DC 2012

Last week was the start of our summer vacation! Alan took the week off of work and we drove to Washington DC! We left on Monday night, arrived at Alan's sister's house late Tuesday morning, and stayed until Saturday evening, when we left to drive home. We made it back to Madison Sunday about 7:30AM. I find that the worst part of driving through the night is not the actual driving, but rather the day after, when you desperately want to sleep but instead have to go on with your day. It wasn't so bad on the day we arrived in DC because we were busy and excited to be there, but that Sunday we got home was a rough day. It was so worth it, though, as we had an absolutely wonderful time. We saw so many monuments, museums, and historical sites, and got to spend time with two of Alan's sisters, a nephew, brother-in-law, and my best friend from middle school and her family. It was much needed family time and a fantastic way to begin our summer vacation.

I have 172 photos from the trip--Here are some of my favorites:

The Smithsonian Air and Space Hangar in Virginia--SO worth the drive.

The Enola Gay is the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb.

The Discovery!

Alan's younger sister, Diana, with her son, Jordan.

Diana and I both wanted to be astronauts for a very long time when we were younger, so this was huge for us to be able to really see one of the shuttles.

It's absolutely huge.

You can still see the scorch marks on the belly from where it entered the atmosphere.

This is the first plane to reach the speed of sound.

The Lightning is one of Alan's favorite planes. 

The Concorde

Hanging out at Diana's house.

Can you tell that I love the Washington Monument?

This is the Presidential Limo! We happened upon a meeting between Obama and Perez, the President of Israel, in the Washington Hotel, on our way to see the White House. It actually caused quite a mess, as tons of streets were blocked off and there were police everywhere. We finally went to get dinner and when we were done, Obama had gone home (literally across the street) so we were able to get on with our sightseeing.

Noah's ride.

Alan spent the time that we were waiting for Obama taking pictures of cars. He took this one of Edward's silver volvo for me. Love that man!

Alan also photographed a squirrel dragging an apple out of a trash can and eating it. The things you can see in DC!

The White House

Lincoln Memorial

Roosevelt Memorial

WWII Memorial

My grandpa, from Ohio, served in the Pacific in WWII. 

JFK's tomb at Arlington

The Lincoln Memorial

This is one of the only pictures I have of me with all three of my kids. It makes me happy.

Sweet Noah was such a trooper on this trip. Skipped naptimes, weird mealtimes and bedtimes, and hours in his stroller in the hot, hot sun. He did wonderfully.

Korean War Memorial

Korean War Memorial. This wall sits opposite a garden with life-size statues of soldiers. You can see the reflection of the statues in the pictures.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. This was my favorite memorial.

Nate and Abbie posing as George and Martha Washington's grandchildren at Mt. Vernon. 

Mt. Vernon--Stunning.

The cupola was opened in the summertime to draw all of the hot air up and out of the house.

I took this picture to remind myself of how happy I was on this trip. As I stood on the large back lawn of Mt. Vernon and looked down the hill, I saw six people who mean the world to me. I am so blessed to have the family I do.

Mt. Vernon's back porch

George Washington's tomb

The inscription above the tombs of George and Martha Washington

The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

I was so moved by this memorial. Even though I was only five years old when the Challenger exploded, I can still remember it like it was yesterday.

Arlington was sobering. The sheer number of graves was overwhelming. It's a very emotional place to visit.

The Library of Congress. Nate says that his life goal is to get a library card from this place. I'm with him.

The details in the LOC were stunning. They just don't make buildings like this anymore.

A wonderful vacation. The kids had a great time, we had a great time and I think that we all have a lot of precious memories. My camera battery died on the last day, so I don't have any pictures of Air and Space on the Mall or the National Archives. I took a bunch of photos on my phone, but can't figure out how to get them on my blog yet. Here's to the rest of our summer vacation being as good as the first week!