The BEST Day

This weekend the snow wasn't falling so we decided to take a trip up to DC to see some of the sights. We took the metro from Springfield, VA up into DC. From the time we parked until we got off the train in DC Charlie was quivering with excitement. It was so much fun to see how excited he was to ride a train. The whole time we were on the metro he was yelling because his excitement usually comes out through his vocal chords. He kept yelling, "This is the BEST DAY EVER!!!" We had to keep reminding him to use an inside voice.

Donald on the other hand wasn't too keen on the experience because going underground freaked him out and he was frustrated by not being able to walk around at his leisure. It takes about 30 minutes from Springfield into the Mall and Donald was screaming by the time we got there. I'm sure everyone on the metro loved us.



We disembarked at the Federal Triangle which includes some important government offices. In the center is the Woodrow Wilson Plaza and they have some pretty statues. We let the kids eat a snack and of course started out with some touristy pictures. I am amazed at how beautiful our capital city is. I really forgot how much I love that place until today.

Our first stop was the Museum of Natural History. They have the Easter Island head at the front thanks to Night at the Museum. Donald kept yelling, "Dum Dum give me gum gum!"

The dinosaur bones were one of my favorite parts. Donald thought the T-Rex was going to come alive, also thanks to Night at the Museum. Charlie specifically picked out his dinosaur shirt so he could go to this museum. He was just sooo excited!

I thought Shari was going to hyperventilate most of the time she was so excited. She had very specific things that she just couldn't wait to see and one of them was the mammoth. I was amazed at the giant sloth bones, although I didn't get a picture. We all loved looking at the evolution of the horse exhibit because the fossil record is so amazing.

Everyone was glad to have a discovery room where they could play with stuff. Of course Donald's favorite was an alligator head. He kept sticking his hand in its mouth and pretending he was being eaten, and he loved the eyesball (that's how he says eyeballs).

Another goal of Shari's was to see the stuffed hippo. She was so excited to see it. We loved the hall of mammals and somehow Donald spotted a panda up in a big case and started yelling, "Kung Fu Panda!" He is so well educated by all of the movies he watches.

This is a picture of some sapphires in the gem exhibit. They reminded me of my mother because it's her birthstone. I got a picture of the hope diamond but it's so sparkly you can't really see it. The hope diamond was another must see on Shari's list. It was pretty impressive.

This huge piece of quartz had a sign that said, "Please Touch." Adrian thought that was so funny because most everything else said, "Don't Touch."

In the insect exhibit I was walking through staring at dead insects when all of the sudden one of them moved! I jumped out of my skin and scared the lady standing next to me half to death. Thankfully she just started laughing at me because I didn't realize there were some live bugs in there too. I really hate grasshoppers though so when I saw them moving I was so grossed out. They had some grasshoppers you could hold and I couldn't believe Charlie was brave enough to hold this thing.

Donald wanted to grab it with both hands and pet it and love it to death. The lady was nice enough to let him touch it and then move it out of his reach quickly. Charlie kept yelling, "It LOVES me!" Grasshopper love can be so sweet. I couldn't believe Rebecca had the nerve to hold it either. She was a little more timid than Charlie and wasn't convinced that it loved her.

On Friday night we asked the kids what they want to see the most at a museum and Shari shouts out, "A Greek Amphora!" Dan and I were like, huh? We didn't even know what she was talking about but she explained that they are pots from Greece with a pattern around the top and bottom and a story in the middle. They are making them in art class here. Thankfully right when we walked into Western Civilizations there were a bunch of them. She wanted to stare at them for the rest of the afternoon, but by then my feet were killing me. Hopefully they gave her some good ideas for her art project.

Next on the list we went over to the National Air and Space Museum. This was a big thrill for everyone but my feet were killing me so we went into the McDonald's and ate lunch before we toured. It was the biggest McDonald's I've ever seen and I definitely don't remember it being here when I used to live here. It was a nice relaxing place to eat, although super crowded. In fact, the whole day everything was super crowded. I thought it was great fun.
Adrian was really excited to see the WWII airplanes because he likes to play a videogame called Crimson Skies and he gets to fly similar airplanes.

After all our excitement we had a bathroom break before we headed home so I let the kids mess around with the camera a little. This also made it so Dan and I could get one picture of us together. He's so great to take us out for such a fun day in the city. I am so amazed at all the wonderful things he does for us. He took the kids around a lot so I could just sit and stare at all the people and put me feet up.

The train ride home was just as fun as the train ride out because the kids loved standing up and holding onto the poles. Shari is a little bugged at me because I just told her she needed to be careful when she thought she was doing just fine. I couldn't believe they wanted to be on their feet after all that walking!

The only thing about holding onto the poles on the metro is my kids kept wanting to dance around them and I had to keep telling them to STOP POLE DANCING! It was quite entertaining.

Now we've made it home and I'm exhausted and Dan is out getting pizza for dinner and the kids are all watching Night at the Museum! I guess they didn't get enough yet.