College Park Aviation Museum

The College Park Aviation Museum is located on the grounds of the world's oldest continuously operating airport in College Park, MD. The airport was founded in 1909 when Wilbur Wright came here to give flight instruction to the first military aviators.  http://www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com/home.htm

 

During the holidays, the National Capital Trackers came to the museum and set-up their miniature villages, tunnels, and depot and ran their model trains.  The trains fascinated Magnus and Maliah.

Walking

Maliah took her first step on Thanksgiving Day.. and now, 2-weeks later, at just over 11-months, she is really walking!

Mickey Christmas

To get us all in the Christmas mood, we ventured to a Disney Brunch... that Santa just so happened to visit!   Magnus, on two previous occasions, at Church and the mall, had watched kids go up and sit on Santa's lap.  In those instants Magnus just wanted to watch Santa, he wanted nothing to do with sitting on his lap.  But with the lure of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Magnus decided it was time to sit on Santa's lap.  Maliah on the other hand wasn't so convinced it was a good idea yet (...but she was greatly intrigued by Minnie Mouse).      

Maliah, Magnus, Santa and the Disney bunch

Bunch of M's... Mom, Magnus, Maliah, Mickey & Minnie Mouse

Stocking Stuffer

This is quite the stocking stuffer!

    

Chesapeake Bay

The weekend after Thanksgiving we took a trip Chesapeake Bay, to visit Deborah's college roommate, JennyLynn, that was in town visiting family.

Deborah, Maliah & JennyLynn

Goodbye Belmains

Belmains in front of Washington Monument

After a week of visiting, our friends the Belmains (Pete, Erin, Kelsey, Emma, Noah, Jonah, Natalie) head back to Florida.






It is hard to say good-bye, especially at 5am!

Magnus will REALLY miss the boys, Noah & Jonah!

 

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we had a big 21lb turkey, and lots of people to share it with.  Papa Hummel was in town, and our friends the Belmains (Pete, Erin, Kelsey, Emma, Noah, Jonah, Natalie) were visiting from Florida, and Deborah's cousin Mike Hummel and family (Connie, Joseph, Amadeus, and Issac) came for dinner. 

Pilgrims hat cookies.  Can you tell which ones Magnus made?

Maliah, at 22lbs, outweigh the bird, by one pound.

I'm thankful for my family, and turkey legs.

Maliah learned a new streamlined eating technique where you cut out the middle man (your hands), and just open your mouth and put it on your tray and move it back and forth, and back and forth! 

Natural History Museum

Magnus loves to go to the museums.  Many weekend mornings he will say to us "I want to go to the moozeeumh."  When he knows we are headed out to go to a museum, he is very helpful with getting himself ready to go, and then stands there at the door waiting for the rest of us to finish getting ready.

The Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History (http://www.mnh.si.edu/) contains 1.5 million square feet of space overall and 325,000 square feet of exhibition and public space; altogether the Museum is the size of 18 football fields, and houses over 1000 employees.   Here are some pictures from the Natural History Museum when we went with some visiting friends, the Belmains. 

   

Hope Diamond - 45.52 carats

   

Taking a snack break outside!

Air & Space Museum

Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (http://www.nasm.si.edu/) has the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. It has hundreds of artifacts on display including the original Wright 1903 Flyer, the Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 command module, and a lunar rock sample that visitors can touch.

Magnus and Maliah enjoyed running (crawling in Maliah's case) around and exploring the hands on displays. 

Flying a plane in the wind tunnel

Kids reign down Justice

Pentagon: 16 Sep 2011

The kids are bringing order to their new DC-area neighborhood!

Maliah decreed free milk rations to all military members during her press conference at the pentagon in September.  And she is petitioning for reduced nap times for all who have served a year or less.

Magnus joined up with the Arlington police brigade that was escorting 5-busloads full of the San Fransisco 49ers football team and staff, as they toured Arlington cemetery, the day before they played the Washington Redskins (and beat them... doh!).

Arlington police motorcycle; 11 Nov 2011

Arlington Cemetry

Arlington Cemetery is less than a 1/2 mile mile from our house.  We ride our bikes thru there often, on our way to the DC tidal basin and the Mall. 

Eternal Flame at JFK, Jackie and their infant son & daughter's grave

Tomb of the Unknown Solider

  

Mom & Maliah enjoying the trees at Arlington Cemetery

Magnus borrowing a cops motorcycle at the Arlington Cemetery

Halloween

Dad may be scared by the skeleton hanging on our front door,
but Maliah enjoyed touching it and got excited every time we walked her by the front door.  She would just look at the front door window and stare at it.

     

Maliah says "I ain't scared of you!"

These are the costumes that didn't make it to trick-or-treating, but we had fun playing in them for a little while!

Maliah the Garden Gnome

Magnus the Skeleton

The neighborhood grocery store had a Trick-or-Treat night the day before Halloween.  We couldn't pass up free candy and a chance to bowl in the grocery aisles.

 

Finally Halloween day came... and the whole family got dressed up.  Magnus understood Halloween this year.  Last year he just had fun putting candy in his bucket, or even taking it out and putting it in other kids buckets... but when he went to take the candy back out of their buckets, things didn't go as he planned.  But as I said, that was last year, this year he had trick-or-treating down pat, and loved it... all expect the scary house!

Queen Bee & Baby Bee

Dad the Banana

"Trick-o-Treat" say Magnus the Tow-Mater