O is for Obelisk

Bill's Christmas present from our nephew Laurence was a trip for the family to the top of the Washington Monument. We bought the tickets for the first day of the Cherry Blossom Festival so we could enjoy both downtown DC sights in one day. Unfortunately, some of the kids were sick, so Bill only took the older four. It was a beautiful sunny day, and even though the trees weren't at their peak, they were still very pretty.

Charles took this picture of Bill and Anthony and parts of Maria and Thomas:



Here is a view of the Lincoln Memorial from the top of the Washington Monument.

Charles, Thomas, Anthony, and Maria near one of the cherry trees. The first year we went, Charles asked if we could go back to pick the cherries. (In case you are wondering, these are ornamental cherry trees bred for their blossoms. They do not bear fruit.)



Uncle Bill says thank you, Laurence!

A Historic Opportunity

Today the kids and I went downtown with our friends the Beardsleys to be a part of the March for Life. The east end of the mall was wall to wall people, all of us there to protest legalized abortion and pray that the people of our country will come to recognize the dignity of each person from conception to natural death. It may have been less orderly than Tuesday's inauguration (which we watched on TV), but DC was filled with many courteous and helpful souls. A man on the metro shook my hand and told me it was a privilege to meet me. A woman cheerfully helped us squeeze into the tiny metro elevator. Everywhere we walked, teenagers oohed and awed over baby Joseph asleep in a carrier on my back, and older men helped me move the double stroller up and down curbs. And the Beardsleys were there helping manage the troops and making sure no child got left behind. The kids were troopers. Even though they were tired by the end of the walk, they were all excited to have stood up for what is right and were full of questions about how people cannot realize that abortion is murder and when will it end. I wonder the same thing.














Here is Thomas in front of the Supreme Court, and Maria and MacKenzie happy that we have finished the march. Above Mary Chris, Carter, Ronan, and Thomas pose in front of John Paul the Great HS's "Life is Great" sign on the Mall. Blog header is Anthony with the Washington Monument whited out behind him.

First Day of School

On Labor Day we went in our car to Union Station. Then we walked from Union Station to the Botanical Garden and on the way we saw a fountain. There were some chairs that we all got to sit in next to each other.

We got to go to the Children's Garden in the Botanical Garden.
In the Children's Garden Anthony got to pump some water.

Then I took tons of pictures and made a secret and quiet place which wasn't really secret but was quiet and lovely.

There was a little play house right across from the bench we ate lunch at. We got to visit almost the whole thing of the Botanical Gardens except for 2 rooms.

Then we got to go to the Air and Space Museum.

We got to build a rocket with our fingers, measure our weight on the moon and on Earth, and touch a piece of the moon. We got to play some games like loading to go to Mars and building space stations on Mars. Maria put a lot of swimming pools in hers!

There were 3 computers for the 2 games I just listed. We had tons of fun. And we each got 2 packets of MnMs. We got to go to the sitting fountain on the way back, and then we drove home and mostly played with our friends. narrated by Thomas

"C" The Capitol Building

In May, a friend I met online arranged for a tour of the Capitol Building for a few homeschool families. I borrowed a teenager and metroed us into the city for the day. I would have loved to stay and just look at the art, but there wasn't time. We did say hi to some statues that have duplicates at the capitol in Honolulu and take a gallery tour where we watched a bill about mortgage rates debated. I thought they wouldn't be interested, but at the end of the day, all the kids said the debate was their favorite part.

The House and Senate make their home

Beneath the Capitol's great dome.

Me, Anthony and Thomas; Mary Chris and Cecilia with the Kamehameha I statue from Hawaii; the kids and me with the Fr. Damien statue; waiting to go on the gallery tour (for the record, Maria made a face in every picture); me, Joseph, and Ronan; Katie, Mary Beth, my kids, and our friend Elizabeth who came with me to help that day