Dirthead

Yesterday was a pretty typical day for us. I think the end result was that Paul will never have kids. They're loud, messy, and a lot of work. In the afternoon, while I was cleaning the kitchen Bohdin and Nyla went onto the patio to play. Since Nyla is just one she thinks it's great fun to pull the soil out of the plant out there. Bohdin was ready to join in. It started by throwing dirt off the balcony but ended in a surprise for me. Bohdin ran in to get me to show me the surprise. I went outside and he showed me a dirthead. I'm not sure I need to describe it. Nyla was completely covered in dirt. Her hair, face, clothes, everything. I brought them both inside to the bathtub. It took much longer than anticipated to get the pile of dirt out of head. Even though they both had fun, I think it would be best if they don't play that game again.

Today we took the commuter train down to DC. We live less than 2 miles from the station so once we found a parking spot it was pretty easy. We were dropped off at Union Station. I had Nyla on my back. In Union Station, Bohdin found the candy store and wanted to stop there. We didn't. He was pretty sad and wanted to go home as we walked down Capitol Hill. We finally made it to the National Archives. Bohdin was eating a muffin as we entered. We knew we had to wait to enter until he was done but thought we would wait just outside the security lines since it was still just a little chilly out. A security guard approached us and we explained the situation. He told us to stay off to the side to avoid the crowd that was coming in behind us. Paul and I looked back out the door. There was construction going on so it was a long tunnel created by tarps and scaffolds. The tunnel was completely empty. It was just us and the security guards inside. Both Paul and I were wondering when exactly this crush of people were expected. In the time that Bohdin stood there finishing his muffin not one person entered. Nobody even exited.

There is probably no museum more boring to a child than one filled with old papers. We went through rather quickly. Bohdin wasn't having a great time. At the end we stopped at the bathroom so we wouldn't be caught off guard later with Bohdin. We went outside and had another little snack. While we were still out there Bohdin decided he needed to poop this time. We were still outside the Archives so I thought it would be quick to duck back in but the entrance was backed up with a crowd of people who had just exited two tour buses. They finally arrived. We ran across to the art musuem. Since we were inside we looked around a bit. Art must be the second most boring thing for a small child. There was nothing to touch.

Bohdin had a hot dog and a popsicle from the vendor after we left. I decided there wasn't enough time to catch the next train so we headed to the Natural History museum for a little while. Bohdin finally found something a bit more interesting. Nyla fell asleep on my back. We were actually having a good time in there and didn't realize how late it was getting. Paul carried Bohdin to the subway stop but we were about 30 seconds too late. We watched our subway train depart. The next one was running late so we wouldn't make it to our commuter train in time. After a lot of hassle I'm too tired to mention right now we made it home after 5:30. I was exhausted. Paul came in on a later train and said he was exhausted. He's going back tomorrow but this time he'll go alone.


Outside the National Archives
 

Trying to push down the column in the art museum. Nyla just wanted to climb it.
 

Nyla laying on the floor because she is mad that I wouldn't let her climb the stairs. Later she realized how slippery the floors were and started rolling around. Bohdin was trying to slide across the floor.
 

Bohdin's favorite exhibit. There was a seismograph that would record your earthquakes. The harder you jumped on the ground the stronger the wave recorded. He jumped and jumped and jumped. It was perfect for him.
 

Bohdin said his favorite thing was chasing the pigeons. He was also pretty excited to go on a double decker train. It was really full so I had to stand. Somebody offered a seat so Bohdin was able to sit. Somebody did later offer another seat but I declined. It's easier to keep Nyla strapped in as long as possible. I'm surprised that it took so long for the second person to offer a seat to a lady carrying a baby on her back. I know this wouldn't have happened in other parts of the country.

One interesting thing that we saw was the construction for the inaguration in 2009. The whole area around the Capitol was closed. I'm considering taking the kids to it. This could be my only chance. We'll see.