Sakura Matsuri

If you're lucky enough to be in Washington D.C. at the beginning of April, you might get the chance to see one of my favorite spring "bloomings", the Cherry Blossom trees along the tidal basin.(Picture from The D.C Traveler) When I was little we would go and walk along the edge of the water every year at the pea of bloom time. My parents still have a magnificent Cherry Blossom tree in their front yard that looks stunning every single spring.

Saturday marked the opening day of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

There was a huge free event at the National Building Museum. The building itself is breathtaking and offers a great field trip for kids of all ages. It was filled with a stage and about 20 stations full of free crafts and activities for kids, all based on the trees and Japanese culture. Here's some of what we saw and did. Pictures courtesy of Maddy.

Some of the crafts we came home with.

And dinner was a sort of homage to our day as well.

Panko Breaded Chicken

Rice and Stir fry Broccoli

Cherry Cheescake