The Great Adventure

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Look What I Did!! :)

I don't usually like to brag about things that I've done...I usually enjoy bragging about my children instead! :) But I'm so excited that I tackled (and finished!) this baby blanket! I learned to crochet many, many years ago (thanks, Mom!) but I've never done anything besides a basic rectangle full of all the same stitch, and I had NO idea how to read instructions for crochet patterns. I bought a "learn to crochet" pamphlet at JoAnn's a couple weeks ago, then found this cute pattern online. I started it last Thursday, to have something to do on the drive to D.C., and finished it last night. I still have a few loose ends to weave in, but it's basically done! Oh, and it's going to be a gift for a friend expecting a baby girl. I hope she likes it!

A close-up shot...it's predominantly double crochet, and I used a pink yarn and a variegated yarn.

Jordan asked if he could take my picture yesterday afternoon while I was working on it. It's not a great picture (not his fault, lol) but here it is.

I'm trying to revive some of my crafting skills that I haven't taken (or had) the time to use lately. I'm actually planning on making several Christmas gifts this year! We'll see how it goes!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Election Night!

Since we figured that Jeremy and I would be glued to the TV last night anyway, we decided to use the election night coverage as an educational experience for the 3 older boys and let them stay up and watch. They had already accompanied us to the polls earlier in the day and so experienced that part of the process, and were eager to learn more. I printed blank electoral college maps for the boys to color in as the results came in, and Jeremy was assigned the job of explaining how it all worked to the boys...gotta put that political science degree to work, after all! The boys made up some snacks, I made cookies, and we settled in to watch.

Jonathan with a tray of cheese and cracker sandwiches he made...

Jonathan with his map and crayons. We started out optimistic...as evidenced by his tiny stub of a blue crayon, lol!

Enjoying snacks and a lesson on American politics with Daddy...

Note the remote in the lower left corner...Jeremy, in true guy fashion, had to channel-surf through all the news stations every time one went to commercial or local news...

Jeremy, Josiah, and Joshua...

It's hard to tell, but there's a big grin behind that paci!

Brothers having fun together...as you can see the maps are almost colored in by this point.

While we were disappointed in the results of the election, we did enjoy some nice family time and the boys got their first lesson in the political process. Joshua even figured out that the first presidential election he will be able to vote in will be in 2020!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Friday Field Trip!

This past Friday we joined Jeremy on a trip to the Washington D.C. area. I had told the boys that while Jeremy was in his meetings, I would take them to the Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in D.C. What I did NOT realize was that we were actually going to be in Virginia practically next door to Dulles Airport, which is not really THAT close to D.C. It was going to be a half-hour or so drive to a park and ride for the subway, then another half-hour ride on the subway to the mall. But I resolved to keep my promise. Then, while Jeremy was online looking something up at the hotel, he found out that there is another branch of the Air and Space Museum that is right next to Dulles Airport! Woohoo!! This was going to be MUCH easier!!

We got off to a late start...we had gotten to the hotel pretty late Thursday, and the boys were wired and took a while to get to sleep. Then Josiah was up a couple times in the night, and Jeremy got up really early to be at his meeting by 7, I think, which of course woke me up. I did finally go back to sleep, praying that the boys would sleep in! The older 2 woke up first, at around 8, and I tried to get them to play their gameboys quietly for a bit, but for them whispering sounds more like shouting with laryngitis...in other words they tried, but could not really be called "quiet" at all!

We finally got everyone up, dressed, ready to go and headed out! Here are the older 4 ready to check out the planes...

Joshua and Jonathan were particularly excited about seeing the Blackbird. Here they are reading about it and checking it out...

Not a great picture of the plane, but here is the Blackbird.

Jordan watching some little video or other...

The boys enjoyed using the interactive computers that were scattered among the exhibits.

On the upper level of the airplane hangar section...

Yes, Josiah was with us, too! Unfortunately since he's usually hanging out in the stroller, he doesn't make it into many of the pictures!

This plane is kind of hard to see, but it has a tiny cockpit area, two outlaying parts, then a huge span of really narrow wings. Jonathan, who seems to think that planes are only for war or something, remarked that this was a really cool plane because it is so skinny that it would be really hard for a bullet to hit it. That's my Jon Jon!

Jordan in front of the Concorde...

Jonathan, Jordan, and Joseph in front of some acrobatic-looking plane that was hanging with its nose straight up towars the ceiling...

We took a break for lunch. Conveniently, there is a McDonald's inside the museum. Believe it or not, my boys really like McDonald's. Here's Jordan about to dig in...note the expression of joy at getting his beloved Happy Meal...

Jonathan enjoying his meal as well...

Joey in a rare moment of quiet contemplation...

It's VERY important to get every last little bit of caramel sauce out of the container...otherwise we wouldn't have enough energy to wear Mom out for the rest of the afternoon, or have a cute little blob of caramel on the end of our nose...

It's also not enough to dip french fries in ketchup...one must stir...

Joshua being goofy...

My boys love to get these flattened penny souvenirs whenever I will let them, which unfortunately for them isn't very often. We had passed the machine on the way into the McDonald's, and in a moment of goodwill I decided to present them with 2 quarters and a penny each (for the 3 older ones, that is) at the end of lunch. They were so excited, until we got to the machine and noticed that the silly things cost 4 quarters here instead of the usual 2. Joshua and Jonathan impressed me by offering to pool their quarters right away...then I managed to scrounge up 2 more for Jordan. Whew! Everybody ended up happy! Here's Jordan about to crank out his penny...

Cranking...

Look what I got!

Jon spent some of his allowance on this plastic claw thingy...

After lunch and souvenir penny-making, we headed up to the observation tower. This was really cool...we had a 360 degree panoramic view of the area! We spent some time watching planes land at Dulles, and looking at the displays in the tower.

I enjoyed the view of the fall trees.

More trees, and Dulles just behind them...

Jonathan...

Joey's favorite part was the ladybugs. Yes, there were a ton of ladybugs crawling around on the outside of the windows. This tower was 7 stories up...I didn't realize that ladybugs flew that high. Here Joey points out a ladybug...