Day Tripping

It is great being close enough to Washington D.C. to make a very easy day trip of it, which is exactly what we did this past Saturday. We went down to the metro station and took the metro to Foggy Bottom Station and then walked over to the State Department so that we could finally see where Trent works all day. It was nice to see what his trip is like, where he has to walk etc. etc. (Now we just need to get his Coast Guard legoes to his office somehow. ) We did not have the full metro cars he often has though. We had plenty of room to sit etc. Ashley made homemade newspapers, and the kids read them on the ride in. It was really cute.

Sammy and her newspaper

My cute boys on the Metro

Rather than walk back to the station and go to the Smithsonian, we decided exit via the C Street exit and walk down the mall to the Smithsonian. It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

On the way to the mall from the Department of State, we stopped at the Albert Einstein Memorial. I had not previously seen it. For those who want to know, it is across Constitution Ave. from the Vietnam Memorial approximately. It was a pretty cool memorial. One man there to visit showed the kids that if they stand in the middle of the circles at the foot of the statue and talk loudly up, they can hear an echo. I thought about doing the BSA yell to really test out the echo capabilities, but left it to the kids in the end. It turns out that the circles at Einstein's feet make a map of the universe. It is really a great little memorial, and I am glad Trent pointed it out to us. Besides, the kids love Einstein especially after Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

Looking back from the Mall. See the white blocky building? See the kind of dingy grey/brown one behind it? That dingy one is the Department of State. It seems to be a running commentary on how ugly that building is.

The kids and I taking a break at the World War II Memorial

After our slow walk up the Mall, we finally arrived at the Air and Space Museum. This July marked the 40th anniversary of man's arrival on the moon. As part of that celebration, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum put Al (Alan) Bean's artwork depicting the Apollo missions on display. Al Bean was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 12 and walked on the moon with Pete Conrad. He was the 4th man to set foot on the moon. I have a certain fondness for Al Bean that comes with watching the HBO documentary series From the Earth to The Moon repeatedly. It really is a fantastically done series. The episode about Apollo 12 is done from Al Bean's perspective and is entitled, That's All There Is. There are so many reasons I love that particular episode, but to keep it short I will note that the point of it was that Al Bean noted in the end that the very best part of that mission was sharing it with the two men who had become his very best friends, Pete Conrad and Dick Gordan. There is so much to relate to in the idea that something amazing becomes even more so when we can share it with those we love.

Anyhow, I wanted to see these paintings since I heard the exhibit was opening in July. I would have wanted to see them regardless. I am so happy I did though and was not at all disappointed. They are impressive art. Al Bean started with aviation ply wood and did a plaster technique over the top which he textured with imprints of moon boots and other tools used on the lunar surface. He then painted over the plaster. It is all very impressive. Some of the paintings even have some moon dust in them that Al Bean found in the folds of his old space suit.

There is a little video presentation they play in which Al Bean talks about what inspired him to do the paintings and such. I listened to bits of it as we walked through the exhibit. I appreciated his note that as far as making a contribution to art, his was contributing the perspective he had as an artist having visited a place that few other men have and being, to date, the only man to draw or paint it. I also like the fact that he has painted far more than just his Apollo 12 mission. He has incorporated all of the Apollo missions in the collection. This makes the paintings general impressions given that he wasn't there for each Apollo moon landing, but his perspective is unique, and it shows in his art. One of the quotes from Al Bean on one of the signs in the exhibit says, "we artists are valuable only in so far as we interpret reality in interesting and beautiful ways, and help the viewer see and feel in ways he or she would not otherwise experience." I am so happy to have shared Al Bean's perspective.

Trent now wants an original Al Bean for the house. That would be amazing, but I don't think they are for sale. :)

I took a few pictures of some of the paintings. The pictures can only show so much obviously. A lot of the texture gets lost, and the flash and reflections in glass distort, but I hope they give an idea of some of the work. You can also look at the various paintings here.



One of my favorites. It is titled The Fantasy. The reason for this is it depicts Pete Conrad, Al Bean and Dick Gordan all together on the moon. This never happened, because the Command Module Pilot (Dick Gordon on Apollo 12) stays behind in the Command Module to rendevous later with the Lunar Module before returning to Earth. I love that Al Bean thinks about how great it would have been for all of them to be there together to share in that experience.

When our exploring was done, we headed back home for some work around the house. In a nearly empty metro train and after walking all that way, the Warner children thought it would be more fun to hold onto a poll and stand for the metro ride home. They are so funny.

Newsworthy

Ashley made the local paper.

Here is a link to the story with her picture. It is about a project they did at their school on September 11.

Coming Around Again?

In 5th and 6th grade, I begged and learned to play the viola. I quit after 6th grade. I have regretted quiting and wish I kept it up. I have not mentioned this to my kids though.

Ashley came home from school the first week with a form to fill out and stated that she wanted to be part of the string instruments program and that she wanted to play the viola. I was hesitant at first, but I found her a good starter viola for a good price, and I figure the lessons are free, and I can sale her viola if she decides it is not something she wants to continue. I asked her why she chose the viola when the rest of her girl friends are all playing violin. She said she thought it sounded fun to do something "a little different." Apparently, she almost chose the cello. So, Ashley is now one of 13 3rd graders learning to play viola. There are 58 learning violin.

Her instrument arrived Wednesday. Yesterday was the first day to take the instruments to school. The music teacher tuned them all up and got the bows rosined etc. So far, Ashley loves "practicing," which amounts to dragging her bow randomly across several strings. I am trying to show her how to play twinkle twinkle little star, the only thing I remember how to play. I hope we get there at some point. :)

practicing on her not yet tuned viola. Yikes.

Ready to take it to school.

Road Trip

I am slow updating the blog lately. I think we are all still settling into what our general schedule looks and feels like.

Anyhow, about 2 weeks ago, Trent suggested a family road trip after church. This is not an uncommon Warner family activity. Our destination - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Trent took an overnight trip there when he was in the Grad Course at the JAG School. He has wanted to take us since then. An afternoon family road trip certainly didn't allow for any in depth examination of Gettysburg, but it was a great drive and a fun time.

Jon at the start of Pickett's Charge looking at the sign and across the field and lining up all the landmarks for the rest of us. He did a great job.

The kids playing around the rocks at Devil's Den

The view from Devil's Den looking up at Little Round Top.

Lt. Commander Warner and his troops in position at the far flank which the 20th Maine infantry defended to prevent the Confederacy from breaking the Union line.
Not scary, but they sure could defeat you with cuteness.

Poor Ashley

This past Saturday evening, Trent took Ashley and Jon to the Middle School parking lot to ride their bikes. During a race, Ashley hit a bit of a hill that she didn't realize was a hill and lost control of her bike. She crashed and scraped up her chest and knees and an arm. Those were all very surface scratches and not a big deal, but just below her nose, she had a couple small but deep gashes. This meant Ashley's first trip to the emergency room for herself and Tiffany's second for one of her children this year!

Ashley was in a screaming panic over just the thought of getting stitches. We got her calmed down and to the ER. She was anxious every time someone knew examined her until we finally got to the doctor who said definitively they would use glue (dermabond) and not stitches for Ashley's wound. It was a good wound and location for glue, and apparently, the glue will help minimize the scaring.

Ashley is now diligently following the instructions she received in the hospital about not getting the wound wet, not touching or rubbing the area where the glue is, keeping it out of direct sunlight etc. As a result of keeping her upper lip as still as possible for the first day or so, she always looked so sad even when she wasn't. I thought keeping a stiff upper lip meant not looking so sad. I guess not.

The glue should break down and the butterfly strips come off by the weekend. We will then wait for the scab to fall off and start the mederma.

On a funny note, Ashley went back to school yesterday and had P.E. It turns out that another girl in Ashley's class also got stitches AND broke her nose over the weekend. The two of them found companionship and fun in being able to throw balls at anyone, but no one could throw at them because of their injuries. Ashley was so excited about this. She couldn't wait to tell me about it when she got out of school. It sounds almost like cheating to me, but I am glad the two girls could comfort each other and find some fun in their state of injury.