D.C. Trip

Over spring break, we had the chance to visit my sister Mandy's family in D.C.  I'll admit, I was pretty nervous about this drive since Brent didn't drive out with us, but it was great to switch out Mom and Shelley as my driving buddy.  The girls actually did amazingly well on the drive there, despite a few crying fits from Camilla. The drive was really LONG (about 21 hours) but totally worth it.  Once we got there, the kids had so much fun playing with cousins Fox and Eden.  Mandy cooked such delicious meals for us, you would have thought we dined at a 5 star restaurant! It was also pretty awesome to visit the national monuments and see all the historic sites. It was my first time to visit the capitol, and it was really an incredible experience.  The first night we arrived, we were able to see the monuments at night when they were all lit up.  The white stone against the light reminded me of the temples at night.

Jefferson Memorial

At the National Air and Space Annex.  Brent was able to fly out for the last couple of days of our trip!  We were able to see the Discovery Space Shuttle, Blackbird, Enola Gay, and lots of cool airplanes.

At National Botanical Gardens

Our feet on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, standing in the same spot that MLK gave his "I Have a Dream Speech."

Michelle Obama's first inaugural gown at the American History Museum.  

The 3 amigos

Lincoln Memorial.  Believe it or not, this was the best picture I could get  of our family thanks to Annabeth!

Our backseat :)  We loved having Erin in our car to keep us company. 

We got to see lots of dinosaur bones at the Natural  History Museum, along with  some authentic mummies and neanderthal skulls.  There were so many neat things to see here that we didn't get to all of it. Wish we could have spent all day here!

They had a live butterfly exhibit at the National History Museum.

Cute cousins ;)

The kids met "Officer Dookie" at the capitol.  Seriously, this is what his name-tag said.  He gave the kids stickers and  some cokes from his car.  Mandy reminded them on the way home that in the future, we should NEVER take gifts from strangers out of their car, but since he was a policeman we made an exception :)

MLK Memorial - this was one of my favorite memorials.  There were so many wonderful quotes.  Here are two of my favorites: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

"If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional.  Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."

Giant pre-historic shark mouth at National History Museum

White House

We had such a great time with family and can't wait to go back!  Thanks to Mandy and Andrew for being such gracious hosts.  We love you guys. :)