wow. wow. wow...

Well, today the space shuttle flew right over our house. How many times in your life are you going to be able to say that? It was not expected. Of course, we were completely aware it was flying over DC & landing at the Dulles airport, but that's not a guarantee. So when Stella looked at me and blurted that sounds like a really low helicopter at the exact same time Mr hubs called to tell me, "get outside, it's coming... It just passed my office building." Stelli and I ran like crazy out the front door.


And just like a crazy woman- I was trying to hold the phone, find the camera and my ipad. I probably never even put my latte down either & I have no clue why I grabbed the ipad. For a couple seconds it was just a lonely, black helicopter. Then this...

I was so overcome I think i said 'oh my god' enough times to engrave it in Stella's head forever.


Later after reading this I realized just how special this moment was. This was the time to share with my children how special this flight was. I'm thinking I will skip how I was home alone sick the day Challenger blew up and was a complete teenage hormonal hot mess by the time my parents arrived home. I must have been really sick puppy, because I was still home sick when we had a 5.0 earthquake two days later.

But I digress, I tend to not share loads of history with my children, because sometimes history has not been very kind. I don't want my kids to feel the pressure of  doing something because that's the way it's always been done. I want them to forge a new path for themselves.  I want them to think their own unfettered thoughts. But maybe, just maybe, I should teach a little bit about that fantastic flying machine so they can soar, too. 

national cathedral

During Spring Break, my Mr. Hubs had the bright idea to check to see if the National Cathedral was open, which is an uphill climb from the National Zoo. I mention this because his light bulb moment occurred right after spending at least two hours at the Zoo. I was absolutely positively 99.9% sure that it was closed after last August's earthquake. After an uphill mile long hike, I found out I was 100% wrong. It was sooo worth it. (On my behalf, the observation tower is closed and there's a net covering up pretty much the entire ceiling.) The church ladies were busily arranging flowers in a side wing for the Easter service. There is an interesting exhibit detailing the earthquake damage including the original construction and history.  It was quite and serene-- exactly opposite of the Zoo. Even the kids loved it and there were very few Spring Break tourists.

awww... and no, I did not photoshop the sky- au natural. 

August earthquake damage

time to go home, maybe?

we asked them if they were ready for a snack...

national zoo

On a whim, we decided to visit the Zoo during Spring Break. For those of us in the metro DC area, we are well aware tons of tourists hit DC for their Spring Break. This was our first trip to the Zoo and we were crossing our fingers it would be less crowded than the National Mall. I'm sure it was busier, but not unbearable. (My tourist tip-- use the Cleveland Ave metro stop instead of the one labeled "Zoo." The one they direct you towards involves walking up a steep hill all the way to the Zoo.)

she looked away from the panda for only a second to check on her big brother

aren't they the cutest?

this is one of the eagle statues from the former penn station

my non animal lover reading.... 

stelli was intranced by how long the lemur sat like this, actually so was I.

cherry blossoms...

Sunday, we lunched at Old Ebbitt Grill where we met George, the Presidential Tailor, and  he graciously let us have his seat at the bar. After our lunch we strolled along the tidal basin admiring the cherry blossoms. The cherry trees were past their peak, but not to be disappointed Stella & Joseph had a wonderful time catching & collecting the petals dropping off the trees. But even with the trees past their peak and our good camera being repaired the photos are still pretty awesome.