An anniversary weekend in DC...

On Friday night we went to dinner at the Rio Grande. Just Jon and me.

I was smitten with the oversized pottery there. Oh and the food was good too.
Saturday morning we bundled the kids up, hopped on the Metro and went to see the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington and to watch the changing of the guard. They were mesmerized. We all were.

Trae at the eternal flame where he jumped the chain and tried to make a beeline for the fire.

Saturday afternoon (our anniversary) we shipped the kids back to the hotel and Jon took me to the National Gallery and the Hirshhorn. I was in heaven. I had a perma smile the whole time we were in the Gallery. This is the only DaVinci in the Western Hemisphere.

At The Hirshhorn we saw the Andy Warhol Shadows exhibit. That was pretty cool too. Some of the other sculptures and art, we deemed, were done on some bad acid trips.

Afterward we went to a street vendor, ordered hot dogs and pretzels and toasted ourselves to 18 years.

Some others paintings I liked:
Snow in New York, American, 1902

Agostina, French, 1866. I love her.

Jon admiring some work. I love him.

The Beach at Villerville, French, 1864

The Bedroom, Dutch, 1658-1660

3 year-old view, American, 2011

Art appreciation

The past two weeks have been busy ones for us. We both have been working a lot but the weekend is close and I can't wait for a couple of days of down time at home. I have a few Friday finds to show you tomorrow, inspired by my love of kids' collectibles and artwork.
My collection is no where near the work of the masters but it's amazing what you can find at the thrift store!

These are pictures of some of my favorites taken from Google images.

A who's who among artists: Can you guess?

Have a good day! See you tomorrow.

Better for it

When I was little my mom took me to see the King Tutankhamun exhibit in Seattle. I didn't really know much about it except that we were taking a 3 hour drive to see an ancient Egyptian and if there were time, I'd get to go up the Space Needle. I was just excited for a road trip.

I remember meandering around the glass cases and seeing the famous golden slippers,
mummies, a tomb and a hundred other various artifacts. I also remember being in awe of how everything seemed to be made of shiny gold. I asked my mom how much it was all worth. She replied, "Well, it's priceless. But that's not the most important thing."

I was saddened over the weekend when I heard that looters repelled into a museum in Cairo and damaged artifacts of King Tut. Luckily the items can all be repaired in some way. There were many Egyptian citizens who were frustrated by the looting and the sheer disregard for a precious history.

Some may wonder what that has to do with us as Americans or why we should care. I know some don't and that's OK I guess. But for me, it's a teaching moment for my kids.

That most "important thing" my mom was talking about to me that day was to learn to have an appreciation for art because it will help me learn about people of the world, all God's people. Not so one can be boastful about all they know; no one likes that. But to learn about others so this big world doesn't seem so big. Those artifacts humanize a history and culture.

When we go on vacation, Jon and I believe in doing or showing the kids something that is historically pertinent to where we are driving through or visiting. My dad used to do that. We'd moan when he'd pull over to show us a historical sight. Not another stop in the Badlands, please! No more reading the roadside signs! We've already seen Old Faithful, when can you find us a waterpark??

That was until he took us to a real ghost town and we wandered through old buildings. He kept telling us to watch out for nails because we were in the middle of nowhere and there wouldn't be anyone to give us tetanus shots. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

Last summer we were able to take my niece and nephew to Washington DC and tour the many exhibits at the Smithsonian. It was interesting to me to see what items they photographed: The Hope Diamond, First lady ball gowns, Lincoln's top hat, dinosaur bones, Dorothy's ruby slippers, World War II memorabilia, The Berlin Wall and much more.

So you can probably understand too, the Egyptians' frustration with their museum cases in ruins. I would be sad too if the Smithsonian fell to such fate.

So, enjoy your surroundings, find something new to learn about the area with a fresh perspective and even though the kids may groan at what they don't yet understand, they will see its importance someday and be better for it.

Oh, and the views from the Space Needle - spectacular!

All this talk of King Tut reminds me of Steve Martin...does it you too?