What is fragile?

Amelia asked me what fragile means. I asked Jimmy to explain (to see what he would say) he said:
Fragile means it can be broken easliy. Like bricks or rocks or chains. Everything in the world is fragile to me.

We are Thankful for Hats

Jimmy celebrated Thanksgiving in school today. Doesn't he look cute in his Indian get up?
Amelia also wore a hat today. She likes to wear this shower cap. She calls it her "red wig."
Jonathan loves to root around in other people's dressers and put on their clothes. Here he is in the baby cape that Gary was blessed in almost 30 years ago!

Halloween

I know it's a little late, but here is a picture of our kids from Halloween. Starting from left to right, there is Spiderman, a mermaid, and a pirate whose costume fell apart. That's an eye patch around his neck (his hook and hat are in his bucket) The kids enjoyed the church trunk or treat, but the neighborhood trick or treating was a little too scary for Amelia. After ringing most doorbells, we could hear the sound of dogs barking. This was enough to send Amelia screaming and running away. Maybe next year she'll be used to dogs. Then again, maybe next year she'll choose to stay home.

(To get your own Ariel hair, mix 1 packet red kool aid with a free sample packet of conditioner and apply to wet hair. Leave in as long as you can and then rinse. Wash hair with toothpaste to remove all color)

I also included a picture of Jonathan in his carseat, taken that night. You might get the idea that he has crossed eyes... but he doesn't! It happens to be extra skin growing in the bottom corners of his eyes. We are assured that he will grow into his skin.

The Natural History Museum

Last weekend we had beautiful weather so we decided to have an adventure in Washington DC. After some discussion we decided on the Natural History Museum followed by a walk along the National Mall.

The Natural History museum houses many great artifacts including dinosaur bones and the Hope Diamond. We did not see those first. We started in the basement with the "Birds of Washington DC" exhibit. The kids were really animated and pointed at all of the birds (they were taxidermied.) They exclaimed over the owls and hummingbirds especially. I really enjoyed seeing a bald eagle. Did you ever notice how it's feathers grow down its legs, looking like bird pants? I thought that was pretty funny. The kids loved the ducks and the turkey too. Jonathan kept trying to say bird (bwa) and Jimmy and Amelia were amazed to see real birds so close. As we turned the last corner, we came upon a pair of large, white swans, in a glass case. They were at waist height for adults, so the children could not see them. Gary lifted each kids up, starting with Amelia to get a better look. As soon as she saw the bird, she let out blood curdling scream! It was genuine terror! She shook and sobbed she tried to get away. She was inconsolible at the sight of these swans. Neither Gary nor I could see what the problem was. She was fine for every other bird on display, but those swans really set her off.

After that, we went to the gems and mineral halls. Nothing could be scary there. ANd nothing was scary there. We all oohed and aahed over the beautiful rocks and minerals, spending more time on the mineral displays then on the gems set in jewelry.

Then we went to go and see the reptile skeletons and the insect zoo. All of the bones were neatly arranged and very sterile however they gave Amelia the willies. Gary and I enjoyed the turtle skeletons. Jimmy like seeing the graphs that demonstrated bone growth and develpment.

In the Insect Zoo, Gary got to hold a large grass hopper. I asked if he would hold the kissing cockroach next and he laughed at me. It turns out I had heard wrong. It was a HISSING cockroach. We passed it by and headed to the dinosaur area. We all got a thrill out of seeing real, life size dinosaur fossils. Jimmy got the biggest thrill out of (drum roll please) the computer kiosk. He couldn't get enough of the computer display and had to be dragged away to look at the actual dinosaur bones. Once he noticed those, he thought they were pretty neat. Especially the t-rex. Amelia liked the baby dinosaurs.

We ended the day on the National Mall, with a short walk to the Washington Monument. It looked beautiful against the setting sun.

Want to know when Jesus will come?

We have a famous super hero in residence. He came home with Jimmy from kindergarten on the first day of school. He wears the same clothes as Jimmy and he looks just like Jimmy. However, his family of 7 brothers was killed in a car wreck and he was forced to join our family. His name is "Crismon Shedds." Crismon Shedds' super power is that he was born knowing everything. He's not around all the time, but sometimes he puts in an "appearance."

Last night, during dinner I made a joke about the millenium (don't ask, it was political) which lead to the discussion of what the millenium is. We explainned how Jesus will come and it will be wonderful, but no one knows when it will happen. Not even the prophet or angels in heaven know when it will happen. "oh yeah?" says Jimmy "Just ask Crismon Shedds!"

UPDATE: more info on Crismon Shedds.