Boston with Lutece

The Taylor House B&B where we stayed our last night in Jamaica Plain. Our lovely room was the second floor window on the left.

Lutece and I had a fun time in Boston. It's Lutece's third time (!) visiting Boston, which is pretty good for a nine-year-old from Kentucky. When you go to a familiar destination, especially with children, you have to find the balance between seeing/doing familiar things and experiencing new things.

On Sunday, we took Scott's car and found our way to Church in Belmont, MA. Ellen, an old friend who lives in the area, meets in the building adjacent to the Boston Temple, so we were able to attend church with her AND see the temple and grounds. Double bonus.

She took this lovely picture of us after Church (which I stole from off her blog . . . I hope that's alright Ellen :).

After Church, and on Ellen's recommendation, we drove to Concord, MA to visit the Louisa May Alcott home. It was a fantastic tour--one of the best I've done--and Lutece and I determined to read Little Women together in the near future. Louisa May Alcott was a woman after our own hearts. 

Sick of pictures.

On Monday, Lutece and I went downtown (pictures to follow) and then came back to JP for Thai food. Of course, interspersed with our sightseeing was lots of time spent with Scott, Irena, and Oliver (since that was the reason for the visit), but it's always fun to see a little of Boston while we're visiting family.

Lutece and Oliver

While Stayc and Phoenix stayed in Washington DC, Lutece and I made a quick trip up to Boston to see the newest edition to the Hendricks' side of the family.

Despite Scott and Irena's insisting that Oliver is a normal baby who gets cranky sometimes, we only saw him cry once for about 30 seconds. He just grunted occasionally when we was uncomfortable or put out, and other than that he smiled a lot. Needless to say, he was a delight to be around.

Lutece wanted to "hold" him often, which amounted to propping him up in sitting position and leaning him on her.

She never fully mastered the high, squeaky voice that babies so dearly love . . . which is completely ironic if you've ever heard Lutece speak. Anyway, even though Oliver didn't quite know what to make of her now, one day he'll adore her for the cool older cousin that she is.

History and Art

On the fifth of July, we decided to try our luck and drive downtown to see some of the sights. We lucked out . . . the crowds were at a minimum. Since we had just seen some of our favorite museums in May, we thought this would be a good opportunity to visit some new museums, or rather, new to the kids.

Despite the kids' young ages, we decided to try the Holocaust Memorial Museum. We picked up our free tickets, which told us to come back in an hour and a half. It was a nice amount of time to take a leisurely walk around the pond and over to the Jefferson Memorial, one of the few memorials the kids have never seen up close.

We each read one of the four Jeffersonian quotes carved into the marble walls and pondered its meaning. It was a thoughtful time.

Aaaaaaaand, it lasted for about five minutes.

After the Jefferson Memorial, we headed back to the Holocaust Museum (no pictures of this) and wandered through the children's section entitled "Jacob's Story," which was a perfect introduction for the kids.

Phoenix was really too young to get much out of the museum, so he and Stayc sped through the crowds. Lutece and I walked more slowly through the displays discussing some of the more difficult ideas surrounding the horrific events of the period. It was definitely a sobering visit, but also enlightening to see some of these horrors through a (perceptive and inquisitive) child's eyes. She had lots of questions, including many basic but complex ones like, "Why did Hitler hate the Jews so much?"

Since we had a good parking spot and the kids still had energy, we decided to try one more "new" museum, the Hirshhorne Museum, filled with contemporary and modern art.

We strolled through the Smithsonian Castle gardens and through the Castle on our way to the Hirshhorne, and to the kids' delight, there was a smashed penny machine in the castle. One more penny for their collections.

It was a quick walk through the museum, but sometimes the best place to start with art appreciation is simply exposure. I had them select their favorite piece in each room we walked through, which is sometimes easier with modern art because many of the pieces are so BIG. This one was actually painted on to the entire wall.

Some of the pieces were just plain weird, but fun. A naked woman standing next to a huge pile of clothes? What's not to love?

From the sublime to the absurd, all in one day.

The Sculpture Garden

While we were in Washington DC, we took a couple of days to visit the Smithsonian museums.

Lutece wrote a blog post about the National Gallery's Sculpture Garden for one of her Faith in God goals: "Visit an art museum or attend a concert, play, or other cultural event. Share your experience with your family or activity day group."

I'll let you read about it on her blog, but I just want to point out that I forced the kids to pose, Chinese-style, in front of this great rendition of Rodin's Thinker (Oh, how the Chinese love their silly poses).

Independence Day at Arlington

One of the best parts about the Fourth of July was visiting Grandpa DuBravac's grave site at Arlington National Cemetery.

As I've mentioned before, the kids have been very keen to visit the graves of family members, and visiting Arlington was on the top of their list of things to do while in Virginia. Independence Day seemed like the perfect day to visit.

Grandpa's grave will not have a headstone for another few months, but the kids placed a small flag by the marker, and it was nice to see that there was already grass covering the burial site.

It's hard to beat Arlington for beauty and grace. Grandma had a list of all the different religious markers on the graves that we then found and identified. It was neat to see all the different religious beliefs (or non-beliefs) represented.

It was, however, very hot on the day we went.

Lutece and Phoenix sought refuge and shade under the closest tree.

Finally, we arrived at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just in time to see the changing of the guard. Cemeteries are lovely, but Arlington may well be one of the loveliest.

Fourth of July Virginia Style

 

After returning home from California (on a red-eye flight . . . remind me NEVER to do that again!), we let Stayc hang out for four days in our 'ol Kentucky home (that he hadn't seen in a year) before dragging him away again, this time to Washington DC. Whew!*

We drove the nine hours to Virginia on July 3 so we could spend the 4th with Grandma DuBravac, and we were so glad we made it in time because, as Lutece told me later, "it was the best Fourth of July ever!"

We started the day off at a the homegrown Lorton Fourth of July parade. It may not have been the most exciting parade (no doubt it would have been more fun to watch if the kids' Virginia cousins had been walking in it), but the general parade festivities more than made up for it. The kids gathered enough free junk to make any child happy, and they also enjoyed bouncy rides, games, temporary tattoos, balloon animals, and snow cones . . . all for free.

After the parade, we visited Grandpa DuBravac's grave at Arlington National Cemetery (pictures to come), and then returned home for a few hours of R&R before starting the fireworks.

As it turned out, the only big fireworks in the area were the ones happening downtown on the Mall. Bracing the Metro and the horrendous crowds just for fireworks didn't sound like much fun, so Stayc and Aleithe went out the night before and purchased two large packs of fireworks (everything was BOGO . . . they couldn't get just one) and some other fun extras like snakes and sparklers. Grandma also had two packs of tanks, which are awesome fun, especially if you like the loud bang of a firecracker.

As it turns out, it is WAY more fun for kids to light off their own small fireworks in the street than it is to watch big fireworks in the sky (we'd already seen them at Disneyland anyway :). We started with the tanks and snakes and sparklers while it was still dusk.

Then we moved on to the real fireworks when it got darker. The neighbors across the street had a pack as well, so we took turns lighting off fireworks for at least an hour. It was such a good day that I think Lutece forgot about the seven wasp stings she had gotten earlier in the day (it was just a trifling thing anyway). All in all, a great Fourth of July!

* During those four days at home, we got a new air-conditioner and furnace installed, and Phoenix got his very first filling from the dentist. So sad!

The Beach . . . Our California Constant

We will say goodbye to California with one last post from the beach. Disneyland may have been a glitzy highlight from our trip to the southland, but the beach was definitely our staple. The kids insisted we take Stayc with us the day after he flew back to the United States from China.

If you know Stayc at all, you know that this was probably not the welcome home he was hoping for.

However, since he loves us so much, he was a good sport about it. We walked up the boardwalk and got homemade corndogs and lemonade at the Newport Pier for lunch.

We walked out to the end of the pier and then headed back down the beach to hang out for the rest of the afternoon.

Phoenix was so excited to have Stayc home that he dragged his dad out into the waves with him. Phoenix LOVES the water, he loves the sand, and he loves his Dad. He was in heaven.

He loves the water and the waves so much, in fact, that he taught himself how to body surf this time around. Stayc and I decided that next year we need to buy him a boogie board. He may never come out of the water then. Poor kid was born in the wrong part of the country.

The Land of the Free and the Home of a Good Hamburger

I need to wrap up our time in California since it is nearing the end of July and I am still posting pictures from June. We can't leave the sunny state of California without first paying homage to In-N-Out hamburger, a locale that always makes the list of top sites to visit while in California. The kids have been properly indoctrinated.

Lutece won't show it here, but the kids were excited to pick up hamburgers and fries on our way home from the beach with Courtney and Aaron. Then, of course, we HAD to go again when Stayc got into town. There's no better way to welcome someone back from China than In-N-Out hamburger . . . unless maybe it's See's candy. We did that one too :).

Say Cheese!

This is the last of my Disney posts, and it is, without question, the silliest and most embarrassing. But hey, so much of what we do in life is silly and embarrassing that we may as well embrace it . . . and publish it :).

The big roller coasters always take a snapshot of you, which they then offer to you for a price afterward. I thought these photos were hilarious and couldn't resist taking a couple of my own snapshots of them. Lutece claimed to love the roller coasters, but nearly all of the pictures have her closing her eyes with anything but a happy look on her face.

Phoenix loved Splash Mountain, and I think it shows here, but this was our second time on the ride and it was late in the day (8:30 p.m.). Stayc and I were not excited to get wet again and Lutece was just worn out. 

Ahhhhh, the magic of Disney.

The Mad, Mad Teacups

I felt like I wanted to throw-up after taking all these pictures. Lesson learned.