Smithsonian - Biking - Shopping - Basketball - Granddad ...

Random Saturday with no agenda.

1. Quick Trip to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Having awesome museums local is super fun since for 90 minutes everybody is way interested.
 

2. Shopping for used books.

RJ has been way into Tintin books for the past month. Since we finished our last one, we decided to go to used book store to find some more. Hole in the Wall Books was cool, and had a Tintin poster, but no books. eBay seems like a simpler (and probably cheaper) option.
 

3. Granddad and Tinker Crate

RJ got to build a cool hydraulic gripper with Granddad. No pics.
 

4. Julia and Dad go biking

Julia rode around Clemyjontri Park three times. She was quite nervous on the way from the basketball courts to the park and during the first loop. But after becoming familiar with the terrain, she was all-in until being stopped for dinner.
 

5. Basketball, Piano, Handball

Kids played basketball during the NCAA tourney games ... in the living room. Julia seems to be taking an interest in piano.
  Whew ... bedtime.

Skating and more skating

The day started with the last learn-to-play lesson ... which consisted of practice games.

After that, we traveled to Purcellville to roller skate with Logan at his birthday party. RJ got the hang of roller skating very quickly.

Forgot about Lunch, Doh!

Julia and I arrived at preschool today. Julia climbs out of the car and heads in ...

Dad says sarcastically "Julia, are you going to bring your school bag and coat to school today?"

Julia replies "ok Dad ... I'll take the coat, you get the bag."

Dad picks up the lighter than normal bag. Dad asks "Julia, where is your lunch?" After a 5 minute search of the car, we conclude that lunch is save and sound ... at home. Doh!

The good news is that after $10 in tolls and 30 minutes of driving, we got to have a gourmet lunch together ... at Subway! As an added bonus, I learned a LOT about the book "Big Red Tub."

RJ turns 7

Happy Birthday RJ

RJ tried to sleep through his birthday, but after dragging him out of bed (literally) we got to hockey practice at 7:10am. Just in time to get suited up for the 7:20am start. He got to show his speed in the first pseudo-game. He got on a team with a classmate Daniel (shown below talking to RJ) from St. Agnes.

Later, we figured out why RJ wanted to sleep ... he was sick ... with a slight fever.

Lunch and Dinner

RJ picked Panera for his birthday lunch, and decided on fondue in front of a fire for dinner.

Gifts

Opening gifts was super-exciting. RJ got to open several gifts while doing a treasure hunt ... which cleverly had him put things away while hunting for the next clue.

Cake and Ice Cream

The golf cake was very cool ... but as you can see from the second picture, the busy day and the fever were taking their toll.

Skuperbowl 2019

We hosted some friends at our house for the Superbowl - Patriots vs Rams

• Doug routed for New England to have a 0 as their final digit and the Rams to end up with a 1 as their final digit. Neither happened. I got nothing.
• RJ was brainwashed by his friend Emmett's Dad and routed for the Patriots. RJ fought off sleep to stay up until the end of the game and celebrate a victory.

The next day at school was a long one.

Snow Results - Shoveling and Sledding

To simplify the shoveling, we got out early and often. But I'm not sure that shoveling 4 inches 3 times was easier than waiting to shovel the entire foot at once.

We had large group of neighbors over for sledding in the back yard. A great time was had by all ... but no pictures.
On Monday Sara took the kids outside and got in great snow fun ...

At Nicholas's house. Not sure how Sara convinced Julia to do this ...

Snow Starts - Fire and Marshmallows

The first snowfall of the year called for a fire in the fireplace. After eating dinner by the fire, it was time for dessert. The big marshmallows were consumed by Rice Krispy treats earlier in the day. Undaunted, RJ suggested using the mini-marshmallows.

After we all laughed at the suggestion ... it turned out to be a good idea. The small size sped up the cooking process, resulted in fewer burned marshmallows, and made a perfect oozy treat. But ... after about 15 minutes, RJ looked like the Stay-Puft marshmallow man.