Jaiden Comes Over

The boys’ cousin, Jaiden, turned 5 years old last week. The boys wanted him to come over to play so they could give him their present, Dr. Suess books. Jaiden wasn’t the only one opening presents, as he brought an Easter gift for each of the boys.

The boys enjoy their gifts Jaiden gives hugs to Brian and Justin

Adventurer’s Club International Day

Kevin was asked to do the scripture reading for the Adventurer’s Club International Day program. He was quite nervous about reading up front, but we had him practice at home many times. The reading was from Genesis 11, about how languages originated at the tower of Babel. Kevin conquered his fears and did a wonderful job! (We had also ‘encouraged’ him by promising an early birthday present). The Adventurer’s Club International Day program began with praise, the pledge and law, a scripture reading, followed by completing the requirements for the Adventurer’s Award of Country Fun.











The kids had an opportunity to experience the countries of Poland, Brazil, India, and also the Caribbean. They learned facts about each country, tasted native foods, and journaled about what they learned.












It was a good educational experience, and both Kevin and Justin earned the Country Fun award.

National Cherry Blossom Festival Family Day

We joined in the festivities of the official opening of the 2008 Cherry Blossom season. This year marks the 96th celebration of the gift of 3000 cherry trees from the city of Tokyo to the city of Washington DC. The festivities were held in the Great Hall of the National Building Museum, where it was Family Day. We watched a children’s group perform a traditional Japanese dance, and a very entertaining martial arts team show off their skills.
Kevin and Justin did several hands-on activities in which they learned about Japanese arts and crafts (Brian napped the whole time). This event was very impressive with all the family activities that were planned, that we will definitely be putting this on our to-do list for next year.

A martial arts team delights the audience with their skills Kevin and Justin design and make Japanese scrolls Kevin and Justin make cherry trees with construction paper, a brown paper bag, different colored tissue paper, and glue Kevin makes an origami swan, while Justin colors and wears a samurai mask











Justin makes a picture of cherry blossom trees using a stamp, paint bottles and paint The finished product We parked across the street from the National Building Museum, where the boys 'posed' for a picture Back at home, Kevin and Brian take turns being Bello, the clown

National Theatre - Swords And Chivalry

Kevin and I watched a demonstration about sword fighting in the Helen Hayes Gallery at the National Theatre. There were two stage combat experts that showed various swords and sword-fighting moves of knights, pirates and buccaneers. We learned that there are many names and uses of different types of swords, and that sword chivalry is not only a skill, but a refined art as well. The demonstration was both entertaining and informative.

Kevin poses with the stage combat experts Kevin handles a shield and found that it was very heavy!

Circus All Access Pre-Show

Justin and I returned to the Verizon Center today to attend the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey All Access Pre-Show. We went to the guest services desk, showed our card from yesterday, and the generous manager gave us tickets for today’s show. So not only did we attend the pre-show, but we stayed and watched the whole show. Justin laughed even more today than he did yesterday. It was great having ‘Justin and Mama’ time two days in a row.

The ‘All Access Pre-Show’ happens an hour before showtime, and every ticket holder is allowed to go down into the three rings to visit with the clowns, acrobats, and animal stars. Here is Justin with the host of the show, Leo Acton.






We watched acrobats perform within just a couple feet from us.

















Many clowns entertained us - walking on balls, Chinese yo-yo, etc.

















An elephant came out and did a painting using his trunk. This is the best picture that I have of the elephant, as I was lifting Justin up so he could see over the person in front of us while trying to take pictures at the same time. Finally, Justin was able to 'meet' a circus elephant! That was our main purpose for returning.


Justin's souvenir from today's circus show was a Ringing Bros and Barnum & Bailey elephant bowl, also a couple of clown noses

Gessell Testing

Justin was required to take the Gessell Developmental Observation assessment as part of the entrance process for kindergarten. The Gesell evaluates a child’s growth and development by an assessment of his/her behavior. There are no right or wrong answers. Here Justin is arranging blocks. One of the questions asked was, “What does your daddy do for work?” We’ve never talked about what Kenton’s job is with him, so I cringed while waiting for his response. He thought about it for a little bit, then answered, “He brings me to school sometimes when my Mama doesn’t.” The examiner said, “That’s nice he brings you to school sometimes, but what does he do for work?” Justin thinks some more and replies, “He works a lot.” The examiner presses, “What does he do when he works a lot?” “He works and works at home SO much.” (Kenton is a consultant computer programmer and works from home over 80% of the time). On to the next question … “What does your mother do for work?” “She brings me to school.” “What else does she do?” “She cooks food for me and helps me.” “What does your mother do for work?” “She does a lot of work at home.” (I’ll have to teach him the term ‘stay-at-home mom.’)

There was an assessment of letter recognition. At this point, Justin decides to bounce up and make a silly sound at each letter. I kept quiet, but it was all I could do to NOT tell him to stop and sit still. I was there as an observer only. He’s known his letters since before turning two years old, so I suppose this part was so simple that he started clowning around. He calmed down again for the next part, but I was so worried that the examiner would think he wouldn’t be ready for a classroom setting that I don’t really remember the rest of the test. Honestly, I am a bit worried about the results of the assessment, but we’ll find out next week when we come back for a meeting.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Today was a Justin and Mama day. Since Justin is the middle child, I’ve decided to try and do something special with just the two of us each month. We decided to see ‘Bellobration.’ This was Justin’s first time to see the circus, and we took the metro to get there. He had a pocket map of the metro stops. At each stop, he would tell me which stop was next and how many stops were left. Here, Justin turns around on the metro escalator to pose for a picture.

The circus was performing at the Verizon Center The elephants are what Justin enjoyed seeing the most We saw a lot of acrobatics, some of which were a 5-person tower, a high-wire performance, and Bello and a lady on the sway poles

Justin smiled and laughed while watching the 3-ring animal performances with horses and zebras Justin thought that the tigers were exciting The star of the show was Bello - a silly and daring, yet lovable clown. Bello had tall, orange hair and wore a large tuxedo. At one point in the show, every performer turned into a copy of Bello. Justin poses low in front of a stand full of circus memorabilia Justin enjoyed himself while we were there, but three-fourths into the program, he said, “Mama, I’m tired. I want to go home.” We left before the show ended - exhausted but happy. Before leaving for home, Justin got a Bello wig and a bag of popcorn. We also spoke to guest services to let them know that we were disappointed that the circus didn't hold their 'All Access Pre-Show' as advertised. We were given a card, told to come back tomorrow, and would be allowed to attend the pre-show then. Justin is looking forward to seeing the elephants up close tomorrow!

Bunnyland At Butler’s Orchard

Justin and Brian spent the afternoon at Bunnyland in Butler's Orchard, an annual farm market event that celebrates Easter and the arrival of spring. The boys did an egg hunt, enjoyed a hayride, rode pedal tractors, hopped in a moon bounce, pumped water for duck races, and slid down a giant slide with Mama many times. They had so much fun!

Brian and Justin hunt for eggs Justin finds some eggs on a tractor wheel taller than himself The boys pose with a hay bunny After the egg hunt, the eggs are returned to the chicken in the egg well The boys find a hay bee Justin and Brian enjoy a hayride on the bunny trail Mama and the boys on the hayride The boys pump water to ‘push’ their duckies to the end of the water line Working together makes a ducky 'swim' faster Brian and Justin 'ride' the Butler's Orchard bus Justin ‘drives’ a tractor while Brian goes along for the ride Brian loves to jump in moon bounces This pedal tractor is the perfect size for Brian Justin and Brian race each other around the track Justin pedals extra hard so Brian can ride on the back of the tricycle Brian drives a wooden John Deere tractor Each child is given a treat basket – the boys enjoy their goodies going home