It really has become our home away from home. We each have our favorite rooms. We have our secret entrance on the side while the tourists all wait in a snaking line to enter through the main hall. We even have a favorite cafe.
Initially we went to visit the Greek room because Ella is reading Rick Riordan's second series based on Greek Mythology. But when we arrived she said she was in the mood to see fashion. Surprisingly, Holden didn't protest, so we went downstairs to check out the China Through the Looking Glass exhibit. It was incredible. Ancient Chinese costumes and clothing, as well as ceramics, music, and paintings, are set alongside current high fashion. The gowns were breathtaking. Even Holden was impressed.
As we were walking through the museum past the ancient mummies and Roman pottery to get to the fashion exhibit Ella said, "Mama, I want to work here someday." I have no doubt that she will.
We also started school this week. I knew that having an official start date would probably not go over well. None of us are ready for summer to end. So I kind of gradually eased the kids into it without their knowledge. On Tuesday I had them start their new science curriculum, knowing that science is their favorite subject. The new curriculum I chose for this year is fantastic. Every lesson is completely hands on, no more boring text to read and workbooks to fill out. They built a racer car in just two lessons and will use that car for the next several lessons to learn about force and motion. The best part is that they are completely independent with it - I was doing my ironing while they worked.
On Wednesday I just had them look through all of their new textbooks and lesson plans. Holden is thrilled that his 3rd grade curriculum has Mythology as a twice a week subject. And Ella can't believe that she gets to officially study Art History in 5th grade, even though she's already quite the expert.
By Thursday and Friday they were into school full swing without too much push back. Without any of their extra classes outside of home having started yet, they were able to fly through a day's lesson before lunchtime each day which left us plenty of time to play with friends.
We even went in search of Monk parrots in Riverside Park. They must have all been out to lunch because we only spotted a lone parrot, but we discovered an awesome playground complete with zip line under the shadow of the Washington Bridge, so all was not lost.
We also enjoyed a week in our new home with our big (for us) kitchen. We haven't eaten out all week and I've been cooking up a storm. We even had a guacamole making contest. Our trusty judge Holden did a blind tasting of Kevin's, Ella's, and my homemade guac. Not surprising, I won. Not because mine was necessarily the best, but because it's what Holden is used to.
But maybe it was the best...
And we're enjoying our new view and beautiful sunsets. Happy to be home.
