Wok at the Campground

We got an accessory to our grill -  a wok!  Michael was most excited to use it.  He loves Asian noodles a lot so he was eager to cook lunch one afternoon!

It was delicious!  Camping food doesn't have to be just boiled water and dried food crumbles.  It can be just like home!

In addition to carefully caring for our cast iron skillet, wok and grates, we got wooden spatulas and tongs!  There is a lot of work to cooking this way, but I feel like we're preparing heirlooms for our kids.  When we croak we can give them lovingly-seasoned cookware!

Natural History Museum

I am having a ball being so close to so many museums!  Not only are they clustered in one spot, but admission to them is free!!!  When our friends John and Diana came to visit, I knew that top on our list of things to do was go to a museum!  We chose the Smithsonian Naitonal Museum of Natural History (NMNH).

Max looks thrilled to be there while Simone can't take her eyes off the exhibit!

What I love about Smithsonian exhibits are how creatively they display the taxidermy!  California Academy of Sciences's (CSA) African Hall is dramatic with the landscapes and animals it showcases, but it feels 2 dimensional compared to symbiotic relationships portrayed here!  This exhibit with the elephant even shows the animals that live underground in the savannah.  But don't get me wrong about  CSA - it is still one of my favorite museums.  I just didn't think I could be impressed again and Smithsonian has done it!

My favorite bird, the chickadee!

Butterfly Pavilion

We were all eager to see the butterfly exhibit and thankfully we went on a day that entrance to this special area is free.  When Max and I had gone to a butterfly garden at Tampa's science museum, I was so underwhelmed.  There were barely any butterflies and there was no literature regarding which insect was which!  At NMNH, there were charts within and videos outside about the life of moths and butterflies.  

A rusty-tipped page above and one I couldn't find on the chart

Two buckeyes getting jiggy

Talk about camouflage!  This is called the Orange Dead Leaf.

I had once asked my friend Kerry what the difference between a crocodile and alligator is and she drew me pictures of their heads.  Here are pictures to illustrate the difference - they're quite unique!

Alligator: wide and  short

Crocodile: narrow and long. 

Here is another example of the excellent quality in Smithsonian exhibits.  Not only do you see the alligator skeleton but floating around is its skin!  I don't know if the gravity of this display has hit the kids, but I hope it's tucked into their brains somewhere.

Fennec Fox

This fox is soooooooo cute to me!  I would want to befriend it if I saw it in the wild.  

Action!

Coral Reef

I didn't see much of the ocean life hall because I had to move the car.  That is the downfall of DC museums - lack of parking.  I would pay $20 to let my car sit there for 4 hours, but there is not real estate for a parking near these touristy areas.  We can take the metro, but it takes quite a while and a walk to get there. 

We decided to go again so Diana could see the gem and minerals exhibit.  The kids were excited to visit the very next day!  

I wasn't much impressed with the gems but found the minerals interesting!  The hunk of rock above is halite, or more commonly known as salt!

I would definitely head back to this museum regardless of who was in town.  In fact I'd love to spend my "alone" time and just leisurely read every placard of this building!!

Simone's Got My Back

The other day, I was driving Simone and Max somewhere when I realized I didn't have my wedding rings on.  I blurted out my revelation and Simone calmly advised me.

"Don't worry, Mom!  If someone wants to marry you, you just say, 'No, I already have rings at my home ....  (gasp) AND KIDS!'"

Ninja Max

We recently went to North Carolina to accompany Michael on a business trip.  I unfortunately caught a cold, lay in bed the whole week and let the TV cable babysit the kids.  I didn't feel like taking any pictures until Max decided to take some scrap paper and do this ...

I wonder which pose Max is holding

Don't blink lest you miss the ninja!

Elevator Cool Pose!  Hai-YA!

Eye Check

Max is at it again with his eyes!  He is constantly checking to see if they're there by touching his eyebrows with his pinkies.  Just as Simone has her facial tics and jumps, Max has this particular obsession.

He can be completely engrossed in an activity such as riding his scooter, but he will stop and check his eyes if the urge overcomes him.  One morning, he ran across the bus and jumped into our bed to scare us.   After he had landed on the mattress and before he jumped onto Michael, he checked his eyes.  It was rather hilarious to see him turn off his mode of mini-ninja just to touch his eyebrows.

I had read online that these tics were nothing to worry about yet because they're simple, single-action rituals.  It's when they become complex with a series of actions that I should think about taking the kids to see a specialist.

I realized I have a tic myself!  While watching the Game of Thrones, Michael noticed that I do this continuous clearing of my throat.  Now that we're here in DC, that tic has come back full force for me!  Sorry kids, you got your eccentricities from your mama!

We Have Alternating Current!!!

The week before we left Tampa, Michael declared to me that we could get the electrical and plumbing done.  I agreed that we could do the electrical but I had resigned to just do the plumbing at the campsite.  If I had known the scope of electrical still left to be done I would have dismissed his prediction altogether.

I have done a lot of work on the bus, but my grasp of the entire scope of what needed (and needs) to be done is faint.  It is only after I have done the tasks that I am able to appreciate the breadth of what we accomplished.  So this past weekend, when we got almost all the AC outlets working I had a mix of emotions.  I was extremely relieved to not be living in a sea of extension cords.  Pride swelled in me as I looked at my husband who conceived the entire system and executed it with great success and much solo labor.  In the glory of electricity, I was also in disbelief at how ambitious Michael had been in Tampa to finish the AC outlets in one week on top of all the other bus work and packing we had to do. 

Our workspace in DC is much nicer than what we had in Florida - not only for the work surface but for the absence of blood-sucking insects during the day.

Our workshop is smaller with less tools and fasteners

There was a lot of conduit to run both above in the living area and down in the utility bays.  Michael had already run a bunch behind cabinets, but there was sooooo much more to do - like 300% more than what we had done.  It was quite a maze but Michael neatly ran them and secured them with hangers, clips and zip-ties.

Not only were there runs across the port and starboard sides, but they had to go up and down into the bays and living space.  

Now that AC is done, Michael is going to tackle the DC!  

Timeline Introduction

For Simone's history lessons this year, we're creating a timeline of the ancient civilizations.  It spans at least 3500 years, which might be overload for Simone's first attempt.  I decided to do a smaller one that she could relate to: my timeline!

Each inch represents 1 year.  On the top is my timeline and on the bottom is Michael's.  When I told the kids about it it was blank.  I had laid it out on the bench table and invited them to do a special project.  I started with my birth and drew pictures of Michael and me as time progressed.  the kids loooooved the exercise!

 They liked seeing themselves but were curious about the moment that their parents met.

"Why does Mommy have a cape on?"  ...   "That's to show I had long hair."
"Why does Daddy have no mouth?" ...  "Oh, that dot is his mouth.  That's just his flirting face (which resembles Zoolander's Blue Steel look)."

I liked drawing how cool Michael looked in middle school and how nerdy I looked (and was).  It's nice that the kids don't understand my joke yet.  They don't get the concept of "nerd" or "geek."