The White House

My favorite aunt from Italy has come to stay with us for 10 days!! I have been waiting a long time for this day to come. Zia Chantal brings joy into the life of everyone she meets. I LOVE speaking Italian 24/7. Even Paul and Joey are starting to pick it up. My aunt has made only one request while she's here. "Vorrei vedere la casa bianca!" Va bene! So, the first place we went was the White House. We knew President Obama was in the Oval Office, because the marine guard in white gloves was standing outside the door. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Zia's face light up when she saw it for the first time. For her, it symbolizes freedom in a way I could never understand. I love her sense of patriotism for a country she is not even a citizen, but feels such adoration toward. Throughout her 60 something years, she has seen the world change, but what has remained fervently steadfast is her faith in America. Viva l'america!

Can you see the marine guard?

Future President

 National Treasury. That's not a statue of Nicholas Cage.

Korean War Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Abe

Saturday's at Eastern Market

Eastern Market is my favorite place to go on a Saturday morning. The sun god decided to finally visit DC. Aside from a visit from Apollo, to make it extra special, we celebrated Natalie's 29th birthday. I can't believe she's moving to Utah in 2 weeks. I've never met a friend that loved my kiddos as much as Natalie. She will be dearly missed. I'm thrilled that we were able to make it out to the flea market on this gorgeous day. We took in the sights and smells and couldn't resist the delicious food (pictures below). I was thrilled to finally try their breakfast. Holly got their famous blue-bucks, which are blueberry pancakes made with buckwheat. Natalie raved over the crab cake eggs benedict, and I got the egg and sausage plate with their famous hash browns. Oh yeah, and the girl sitting next to us got the strawberry french toast. I tried them all, besides the french toast, and I can't wait to go back. 

National Geographic Museum

We met up for a play date at the National Geographic Museum today. The magazine has been in publication since 1888. The first photograph was published in 1890. The National Geographic Society sponsors expeditions and discoveries that have impacted scientific research and changed history. For example, in 1985 when Bob Ballard discovered the Titanic, or in 2006 when DNA showed King Tut's family history. The history teacher inside me loved this museum. 

Today we visited the Cosmos: A Space Odyssey, Women in Vision, and our favorite, A New Age of Exploration exhibit. The National Geographic Society has been revealing history for the last 125 years. Thanks for giving our little ones the opportunity to explore and discover today. 

Serve your neighbor

I've been really enjoying the Service Collab for 2014.

The theme for March is: Serve your neighbor

I'm excited for this one because I feel like I can include my family. If there is one lesson I would like for my children to receive it is to serve and love others. I can't wait to take the time to teach my little ones how good it feels to help others. I should be doing this already, but this months service collab theme is reminding me just how important it is. Here's to being a good neighbor. 

Click here for the free printable