Day Seven in D.C.

Ruth, Weston, and I headed over to the Holocaust Memorial Museum this morning, while the rest of our group went over to the National Building Museum. (The Holocaust Museum has a recommended age of 11 for their main exhibit, which is why we decided to divide and conquer today.) The Holocaust Museum was chilling but was beautifully done, and we were able to take our time and really appreciate it. 

A hauntingly beautiful exhibit

Broken Jewish gravestones

When we were done, Jeff and I exchanged text messages, in which he declared the younger boys were so happy in the hands-on room of the Building Museum that they hadn't even been willing to have lunch, and they certainly weren't interested in leaving any time soon. So, we agreed to just meet them there. The Building Museum is housed inside a lovely building, and truly the hands-on exhibit was fantastic. We ended up staying until closing time. (The boys did eventually scarf down their sandwiches as quickly as possible, so they could get back to playing.)

The National Building Museum with an impressive CANstruction display

This boy loves to build!

Clay's little house

Getting in a good workout

Weston's car

Max's fortress

Clay's canon-firing dune buggy

Upon leaving the museum, we headed over to Busboys and Poets for dinner. It was such a cool place--a bookstore/coffee shop/bar/restaurant--with a really fun vibe. And the food was excellent! Sadly, this was our last day in D.C. There is always more to see and do in this city than is possible on such a short trip, but I think we've made the most of our time and did pretty well. I hope we'll have a chance to visit again!

Busboys and Poets bookstore

 

Crab cakes over crab grits with lobster sauce

A parting treat: banana bread pudding with coconut ice cream

Finished Project

Some of these are very similar to other pictures I've posted, but I wanted to show the whole finished project together in one place. The tour will take you from the front, all the way around the house, moving around to the left.

front walk

front walk, from the "parking lot"

stone work

lower patio

bar

stairs

upper patio

grill area

upper patio, from the other direction

functional

the "beach"

bed on the kid's side

less glamorous but very important slab for future well house

after dark

all lit up

Progress Report

From the kitchen door

Grill Station

Stairway to Heaven
(See those little square "stones" in the middle of each step?
They light up! This just makes me happy!)

From the lower patio

Bar (and Grill)

The big picture
(Kitchen door on the right, grill in the middle and lower patio on the left)

The front bed

Front walkway, leading to the garage

Dinner on Vacation Eve and a Wall

Dinner at our house on the night before we are leaving for a trip of more than a couple of days is always a little interesting. The objective is to clean out the fridge and eat up any fresh stuff so it won't go bad. Here is what was on tonight's gourmet menu:

• Bagged Southwest Salad
• Caprese with shredded mozzarella
• Left-over pea and potato salad
• Hummus and crackers
• Fried eggs
• Peas
• Bowl of cereal (for one)
• Ham and cheese omelet (for one)
• Bruleed bananas
• Blackberries

On a completely unrelated note, our landscaping project is coming along nicely. At the end of the work day, the guys had a significant portion of the front wall done. We can't wait to see how it looks when we get home!

Patio Progress

We have been trying to get our landscaping project started for about a year and a half, so we are thrilled that this week we are actually seeing progress!

Countertops and other necessities

the long bar with the cooktop

kitchen countertops (they aren't as grey as they look here)

a truer picture of the color (and a super-cute baby)

homeschool desk

desk in Clay's room (we're expecting him to start writing just any day now)

utility room counter and sink

boys' bathroom

master bathroom

master sink

The oh-so-important potty (not to be confused with the "potant potty," which is what Max calls the Port-a-Potty outside). This is the upstairs bathroom.

One of three floor drains. This might not seem like a "necessity" if you haven't met my boys. But trust me on this. 

shower head in master bathroom

tankless water heater (this is the replacement for the one that was stolen a couple of weeks ago)

Gotta have AC!

If all goes well, we should be moving into our house Labor Day weekend! That's two weeks, people! Woohoo!