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!

Washington DC (part 6)

Okay, if you're thinking "man that girl really needs to learn how to choose better" you're right. But I really did weed out the pictures I didn't like, for real!

Here we were on first day of "daddy with us all day". It was my favorite of course!

We headed out early to to the Paddle Boats around the monuments. It was such a cool and pretty morning. We were out on the water for at least an hour and didn't want to come back! The view of the monuments from the Tidle Pool is my favorite.

The girls were in the back and mommy and daddy did all of the paddling. We had a canopy over us so no need to worry about the sun.







The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial





After that we walked to the Natural History Museum. (and stopped along the way for more pictures!)





I loved the building... so beautiful!



Can you see the girls way down there?



Abigail loved the kids explore museum. She could have stayed in there all day!



In the afternoon we headed to another museum... art! The sculpture gardens had this large fountain area and benches lining it in the shade. It wasn't long before the girls were up there leaving their sock and sneakers behind!





My favorite one! The fountains changed and Abigail was delighted!









Since this was our last night in DC Scott wanted to show us what the monuments looked like all lit up at night. So we went out after baths and after we were all packed for the next day. I'm so glad we got to see everything at night... spectacular!











The perfect end to my favorite day!

Washington DC (part 5)

Man, I hate that I'm going out of order. Oh well! Here are a few pictures from our first full day in DC. Scott had most of the day with us. He just had to go to some fancy smanchy dinner at night. The girls and I ate in the hotel restaurant and hung out in the room. It was fun!

But that morning be headed to the famous Air and Space Museum.



And boy, I can tell you, these girls were not into it at all! We knew it was time to go when we were on the second floor, pointing something out and their conversation went something like this,

Anna: So do you think Rapunzel's hair could reach to down there?
Abigail: I don't know... maybe
Anna: What if you had Rapunzel hair? You could tie it around the banister here...

and on and on it went. Too cute and funny, and it didn't surprise me at all. But it was fun to find out how much Anna would weigh if she were on Jupiter!



We moved on to the exquisite Native American Museum that we just loved. The building was so peaceful and beautiful.



Lunch was authentic and oh so good. We didn't have more than a few hours there but loved it so much. Anna will be studying Naive Americans coming up this spring in third grade so she was especially interested.



A short was to our first view of the National Monument and then we had tickets to the Building of Engraving and Printing (where money is made) Scott got up super early and waited in line outside to get us tickets. But there are no pictures of this since they didn't allow any cameras.





Almost done...

Washington DC (part 4)

A Parade, The National Monument, Ice cream, and The White House... what a day!

We packed a lot into this day too but it didn't feel like it. This trip had a relaxed feeling that I just loved. Scott had to attend meetings in the morning so he planned that we'd go to the Cherry Blossom parade. It was a big one since this was the 100th Anniversary of the "gift of the trees". He surprised the girls and I with tickets to seats on bleachers. I think he felt better that we had a seat and I wouldn't have to fight crowds alone trying to get the girls to see. The plan was for him to meet us at the end of the parade.

I was nervous this morning since I had to do the metro alone (with a stop and transfer between). I was also getting off at a stop that we'd never been to before, had to find my way to the parade route (with the girls in tow), find the assigned bleachers, and find Will Call to pick up the tickets. I had never been so "on" and focused ever!

The metro was super crowded but we did it! The only problem was that when we got off the metro we headed in the opposite direction! After about 3 blocks I realized that we couldn't be headed in the right direction so we turned around. I picked up Abigail (no stroller since I just couldn't mange it that day) and ran with Anna back the 3 blocks where we started and then 3 more blocks to find WIll Call and our seats. Phew! Just in time for some Abigail drama (tear) and the parade to start!



I was certainly grateful for the assigned seats. For Anna's sensory issues having an assigned seat works so much better for her rather than pushing crowds on the curb. And the parade was lovely. We sat for about 2 1/2 hours that felt like one! Scott was able to get to us by the end of the parade which was nice.





You know they loved these dresses!



Oh how I loved the Marine Corps Band!



We had a picnic lunch on the lawn of the National Monument, so much fun! It was a beautiful day for sure!





















Next we all headed to the Museum of American History. Anna's favorite part was the exhibit of the First Lady gowns. Stunning piece of American history. Abigail fell asleep in her stroller (that Scott thought to bring). And whenever Abigail falls asleep Anna knows it's her cue to look for ice cream. (Abigail's allergic)



So ice cream we did find!



But we also found some that Abigail could have. Boy was she ever happy to have some when she woke up!



On to the White House. We started at the back lawn





and then on to the front. It really is something to stand there and wonder what they're doing inside! I was surprised how close you an actually get especially to the front. This picture is not cropped in at all!





Certainly a very busy day but we were happy to see so many different things!   Just a few more to come!