Paul got to do some fun things at work this week. He got to see a 1/6 model of the future James Webb Space Telescope (above). He also got to help out in the control room for some TV interviews of NASA scientists. Cool!
Charlie's first time in a car cart. He fell over when I was in the check out line, and it wasn't easy to get up there to help him!
On Sunday, we went on a walk, and followed a sign that pointed to a path leading to a park. When we got there, all we found was a small clearing with a grill and a pavilion.
But we found a trail to follow through the forest. It was fun, but very mosquito-infested and littered.
The stroller made it without too much trouble, thankfully.
Monday was the first day of school. Charlie and Alice were sad to see Grace go.
But Grace was super excited!
The whole family took her to school. It was so exciting to see textbooks on her desk! First grade is for reals!
Alice forgave Grace for leaving her all day long.
Good group of kids.
Alice loved her first day ruling the roost. She got so much attention and outdoor time. (Charlie slept a lot.)
I even bought her a special lunchable for the occasion, since Grace got one in her lunchbox.
Grace came home with an awesome story she wrote on the second day of school. She even used a pen name!
Paul went to the temple with the youth on Friday night. Here they are at Wendy's afterward.
On Saturday, we made the 30-minute trek to Annapolis, capital of Maryland. (Alice calls it "the apple list".) Paul gave a short history lesson on the way, about colonial Maryland and George Washington and the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. Grace pointed out that Maryland is represented as both a star and a stripe on the American flag. Here the girls are on the Maryland flag.
We found a garage with free weekend parking, then went to the state house (capitol building).
We loved all the trees, skinny roads, and so much red brick. Brick sidewalks, brick roads, and brick houses/buildings.
So pretty! They really knew how to do it in colonial times!
Golden elevator.
House of Delegates room.
Tiffany ceiling.
We even found some geology to look at - a fossil in the flooring.
Paul discussed with George Washington about his resignation from the command of the military. It happened right there! Annapolis was the capital of the US for a little while.
Caucus room.
Cool ceiling!
We really liked the state house. We also liked walking between venues and seeing all the historic houses. We even saw the homes of a few of the signers of the Declaration of Independence!
Then on to the Naval Academy, per Grace's request. (She thought it had something to do with Old Navy. Sorry, Grace.)
After going through the metal detector (again - we had to at the state house too), we went to the visitor's center. We learned all about John Paul Jones, a famous Navy guy. Grace's favorite thing of the whole trip was the different flags they had. They also had a section on astronauts who graduated from the Naval Academy, including Alan Shepard, as well as the current administrator of NASA.
The girls were already getting tired, and sat down in the elevator to rest.
We all got our second wind when we saw the fun boats outside! That was Alice's favorite part.
We watched them as we ate our picnic lunch.
Then on to the Navy chapel. So pretty, but there was a wedding going on, so we couldn't go in. But we did get to see some Navy guys all dressed in their ceremonial clothing with gloves and everything, and even swords!
We stopped at another building to see this plane.
Such cool architecture!
Under the Navy chapel was John Paul Jones' crypt.
Then to the city harbor to look at the boats some more, and we got some ice cream before heading home. We were gone 4 hours total, and had a great time!
Alice fixed Paul's hair later that day. I guess he needed it?
