America...DC part II

Two weeks, has it been? Life has been busy. And fun. And crazy. And the blog has taken a much needed back seat.

But now we're back to finish up DC.

Post march we headed over to the Museum of Natural History. I was pretty pumped. And it was neat. But...T's grandparents had taken us to the Creation Museum a few years ago and quite frankly, it was way better. This surprised me, and made me thankful we'd had the opportunity to go to the Creation Museum. (It was worth every bit of the 21 hour drive in a 6 car caravan with two small children - and THAT is saying A LOT.) So anyway, we toured, we looked, and we answered a lot of questions MW had. And it was fun. (And the soft pretzel and lemonade we enjoyed pre-tour were pretty awesome, too!)

It was here that I passed on to MW my love of smashed pennies. Mom brought me one from San Francisco (?) when I was a little girl and I've loved 'em ever since. I sort of collect them. I got one here (at the Nat. History Museum), but MW claimed it. And kept it. It's on her desk.

Saturday night we headed back to Jennie and Jamie's and enjoyed a FABULOUS white chicken chili dinner and we crashed. We were exhausted!

Sunday morning we all slept in (I think the little ones were more than tuckered out...). We headed to a little French restaurant for lunch. Jennie knows I'm obsessed with French Onion Soup, which is one of their specialties. Delicious!

(slightly over-exposed-oops, but I kind of like it.)

figuring out metro cards...

We took the Metro downtown...

her first metro ride...

And then we headed to the Mall and walked around a bit, took a few pictures, and went to the Air and Space Museum to see one thing and one thing ONLY...

The actual, real-live, for real...like, the real thing. Like, THE Star Trek NCC-1701 space ship. Hands down, this was the highlight of the trip! (I'm teasing!)

Those guys...and trying to brainwash MW, too!

And then we went to the Museum of American History. This was neat. We saw a huge doll house...I need to photograph and post on my doll house, because, well, I think it ought to be on display at the Smithsonian! My Mom and grandmother made it. (I'll just add photographing it to my "to do" list...)

And we got to see Julia Child's kitchen! And this was AWESOME! They had her cooking shows playing on a TV in that section of the museum. MW plopped down on the floor, taking it all in, while Jennie and I stood along the wall, watching and cracking up! (All the while, the guys checked out the war stuff...)

We explored a little more and then enjoyed ANOTHER pretzel and lemonade, etc. on our way to see the White House. (I could live on those pretzels!)

The White House...we got there and already, couldn't even stand at the fence because of barricades. Then the police officer cleared the area and forced everyone way back on the field behind the National Christmas Tree.

So we hung out for a little while...

After a little wait, several SUVs pulled up in front of the White House and unloaded and eventually, we were allowed back up to the barricades, where we snapped a few pics.

... and observed what appeared to be two little girls and an adult playing on the balcony...

hmm....I wonder who that was?

We made our way back to Jennie and Jamie's and had ANOTHER fabulous meal! Lasagna and the BEST balsamic vinaigrette salad EVER! And some yummy homemade cupcakes...and then Jennie and I went to see Julie and Julia and it was so fun. (But the ending made me kind of sad.)

Monday morning came early. We loaded up for the return trip home. While waiting at the bus stop a local asked us if it was "take your children to work day?" -ha! Not quite. We caught the bus, and then took the metro, arrived at the airport, made our way through security...and again, T was so wonderful! It is such a blessing to be married to a gentleman!

The ride home was uneventful. I wanted to stand up and ask how many on the flight had been in DC for the march, but I didn't. Based on affiliation stickers some were still sporting, I was certain several had marched with us. (Btw, MC did FABULOUS on both flights. Not a peep out of her!)

We got home close to midnight Monday night.

It was a great trip! Totally worth the effort! There was that patriotic side, but also the preciousness of traveling and experiencing new things as a family. (Of course, we missed the little man, but obedience is a MUST for traveling like that {for safety reasons}. He's just not quite there. However, he had a blast riding trains and hanging with the grands!)

And since then, we've been running like crazy. Living. We've been a little under the weather; we've played outside a good bit, done a little of this and a little of that. Mom came for a visit. Our sweet neighbor gave the kids a first edition Betty Crocker Children's Cookbook from the 50s. We've purchased the ingredients to make a "Bum Cake." At least that's what the little man calls it. (It's really a "drum cake" - as in, it looks like a drum.) The time has flown. Is flying.

I went to bed rather late the other night (4am). My house is CLEAN. Or at least it was until the children got up and the dogs came back inside. But that's ok. It's lived in and enjoyed and the piles have been dealt with. And that, my friend, is freeing.

T is off for the weekend and I couldn't be more thrilled. I have missed him. The children have missed him.

We're devouring Despereaux. MW was moved to tears as we read this afternoon. GREAT book!

Here's to a quiet weekend with the husband and children and a few friends here and there! Happy weekend to you!