And then we slept...

Ok.  Really we did a lot of things before we slept, but eventually Lilly and I attended the Smithsonian Sleepover in the Museum of Natural History.  If you ever get a chance to participate in such an event, please PLEASE take part.  Not only was it fun and a great bonding experience for Lilly and I, it was highly educational. 

We arrived about 6:45pm and checked in.  Now, I received an email Wednesday afternoon stating there would be a costume contest and participants - young and old, were invited to dress as something on display within the museum.  I posted on facebook....I asked around...and finally came up "The Hope Diamond".  How? You ask.  Like this:


Lilly as the Hope Diamond and myself as Evelyn Walsh McLean

Awesome right??  I stayed up to God damned 3:30 in the morning Thursday night making these costumes, along with the orange jack o'lanterns and pineapple ghosts for her class.  3:30 in the morning folks.  Why?  Not because I'm an overachiever looking for attention as some people may have suggested but because your children are only children for so long and its fun.  Its healthy harmless life lesson teaching fun and why the hell shouldn't I?

Unfortunately, I was the only one who saw it this was as we were the only family to dress up.  One mom wore cat ears and her kids had generic princess costumes on...not exactly what the email said....so they cancelled the contest and Lilly and I trampled around the museum like that all night.  I didn't care.  We were awesome and we knew it.

Ok.  So then we had orientation and a little snack of fresh fruit and crackers and coffee (for the grown-ups) and juice boxes and then separated into groups.  Our group met with Indiana Jane first who gave us a tour of the Human Origins exhibit.  What made it perfect was that she only showed PARTS of the HUGE exhibit and then had additional artifacts in her bag that the kids could handle and see and really get an appreciation for what they were learning about.  Then, they got to do a hands on craft and take it with them.  And candy. Because it was Halloween weekend ;-)  After that, we went from exhibit to exhibit, self guided, using a fun workbook.  Each exhibit had a page or two in the book that required the kids to read and pay attention but not in a boring way.  We hunted for mammals across the globe, dug for gems, ate like a T-Rex (think "look Ma! No hands!) it was sooo fun!  Afterwards, we changed into our pj's, waked around the museum barefoot to the IMAX theater, where we watched a 3-D film about orangutan and elephant rescues...and then made our way back to the Oceans exhibit.  We slept on the floor.  Under the right whale.  Well, the right whale tale...in case it fell....per Lilly.  I REALLY summarized it but the pictures are better.

Indiana Jane showing some artifacts.

Making her own mud cloth.

After learning about bioluminescence...we made our own sea floor creatures that use such a thing to see.

Experimenting with artificial whale blubber and ice water.

Eating like a T-Rex...no hands...attacking a campfire marshmallow!

Making Egyptian hieroglyphic necklaces.



In the morning we planned on touring DC further but Lilly was too tired...and so was I...so we headed home and that story was already posted...remember - "Mama, he looks cold!"