Washington D.C.

Last week the boys and I were able to tag along on a trip to our nations capitol with Kyle.  He was there for a conference and it was the perfect opportunity to take the boys.  We have known that this is one of the places we want to take the kids individually, but this happened to work out with taking both of them.  McKay and Hinckley stayed home with a great couple that we hired while we were in Europe too.  I love coming home to a clean home, rules followed and kids happy!

We got into DC a little after noon on Friday and left Tuesday afternoon around 3:00.  In that time frame we visited:  Washington Monument, The White House, Ford Theatre, Chinatown, The International Spy Museum, Union Station, Georgetown Law, The Holocaust Museum, The International Air and Space Museum, Mt. Vernon, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Private Capitol Tour, Arlington National Cemetery and the National Archives. 

We ate at quite a few great places (in fact, all of the restaurants I chose were on the top 100 list from Trip Advisor.  But on a side note, $$ dollar marks are not the same in DC as they are here!)  If you want to see the food pictures, click on my Instagram tab.

Grant became quite adept at using the Metro...he only put us on the wrong track once.

Taylor was upset that we weren't giving money to every homeless person we saw.

Be prepared...there are a LOT of pictures!

We were fortunate enough to get a private tour of the Capitol.  The history in this building is amazing.  I couldn't help but take a picture of one of the Wyoming statues, a homage to my great home state AND the county that I lived in growing up.  Also, the feeling and awe I experienced in the old senate chambers was inspiring.  To think that the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery (just to name two) happened in this very room is almost hard to believe.

Arlington National Cemetery was humbling.  We made sure that the boys were able to see the Changing of the Guard.  

On Hallowed Ground we stood.

The Holocaust Museum and The Memorials.  The Memorials are best seen at night in my opinion, and both are a poignant reminder of the sacrifices and cost of war.

Mt.Vernon was beautiful.  I can see why President Washington sought a place of refuge and peace.  We even caught a glimpse of the President himself...The view of the Potomac was worth the trip.

What kid isn't going to love the air and space museum?  Amazing aircraft and history.  The boys favorite was touching a piece of the moon and the planes.

Washington D.C. is known for its cherry blossoms.  Unfortunately we were there too early, but I managed to find a couple of trees on the Georgetown Law campus that were just starting to bloom.  A simple reminder that beauty can be captured in all stages of life.

Seriously...no words.

One of the highlights of the trip was an evening presentation at Kyle's conference that we were able to attend.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was the key speaker and we were all able to meet him.  He even patted Grant's head (first picture) and asked "Where did you get this red hair".  A wonderful man and a wonderful talk on faith, marriage, and freedom of religion.

Chinatown!

The Smithsonian

We didn't have a lot of time for the National Archives, but the boys were able to see the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights and The Constitution.  Amazing pieces of history.  Seriously, the Magna Carta is from the 1200's!

I don't know what this building is, but it was off of DuPont Circle and I loved it.

A view from the plane on our flight home.