Family Festivities

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!