Science Experiment

We are doing a unit on Marie Curie in homeschool right now. Early in their married life, Marie's husband Pierre did research on crystals. So, in honor of Pierre Curie, we grew some crystals of our own today. Here are the results:

Pinspiration

A couple of years ago, my dad built a fireplace mantle for me as a Christmas gift. This year I saw an idea on Pinterest and asked Dad to make me something similar for Christmas. I love how it turned out! Now I just need to purchase some baskets for the shelf.

The Pinspiration 

Our version

Ketchup

This post is not about catching-up. It's literally about ketchup. (And about testing out the blogger app on my phone.) Tonight Henry really enjoyed dipping his dinner in ketchup... And rubbing it on his hands. And face. And hair. He went straight into the bath after dinner.

Last Day in D.C./Visiting Mount Vernon

Today was our last day of vacation (unless you want to count driving home tomorrow). We tried to cram as much into this last day as possible! We checked out of our hotel, drove down Embassy Row, over to the Capital building, past the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, out to Arlington National Cemetery, and finally ended the day at Mount Vernon (www.mountvernon.org).

 The U.S. Capital Building

 The front of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

 The back of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

 Arlington National Cemetery

 The massive number of tombstones is a little overwhelming and pretty humbling. I am grateful to anyone who has chosen to serve our country.

"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God"

 The kids in front of George Washington's house at Mount Vernon - I promise that we got closer than this! We took the tour, but there is no photography aloud inside the house.

 Thanks to the kind stranger who offered to take a family picture for us.

 This was the greenhouse (not too shabby).

 We walked through the garden outside the greenhouse while waiting for our tour time at the main house.

 Pretty picture, Jay!

 Some of the other buildings on the estate

 George's backyard

 This is George Washington's tomb (his wife, Martha, and other family members are also buried here).

This was the original tomb on the estate (photo courtesy of mangalorean.com - I looked weird in the picture Jay took). George Washington was first buried here, then moved to the other tomb once it was completed.

Down by the wharf at Mt. Vernon

That is the official end of our vacation. We had a fabulous time! For anyone who is thinking about visiting Washington, D.C., know this: Mount Vernon is the only thing we paid to do this week (and well worth it). All three museums we visited and the zoo are part of the Smithsonian and didn't cost us a dime (the Smithsonian complex includes 19 museums, the zoo, and 9 research centers). Admission to the National Archives is also free.  We did pay for parking at Arlington National Cemetery, but that cost was minimal. It was a really affordable trip and educational as well (for us and the kids). I am so grateful that we were able to go as a family, and I'd like to go back when Charlotte and Henry are older.

The National Air and Space Museum

Jason's conference was finished up around noon, so we went to the National Air and Space Museum today. I think this was Jason's favorite out of the museums, and I bet my dad would love it. It was pretty cool. There is a large hands-on science exhibit that was awesome for the kids.

 The grounds outside the hotel were so pretty! I thought we should take advantage of the backdrop and get some pictures of the kids.

 The lush green foliage was a nice change from the brown, drought afflicted Indiana landscape.

 Inside the National Air and Space Museum

 A space suit... and Sophie and Chloe

 Charlotte was playing with one of the experiments in the exhibit.

 

 Let's hope when she drives a car she does a better job of keeping her eyes forward! All the girls took a turn flying the plane.

 One of the airplanes on display...

 Another plane...

 And yet another plane. :-)

 I thought the solar system was great. It was neat to be able to see the relative size of all the planets and the sun (Jupiter is the large yellow ball on top. The sun in the yellow sliver to the left).

 Outside the museum at the end of the day

 We decided to walk down to the Smithsonian Castle before going back to the hotel. I hate this picture of me, but there aren't many of the two of us.

 The girls in front of the Castle

 Jason wanted a shot of Chloe "touching" the top of the Washington Monument.

 Sophie wanted to do it too.

 Heading back after another great day!

The National Zoo

Jason was scheduled to be at his conference all day today, so the kids and I ventured out to the National Zoo. We were able to walk since it was only a few blocks from the hotel. It was a beautiful day, but very hot!

 I love to see animals that we don't have at our zoo in Indy. The gorillas were neat to watch.

 The zoo built a huge tower and cable system called "The O Line" that allows the orangutans to move between two enclosures. We don't have these guys in Indy either.

 Picnic lunch at the zoo. Yum!

I love photos with all the kids!

 I loved this shot Sophie took of herself in a mirror!

 In addition to these two lions, there was another pair in a neighboring enclosure. They were so loud!

 We saw a couple of fawns at the zoo. They are actually not part of a zoo exhibit, but they must live nearby because there are signs posted that read, "Please do not feed the wild deer."

There are only four zoos in the U.S. that have pandas: San Diego, Memphis, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. We took Chloe to the San Diego Zoo in 2003, but since she was so young, I doubt she remembers seeing the pandas there!

 All the kiddos at the zoo entrance at the end of the day.

There are two of these lion statues flanking either side of the entrance.

After our day at the zoo we headed back to the hotel to meet up with Jason and order pizza for dinner. We missed having Daddy with us at the zoo, but we still had a good time.