I took Friday off from work to take care of the boys. We had a full day planned. First, we went to the Kitchen Supply Store in Union Market to get them their own Chinese soup spoons and bowls. I also needed some new measuring spoons (ooo, la la!), and I got some chopsticks for the family so the boys could progress past their trainer chopsticks and be more professional at the Chinese restaurants when we go. Cassius chose a matching spoon and bowl, and Maceo chose a leopard print bowl and a floral decoration spoon. From there, we went to the Hirschhorn, a museum we've gone to in the past for activities but not to explore the exhibits. Maceo's favorite exhibit was the color wheel that ran the entire interior ring of the museum.
Here's a favorite painting Maceo photographed.
Maceo captures patrons exploring the exhibit.
For me, the most interesting exhibit was "Manifesto X Agency." In the exhibit, there were 13 films that all featured Cate Blanchett in different roles. In each film, her character's dialogue was the script of 13 different artists' manifestoes about what art is supposed to be. Some were disturbing, some were quite interesting. The boys were transfixed, though that might have just been the effect of watching "TV." But they were asking questions about the films and picking the ones they wanted to go look at.
The final film is a Southern family sitting down to Sunday dinner and when they say grace, it's Claes Oldenburg's manifesto. At the end of the "prayer", they hold hands and all intone the final line, "Square which becomes blobby." I laughed out loud, the boys were bemused, and I kept imagining how cool it would be if the boys just started intoning such lines: "To the incinerator with Chopin!" or the like.
A panorama of some of the films we watched.
After the Hirschhorn, we walked across The Mall to the ice skating rink. We have lovely hand-me down skates from Bridget and Seamus, so costs were defrayed. That's why I didn't feel so bad when Cassius quit skating rather early because "this rink isn't a good one!" Maceo did a very good job and made his around the rink several times!
At least they look like respectable skaters!
Following ice skating, we went to Chinatown and had some lunch. Sadly, the boys were not as outgoing as on trips past, and their orders were a little bit of a struggle. However, when Maceo finished his dumplings and ordered a second plate, he did much better and now he knows how to say "steamed dumplings"!
Some crazy kid joined us for lunch and had a PB and J sandwich!
The boys were, as you can tell from all these blog posts, out of school this week. Thursday, their Montessori school teachers Mamy and Maurice took them to The Maryland Science Center for a chance to experiment and learn. I received excellent photos throughout the day of their various activities.
The weekend began for real on Saturday mid afternoon when Lucy and Bridget arrived from Massachusetts.
Immediately, Cassius showed Lucy our most recent book of family photos.
The boys were super excited (I was happy, too!), and they quickly dragged Bridget into the process of making gummy dinosaurs with Cassius's kit he received this summer. Success and candy were achieved! Thanks, Bridget!
The next day, we hosted Grandpa and Grandma Sue for Grandpa's birthday dinner! We made a delicious lasagna (Maceo ate three slices!), brussel sprouts, salad, and a yummy birthday cake (Cassius was so suspicious of it that he wouldn't taste it).
Cassius and Maceo are quite interested in chess lately,
so of course here they are playing checkers.
Happy birthday!!!
Monday, no school for anyone. So, we hosted a gaggle on young men at the house and boy oh boy, were they boys. First, they played football and baseball out in the backyard. Then, we went for a hike on the grounds of the Divinity School across the street. There, we found a deer carcass which was pretty cool.
It's honestly hard to tell we are in the city over here!
From there, we climbed trees, as young boys are wont to do.
This is Parker being saucy.
Monkeys on a branch.
And finally, we whacked things with sticks. Let those among without sin cast the first stick.
Various layers of whackers.
The next day, the boys' school was closed, so I dropped them off with Mamy, Maurice, Lucy, and Bridget and left them to their adventures. And boy, howdy, did they have adventures! I received updates throughout the day--they took the Metro, they went to the Natural History Museum, they played on the Mall, they ate snacks, and they played at Mamy's.
Various monuments of Washington
The biggest termites you've ever seen at the Insect section of the Natural History Museum.
LOOK WHO KNOWS TO STAND TO THE RIGHT! SO PROUD!
Cassius spent some time looking up family members' names in the dictionary.
By the time I got there, the boys were rather tired, a little hungry, and very happy. And that's how you popsico.
Maceo and Cassius went to the car show with their grandfather, and I had them bring along their cameras to take pictures of the vehicles they liked. Maceo took a whole boatload of pictures, some of which are publishable!
We are still attending baseball clinics in the neighborhood, sometimes with our friends Parker and Carter, and sometimes not. This past weekend, we went just the three of us, and it was great! We walked over in the lovely spring-like weather, and once there, the boys just went and got a ball and started playing catch. And they can actually play catch! Their throws are accurate enough, and they can catch, too. It was fun to watch.
The future All-Stars warm up
The coaches soon broke them into different groups, and Cassius came over to sit with me. "Can I play on your phone?" he asked. "Nope," I said. After about 5 seconds, Cassius got up and ran to join the drills.
First up was fielding drills. Cassius was really good at charging the ball and scooping it up and rifling a throw to the coach.
Maceo was really good at hitting. In fact, at least one of his shots was so powerful that it cleared the netting he was hitting into, and he crowed, "Home run!!!"
The funniest part of the practice was the kids running suicides to end the practice. They are still learning how drills work, how to participate and pay attention, and how to be athletes in general. But they are learning!
The boys have gotten lots of family time the last week. First, they had a day off from school for the Chinese New Year, so Grandpa and Grandma Sue took them to the Washington, DC auto show. While I sent them off with their own cameras to take pictures of their favorite cars, the only photos I saw were these:
Concentrate! CONCENTRATE!!
Cassius told me he was a better driver than Grandpa because
he only crashed a few times, and Grandpa crashed a lot more.
Then, on the weekend, we had a sad occasion--my Aunt Mary succumbed to pancreatic cancer, and so nearly the entire Hanrahan clan came into town. The boys and I practiced who is who and who is related to whom, but there were so many people, it was hard for the boys to keep track.
The cousins who made it.
The Hanrahan siblings.
My cousing Allen was supposed to stay with us, but his wife called after being in a car accident (all were fine), and so he rushed on home and didn't get a chance to hang out.
He was going to sleep in Cassius's bed, so I wanted you to see how Cassius had prepared his room for a visitor.
Perhaps the quilt is too big for the mattress?
Aunt Mary was an expert on early childhood development, so I thought it highly appropriate to bring lots of toys for the boys to play with. Once they were tired of that, they went outside to play with their cousin Claire in the sand on the dock next to the river. They played together for hours and then came in to share a hot chocolate. Back at Aunt Mary's house later, they continued to play very well together. At one point, I looked out the window to the playground behind the house. Claire and Cassius were sitting together intently with their heads together. Claire's mom Carrie told me when she came in that they were building fairy houses together.
This weekend, we continued to celebrate the Year of the Rat. The boys and I went to National Theater to see a free concert. Then, we stopped for some pastries as we walked over to the Museum of American Art where there were celebrations of Chinese culture.
I told the boys they should use their Chinese skills to ingratiate themselves with the other Mandarin speakers and get some free stuff, but they were getting free stuff anyway.
A free lantern, a free block print, some clay, and a snack!
Watching acrobats and dancers
We also ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant, and both boys spoke Mandarin and got themselves a coke. Cassius brought his own lunch (of course), but this time, he was the first to speak with the waiter while Maceo had to eat some dumplings and work his way back into a good mood. In the end, Maceo asked super formally and politely for a coke, loved his dumplings, and really liked the ramen I got, so I think the whole trip was a success!
