Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Fairfax, VA Shorty after moving to the DC area, we learned that there are actually two Smithsonian Air and Space Museums. One in DC and one in Fairfax, VA. On Saturday, we went to the Virginia one. It was impressive! They had hands on science displays and many of the most significant
Fairfax County Geocaching Scavenger Hunt Fairfax County plans so many fun family activities. On Saturday, they hosted the Geocaching Scavenger Hunt at Burke Lake. It was our first time geocaching, so it took us a little while to figure it out, but it was great exercise in a beautiful setting. In the end, if you
A Knight Style Thanksgiving When all over your family lives thousands of miles away, Thanksgiving can be a little different. Instead of a large family gathering, we made our own traditional Thanksgiving dinner, complete with homemade pumpkin and apple pies. Then we went to a walk / bicycle ride and played in the yard with
Rock and Mineral Show at George Mason University The kids and Keith went to the Rock and Mineral show in Atlanta each year, so when we moved to Virginia, we looked for one here. George Mason University hosted this show; it was quite a bit smaller, but the kids still had a good time.
Daytrip to DC and Smithsonian The trains have been under construction for a while, and they will again in December, so we went into DC on Tuesday. That is the White House and the area in front of it is all blocked off as they are building the inauguration platforms and stages. This is across
Frying Pan Farm Park Junior Farmer Classes: Farm Chores and Games, Making Food for Turkeys This junior farmer class was about farm chores. The kids played a relay game with the wash bucket and a water pump. They had to pump water into a little bucket and carry it over to another bucket to fill it up. Then the kids learned how laundry was done
Pentagon Tour We took a tour of the Pentagon this week. You have to schedule the tour at least two weeks in advance for them to complete a background check to approve you for the tour. The kids decided to hold a press conference. The 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon. We
Pentagon Tour We took a tour of the Pentagon this week. You have to schedule the tour at least two weeks in advance for them to complete a background check to approve you for the tour. The kids decided to hold a press conference. The 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon. We
A Day in the Life of a Fairfax Family We are finally all healthy! So to celebrate, we had an adventure packed day around the house and visiting the Hidden Pond Nature Center, where Tucker was attending a friends birthday party. Savannah learned to ride the motorcycle on the dirt trails behind our home. We tried out the new
carson Family Woodwork Class A month or two ago, the kids and I decided to do some woodwork. Carson made his own lockbox / treasure box and Tucker and Savannah made bird feeders. They all turned out pretty well.
Elementary Chemistry One advantage of Home School; you can learn fun and amazing things at your own pace. The kids are studying geometry, algebra, and we even have had some chemistry lessons. Good stuff for elementary school kids. Here's a whiteboard after a chemistry lesson on fuels and carbohydrates:
Manassas, VA The kids and I decided to give Angela a day off, so after the food drive, we went shopping, then to Manassas, VA. It was a neat town and it had a great museum. They had a scavenger hunt / quiz that the kids eagerly completed. It wasn't easy,
carson Fire Station Open House How often do you get to use an actual fire hose? Several weeks ago, the fire station near us had an open house. So went visited with the fire fighters and the kids were able to learn more about their jobs.
Motorcycle Girl Savannah decided that she knows how to ride a bicycle, she should learn to ride the motorcycle. So she started practicing on Saturday and did well.
Boy Scout Canned Food Drive We woke up early on Saturday and distributed bags for the Boy Scout canned food drive. It was cold, but the kids eagerly served.
Halloween The kids had a blast trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. We were able to meet more of the neighbors. We were the only kids out on Halloween on our street. We also went onto a nearby cross street, where we saw one other child. In the end, people were
Neighborhood Wildlife It's amazing the wildlife you can observe in our neighborhood. We went for a small walk this afternoon and this is what we saw (we also saw a fox and lots of birds, but didn't get pictures of them): I love how this beautiful flower is
Switch Witch The Switch Witch has visited us the last couple of years. We let the kids pick out their favorite candies, then Mom and Dad trade the 'Switch Witch' gift for the rest of their candy. The kids end up a with small gift and only the candies they
savannah Learning to Ride Bicycle We didn't have a good area for the kids to ride bicycles in Atlanta, so Tucker and Savannah didn't get much experience until we moved to Fairfax. A few weeks ago, Tucker said, "I don't want the training wheels on my bicycle anymore.
Carson and Savannah Angela and I upgraded our phones, and the camera on my new phone is really good. I took a couple quick shots of the kids and was shocked at how well they turned out.
US Marine Corp Museum, Quantico Living near DC, you have easy access to amazing places and most of them are free. We decided to go to the United States Marine Corp Museum near the Quantico Marine base (about a 25 minute drive from our house). We were in awe; even walking up to it is
Warrenton, VA Keith and the kids spent Saturday exploring Virginia. They starting by visiting a nice small town, Warrenton, VA. It was a clean old town with charming historic buildings. Surrounding it were beautiful farms and country roads lined will the autumn leaves.
Homeschool PE We just started homeschooling this year for all 3 kids. We are tying it out for a year a least and so far it is going well. I heard about a homeschool PE class at an athletic facility about a half an hour (everything is about half an hour away)
Frying Pan Farm Park Junior Farmer Class There's a Fairfax Parks and Rec property about a half an hour from our house called 'Frying Pan Farm Park'. They are offering a Jr. Farmer class for the next four Thursdays, and after experiencing a little farmlife in Lancaster, PA, I wanted to give the
The Turkey Hill Experience what is Turkey Hill? an ice cream company that makes really good ice cream Inside, there was a small museum area that told the history of the family that started the company Then there was a hands-on section for kids to milk a cow and drive a delivery truck
