Our Trip to Obama's House

After enjoying the begninning portion of my spring break, with Mehandis in extremely unseasonably warm for Wisconsin - 80 degree weather.  The temperature took a dip down once arriving in Chicago - averaging in the mid-50's.  Then on the morning of our departure to DC (or as Mehandis said - "Obama's House") we fell into a bit of a deep freeze - with snow to boot.  Michael and I were so happy to find that our spring vacation destination did not share in the midwest's wintery relapse.

That first day of our arrival we took full advantage.  Walking for hours in the 80 degree weather.  We walked the "mall" seeing the Lincoln Memorial, Capital, World War I Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and White House.  We reveled in the lush green grass and leaves and definitely too time to smell the many flowers.

Here is Michael not too eagerly posing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (videos of me are soon to be shared by Michael, I am sure, where I am the less than eager interviewee!).  It is one of his favorite spots along the mall.  And the location of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.

The Hyatt was an awesome home away from home for us.  We were two blocks away from the Capitol, had extremely helpful hotel staff and a "hall store" for my late night munchies.  Thanks again Michael for finding this spot for us to stay!

Beautiful red tulips were the flower of choice on the White House grounds.  Didn't know that Michelle and I shared the same fave flower.

 When Mehandis saw a picture of us in front of the White House, he asked "Where is Obama?". 

Michael and I spent a total of seven hours walking around a museum called the Newseum. It had six floors of multimedia materials and interactive exhibits focused on the history of the news. We were able to go inside an actual "checkpoint tower" from the Berlin Wall, watch newsclips from any era imaginable, learn the story of how photographers "got" astounding photographs and so much more!

The Newseum also houses several studios.  Here we are on a tour of Sunday morning's "This Week".  That is a real view that you see of the capitol... not a back drop.

Took a lunch break in China Town.  We actually ended up having Thai.  Turned out to be one of our best lunches (and longest hunt for aforementioned restaurant).

From the very windy Newseum roof top terrace.

Think I was getting pretty cold here... but refused to wear a jacket during our spring break adventures.  My flip flops got quite the work out too.

Ah... catching up with friends.  Lucia and Chris took us to Old Ebbit's for dinner and then onto W's rooftop bar for a cocktail.  It has an absolutely incredible view that this photo does not capture.  So nice to have time with our friends.

And each other.

Day 3 brought more sun and more walking with no particular destination in mind.  This was also the date of our 11th anniversary!

Michael's artistic photo of some of the many cherry blossoms on the last day of the Cherry Blossom Festival.  We went for a run this morning, along the mall, and ran by several floats that were lining up for the Cherry Blossom Parade.  Saw a giant Elmo, Elvis float and many band kids.

Later in the day we stumbled upon Woodrow Wilson's home, where he and his wife stayed immediately following his second presidential term.  Didn't know he won a Nobel Peace Prize, had a stroke while in office, and had very progressive wives.

Another novel experience was attending a performance by a Japanese Troupe at the Kennedy Center.  They performed opera, sang children's folk songs and performed a fan dance.

Prost! 

Our wonderful German meal, on the patio, the night of our anniversary. 

Followed by a starlit and Capitol-lit, short walk home.

Marvel at this...

Thought Mehandis would enjoy the above representation, of our latest spot on the list.

Our Latest Family Photos!

A mom from the school I work at offered to take some photos of Mehandis to add to her website.  She thought he seemed quite photogenic.  How could I argue with that?

I mentioned that our family typically takes our family professional pics in March... so we got to join in on the fun.  She didn't mention how photogenic Michael and I would be though.  Hmmm...

We met at a local park (soon to be renovated swimming pool too!) in our neck of the woods.  It was a gorgeous Sunday morning.  And I think our fam is pretty gorgeous too. 

We had to keep an eye out for dog walkers, bikers and joggers.  But they were all friendly enough.

A playground is nearby, which I am glad Mehandis did not realize until we moved from the bridge.  Many of the playground shots show a bit of sand on his face.  Wonder why?

It was a very fun morning... and if anyone is looking for a kid-friendly, willing to travel to location, affordable photographer... just let me know!

And no this really isn't meant to be a commercial.  We truly had a lot of fun... and are happy with the photo memories that follow :)

Lucky "7" on St. Patrick's Day!

My mom just sent me a note to let me know that we are now "officially" number 7 on the "unofficial" list!  Pretty appropo for St. Paddy's Day I say.  May the luck of the Irish stick with us for a bit longer ;)

Lesson Learned...

Probably shouldn't ask men, who have been drinking green beer, to take photos at the end of a St. Patrick's Day Parade.  Jury does still stand on requesting the assistance of said men at the beginning of the parade.  Evidence for justification follows...

Guess he wanted to show who the bossy one ordering everyone around was?

Then how slow they were to follow aforementioned bossy person's orders?

But wait, maybe we don't have it quite right.

Pretty good...

But let's do one more to really annoy the men-folk.

I didn't look at these pics until yesterday, several days after the St. Patrick's Day Parade that Jen, Emily and Hannah joined us for.  I better understood why the kind photo journaling gentleman told me he took a number of photos and really liked my camera.  Guess he wanted to see all it could do.

We did have a chilly celebration together at the parade but celebrated nonetheless!  So glad to have some friends join us for parade watching and candy grabbing fun.  Mehandis tried to keep warm by...

Doing a bit of Irish dancing and jump/jump/jump arounding.

Jen's family followed suit by self proclaimed Irish jig moves and Mom-mandated Tootsie Roll dives!

We even found our little pot of gold when Mehandis was given a potatoe from a parade walking girl, whom was impresed by his moves.  And then the adults received chocolate coins from Ultimate Confections.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

Ethiopian Cross-Country Skiing Olympian

Very cool snippet out of a recent newsletter from our agency -

"For the second time in Ethiopia's history, the country was represented at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver by Robel Zemichael Teklemariam, a cross-country skier. He is the first athlete to represent Ethiopia in any event at the Winter Olympics ever since his 2006 Winter Olympics debut in Turin, Italy.
The 35-year-old skier moved to the United States with his family at the age of nine but has stayed in touch with his Ethiopian roots. He still speaks fluent Amharic and founded the Ethiopian Ski Association, an organization dedicated to Ethiopian skiers in all levels of competition.

Although Ethiopia is much more well-known for its appearances at the Summer Olympics, Teklemariam believes that if Ethiopian male and female runners have been able to win Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in 5, 10 and 15 kilometer races and marathons, they could also excel in other high endurance sports, like cross-country skiing.
For more information about Teklemariam and his journey to the 2010 Olympics, read his blog at - One Winter, Five Dreams."

Feeling Loved

I missed a Valentine entry, but nonetheless want to take some time to reflect on some of the recent ways, both big and small, that people display their kindness.

• A stranger volunteered to help me get out of a tight parking spot.
• A teacher sent my name home on a class list for Valentine's Day... which resulted in many smiling children coming to deliver their treats/cards to my room.
• My sister-in-law decided to keep her germs to herself (insert smile here)!
• A friend donned a feather boa with me as well as heart-to-heart conversation.
• My husband told me I looked nice as I got ready to leave for an out of town conference.
• Two strangers stopped me yesterday to tell me how much they liked my hair (now that is a good hair day).
• A co-worker took time to share some of the compliments that families have given me.
• Michael's parents sent Michael and I some hysterical Valentine tattoos.
• Another sister-in-law is bringing chocolate cake and ice cream to share with us!
• A friend who is terribly allergic to cats offered heart felt FB sympathy regarding Chewy's recent passing.
• The school librarian keeps ordering CD's and sharing artists that he think I would like.
• My uncle is patient when Mehandis hangs up the phone during our conversation.
• The students who "work" with my preschoolers always come with a smile on their face and an eagerness to help.
• Many kind words of support and caring have been shared with us as we inch along our waiting list... some messages coming from individuals that I haven't spoken to/seen in over 20 years.
• Lots of leg hugs and knee kisses coming from our little boy - as this is where his hugs and kisses reach.