Teaching the 57th Inaugural

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What are those flowers at the Smithsonian Castle?

Photo by kimberlyfaye @ Flickr

I have had several inquires about the trees pictured in my March post about the Smithsonian Castle. These are not Cherry Blossoms, they are tulip magnolias.

Museum: Smithsonian Gardens-Enid A. Haupt Garden

A 4.2-acre rooftop park, named for its donor, features an embroidered parterre in a geometric design of plants and flowers rotated seasonally, an Asian-influenced garden adjacent to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and a Moorish-influenced garden adjacent to the National Museum of African Art. Saucer and tulip magnolias, wide brick walks, and 19th-century cast-iron garden furnishings from the Smithsonian Gardens' Garden Furniture Collection line the perimeter. The entrance gates off Independence Avenue were re-created from a design by James A. Renwick Jr., architect of the Smithsonian Institution Building, the Castle.

Wordless Wednesday: Finally Spring

The Twelve Days of Christmas in Washington, D.C.

As part of our holiday celebration we are reading "The Twelve Days of Christmas in Washington, D.C." by Candice Ransom. This is a great way for us to discover the city and start new family traditions.

So far we have done 5 of the 12 activities discussed in the book. Most of which have been free admission and loads of fun. However the blistering cold of the last couple of weeks have made each an adventure dressing for winter.

I have been having camera issues so most of the pictures will be borrowed from other sources on the web.

Some of our favorites are:

Zoolights at the National Zoo

A chilly Saturday morning visit to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The lobby has a beautiful glass floor with an amazing Christmas tree.

While there we visited the First Ladies at the Smithsonian exhibition. The gowns were wonderful and the space incredible.



My favorite dress. I loved it! The shoes were AWESOME!
Also on the display is the George Washington Statue from 1841. This was a different view of the first president. I personally did not care for it. Then Ironhide say "Look at your man, now look at your president" (reference the Old Spice commercial), I was well and truly done.




And of course the Ruby Slippers.


Our next adventure was on a cold and windy day to visit The White House and the famous squirrels at Lafayette Park.

The original black and gray squirrels where actual escapees from the zoo who found a home here in the park. These are the chubbiest squirrels I have ever seen. They have no fear of people and will come right up to you. When I did not feed them one actually stepped to block my way.

We were all in awe of The White House. It is beautiful sight.



And of course it would not be DC without the Washington Monument.
Well that is all for now.

Blessings,

Wordless Wednesday: Fieldtrips

April Thus Far........................

Okay this month has been busy with classes, co-op, work and learning. It seems my head barely hits the pillow and the alarm goes off. A couple of weeks ago I actually fell asleep folding laundry. I miss blogging because it is my record keeping tool. Plus it is fun, but it seems like it has been added onto the chores of things “To Do”.
Sometimes I forget we just moved and it takes at least a year or two to get adjusted to a new city. I praise God every day for the good that is in our lives and I trust him to provide for the things we seek.

So what have we been doing this month…hmmmm

We got to see the Cherry Blossom Festival! It was amazing especially after all the snow.



We also did the Smithsonian Natural History before tourist season began in mid April.





Our son had his first science fair. Way to Go son!

We learned about simple machines.

We also studied three FIAR books, but more on that later.