Anna Grows

At long last, after countless Sunday's spent going to open houses, Anna at last will be moving into a new house. Mom and Dad were anxiously awaiting this day and wasted no time preparing the house to move in. Today's preparation work involved painting and lots of it. Anna joined Mom and Dad for the painting adventure (and it was truly an adventure for Mom and Dad with a two-year old). Knowing that Anna likes to help with everything, Dad brought along a small paint brush and bucket for Anna to use. She even had her own paint clothes and painting hat. Dad set her up on a bedroom wall, where she helped for most of the morning. She did take a brake to watch a bit of Dora the Explorer as well as a nap, but returned to help in the afternoon with the dining room. As you can see from the photo, Dad gave her some early lessons on painting techniques, including graffiti. Tomorrow Mom and Dad will continue the painting. Anna gets to spend the day with Aunt Gayle (Mom and Dad are VERY gra

It is Christmas time in the nation's capitol. While Christmas came early for some this year (the banks, the auto industry, the real estate industry....pretty much any other industry looking for handouts), there are still some more traditional holiday sites to see. One of the little known holiday gems in the Washington area is the U.S. Botanical Gardens, located on Capitol Hill. This facility was recently renovated and contains a breathtaking display of holiday flowers and decorations. The highlight of the display is the model train exhibit, which takes up one entire exhibit hall and is contructed using all sorts of flowers and foilage. The result is spectacular to kids of all ages. Anna enjoyed watching the trains and running through the "secret tunnel" in the display. If you are in the Washington area during the holidays, it is worth a visit. For more information, go to http://www.usbg.gov/