A Day in D.C.

Following my cousin's graduation, we made a one-day visit to D.C.   There is so much to see in D.C..  We decided to go to some places that we had not visited before.  Our first stop was the National Archives.  Here we saw some of the major documents of our country- including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.  Photography was not allowed in most parts of the building, so we only have a picture of the outside.  There were a lot of people inside of this building.  I'm sure it gets even crazier as the summer wears on.  









Our second stop was Ford's Theater.  Hannah's family went to D.C. last year and this was one of the places that they recommended we check out.  It was really cool.  Before entering the theater the kids got an activity pack to be a Junior Ranger.  They worked so diligently during the entire exhibit to find answers to their activities so that they could earn their badge.  I love it when places have things like this because it really helps the kids get involved (and it frees me up to enjoy the exhibit myself).

 We saw the actual gun that John Wilkes Booth used to shoot Lincoln, and we saw the theater box where he was shot.  I usually hate sharing a tour with school kids on a field trip, but it actually worked out well for once.  The teacher of this group of kids stood in the front of the theater and started teaching her class about the assassination.  She was a good speaker and her lesson was very interesting.  All of the other visitors stopped to take a seat and listen to her lesson.  The park ranger eventually had to stop her because the tour was a walk-through and no one was walking through.

 Our ticket for Ford's Theater also allowed us to enter the house where Lincoln died, which is across the street from the theater.  There is a museum beside the house where they have a four-story column of every book ever written about Abraham Lincoln.

 A bonus about visiting Ford's Theater is that it is located right next door to the Hard Rock Cafe.  We made sure to make a stop here.

While we were eating, we discussed how we would like to spend the rest of our day.  The kids wanted to go to one of the Smithsonian Museums.  After a short discussion, they chose the American History Museum.  We haven't spent much time in this museum before, so it was a good choice.  We didn't have time to see every room, so we focused on the innovations room and the Americana room.  We also saw the original Star Spangled Banner (it's huge).  

 Olivia's favorite museum finds included a Tesla motor (she did a project on him last year), and the ruby slippers.

Owen liked seeing an Elmo puppet.

 I took a picture of Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves not knowing that he would pass away that same evening.

 Daddy had never seen the WWII Memorial, so we made the long trek down the mall so that he could check it out.  This was our last stop. We were pretty tired, so we headed to our hotel where we pretty much fell out from exhaustion.  D.C. is a lot of walking.

Mackenzie's Graduation

 The kids and I took a road trip in early June to attend my cousin Mackenzie's high school graduation.  Mackenzie has done well in high school and will be attending Salisbury University in the fall.  I must admit that I thought she was the prettiest, smartest, and nicest of all the graduates in her high school (I am biased, I know).  I was happy to get to spend time with my Cook cousins.  Lots of family came in before graduation, so we were able to visit with them on the evening before commencement.  We also went to the graduation after-party and spent more time visiting with everyone.

My Cook cousins live in Columbia, Maryland (outside of Balitmore), so it was a bit of a drive. The kids and I went with my parents.  It's been a while since I've taken a road trip with them.  This time, though, I was the driver so I didn't have to sit in the back seat with the kids (like I had to do when I was younger).  Following the graduation, we spent a few days in the D.C. area.  I will be doing additional posts on that.

Baseball / Softball

The kids participated in rec baseball/softball this spring.  Olivia moved up to the 9-10 year old division of softball.  This is still played with the pitching machine.  She did a pretty good job with her hitting and fielding this year.  She spent most of her time at catcher- which is her favorite position.  

 Owen played on pitching machine in the 7-8 year old division this year.  He played third base, and he really liked this position.  He got better at batting as the season wore on.  I think he goes to live-pitch next year, so we'll probably need to work on those batting skills a little more before next year.  Both Olivia and Owen continue to enjoy playing baseball/softball.

Battle of the Books

This year Olivia was a member of the Battle of the Books team, and at the beginning of May they had their one-and-only competition.  During the school year, members of the BotB team read ten assigned books and then they have to answer very specific questions about the books at the competition.  It's really harder than it sounds because the questions are so specific.  There were sixteen teams competing in the 3rd-4th grade division.  Olivia was the captain of the Wacona 2 team, and they came in fourth.  Most of the kids on her team were 3rd graders, so they'll have another year to compete in this division.  I do not have a picture of Olivia's team.  I thought I had one, but I can't find it.  What I do have, though, is a picture of Olivia with her cousin Ava.  Ava was also the captain of her team, and they finished in third place.  Hannah noted that she loved how these girls are so supportive of each other even though they are on separate teams. They really are.

Olivia participated in a lot of clubs this year, but this one was probably my favorite.  I liked that she was made to read books that she may not have chosen on her own.  If left to her own devices, she would just read those "Wimpy Kid" books over and over.  It also made her read books that were more challenging.  Because she read these books, she was able to earn a lot of AR points and ended up winning the high point trophy for her grade at Honor's Day.  She really liked Battle of the Books and has declared that she wants to do it again next year.

Honor's Day

 Both Olivia and Owen have had really good school years.  They have been blessed with good teachers and have performed well academically.  Their accomplishments were recognized this past week at their respective Honor's Day celebrations.  Owen's Honor's Day was on Wednesday.  He received awards for having all A's, perfect attendance, for having the most AR points in his class, and for having the highest grade on the end-of-year language arts assessment in his class.  He also received the citizenship award.  To me, this is the most important of all of the awards.  

Owen was excited that his grandparents were able to come to his awards ceremony.  Olivia's was on the following day, so Gigi, Papa, and Granny Mel had to come to the school on two consecutive days.  What dedicated grandparents!

 

Olivia's Honor's Day was on Thursday.  It was set up differently than Owen's.  Instead of being organized by the type of award being received, each student was called to the front where they received all of their awards at once. The things they were being honored for were read aloud and were also displayed on a screen.  Olivia received awards for having all A's, for having the most AR points in her class, for the various academic teams that she participated in, and for her Young Author's story.  

 There were a few "special awards" that were given at the end.  Olivia was also called up for this where she was recognized for having the most AR points in her grade.

The kids work really hard all year on their school assignments.  It's really nice that their effort and successes are recognized.

The Burgess Nuptials

 Quincy and Chase's wedding was just lovely.  Quincy looked absolutely beautiful and Chase was very handsome.  They were surrounded by friends, family, and other well-wishers.  Owen donned a tux for his job as ring-bearer, and Olivia finally got to wear the fancy dress that her Nana bought for her.

I know that after organizing four weddings, Mama and Daddy are happy to have done this job for the last time.

 The wedding reception was also lots of fun.  Quincy had arranged for a band to play prior to the entrance of the bride and groom, and then a DJ picked up with the music afterward.  All of the kids got on the dance floor early and we had to practically drag them off.  The festivities lasted well into the night.  We, however, headed home early. It was a happy day for everyone.