National Building Museum

We decided to take the boys to the National Building Museum in D.C. during the long Memorial Day weekend.  There was a lot of research prior to making the decision to go after the issues that we encountered taking them to see the Cherry Blossoms. We opted to drive in and park at a spot reserved through Parking Panda and confirmed that the Museum had a cafe.   

The building was absolutely beautiful on the exterior and the interior.

While we secured a time and band for the Work, Play and Build Zone, the boys checked out the building model display and provided a very imaginative description of what the people were doing. 

We toured the exhibits and were definitely intrigued by the hot to cold exhibit.  After touring the exhibits, we moved on to the Building Zone for a lot of fun.

There was an amazing feature that you could move your body in front of a projector and it would project onto a screen and all of your movements would follow you on the screen.  it was a lot of fun for the adults and the boys.

The steps and the arches in the building were amazing.  It was such a beautiful building.

We ended our visit in the Work, Play and Build Zone during our designated time.   The boys had a great time.  Connor spent a good amount of time playing with this group of community helpers.  Towson Presbyterian did a good job discussing the helpers role in our community.  It was a great way to end a fun day at the Building Museum.

Connor finally gets his Dental XRays

The last time that we were at the dentist, the hygienist determined that Connor was just not able to do the XRays.  We were super hopeful that without daddy, Connor could overcome his concerns and go through with the XRays.  

Jackson's hygienist started his exam and we had our fingers crossed that Connor could do the XRays.

Apparently, this technician had the magic touch and was able to convince Connor to give in.  She had to do a lot of explaining.  Connor wanted to know all of the specifics.  He also wanted someone to stay with him the entire time.

Nothing better than 5 year olds in sunglasses getting their teeth flossed and examined.

While Connor's hygienist finished up with him, Jackson read us all "Are you my mother?"

Fun at the Zoo with Bradley

We invited Bradley and Mrs. Kersten to join us at the zoo.  The boys were so excited when they spotted Bradley.  The iron lions have been at the zoo since it opened so pictures were absolutely in order.

We arrived in time for penguin feeding time. The penguins were definitely ready for feeding time. There is nothing better than the penguins all waddling together waiting for their breakfast...

We were lucky enough to find the polar bear swimming, which is incredibly rare but always such a treat.

We have only fed the giraffes once when the boys were very little.  Connor loves to watch the giraffes being fed and asked for his picture with Caesar.

We toured the entire zoo and the boys had a great time together as they always do.  The boys will definitely miss Bradley when they start Kindergarten in the fall.

Riderwood Park with Gabby

With some scorching temperatures in the forecast, we decided to find a good park that had some shade and some really close food options for meeting up with Gabby.  We decided on Riderwood Park and had the park almost to ourselves the entire time.

Gabby and Connor both love to swing so it was nice to see Connor be willing to help her out!!

These two love each other so much.  They are definitely going to miss each other once Connor starts Kindergarten.  He tries to make her giggle and smile by doing an impersonation of Dori on Marlin when she refers to him as "Mr. Grumpy Gils." It always works and puts the biggest smile on her face and her voice is definitely coming out as she repeatedly asks Connor to do it again.

Lots of fun at the park.  Both boys are doing better and better on the monkey bars.

Towson Presbyterian : Field trip to the Baltimore Museum of Art

After the butterfly release, the kids returned to their room to discuss some do's and dont's relative to the Museum.   They discussed Matisse and some pieces of art t hat they should be looking for.

Maurine and Grace were the door holders for everyone to get to the bus.

I was lucky enough to sit with both boys on the way to the museum.  The bus driver opted to take the route that we always take to and from Towson Presbyterian.  As such, we drove by our street.  Jackson was giving everyone that would listen the location of his favorite spots.  He also explained how to get to "daddy's" city. We've tried to explain to Jackson that it is his city too but he likes to identify it as Michael's.

We entered the museum and were excited to see some art.

We spent a good bit of time walking around checking out all of the artwork made by fellow school children.  They were amazed at all of the creations.  Ms. Burton was pointing out materials used and how the kids had used similar materials at school.

Both boys did an Earth painting earlier this year and were so excited to see this larger version.

For the girls, we found the dancer.

The boys were fascinated by these rings.

Walking through the beads was another item on the kids' list of things to see.

This sculpture in the contemporary section definitely caught all of the kids' attention. 

This photo of Connor observing the hanging man may have been the best one that we took all day!

The flowers were also on our list of items to find.

The skinny man was next up on our list of pieces to find.

The group.

Before heading out to the sculpture garden, we finally spotted the thinking man.

There were snacks in the gardens along with sculptures to observe.

One last picture before we were back on the bus after a beautiful day exploring the Baltimore Museum of Art.