Three Weeks Ago...

Has it already been three weeks since I wrote this post, telling you we were headed into DC for an adventure?  Time flies...

I'll go ahead and tell you about it then!  With pictures!

But first, let me say that we had another DC adventure just this morning.  I will not post pictures now, because that will send me over the edge, what with all the pictures from three weeks ago that I am about to post, but I will say that this morning's adventure was short and sweet.  Chet got some advice yesterday from our next-door-neighbor regarding a good place to park (rather than taking the Metro), so we parked in front of the Department of the Interior building, and headed to a park with a pond and fed ducks and geese.  Then we walked to the area where you can view the back "yard" of the White House.  And that was it!  We were gone a little over two hours, and it was a perfect Saturday morning outing.

Okay, so back to three weeks ago...

We loaded up my diaper bag and Chet's backpack, brought two strollers and two baby carriers, and caught a Metro bus a block from our house just before 10 a.m.  We rode the bus to a Metro rail station, then took the rail into DC.  Obviously, riding the bus and the rail was half the adventure.

Ford (Bubby) fell asleep before we even got to the rail station:

Chet and I were scared to death one of the girls was going to take a flying leap onto the tracks:

Our mission was to visit the Museum of Natural History.  I love that all of the museums are free.  This two-year DC tour is such an amazing opportunity to (semi-cheaply) immerse ourselves in culture and history.  It was a short walk to the museum from the rail station, and I cannot remember any details about this building or statue, but I think the pictures are pretty:

 

The museum was crowded, but not unbearable.  We started out by eating lunch in one of the museum's several cafes, which served amazing, and amazingly expensive, food.  It was worth it though.

 

With a four- and two-year old, you don't get to spend much time reading about the exhibits.  Instead, it's like a parenting challenge, where your mission is to protect the exhibits from your climbing children and to prevent Lorelei from photobombing other family's photos (which she did).  (In case you aren't familiar with the term "photobomb" click here.)

 

The Hope Diamond

 There was a hands-on children's area in the museum that Chet and the girls spent quite a while in.  Bubby and I hung out just outside this area, guarding the strollers, making friends with foreigners who were drawn to Bubby like moths to a flame, and looking at the nearby African American History and Culture exhibit.  At one point I looked through the window into the children's area and saw Chet filling out something on a clipboard.  His text a few minutes later told me, "Syd is doing a touch screen study with GW [George Washington University] researchers."  Well.

 

Not so sure anymore after a minute...

 

The trip home was a little more eventful than the trip into the city, because we had to wait longer between rail stations and at the bus stop.  Lorelei was wired on the rail, because apparently NOT napping is some sort of stimuli for her:

Syd was pooped though (as was Bubby, who was napping in the baby carrier strapped to my chest):

Despite the long wait at the bus station for the final leg of our trip, the girls were well behaved and kept themselves entertained: 

 

 

The moment we walked through our front door that late afternoon, Chet and I turned on the TV for the girls and had a beer.  It was a good day, but quite exhausting.  I think letting three weeks pass between adventures into the city was a smart move on our part.

 

Happy Saturday!