DC Days 2 & 3!

CASEY DIVING! & SLEEPOVER BUDDY & CASEY MAKES PLANKTON

Adventure, adventure, adventure... the 7th graders are exploring, learning, and eating! The 7th graders cook their own dinner, Derek says tonight they had "clumpy noodles, cold meatballs, "bite" sized lettuce the size of saucers, but it's the best meal!"

I haven't seen enough pictures of Alex on the official Franklin blog so hopefully he'll start dashing in front of the camara for the remaining days!! I look forward to seeing what treasures are on Derek's camara, & what's on Alex's!! What does a 12-almost-13-yr old take pictures of in Washington DC? We're about to find out! My mom always said "put a person in there!" Years later you won't remember where that giant tree was, or the big rock, or the majestic mountain (ok maybe you'll remember that one) but if someone dear is standing in front of it--that's a picture! And I dare say the majestic mountain is better off with a beloved in front of it too...

Casey and I had an adventure of our own. Went to Newport Saturday afternoon & let the pups run around on the beach, then we went to the aquarium for a "sleepover" which ended up being much more than that! We got a special tour while the kids did a scavenger hunt, room by neato room. Then they sat in small groups and manipulated pieces of kitchen sponge, clay, straws, and toothpicks to create Plankton that would float just beneath the surface of water (see photo!) Then it was off to the shark tunnel where we lined our sleeping bags up & tucked children into "bed" (see second photo). Followed by lights out and many many many many many minutes of whispers, giggles, inappropriate body sounds, laughter, then finally all was quiet except for the sounds of snores from the various fathers scattered around the tunnel. Did I mention all of these sounds echo fabulously in the tunnel? I think all in all I might have slept for 12 mins or so...

Then up & at 'em for Daylight Savings Time, and a very special treat of behind-the-scenes in the aviary and seal/sea lion feeding which was extremely cool!!! We saw the creatures doing tricks and earning treats, leaping out of the water, it was like a mini Sea World visit. Cutest of all was the seal baby which started out following the verbal & visual cues very closely and then just blew off its trainer to swim around the pool : ) The overnight stay came with free admission today, so after a night in the aquarium we went back for more! Extremely fun, super fun and I'm so glad we went!! (see photo!)