I Am Eleanor Roosevelt

Aubrey's 3rd grade Biography assignment* was so much fun. She was supposed to read the biography of an important person in history, write a report on their life, and present that person to the class along with a homemade puppet.

Here's paper mache Eleanor and her handler, Aubrey!

Aubs did all the mache work, the painting, the sewing, the designing, the hot gluing, the wig-work, the Good Will glasses purchase, the dental work... 

I've grown quite fond of Eleanor, too!

Aubrey's pal Jasmine came over a few times and made paper mache Amelia Earhart.

Here's Aubrey presenting Eleanor to the class -- well, actually, this is Eleanor presenting herself to the class and mentioning Aubrey briefly.

Eleanor spoke in a squeaky, quavering voice, explaining that she was known for having a weak voice when speaking in public, but that she worked very hard on it to ultimately become a notable, effective public speaker.

Eleanor also pointed out that she was well aware that most people thought she was unattractive -- even her own mother -- but she learned early on that "to receive love, she must give love."

Some of the most impressive information was that Eleanor was First Lady of the United States for the 12 years her husband was in office, but after he died she stayed in the public eye and became even more influential as the US representative to the United Nations, where she headed the drafting of the world's first Human Rights Declaration.

What an amazing woman. I'm so glad Aubrey got to "meet" her!

*Dane got to "meet" George Washington last year if you want to check that out.

East Coast/Bahamas Update 3: More DC - Monuments and Memorials

This is out of photo order, but Blogspot's annoying. Here we are at Ali Baba's in Newark, DE, after our final day in DC.

Back in DC's ChinaTown with Jason, who zipped over from Virginia to see us.

The Norwegian contribution to Christmas: display at DC's Union Station.

Trolley Tour in DC. Ready to check the place out some more.

In front of the Jefferson Memorial.

It's a little dark, but that's the really big Jefferson.

Part of the grounds of the FDR Memorial.

More FDR Memorial.

With our hero, Eleanore. My favorite Eleanore story is probably the Marian Anderson story. It was the 1930s and Marian Anderson had been singing concerts, recitals, and opera roles all over Europe. She was invited to sing at Constitution Hall, but when the Daughters of the Revolution figured out she was black, they dis-invited her. Eleanore got wind of it, thought it was awful, and, with the backing of the President, set up an even better venue for her: she set up the first outdoor concert to be held at the Lincoln Memorial. On Easter Sunday, 1939, Miriam Anderson sang for a crowd of 75,000 people and a radio audience of millions.

Dane, um, riding FDR's beloved dog.

Aubrey petting FDR's dog. BTW: Aubs really misses Sharly. She wants to phone her at the Pet Resort back home.

With FDR.

With the amazing Abraham Lincoln. Incidentally, our hotel was just a block away from the Ford Theater where the president was shot and killed.

Washington Monument. We also went to the Vietnam War Memorial here. It made all of us really sad. Dane cried halfway through and said, "Mom, can we leave this one now?"

Booty from the Air and Space Museum: a Lego Space Shuttle and NASA Barbie!

Dane took this picture of Mimi with Mick and Mike at Ali Baba's.

That's all for now. It's spendy to connect to the internet on the cruise ship. Will have to post when we get back.

So... Bon Voyage!