Washington DC (final)

We decided to make the most of our last day in DC and not drive home right away in the morning. After checking out of the hotel (which is always hard for Anna... someday we're sure she'll be in the hotel management business)



we headed south to Mount Vernon.



(taken at the end of the day... I dragged them back to the front gate and it was getting hot by then. I couldn't wait for that lady to move; it was that one second to get a shot or not at all hence the lady in the background) (I love how they did their best to smile for me and my little poser Abigail!)



This is the back of George Washington's home. I know it's a super blurry picture but I love it anyway. I have a picture of me standing there (middle school aged) with my grandparents so I wanted one with at least one of my girls.



After touring his home (I love all that stuff) we wandered through the gardens. I love how Abigail is protecting her weed so that the wind wouldn't blow off the wish.



Skinny little waist!



Where ever we go they find little treasures in nature.





A little explaining about the hats. Anna hates sunscreen. In fact hate is not a strong enough word. She has some major sensory issues and sunscreen really makes her skin crawl. It used to drive me crazy when she was a toddler but when she was diagnosed with PTSD I knew it wasn't her fault and that I had to find a way to help her with it. Of course she has to wear it to the pool in the summer and other times, but when we are out and about she knows that she doesn't have to wear it on her face in the summer as long as she has a large brimmed hat on. Hence the hats in all of the pictures. Abigail loves sunscreen but likes the hat anyway.

We were thrilled when Scott suggested that we have lunch in the Mount Vernon Inn instead of their fast food court. We had a 7 hour drive home in front of us; it was nice to sit and relax! The girls "cheers" to their cider.



Anna's face realizing that it has some fizz! Funny!



Before I end my DC posts (and I know there were a lot of them) I want to dispel the myth that it was the perfect trip. Sure, they always matched and in most of the pictures we're happy. We were, and I'm so very grateful that we were able to go on this trip, but there were some tough moments. There was the metro! The two of them acted like they were scared and were crazy silly. It drove me nuts!





Then there was the food. Abigail is allergic to almost everything and it is not recommended by her specialist that she eat in a restaurant. Now that's tricky on vacation! So we packed food and snacks for her. But it tore my heart out every morning, noon, and night when we went to get something to eat and I had to pull a squashed jelly sandwich out of my bag. Yuck! There was the stress telling Anna (at every meal) that she could never order anything that came with french fries because it just wasn't fair to Abigail. We had to wait til (and possibly not) Abigail fell asleep before getting Anna an ice cream. Yes, the food was tough. I hate that she can never order from a menu at a restaurant. But I can do hard things; I know that it makes her stronger as a person and all of us too! (she looks pretty happy at dinner in this picture despite the 100th squashed jelly sandwich but it's still hard for Scott and I)



Getting away... the wonderful moments and the stressful ones are always worth it. Time together as a family is priceless!