Friday 5-8-09 - National Archives, Nat. History Museum, Ford Theater
Friday Morning we took the Metro into D.C. and met our friends for another fun day! Here we where when we first met up for the day. This was our first glimpse of the Capitol Building! (Yes, I let another scream out! LOL)
We decided to hit the National Archives first, since the kids were as fresh as they were going to get and the line was pretty short.
Here are the kids waiting in line:
Walking on the wall kept them entertained for awhile.
The baby was also good for entertainment! (She is the BEST baby I have ever been around.)
The big boys waiting. (You can see how much of the line we have made it through in this picture.) Actually, I can't complain about the lines. We have barely stood in any! We did come at a good time. Spring Break and Cherry Festival is over and Summer is yet to come. Mostly the people here are end of year high school groups and I must say I have been very encourage with the good behavior we have seen.
Being up close to the gorgeous building was enough to keep me entertained!
Once inside we found a few things I didn't expect!
Like a reproduction of President Taft's super-sized bath tub!
An imprint of a dinosaur footprint.
A petition from the 1700's
Shaqs shoe? (I have no idea why this was there. It seemed odd to me, but I am not a sport person.) It was VERY BIG!
They also had a little 1950's T.V. Playing old shows like Howdy Doody and etc. Another kid pleaser as you can imagine!
After roaming around the museum awhile we were ready to see the documents! I don't have many pictures to share of the documents. The lighting is extremely low in the room. They do allow non-flash photography, but most of mine don't show much even with lightening them up on the computer.
I did get this one though! This is THE original Declaration of Independence!!!!! WOW!!! Okay, I know you are thinking it looks like you can't read the words. Well, the truth is this is really a good picture! Sadly the document is SO faded that it is almost unreadable. I had NO idea! I was really struck by how old this was when I saw it. I thought it was going to look like the one I saw in the National Treasure movie! LOL When we were in Philly they have an original of the Declaration of Independence that was type-set and printed. (As a matter of fact it is the one that was read to the people on the streets of Philly in 1776!) I was looking at it and talking to one of the Park Rangers. I was telling him how surprised I was at how faded the original hand written one in the Archive building was. He was telling me that a big part of the reason that one is so faded is that it has been shown so much. He said in the early years that one would be taken around and hung in the windows of stores so people could read it! We think of it as a historical document. But, back then it was a call to arms! I thought that was so interesting! Anyway, it is amazing to stand in front of it and think about the amazing men who participated in it's creation. I must admit the 100's of times I have watched 1776 were playing through my head as I looked at the document.
This is the only other good picture I got. It is of a 1297 Magna Carta! It is beautiful! And much more readable than the Declaration of Independence.
I LOVED the National Archives. I still get chills thinking about being there! The history in that room is just seeping out of every inch of it!
After the archives it was time to get ice cream and head to to DINOSAURS! (Yep, we kept proimising both as we waited in line at the archive building!)
Now he's happy! (No time out's were needed in this building! LOL)
The hands on stuff was a BIG hit! Or in the case the full body on! LOL This is a dinosaur leg bone the kids can sit on.
I have literally hundreds of pictures of bones...But this was my favorite. It is a GIANT sloth! Okay, the funny story behind this one... We are coming up the ramp and my oldest is pushing my youngest in the stroller. My oldest LOVES sloths and the sees this and takes off to see it. Well, he leaves his little brother on the ramp! I am already taking pictures and I don't notice my little man is picking up speed heading backwards! LOL I hear this little confused voice saying "Where am I going?" As I look over a kind woman is 5 feet behind me catching my son as he's crusing backwards down the ramp! LOL We are still teasing his big brother!
Okay, I gasped when I saw this! This was in the Africa exhibit. As we walked by my friend says "If I visit your blog in a few months and see pictures of a basket you have made that is bigger than you I will at least know where you got the idea!' LOL Isn't it amazing?
Okay, now it's time for Ford's Theater!
Here are the kids on the steps out front of the theater.
The house across the street where the took Lincoln after he was shot. (And where he died.) It is the red one in the middle.
The box Lincoln sat in when he was shot. The picture of George Washington is the same one that hung there that night.
This is the coat Lincoln wore the night he was shot. It is beautiful! It was made for him by Brookes Brothers for his second inauguration.
This is a picture of my sweet friend sitting with the kids while my oldest son and I went to tour the house where Lincoln died. Not only was it a blast to spend time with her, but she was such a blessing to me helping with kids. 2 adults are always better than one!
Here is my son in the entry hall.
Mary Lincoln's waiting room. I LOVED Ford Theater and seeing this house! I can't believe I was actually there!
Whew, this is a loooooong post! But, it was a loooooooong day too! Words are so inadequete to say how much I love seeing all this! I hope somehow a bit of my excitement shows through!
We have homeschooled our children from the start and we love every minute of it! This is my place to share my thoughts on homeschooling, my kids and living for the Lord. All the while being a little outside the box!!
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An extremely dense, vertically developed cumulus with a relatively hazy outline and a glaciated top extending to great heights, usually producing heavy rains, thunderstorms, or hailstorms.
Actually, I can't complain about the lines. We have barely stood in any! We did come at a good time. Spring Break and Cherry Festival is over and Summer is yet to come. Mostly the people here are end of year high school groups and I must say I have been very encourage with the good behavior we have seen.
It was VERY BIG!
Another kid pleaser as you can imagine!
This is THE original Declaration of Independence!!!!! WOW!!! Okay, I know you are thinking it looks like you can't read the words. Well, the truth is this is really a good picture! Sadly the document is SO faded that it is almost unreadable. I had NO idea! I was really struck by how old this was when I saw it. I thought it was going to look like the one I saw in the National Treasure movie! LOL When we were in Philly they have an original of the Declaration of Independence that was type-set and printed. (As a matter of fact it is the one that was read to the people on the streets of Philly in 1776!) I was looking at it and talking to one of the Park Rangers. I was telling him how surprised I was at how faded the original hand written one in the Archive building was. He was telling me that a big part of the reason that one is so faded is that it has been shown so much. He said in the early years that one would be taken around and hung in the windows of stores so people could read it! We think of it as a historical document. But, back then it was a call to arms! I thought that was so interesting! Anyway, it is amazing to stand in front of it and think about the amazing men who participated in it's creation. I must admit the 100's of times I have watched 1776 were playing through my head as I looked at the document. 
It is beautiful! And much more readable than the Declaration of Independence. 
(No time out's were needed in this building! LOL)
This is a dinosaur leg bone the kids can sit on.
Okay, the funny story behind this one... We are coming up the ramp and my oldest is pushing my youngest in the stroller. My oldest LOVES sloths and the sees this and takes off to see it. Well, he leaves his little brother on the ramp! I am already taking pictures and I don't notice my little man is picking up speed heading backwards! LOL I hear this little confused voice saying "Where am I going?" As I look over a kind woman is 5 feet behind me catching my son as he's crusing backwards down the ramp! LOL We are still teasing his big brother!
This was in the Africa exhibit. As we walked by my friend says "If I visit your blog in a few months and see pictures of a basket you have made that is bigger than you I will at least know where you got the idea!' LOL Isn't it amazing? 
The picture of George Washington is the same one that hung there that night.
It is beautiful! It was made for him by Brookes Brothers for his second inauguration. 
Not only was it a blast to spend time with her, but she was such a blessing to me helping with kids. 2 adults are always better than one!
I LOVED Ford Theater and seeing this house! I can't believe I was actually there!
