Spring Break

We had a great spring break last week and I was so sad to see it come to an end. I am definitely ready for summer to have the kids home and do our own thing! The kids had some fun play days with friends, spring cleaning days with me at home and then we spent a day and a half up in D.C.

Wednesday afternoon we walked the Mall and then went to the American History Museum.

The girls were very excited to used their cameras they got for Christmas on this trip. Now Bret has to deal with three girls who are always wanting to take pictures! :)

Zachary counting the columns of states that surround the WWII monument.

I loved seeing Julia Child's kitchen. But the main highlight for me in the American History Museum was the Star Spangled Banner. It was truly inspiring. We walked in the room where it is displayed and another family was behind us. All the kids just started singing the National Anthem. We had wonderful conversations on this trip about our country, freedom, and what the price of freedom is to those of us who don't serve in the military.

Then we headed back to the hotel for the night where we grabbed dinner and swam.

The next morning we went to the National Zoo. And I was really impressed. It's a small zoo but the animals were fantastic. They were close and totally active and moving around. We loved the panda's, the gorillas, the elephants, and this crazy turtle under water that held his mouth open for about five minutes!

The biggest animal highlight of all was the baby lions. We got to see the mother give one a bath, two cubs wrestle and play with each other, and the dad walk back and forth at the bottom like he was protecting his family. It was awesome.

Gavin was obsessed with the snakes in the reptile house. He ran from cage to cage wanting to see all the snakes. Who knew. He found this big huge black one in a gift shop and he spent the rest of the day in DC with it wrapped around his neck.

We drove by the National Cathedral in Georgetown. Wow, it was beautiful.

With the help of Bret and his phone we found D.C. Cupcakes. Unfortunately the line was out the door and up the street. They have their own show on TLC and I've heard that the 30-40 minutes you wait in line are totally worth it. Maybe next time we'll have more time to squeeze it in.

The weather couldn't have been better. It was sunny, warm and beautiful flowers in bloom.

We then headed to over to Arlington. It was my first time there and I loved it. Again, it was inspiring. We talked about how it made us feel to be there; feelings of sadness, gratitude and pride to live where we do and be blessed with the freedoms that are ours.

The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier

We saw two of these horse drawn carriages go by with coffins draped in American flags. One word...sobering.

From Arlington we went to the capital building. We got tickets from our Senator and got to go and see the Senate and the House. This was the day before the possible shut-down so there was lots going on. Our girls found it fascinating and didn't want to leave the Senate. (which surprised me) Again, it led to great discussions about what is going on in our country right now.

I loved the way the light was reflecting off the Capital as we left.

We had a fun filled, jammed packed day and a half! I loved exploring our nations capital with our kids.