D.C. Museums

Due to the extreme heat wave that D.C. was experiencing, we decided to spend much of our last two days inside, in the air conditioned buildings of some of the Smithsonian Institutions. The first stop? The National Air and Space Museum. Inside, we saw many famous aircraft and space capsules. In the photo below is the plane Amelia Earhart used on two history-making flights for women: the first was across the Atlantic Ocean and the second was across the United States. Next, we saw the Wright brothers' "Wright Flyer" that they used for that fateful flight back in 1903. Here is Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" that he used to be the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. We saw an IMAX movie, the kids visited a planetarium for the first time, and they even tried an airplane simulator. Lucky for us, Ben decided to take a nap during the show in the dark planetarium, and he stayed asleep for a good while longer. While the older two and Thomas did the simulator, I noticed this Mars rover that is to be launched this winter for Mars!Can you believe that we spent an entire day in the Air & Space Museum?

Before we move on to the next museum we visited . . . we walked across the Mall numerous times during our trip. After our Capitol tour on Thursday, the kids were mesmerized by the building and checked it out at each crossing. Where did we head next? Our second and final museum stop was the National Museum of American History. One of the definite highlights for the kids was seeing this C3PO figure. (As usual, Ben did not want to be in the picture.) We spent a lot of time learning about the Presidents and even pretended that we were one. Thomas and Hayes spent the entire afternoon in the "Price of Freedom". This exhibit showcased all of the wars in which our country has fought, and Hayes was fascinated by it all. Eleanor, Ben and I moved around to see everything else. We saw the American flag that was raised at Ft. McHenry celebrating our victory in the War of 1812. This same flag then inspired Francis Scott Key to write our national anthem. In addition, we loved seeing all of the inaugural balls of the first ladies, especially the gown worn by Michelle Obama. I was excited to see Julia Child's actual kitchen that she used for her cooking shows. In the large History of Transportation wing, I encountered this toy car. My grandparents had a very similar version of toy car, though theirs was a fire truck that they kept in their basement when I was growing up. As kids, we'd push the levers with our feet and get the truck to go! Next, I had to chuckle when I saw that the Smithsonian actually included the Plymouth Voyager as part of its exhibit. We bought the first Plymouth Voyager in my hometown, probably due to the fact that the dealership's owner lived two doors down from us. I never would have thought back then that the Voyager symbolized a huge change in family travel.

We spent another entire day in this museum and still did not see everything. We definitely look forward to returning to D.C. one day and visiting some of the museums we did not get to visit this go-around.

The FBI

On Friday while in D.C., Thomas's close friend, Agent Ryder, treated us to a private tour of the FBI. One of my favorite memories of my childhood trip to D.C. was the tour of the FBI building so I was eager to see it again. Post 9-11, the FBI is closed to the public, but it still maintains a museum detailing all of the FBI's greatest investigative operations. Agent Ryder led us through this museum. Some of the highlights of the museum include information on the battle with the mob during the 1920s, the Oklahoma City bombings, and of course, 9-11. This museum was Hayes's first introduction to 9-11, and the concept of someone intentionally flying an airplane into a super-tall building was beyond his comprehension.

For the kids, the highlight of the overall FBI tour was seeing the wall of the FBI's "Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives." (Ben did not want to be in the picture.) It is hard to believe that Osama Bin Laden, who was killed May 1, is still showing up on the list. The word "DECEASED" is stamped in large, red letters across his sheet. Andy said that it is a HUGE deal to take someone down and that agents are busy campaigning to get their "bad guy" to take Osama's place. The list also includes "Whitey" Bulger who was just captured earlier this summer in California. His sign is stamped "CAPTURED" in the bottom right corner.

Thomas and Hayes had some fun making their own bad guy faces for these signs in the FBI building.
Thomas's criminal look is pretty convincing, don't you think?!

The tour was eye-opening for the kids because I don't think they truly realized that there were bad guys in real life. Luckily, they were assured by Agent Ryder that the FBI works hard to find all of the bad guys and keep our country safe!

Off to Our Nation's Capital

It is hard to believe that summer is quickly coming to a close. As one final summer hurrah, we took the kids up to D.C. to see and learn about our nation's capital.

The first official stop of our trip? On Thursday morning, we had an 8am tour of the White House. The rules regarding this tour are extremely tight. We could not bring anything with us, including a purse, camera, sippy cup for Ben or a stroller. They do allow phones once you are outside the building but that is it. So, to document the fact that we were there, we took these two obligatory photos.The highlight of the tour for Hayes was seeing the State Dining Room while Eleanor liked that the rooms were all color-themed. Ben kept asking where the presents were because he thought that the word President sounded enough like presents that there should be some around.

After a great lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill, we were off to the Capitol for an afternoon tour. The building was abuzz as the nation's representatives feverishly worked to find a compromise on raising the government's debt ceiling. We enjoyed learning about the history of the building through our guided tour.
Eleanor's favorite part about the Capitol tour was seeing the beautiful inside of the dome. Finally, to end the day, we took a two-hour, two-mile walking tour of the monuments. The tour started at 7pm, after some of the withering heat had diminished for the day. We met our tour guide right across the street from the White House. I was amazed at how many people were out in the mall and the yard of the White House playing organized games of soccer, softball or kickball.

We started off learning about the Washington Monumentwith the White House to our backs. We then moved on to the World War II Memorial.It quickly became dark as we hit both the Vietnam War and the Korean War Memorials. When we ended at the Lincoln Memorial, it definitely was dark. Both the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument were lit up for the night. Luckily, we had walked to the Lincoln Monument the day before, shortly after we arrived in DC, because the kids were shot once the clock reached 9pm marking the end of our tour.

All in all, we estimated that the older two kids walked over 4 miles on this day. They were great sports considering the heat and long day their mom planned for them!

Silly Bandz Trading Still Going On

The silly bandz trading fad has definitely waxed and waned over the past year and a half (!), but it sure seems to be hot again this summer. Eleanor and Hayes keep trying to head down our street to find a willing neighbor with which they can trade their silly bandz. Their normal trading partners, Francie and Maddy, have both been eager to do business with E and H so the huge Ziploc bag of the combined Carroll silly bandz is a common sight around our house again. Happy trading!

Shirtless Sleepers

One night at the beach earlier this month, the boys decided that they did not want to wear their pajama shirts to bed. They thought sleeping shirtless was so cool! They have not looked back since, as they are still going to sleep each night bare-chested. It will be interesting to see if their opinions change once the weather starts to cool.

Ben Thinks He's So Cool

Ben turned to me the other day and said, "Mom, I'm a big boy so I'm COOL." Boy, oh boy! I think I'll have my hands full with this child over the coming years!

Night Swimming

On our last night at Jekyll, the high tide peaked right around 8pm. Family tradition is to always go out and swim during high tide. We had not done it all week so the kids decided that Friday night was their night to swim, even as the sun faded away. Ben, after shying away from the ocean for the two weeks in total spent in Ponte Vedra and Jekyll, finally chose to get in the water! Though it got dark quickly, the kids had a ball in the rough waves and walked away from the beach for the last time this summer with smiles on their faces.

The Required Visit to Summer Waves

As expected, the kids were eager for a visit to Summer Waves. We hit the water park one overcast afternoon while Ben took his nap. Hayes was dying to see "The Bucket" as we've affectionately named this specific attraction. I've written about his obsession with it before , though not much has changed over the last two years. "The Bucket" is still the highlight of our visits! Why? Nothing like hearing a bell toll as a large bucket full of water is gradually tips over and dunks you with water. In addition to experiencing "The Bucket", the kids rode in the Lazy River, swam in the Wave Pool, went down a slide or two and had fun with some squirt machines. Good times were had by all!