Hannah: Pretty wall!
Tanner: It's an old fountain.
Allison: I just said "Booger"!
Momma: Yep, Allison just said "Booger."
(Outside the Capitol Building--New Year's Eve--2004)
Happy New Year! Wow. 2005. Hopefully this will be a year of peace, love, and good choices.
Um, unlike the choices we made yesterday.
Okay, we didn't necessarily make bad choices, but we certainly weren't thinking when we, like crazy people, decided to take our children on a little jaunt into the city, via the Metro, and check out the sights. This, of course, all the while knowing we would all be attending a New Year's Eve party at the Browns' residence later that evening. You know, 'til midnight. With the kids. Late, late at night. Yep. We're brilliant, we know.
Anyhoos, we heard there was an outdoor skating rink--a la Rockefeller Center, NYC--near the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art, so we were off on an adventure. And what an adventure it was! There is, in fact, a small outdoor skating rink, but it was sardine-packed, so we moved on to the Capitol, where the kids discovered a beautiful dry fountain and a really cool wall, and they walked on that wall, by golly. We've recorded the walk for posterity. Oh, and the pretty fountain, too, never fear.
Let me just say, there are a rather large number of seagulls at the Capitol. And seagull poop. Very nasty. The guidebooks don't mention this, but it's true. Just so you know. BIG LOTS of seagull poop. Oh, and there are the thick-witted little pigeons that don't move until you are just about to trip over them and have to kick at them. (Did you ever see that "Seinfeld"? Har.) Dumb pigeons.
Then we moved on to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum where there were numerous airplanes, rocket ships, and space stations to explore. Did you know that astronauts sleep standing up in a "sleeping restraint"? Well, they do! We saw! And the whole toilet situation looks pretty dicey, if you ask me. Oh! And please note the way-cool picture I took while sprawled on the ground of the museum, much to the abject horror of my germaphobic children.
They were all, "Hey! MOM! Get off the floor! There are germs down there!" Honestly.
We hopped back on the Metro and hit Union Station next, but forgot to take pictures, which is really too bad, as it looks bee-oooo-tiful right now, all decorated for the holidays and such. The children were most impressed with the "real" wreaths the size of small Volkswagens suspended outside the building. They were a'ight, but I liked the food court best (hey, it was WAY past lunch at this point!).
On the way home, Aaron dazzled Metro riders with his Aristotlian parenting skills. This involved asking the children random "thought-provoking" questions and giving out his spare change as a reward. The following is an excerpt of this shining moment of parenting:
TGIM: Tanner, what are the oceans of the world?
(Tanner lists them, a dime changes hands)
TGIM: Hannah, what is the capital of Virgina?
(Hannah yells "Richmond!", a nickel changes hands)
TGIM: Allison, how do you spell "Dad"?
(unbelievably, Allison pulls through on this one and a dime changes hands)
At one point Hannah rattled off the seven continents of the world, Tanner named a big wave caused by an earthquake under the ocean, and Allison spelled "pop." There was a race to see who could sing the backwards ABC's the quickest, but I won that one easily. Disappointingly, I did not receive even a red cent for the feat. Rude.
By the time we got home, there were only a few hours left before the party. And I didn't even mention that quick trip to Costco for party appetizers, did I?
Needless to say, we are all a little grumpy today. A tad. But we all agree that yesterday was awesome fun, and the New Year's Eve party was a wicked success. (Remind me to write about the "Bouncy Bounce" in the Browns' basement. And "Deraoke." Emilie is hilarious. Seriously.)
So here's to a new year. 2005. May this year be full of peace, love, and good choices, for all of us.
TGIM: We are too cool.
Momma: Whatever.
(New Year's Eve--2004--Please note Tanner dodging a low-flying, kamikaze-like pigeon. Dumb pigeons.)
