Memorial Day

One of our last opportunities to take in the sites I was determined to get into DC today. The kids were game... I am so thankful I don't have to fight them to come.We got there early and actually split up... long story why but T and M enjoyed the American History Museum and the younger kids and I enjoyed the Air and Space museum. What a treat to visit the Air and Water section of this museum with a group of men that had served in the Navy together. They had met this Memorial Day for a reunion.
It was fun to see them remember when and tell stories among themselves.

R and S after I treated them to a simulator ride!

C and J at the Orville and Wilbur Wright display.

We then met for a picnic lunch out on the mall and while the 4 younger ones enjoyed some relaxing, an ice cream and a few games in the shade M, T and I went in so I could see Lincoln's hat and The flag that inspired Francise Scott Key- Star Spangled Banner (which I had missed for fetching the car at our last visit here).

All in all a successful trip as you can see from this tired boys face (sleeping with his eyes open) on the way home! I hope to make just a couple more and get it all worked in before our movers but one thing at a time!! For now we will take a nap!

Reston Community Orchestra

Seth had the opportunity to play with the Reston Community Orchestra for a Memorial Day concert here in Reston. He really enjoyed learning and being a part of this group.

I tried to load another video clip of Seth on the xylophone but I think it is too long... sorry. Hope you enjoy the one I was able to get on.

Once on this Island

M's last performance at SLHS she played Erzulie the goddess of love...
look closely at her dance partner here and you may recognize he was her prom date!

This was a tough weekend for a performance as the weather outside was great and many were gone for the holiday weekend. But the show must go on. We all (10) went to cheer M and her friends on and although we were nearly half the audience we were not dissappointed.
Great job guys!

DC with turners

Our day started with walking through the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.

Here are all our ducks in a row... yes that is a duck ramp into the water.

We called this The Jackalope, but its real name was Thinker on a Rock

Off to Fords Theater where we heard a detailed account of the events surrounding the assassination of our President Abraham Lincoln. It was really interesting and we all enjoyed it!

The booth Pres Lincoln was in the night he was shot.

Our ducks in a row again as we waited for the speaker to begin.

We found a nice bench right across from the Spy Museum for our packed picnic lunch.

Into the Spy Museum we went and spent about 3 hours here! Really enjoyed every minute! So many interesting things to see. Although not free like all the Smithsonian Museums it was one I recommend. Well done!

Our pack mules did a great job! (Sorry R... I always have my boys carry really bright backpacks so I can spot them in a crowd... thanks for not complaining R about Tigger!)

We had just enough time to swing by Arlington Cemetery. It was Memorial Day weekend there were flags on every headstone. Really pretty to see.

Can you believe S caught this bird in midair?

...here we all are at Kennedy's Memorial

And the changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Always very moving to watch.

It was a beautiful day with nice cool temps! Had it not been I am sure we would not have accomplished so much!! We were thankful!

We then headed home for traditional Friday fare... Pizza!

Idol Night

We all camped on on the couch the last two nights to watch the Idol end of season finale... TV is always more fun with a fun group ... even when your Idol doesn't win....

Cousins are always fun to see

The boys always do a great job of balancing computer fun with getting some fresh air!

C always enjoys J's love encouragement and friendship.

J loves his Uncle Jimmy

Not to mention Kim and I seem to think and plan alot alike...
we all get along great!
What a joy to have you guys come visit.

Washington Monument

Our goal today was to get to the top of the Monument. With a big storm last night, and rain predicted all day we were not sure if we would get it done but we set out to try. I've learned although the pictures don't always turn out great the best time to go into DC is on days such as these because it is comfortable temperatures and really thins the crowd! That and go in early so you can park for free and be leaving by the time the real crowd comes! Anyway, we had a great time and did indeed achieve our goal. Enjoy the photos!

When we left the house it was raining and rained heavier along the way but as we approached the bridge it began to stop. When we got out of the car the clouds were still pretty heavy and although the sun wasn't shining there was one beam right on the Lincoln. Below was taken after we were at the top on the WM... so you can see how is cleared up for us!

These are taken through the windows so look darker than they really were....

We then set off to finish off the Museum of Natural History.

We love being able to go in to the capital and take just a little at a time.

We've got to step up it a notch though... our days here are numbered!!

Happy Birthday to Me

John made me a card which had the number 23 on the cake... I'm thinking that's great!
(Mary went to the prom! Thanks Natasha for taking this picture.)

South Lakes High School Prom

Mary and her friend Alex go to the Prom.

They were so excited... and he was such a respectful, responsible guy. First he was brave enough to come talk to Joey face to face. Then he actually typed us out an itinerary with times and phone numbers of where they were eating and the prom location etc. And he had her home right on time (which was before the rest of the gang they were with, which he had no problems with that either.) Great guy! You can visit FB and see more pics, but these were my favorite.

Joey finishes class.

Joey's last day of Russian class! Here we are with his teachers... Galena below was in charge of his classes and did the majority of the teaching. The others (some not in the picture) gave her a break and him another voice to hear.
J (and Galena) was relieved to be done. He reached his goals on his exams and is now headed to Ukraine for immersion. Way to go!!!

when do you know?

well, I think you know you have a geriatric dog when your 1st grader comes home with a nice little project of him and his dog, and the dog has a a diaper on.... hummmm... I've been sitting here in denial... but pushing this cute little project around from table to desk, back to table (when it should really hit the trash with the move around the corner) I've obviously been wrestling with reality as well. Reality is she is getting old (14 yrs) and not doing great... so please pray for us as we deal with and decide what to do with our sweet Belle before we move. She doesn't like to have her picture taken these days... the flash is really bright.
so I had to surprise her around the corner....

.... sweet Belle....

Medok

Not much happened this week... hence no real posts... but I can't go a week with nothing so here we are... well, here they are... biology study partners and great friends... taking a break from preparing for their IB exam and eating Medok (a Russian honey cake dessert). BTW, E, thanks for editing my pic and driving M hither to and yonder! Good friends are great to have! We didn't expect to make many, if any, in the 1 yr we were here... but indeed we did.
But anyway, back to the Medok... last night we had been invited and went over to J's first Russian teacher's home for dinner. We had Georgian/ Ukranian/ Russian fare and really enjoyed trying many new dishes to include this yummy dessert, kabobs (shashlyk), and Georgian cheese bread (knachapuri) to name just a few. And oh the company was so nice, we had such a delightful evening... we do hope it is a foreshadowing of our times in Moscow!

Mother's Day

We all had a wonderful day doing a whole lot of nothing...