Take the yellow line to Chinatown, and then the red to Woodley Zoo...

Since yesterday I spent all day painting and working on unpacking (yes, I'm still not done, and my house is still a wreck...), I promised Eli that today would be a special Boys' Day. I read off a list of places this morning that I told him we could go to, and he picked the National Zoo. We ate lunch out at our new favorite place across the street, and then decided to be brave and hit the metro without Norman. Finding the elevators proved to be a bit tricky, but we managed, and now we know how to maneuver the metro stops and look for the right things.

It's so funny...I used to watch shows like Becker and Seinfeld, where they talk in this foreign language of colored lines and transfer stations. It seems like such an odd thing to use this lingo in everyday life. But here I am, and I found myself going over the route - Yellow Line to Chinatown, then transfer to the Red Line and get off at Woodley Park Zoo. Once we did get off at Woodley Park, I whipped out my GPS Navigation thingy, and it pointed me in the right direction, and off we went! I must say, I don't know how ANYONE can be obese in this city. With all the walking you have to do, I'm surprised that this isn't the skinniest place on earth!

We had a great time at the zoo, and I thought I would show you a picture of my favorite animal of the day. A Golden Lion Tamarin. I didn't take this picture, but as soon as I can upload the pics I did take today, I'll get them posted!

These guys reminded me of the flying mean monkeys on the Wizard of Oz. It was a fun day; we watched hippos swim and an alligator sleeping with his mouth wide open! Eli had a ball, and of course Chase's favorite spot was the aquarium.

I sure am ready for Norman to get home. I think he leaves to come home a week from tomorrow. I'm seriously praying that he has luck selling the Jeep and he'll be flying back instead of driving back. We do NOT need 2 cars in this place. Driving here is absolutely insane, and I would much rather take the metro than sit in traffic all day long.

I wanted to tell you guys about our neighborhood. It is called Crystal City, and that is our neighborhood, as well as the Metro Stop we are on. Right across the street from us, is the entrance to a massive underground (and also some above ground) shopping complex. I hate to call it a mall, because that limits the sorts of things you think of. This is more like an upscale city with attractive little walkways that lead you to anything you might need such as: doctors, pharmacies, shopping boutiques, eye docs, banks, restaurants, adorable stores and more clothes and shoe shopping than you could want. Luckily there is a Rite Aid in there, so we were able to easily transfer our prescriptions, and our favorite restaurant is King Street Blues, and we've eaten there 3 times this week. Once I unpack and get my kitchen set up completely I won't have the excuse to eat there that often, but I sure love that place!!! Here are some pictures so you get a better idea of what I'm talking about...

So that is all about my neighborhood...hmmm...OH YEAH! I have to brag about the kind of "grocery shopping" I have here. It's called Peapod service, and it is operated by Giants Grocery stores...Basically it's online grocery shopping. They have everything (I even ordered a new Swiffer Wetjet along with my bread! How fab is that??!!)!! So for a $200 grocery order, the delivery is roughly $5!! FIVE DOLLARS! It's so worth that anyway, to not have to fight traffic, lug the kids with me, AND walk up and down each and every row! I am getting soooo spoiled!!! So many things are different here, but it makes so much sense! Like, how would you get your groceries here anyhow? I'm on the 12th floor...I would have to make about 10 trips from the car back to my apartment! This rocks! So far, I am totally loving this new, TOTALLY CROWDED lifestyle!!! The things my kids are getting exposed to...it's so wonderful!

Okay, thats all for now guys!! Time for bed and another new adventure tomorrow!!!