Art + Christmas

"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls" Pablo Picasso

There is no doubt that the DC offers an explosion of culture wherever one goes.  This week, for the kids it was the Hirschhorn Museum at the Smithsonian. This has become my favorite museum because modern art is (easy for me to look at, and...) always offering the observer something fun! We went to Ai Wei Wei's exhibit. Wei Wei, a Chinese contemporary artist, is an open critic of China's stance on government and democracy...which makes his art very interesting and powerful...and pretty easy to explain to the kids. They had fun trying to guess the meaning behind big bowls of "rice"  made out of fresh water pearls, and Han Dynasty pots with Coca-cola painted on them.  Sawyer liked the "naked sad man" in the hirschhorn the most and couldn't stop giggling and peeking about.

Steve and I celebrated our 9th anniversary with Thai food (and the kids)...and have decided that we probably need to find a babysitter soon. We miss having an abundance of teenagers in our daily lives. 

We also celebrated our smallest Christmas yet. Our friends Britta and Pax (fellow Washingtonians) came over for a northwest Christmas Eve. The next morning the kids opened their gifts from us, grandparents, aunts and uncles, Santa, and friends...which made a for a busy (and messy) morning. Natalie got her ukelele she has been dreaming of, and Sawyer opened his many packages of Lego Hero Factory packs.  Steve got his first scarf, so he finally fits in in the city..and I got my Lululemon gift card so I can fit in in the gym.  Later in the day we headed down to the National Christmas tree to see the Washington State tree and the pathway of peace.  It was an easy and fun day.

Hi, guess what I can see?  The Washington Monument from my bedroom window!

I miss you all. But I'm still having fun. love, Natalie.


Here are some pictures to share our memories:

Someone couldn't stop giggling.

Hirschhorn Musuem

Even Ai Wei Wei likes bikes!

Natalie FINALLY got to visit the capitol building.

Typical metro ride.

They couldn't be happier getting school pics of Sam and Nate Laas! 

Natalie collecting $ for the "Homelas" in our living room. She collected over $7!

Our makeshift chimney for Santa.

9 years!

Christmas Day at the National Christmas Tree.

Two happy Washingtonian kids after finding the Washington State Tree at the White House.

The liked eachother's gifts this year! Pink stuffed pig for Sawyer...an H&M gift card for Natalie.

A Ukelele FINALLY! 

Thanks, Aunt Jenny! This was his "dream toy!".

Sawyer's new leather badass coat! Just in time for kindergarden!

Mom finished another scarf.  Cozy kids in DC.

Yellow Belts!

"To me, the extraordinary aspect of martial arts lies in its simplicity. The easy way is also the right way, and martial arts is nothing at all special; the closer to the true way of martial arts, the less wastage of expression there is." ~ Bruce Lee

"To me, Judo is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography, and the dancers knock each other down." ~ Jack Handy

Today, the kids earned their yellow Judo belts.  In the middle of the night last night Natalie woke up saying, "I just want to earn my yellow belt so bad!"...her half-asleep goals came true this morning.  Master Sugi, their Mongolian Olympian instructor, tested them and they both past! They were so excited and are now looking forward to earning every other color of the rainbow "by the time we leave DC" according to Natalie. 

Sawyer testing with Master Sugi.

Sugi tying on Natalie's yellow belt.

Sawyer earning his yellow belt.

Proud!

Jolly Times!

"Cooking should be a carefully balanced reflection of all the good things of the earth." Jean & Pierre Troisgros

Most of the last few days the conversation on TV, internet, bus stop, etc. has been about the tragedy in Connecticut. I have tried mostly to avoid listening or talking about the horrors the families and community so unfairly have encountered, but of course as a mom, my heart aches and I can't help but think of those who are suffering.  I have tried to keep life as normal as possible, while bringing out the best of season with my two cute, adorable and perfect (most of the time) kids.  We made cookies, made cookie deliveries to our friends in the apartment building, downloaded Christmas music (Blake Shelton...Natalie's new favorite singer), decorated our mini-tree and have done our best to get into the Christmas spirit!  It is weird not having anyone around, or visiting anyone, for the holidays. We miss our friends and family in Washington (hence, the cookies below) and Oregon (no Oregon cookie cutters...sorry), but are looking forward to a low-key stress-free holiday this year.  This is the first year that Steve has had to work during the holidays, EVER, so we aren't doing too much.  We decided instead of traveling at X-mas, to go to the Great Wolf Lodge over Natalie and my birthday weekend to let the kids go totally crazy for two days...which is much needed when you live in an apartment building. 

We are wishing everyone a great holiday season! Here are some pictures of our happy holiday preparations! 

Our (mini) Danish Christmas Tree all decked out for the holidays! Natalie made the Danish flags that we always drape on our tree at home.  Cute!

Holiday cookies galore!

Free kid at the bus stop!

Nothing crazier than taking my 7 year old holiday clothes shopping and letting her pick out outfits for me to try on...I guess I shouldn't have even gone into WetSeal...wild! Now I know...

Check it out!

New winter hat and hair color...feeling festive!

Steve found an "all-you-can-eat crab dinner" (in the mall). I am  now, more than ever, thankful for the yummy crab we have in the Pacific Northwest.

Our "We Love Bellingham, WA" holiday cookies! We look crafty!

Our second home here in Arlington.

Hot chocolate with a peppermint-star-marshmallow...that's the way to celebrate the holiday season!

I just can't stop taking pictures of this kid! He's so cute....

Our Melting Snowman Cookies...courtesy of Grandma JoJo! We loved decorating these little guys. Once again, they make me look crafty!

Natalie came home from a birthday party with her face professionally painted...parents set the bar pretty high here for birthday parties...how lovely. :)

'Tis the Season...

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.  ~ Norman Vincent Peale

'Tis the season...for some awesome DC city life!  Peale's quote above is soooo true when you live in a city.  The lights! The music! The energy! It is truly magical here. The kids are stoked because there is something exciting everywhere we turn.  I am stoked because the kids are stoked.  And it isn't just Christmas here...all the holiday season traditions are brought to life in the city of so many people.  I think the giant menorah at the White House is bigger than the Christmas tree...both are spectacular. 

Our week was crazy amazing.  Steve flew off to San Francisco (not crazy amazing for us) but the kids and I got to go into the White House, after waiting for over 6 months since I requested a tour.  We were so lucky because when we arrived they told us we could take pictures inside, which is only in December during the holiday decoration season.  It was such a treat! The decorations were incredible and breathtaking.  There are over 30 trees in the White House and Bo (the dog) left special ornaments in everyone room for the kids to find.  We missed seeing Bo out for a potty break by about 30 seconds and I thought Natalie was going to die after she heard this.  It was so special, and we will remember this little adventure forever.

We also won tickets in a lottery to go to the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.  I guess it is pretty hard to win so I feel lucky that we got to spend most of Thursday getting ourselves there to watch.  It was pretty dang cold...41 degrees, which doesn't sound bad, except it was almost 70 degrees yesterday. Ouch. We went through massive Secret Service security checkpoints with no food or drinks and then had to wait for two hours to see anything happen...but it was worth it! We got to personally see Barack, Michelle, Sasha, Malia, Neil Patrick Harris and BabyFace (haha) all at the same time.  SWEET. We had to leave before James Taylor came on because Sawyer's feet were "turning into huge ice cubes" according to him.  I knew standing there in the cold that these silly moments were why we were here in this amazing place. I am so thankful this holiday season that we took the leap to come on this year long trip.  We miss our friends and family, but we our own little family is making a pretty special memory here.

I can't wait to see what next week brings...

Here is a cute video of Bo Obama exploring the White House Christmas trees...we followed the same route...if you have kids, this is really cute for them...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2012/11/29/bo-inspects-2012-white-house-holiday-decorations

The kids with the famous Bo Obama statue.  

The lighting of the National Christmas Tree with the Obama's and Neil Patrick Harris.

The best I could do for a family pic at the cold lighting ceremony.

Inside the White House...the Seal of the President.

We are chilly and a bit hungry...but we are going to party with the Prez and Neil Patrick Harris!  Yeah Yeah!

Vermeil Room and holiday decor.

Silly time at the White House

Seriously, could they be any cuter?  Sawyer even wore a collared shirt and sweater! Natalie wore her new sparkly sweater dress.

My little diplomat.

Freezing but smiling!

The China Room.

We had to finish the day with a bang...so off to Hard Rock Cafe!