Love, Laughter & Ladybugs: Washington DC Trip

In February, we took a long weekend and visited Washington DC. Mom was feeling a bit of cabin fever - we all were - so we decided to make the trip down 95 to visit the nation's capital.

Aunt Meg and her family were living there (they're actually moving from there to San Antonio, TX this weekend) while she did her fellowship. So we decided to spend the weekend visiting the Smithsonian (Air & Space) on Saturday and seeing the Washington Zoo on Sunday. We met up with Aunt Meg and her family on Sunday and had a lot of fun at the zoo - the kids really enjoyed spending the afternoon with their cousins.

We drove down on Friday night and the kids relaxed in the car with movies and video games. But as soon as we got to the hotel, everyone got wound back up again! We got a crib for the night but Ashley was having no parts of it... it was not pretty. Lots of screaming (more Ashley than me!) and not a lot of sleeping. Actually only about 2 -3 hours of sleep for each of us. She did not want to settle down - in hindsight, she was probably more than a little spooked by the hotel, and she wasn't exactly sure what was going on. Sleep in bed with Mom & Dad? Nope. Try the crib again? Nah. How about the couch in the other room? Not what she had in mind. Try the chair & ottoman? No, No No.

You get the idea - many of you who are reading have been there. Be thankful that it was me and not you!

Anyway, the next morning we got up early to get a good start. Things were going OK, and everyone seemed to want to get a good breakfast down in the buffet area. But, unfortunately Ashley got sick at the table (now it all became clear as to why she had such a bad night!). We got things back on track and caught a taxi for the short ride to the Air & Space Museum. The rest of the day actually went pretty well. The boys were really interested and engaged in all of the exhibits and things to see.

Here we are in front of one of the space capsules, touching the Moon Rock - right inside the front door (I actually have VERY CLEAR memories of doing the exact same thing with my Dad when we visited there when we were kids back in 19??.) and checking out the U2 spy plane display.

The wide open floor plan was just what the boys needed to be able to run around a bit and stretch their legs.

The boys joined in a demonstration about paper airplanes. They got a chance to make and fly their planes - and then participate in a contest to see whose plane flew best. Dylan's flew a little better than Kyle's - I forget how we averted the impending meltdown - but Mom was able to keep a lid on things!

The blue line was more like a friendly suggestion than a hard and fast requirement!

We had lunch at the McDonald's inside the museum, and spent the afternoon seeing everything we could and visiting the gift shop.

Ashley was pretty sedate throughout - being so tired!

One of the cool planes we saw was a US Mail Plane. I told the boys that their Pop-Pop used to be a Mailman a long time ago. I think it was Kyle that asked if Pop-Pop flew a plane like that when he delivered his mail?... I went with it...and I told the boys that I think HE DID! They were impressed.

They didn't push it so I didn't either!!

After we got done with the Museum, we had a really nice walk around the Mall. The weather was nice (bright sun, cool but not too cold). We had reservations for late afternoon at Legal Seafood, which was about a six block walk off the Mall. This was a bit of a flier since everyone was tired from the museum and we weren't sure how the boys would be with hoofing it to dinner. But they proved us wrong and walked strong & tall all the way!

Amazingly, we had one of those dinners that Lisa and I will remember for a long time. The kids' behavior was excellent (all 3) - even after a long day of sightseeing! They ate all their dinners, talked to us about their day and didn't get too rammy even as we had desert. Ashley needed to sit on my lap after the meal, but that's not too unusual. It was a really nice meal - excellent food and superb company! Thanks again everyone!

We ended up getting a good night's sleep on Saturday night. We also had a reasonably good breakfast, and then we headed out to the Zoo.

Aunt Meg and her family (Uncle Curt, and cousins Malissa and Justin) met us at the Zoo. Sunday did not disappoint either. We enjoyed a really nice day, saw most of the animals, and recorded ZERO meltdowns!

The Kids at the Playground...