Mother's day 2012

10/12 grandkids is as good as we could manage to get in one place.

Hopefully Grammy was happy with those statistics!

Bossypants

Sadie told me today that she was the babysitter and it was time for Baby Maddie's nap. She then proceeded to bully Eamon into playing Baby Maddy (her favorite baby from daycare), stuck him in "his crib" , gave him his blanket and patted his back until he "fell asleep" (got sick of taking orders from her). The joke is on her.... A few minutes later, she fell asleep herself! I find it intriguing not only that her imagination is so well defined at age two, but that she thinks it's her rightful place to tell her brother exactly how to play!

Memorial Day shenanigans

The Bigs had a Memorial Day presentation at their school where they sang like champs. Unfortunately, I didn't get any great photos, so I took some of the Littles instead.

I had to bribe him with lunch at Grammy and Grampys for this photo op.

Little model posing on cue.

Not such model behavior after all.

She's got a naughty streak a mile thick. I wouldn't trade her though. As one Mom whispered to me on the way out of the Memorial Day exercises: "She was the most entertaining part of the show!"

Faking demure.

Picking flowers for Grammy

Done with photos. Off to the next adventure.

Washington D.C. Part III

Liam, as happy as he can be, always up a tree.

The cherry blossoms came out too early this year for us to catch them, but we enjoyed the amazing weather just the same!

We spent our last day in the city checking out the monuments.

Liam was adamant that Lincoln is his favorite president ever.

I still remember the Gettysburg address from 6th grade Flag Day.

From yet another angle.

Big and little always manage to get each other out of a funk.

Ugh, Mom. We're hot and tired. And you know it... we want to eat!

We had to find our own state in the shadows!

For different reasons, I think the FDR memorial was both my favorite and the kids.

I enjoyed the quotes.

The boys enjoyed the fountains! Until they discovered they couldn't swim in them.

Eamon decided to share his new accessory with FDR's dog.

The kids have a new pet.

As close as we were destined to get to the Jefferson Memorial. By this point in the day, the kids were completely past their prime.

Our last photo on the way out of town!

Washington, D.C. Part II

We only had four days in DC due to my work schedule so we tried to squeeze in as much as possible. We learned a couple things: 1) kids need to eat every 15 minutes to keep them happy 2) two days straight of museums do not make for happy underage travelers 3) just accept that their favorite things about vacation will be the pool at the hotel and the pull-out couch they got to sleep on

The boys greatly enjoyed the sculpture garden, that is, until they got yelled at for touching the sculptures

We thought the boys would be enamored of the Air and Space Museum. And they were, but they were not as enamored with the crowds, waiting in line to see the planes up close or trudging from one very wordy description to another. Sometimes we forget they are just little boys!

Must be 2pm, Sadie is asleep in the stroller again!

The Spirit of St. Louis

Part of our visit was to catch up with Paul and Kelly who have been living in the DC area for the past few years. They took us to see the White House, but as luck would have it, it was all closed off for a helicopter landing. This was about as close as we could get!

Liam recognized the Washington Monument right away (from watching episodes of Bones with me!)

Chris and Paul trying to pretend the kids weren't driving them absolutely nuts with their antics on this very long day.

How appropriate that Eamon was showing Paul some extra love after Paul nearly ripped his chest apart saving Eamon from certain demise as he almost tumbled down an escalator.

The boys dis perk up for a couple hours at the Natural History Museum.

Up close and personal with a T. Rex

Liam practiced his Triceratops roar.

Okay, Mom, yeah, it's great, can we have a snack now!

After perfecting his trademark pose, Liam looked for any excuse to use it! Is it 2pm again? Must be... Sadie passed out.

A photo of me trying to get a photo of the  Gryffindor robes that Harry Potter wore in the movies. Not so easy behind glass!

Probably Colin's favorite part of the American History Museum.

It won't be too much longer before he doesn't want to pose with every train he ever sees. I'm going to continue to indulge him until then!

Eamon LOVED the Transportation exhibit best. So many motorcycles, buses, trains, cars and trucks to pose with!

Can't pass up this little (gigantic?) gem!

We had the chance to help fold the huge American flag and sing the Star Spangled Banner. It was extremely heavy and I must admit to getting a little choked up. A great exhibit.

Can't you tell from their faces how much the boys enjoyed it? Yeah, you guessed it, all they wanted was to eat again.

The big boys did enjoy the Lincoln exhibit since they had just learned about him in school.

The kids wanted to go see the "castle" until they discovered it was "just another part of the Smithsonian"

From yet another angle. The most photographed sight of our trip, to be sure!

Sadie's first ride on a carousel on The Mall and she LOVED IT!

As close as we had time to get to The Capitol building.

Colin found a way to enjoy himself!

Eamon loving the ride! It's really the little things that they enjoyed.