4th Of July 2011

Sat night I was taking the dogs for a walk and I saw the "party court"

was setting up fireworks, so i got kenn and B and we watched them.

I love having such great neighbors that we can spend time doing

things like that with.

We had a low Key Sunday, Church, Grocery Shopping, cleaning

Although for lunch Kenn made an amazing soup from scratch!

It was butternut squash/MD Crab soup.

He did such a good job making it also!

I may have to worry about kitchen competition now!

That evening we wanted to watch fireworks.
We were worried about going out on Monday night and not getting home

till late and then all of us having to work/school in the AM.

So we kept looking for places and things happened where it didn't work out.

Finally we decided to go to the GB ones (which I had never seen)

We parked at our church's parking lot and decided to sit in the front lawn instead of

walking down to the park. There were maybe 100 people where we were.

We had our ColdStone Creamery IceCream. Chairs, it was really nice

the 3 of us were holding one hand together and B looked up at me and said

"we have the best family in the WHOLE world"

I love him!!! we were snuggling and giggling the whole time.

Then the fireworks started and we had perfect seats.

B kept saying "thats what I'm talking about"

he's such a ham.

We got out really easily and it was a perfect sunday.

Monday we took it easy and just hung out in the AM

then met up with my parents for lunch and went to play golf.

First we did putt putt

This is b on the second hole, where he made a hole in one!

Then we went to hit balls at the driving range.
(he's watching the master)

then B's turn to
"let the big dogs hunt"

He really had a great time.

We will be doing this again soon i'm sure.

finished the day with a cookout and ice cream sundaes.

I was not ready to go back to work today!

Day 2 of the 4th Weekend... Pirates!

Sat morning we set sail on a pirate adventure!

We invited another family to go, and left Fells Point at 11:30am.

First the kids get pirate clothing, name and a tattoo.

(he is buccaneer Brandon, then Crabby Kenn and Heather the horrible)

Brandon was very excited to go until he had to deal with the pirates directly.

Due to lack of sleep the night before (we stayed out really late)
he was a little shy and sensitive during the trip.

Daddy and Kenn "all hands on deck"

we set sail around the Inner Harbor

and B's favorite parts were shooting the water cannon.

Then they shoot the cannons at a bad pirate that is sailing around the ship

Then some dancing

After they got the treasure back from the bad pirate they got to get some

of course at the end he really warmed up...

Our Pirate Tattoos

Pirate Faces

That evening (after a nap)

we went to see Cars 2 at the movies with GrandMom and GrandRuss

this was prob the best he's sat in a movie ever. he was really into it!

4th of July Weekend

This year we decided to make a long Holiday of the 4th of July and take off on Friday.

We spent the day in DC at the Smithsonian.

We drove in and began our trip at "the Castle".

This picture is actually the beautiful gardens behind it.

we walked through to get to the main walkway and that's

the first time in my life that I have been in that building.

They actually had the tomb for the founder which we walked by...

We told B about all the different museums and he decided to go

to the Air and Space Museum.

I had also never been there.

(Due to lack of interest in anything space related)
The lobby...

Inside the children's area which consisted of a lot of machinery

and physical science things which once again

I know nothing... nor wish to learn about.
B and Kenn moving an engine.

We then went to the space areas...

Brandon moving a prism to make a rainbow

so we talked about breaking up light
that i know a little about...

rather scary missiles...

B and Kenn in the wright brothers room

bad picture of the Amelia Earhart plane

Now this stuff i was interested in...

the whole WWII room.

That Brandon FLEW through of course

(no pun intended)

Spirit of St. Louis

B by the planets

some WWII plane that B loved. he called it the

"Target Plane"

I am thinking that wasn't the pilot's intentions...

I did tell him that Uncle Colin's grandfather flew a plane in the war.

Otherwise he would point at a plane or an item in the museum and ask about it

and I'd go "umm its a plane?"

Yeah i was zero help in this place. I know now how bored kenn feels

when I drag him everywhere else.

We had a surprisingly nice lunch there

and moved on down to the Museum of Nat. History

We started with the Mammals...

Then the sealife,

B with a gigantic squid

then the Dinosaurs

B and the Stegosaurus.
He liked to count the plates

Daddy and B and the Femur? of a Brachiosaurus .

Oh how the familiarity of this museum washes over me.

B and his favorite dinosaur Triceratops or as he used to say

"trinocerous"

Which is rhinoceros and triceratops mixed

went upstairs to see the butterflies, Hope diamond

and a beautiful photography collection which is limited.

The trip is not complete without icecream.

Both B and I look excited to have our pictures taken

during such Icecream.

B said this day was his favorite of the whole weekend

and that he loved the space museum the best.

we love being so close to DC and now that he's older

try to take advantage more frequently!