My Job Keeps Me Busy

My parents left town today.  Happily, they are going to swing back for a few days in June after a quick trip up the east coast.

We had quite a nice and busy time while they were here.  We went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum annex near Dulles, where they have an SR-71, a Concorde, and the Enterprise space shuttle, the one that was never used.  They also had a few of Burt Rutan's early designs, which I loved to see.  Adam knows so much about aircraft that he was able to give us a better tour than the tour guide.  Sam enjoyed it too, and we got her a poster of the Lunar Rover and a Richard Scarry book, A Day at the Airport.

We went to a local zoo, which is always a great toddler activity.  Sam fell in love with one particular goat, and named him Daddy Goat.  They also had kangaroos, zebras, African bulls, and a boa constrictor which we got to touch.

Adam and I took advantage of the free babysitting and saw the new Star Trek movie, which was really good, but which I've mostly forgotten.  It's just a really enjoyable, fun ride.

Yesterday, we went to Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington.  Adam had to work, so he missed it, which is fine with me because it means we need to go back again soon.  Mt. Vernon is right on the Potomac and the setting is just beautiful.  The home itself is not nearly as interesting as Jefferson's Monticello, but the grounds are lovely, everything is well-maintained, and the museum and educational centers are incredible.  You can even take a cruise up the Potomac on a nice yacht, but we didn't have time for that.  We did go through the house, where there were tour guides stationed in each room to tell you about that part of the house.  We told Sam that they were telling us stories about the house, and eventually she started to fuss, saying NO MORE STORIES, NO MORE STORIES.  But really, she did a great job through the parts that must have been boring for her.

We also had a few dinners at our house and at my parents' RV, and we even had a little campfire one evening.  My mom brought us some neat gifts from Mexico and my dad did a bunch of house projects for us, all of which I'll write up in a later post. 

Today, Sam and I are laying low, recuperating.  That means that she watched an hour of TV in the morning while Adam and I slept in, and later she did sidewalk chalk while I wrote up the first part of this post sitting on the front porch in the incredible sunny-and-68 degree weather.  Now she is napping while I sit on the back deck with the dog, again enjoying the beautiful sunshine.

All of that good stuff is my job.  Taking Sam to new places, helping her build a relationship with her grandparents, and getting outside when the weather is nice - these are my duties.  What a life!