D.C. in an Hour

On our last day of our Christmas vacation, we spent part of the morning packing & getting ready to go. But we didn't have to leave for the airport until mid-afternoon, so we went into Washington, D.C. one more time. The wind was much less than it had been the whole week, so we thought there was a good chance that the Washington Monument would be open.

We were right -- it was open! Unfortunately, the tickets are on a first-come, first-serve basis and by the time we got there they were gone for the entire day. We decided to just drive around the city for an hour and see what we could see. It was much cheaper and warmer than parking and walking around!

I wonder why the flags weren't up and yet the monument was open

It was amazing to see all of the history of our nation's capital in person. (It almost felt like we were in the National Treasure movies -- almost!) Ryan and I are definitely anxious to go back sometime when we can take the tours and see the inside of the buildings and learn more about their history! Too bad the kids weren't that excited about it . . . they ended up reading and playing with toys from their backpacks for the majority of our "tour."

The back side of the Lincoln Memorial -- this is the first thing you see coming from the bridge into the city.

Hello President Obama -- this was as close as we could get to the White House

Not very exciting for a 16-month-old

Joshua got out his slinky and played with Grandpa

The National Archives Building

The Capitol

closer shot with Christmas Tree -- this is the side that you can see from the Washington Monument; I'm not sure if it is considered the front or the back

This is the other side of the Capitol. The family in the picture is not us . . . we were driving by in the car and just happened to get this shot!

The Capitol Dome

Can you tell that I think this is a beautiful building?!

Supreme Court Building

Library of Congress (right across the street from the Capitol and right next to the Supreme Court)

"Old Post Office": This reminded me of when I studied in Madrid, Spain for 2 months -- their post office in the city was so old and gorgeous

The airport was busy and very slow at issuing our tickets, but we made our flight and got home safely. We had a wonderful trip with family, Christmas, and sight-seeing. But it sure is nice to be home . . . to sleep in our own beds and to lounge around the house (while doing some organizing and cleaning) as a family for the last few days of Christmas break!

In the tunnel on the drive from my parents' to the airport/D.C. area; the kids learned on this trip all about holding your breath in a tunnel

waiting to get on the airplane

Can we go home now please?!

Airplane Adventure

Today we spent the morning at another museum. Most of the Smithsonian buildings are right in the heart of Washington, D.C. But the Air and Space Museum is in Dulles, a lot closer to my parents' home, and we heard it was a must-see for the kids. It turned out to be a must-see for the grown-ups too, especially Ryan -- he was in heaven!

Me, the boys, a stranger, and my dad

Ryan and my dad took pictures of each other :)

They had all types of airplanes. Some were from the first years of flight.


Others were very new. We didn't get a picture, but they had a Concord jet that was decommissioned around 2002 if I remember right.

A lot of the airplanes were from World War II, including this one. This is the Enola Gay -- the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.
And if you find an airplane that shares your name, you have to take a picture!


This Blackbird was in the center of the museum -- amazing! It made a speed record when it flew its last flight: Los Angeles to Dulles in 1 hour and a few minutes! (It took us about 4 hours from Salt Lake on a commercial plane!)



There was also a Space Hangar in the museum that had the Enterprise shuttle. It was also amazing to see things from the original Apollo missions, like a decontamination trailer (I don't remember what it was really called). When the astronauts from the moon landing arrived back on earth, no one was sure if they would have weird space germs. So they had to stay in a little trailer for over a month to see if they would show signs of disease. Wow.



Once again we left Elizabeth with Grandma. It has been really nice to be able to do all of these touristy things and not have to worry about a little one who wants to run around everywhere or who needs a nap. Thanks for being a great babysitter, Mom!

All 3 boys enjoyed the museum. Nathan could have stayed longer with Ryan -- he was really into it. But as you can see, Benjamin and Joshua got to the point where they just wanted to be done and get some lunch!

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. We all met at the clubhouse room at my parents' condo at 8am to see if Santa came.


Everyone had fun opening presents.

Santa brought Seven Peaks passes!

Curlers . . . Santa must be hoping she gets hair before he visits again next year!

Benjamin was excited that Santa remembered he wanted World Racers Legos

Barbara with Jack and Ella

Brantly

my mom

Joshua and the Toy Story 3 Trash Dump

Nathan didn't wait to start reading the 39 Clues Black Book of Secrets

my dad

Elizabeth did okay opening presents. But she had even more fun playing with her cousin's presents!

She found Ella's crayons and paper

Natalie's Leap Pad is fun

Let's trade: Natalie, you can play with my doll since I am playing with your toy!

After a yummy breakfast we spent the rest of the morning hanging out and playing. The boys received these bathrobes from Grandma and Grandpa. They LOVED to wear them over their pajamas, and insisted on wearing them over their clothes once we made them get dressed! A big hit!

Nathan and Benjamin got shark robes

Joshua is a dinosaur

Uncle Ralph's family lives about 30 minutes away from my parents. They came over for lunch. Although she's giving him a quizzical look in this photo, Elizabeth and Matthew had fun together.


We've spent time in the clubroom throughout our visit. They have a "movie room" with a nice set up. But the boys' favorite thing to do is to play pool. After a while of playing with their toys, they were back to the pool table for a large part of the day. I think the robes enhance it all, don't you?!