On butterflies, scooters, ice cream and kids

Original post written on July 17, 2012

Tuesdays at the Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian offers free tickets to their incredible Butterfly Exhibit. We were at the Museum when it opened at 10:00, headed up to get our timed ticket and got 10:45. It left us just enough time to find a restroom and water fountain and head back upstairs to read through the outer part of the exhibit. I gave the Salad a camera and told them to take a picture of their favorite butterfly. When we were through in the exhibit, I had printed out a lesson page on how butterflies wings are symmetrical and I asked them to draw the butterfly they had liked the best. While they drew I read them interesting butterfly facts. M really tested the limits of the exhibit’s rule. For example, they asked you not to touch the butterflies. Though they said that they often landed on people as they walked through. So M would see a butterfly sitting on a wall and place his hand a millimeter away and wait for the butterfly to crawl onto him, exclaiming “What?! I didn’t touch it! It just landed on me!” When we were through, we went right into the Insect Zoo and spent another hour checking out the bugs.

After some quiet time that afternoon, the Salad got it in their heads they wanted to scooter. The only problem was that it was 100+ degrees again. I fought the good fight, explaining the heat wouldn’t be good for their health. But they persisted (insisted?) and I finally broke down, because the thought of spending the afternoon listening to them complain about how I hadn’t let them, would have been equally bad for my health. So off we went, armed with plenty of cold water, to scooter in the sweltering hot sun. They hung in there like champs, until at one point, I noticed A’s cheeks were red and her hair was matted down with sweat. I forced them home and into a cool bath.

After dinner, A had set up a family game of Zingo and we still had time to explore a bit more. I had read that the best point to look down on the city was the observation tower at the Old Post Office Pavilion. It’s only 4 blocks from our apartment, so we headed over to check it out. True to all the reviews, the views were amazing. In fact, the building itself is amazing, a cross between Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station and Reading Terminal Market. We grabbed Ben & Jerry’s for dessert. As an aside, Ben & Jerry’s is some seriously expensive ice cream! What’s that all about?

On our way home, we stopped at the US Navy Memorial to hear 2 songs by a Navy Band called Country Current. We had seen them setting up earlier and R wondered aloud what time they’d be starting. M heard R wonder and marched right up to a man setting up the stage. “Excuse me? What time does the music start?” No fear. No hesitation. Just incredible. I love kids.