uranus?

After the museum, we walked over to the Jefferson Memorial. It was really pretty. It looks out over the tidal pool toward the Washington Monument. You can also see the White House in the background. Very cool.

Monumental Walking

Last night, after it cooled down a bit (it was 90 degrees during the day), we walked around the monuments. We started at the Washington Monument. Then we walked to the World War II Memorial. Then we walked along the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial. Then over to the Koren War Memorial, then back to the other side for the Vietnam War Memorial, then back to the subway. It was a lot of walking.

White House

Yesterday, we went to see Barrack Obama's house. Our appointment was for 11 am, but I think Barrack Obama was busy when we got there so we had to wait outside for a while. I think he was having a prayer breakfast for the miners. Later in the day, we saw a clip of him "speeching" from the East Room.

When we finally got in, we walked through the rooms they let visitors see. We saw the Library, the Vermeil Room, the China Room, the East Room, the Green Room, the Blue Room, the Red Room, and the State Dining Room. My favorite room was "all of them." McKenzie's favorite was the "tea party room/wedding room" (the East Room), because it looked like a princess tea room.

The Capitol was Capital

We're in DC this week for spring break. We had planned to spend the week here anyway, before Aunt Sam died. She was going to spend some time with us. After her funeral in Richmond last week, we drove up Sunday to DC.

On Monday, we went on a tour of the US Capitol. The rotunda was pretty cool. Someone painted on the ceiling. I don't know my Mama and Daddy get so upset when I draw on the walls at our house...

On Monday night we drove out to Fairfax County to see Mike & Karen. Aunt Rach and her family came up, too. So did Uncle Ken and the kids. We had a good dinner (Daddy made Lomo Saltado, a peruvian dish) and played some fun games. Mike & Karen are great hosts. Thanks guys.

The Funeral

It was a hard week with the passing of Aunt Sam, but the funeral and other arrangements helped put it into perspective, and having lots of family around made it a little better.

I made friends with my cousin Noah. I drew a map to his hotel room so I wouldn't forget how to get there (it was across the hall from our hotel room). McKenzie made friends with Maggie (Noah's sister).

Josie made friends with everyone. She was so sweet and agreeable the whole time. Even Uncle Matt couldn't resist her.¹

¹ Which is pretty good, since Matt used to eat babies.²

² Just kidding. Uncle Matt used to deliver babies and I don't think he ate any of them. As you can see from the picture, he's a baby charmer.

Aunt Fireman Sam

I just found out that Aunt Sam died yesterday.

We sometimes called her Aunt Fireman Sam. She wasn't really a fireman. We just called her that after a cartoon in the UK called Fireman Sam to the Rescue. It was a term of endearment. Sometimes McKenzie would call her Grandma by mistake. Aunt Sam didn't think she was old enough to be called 'Grandma'.

When I said the prayer tonight, I said, "Please bless Aunt Sam that she'll feel better and that she'll be alive again." Isn't that what we all wish for?

McKenzie asked a lot of questions, like:

Q: How long will Aunt Sam be dead? (Like me, McKenzie knows that Aunt Sam, like all of us, will live again.)

A: A long time.

Q (to daddy): Will you die?

A: Not for a long time.

Q: Not for a long time?

A: I'll live for a long time.

Q: Did Aunt Sam live for a long time?

A: Not long enough.

McKenzie: I miss Aunt Sam.

Uncle Hebe & Princess Carley

Uncle Hebe and Princess Carley came to visit us last week. We had a lot of fun with them.

On Tuesday, we tried a new variation on Uncle Hebe's Stinky Cheeseburger recipe: we stuffed the gorgonzola cheese inside the burgers. We grilled them (it was in the mid-60s that day... jealous?) with buffalo sauce and pineapple slices. Mmm.

On Wednesday, we went to the Georgia Aquarium. We saw sting rays, sharks, jelly fish, and 'Nemo fish'. Then we went to the famous Varsity restaurant for some greasy burgers and fries.

On Thursday, Uncle Hebe made massaman curry. Finding coriander seed, cardamom pods, and shrimp paste (we had to substitute anchovies) was a challenge, but it was worth it.

On Friday night, everyone left us kids with grandma and grandpa and headed out on the town (apparently, to Eclipse di Luna for tapas). We said goodbye to Uncle Hebe and Princess Carley (they left early the next morning while we were still fast asleep). We loved having them and can't wait for them to come back.

Thanks for visiting!