Washington, D.C. Day 6

We got up early to eat breakfast, pack and head to the hotel. We ate at the Corner Bakery Cafe. They had great pancakes! We took a taxi to the airport to start the journey back to Texas.

Austin slept about an hour on the flight home. I was able to entertain him the rest of the time, so we didn't make any enemies on the plane! We stopped at Chuy's in Houston on the way home. We had been 7 days without Mexican food! Unheard of for our family! 

I'm chalking this trip up as a family favorite. The boys got to see and experience so much. We even made sure they rode all the transportation options (shuttle, taxi, subway, bus, trolley). I'm so grateful the boys and I were able to join Andy on this trip. I know bringing the family on a work trip isn't ideal and definitely adds more stress, but Andy was a great trip planner/tour guide. :)

Washington, D.C. Day 5

Andy had some morning meetings so the boys and I were on our own until 11:00. We were tired of the hotel breakfast by now so we found a donut place in Union Station. It wasn't the greatest but it was a donut. When Andy finished with his meetings we ate lunch and then started our museum hopping. We got a subway pass and headed to the Holocaust Museum. This was a very intense museum, especially for kids, but Mason really wanted to go since he had studied it this year. It was very shocking to see some of the things we saw. I think the thing that got me the most was a HUGE display of shoes worn by the men, women, and children that were put in the gas chambers. To see the ladies heels and the little boys shoes made it so real. They had this smell I won't ever forget. When we first got to the museum we had to get an identification card of a male or female (depending on your gender). This card told the real life story of someone from the Holocaust. At the end of the card it told you whether this person lived or died. No pictures were allowed in that museum, but the memories will be vivid for a long time.

After the Holocaust museum we went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This is where they make the paper (which really isn't paper...it's 75% cotton and 25% linen) money. Watching the process was very interesting. 

The view of the Capital from the National Mall. The National Mall was an interesting place. Many different soccer and football games going on (adult games as well as kid games), lots of food trucks, bums, snack bars, more bums. :)

Then we headed to the National Museum of Natural Science. This was like an oversized Cabella's for us. It was really crowded so we went through this one pretty quickly.

The Hope Diamond was really cool to see!

The Smithsonian Castle

Entering the subway. We pushed that stroller more empty then we did with a child in it! He wanted to walk like his brothers!

That night Andy and the big boys went to the Washington National's baseball game. They lost, but the guys had a good time! They got to eat ballpark food and everything!

The guys got back to the hotel around 10:30. It was our last night and they still hadn't checked out the indoor heated pool in our hotel. So Andy took them swimming until the pool closed at 11pm! Cool dad points!

Washington, D.C. Day 4

Before we left for our trip I told the boys we wouldn't be doing anything we could do in Texas (like the zoo, children's museum, etc). However, by Monday the boys needed a break from museums and monuments! Andy had work meetings so I decided to take the boys to the zoo. We took a taxi there which was pretty interesting. It was a small zoo but it was the perfect size for the amount of time we had. The boys were excited to see the Panda exhibit. 

After the Zoo we went back to the hotel and everyone took a nap. That night we went with Andy's co-workers to a fancy seafood restaurant. I was worried about how the boys would do, but they all did great! Especially considering we were there for 2 hours. 

Washington, D.C. Day 3

We had a two day hopper pass for our trolley. The first day we didn't get off on many stops because we just wanted to get an overview of everything. On the second day we went into several museums. 

The breezeway of the Union Station

The National Air and Space Museum

The Wright Brother's plane

Andy made us go into an Art Gallery. This was about the only painting that wasn't rated R. I know, it's art, you are supposed to look past the naked people and see the beauty of the painting. Try explaining that to your 11 year old!

Mason was reading the map in the wind!

Next we went to the National Archives to check out the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta. There was a line out the door so Austin entertained himself as we waited.

After the Archives, we ate lunch and Austin and I went back to the hotel so he could get a real nap. He was starting to lose it a little by this point. Andy and the big boys went to the Crime and Punishment museum. I think this was their favorite museum. I'm bummed I missed it!

The boys in a line up!

Police chase simulator

Mason and Leanne shooting at the bad guy!

It was interesting going through security checkpoints in each museum. If you had a bottle of water you had to drink it in front of the officers so they could see it was actually water. Most museums wouldn't let us take pictures inside. I think the Art Museum was probably the most strict! An adult had to push the stroller (we usually had Mason or Alex push the stroller), the backpack had to be worn, not hung on the stroller, etc.

That night we attended a reception put on by the NRECA (National Rural Electric Coop Association) in our hotel, then went to Union Station for a late dinner. Everyone passed out when their heads hit the pillow! Which, wasn't easy considering 5 of us slept on 2 double beds! 

Washington, D.C. Day 2

We got up early and ate breakfast at our hotel. They had a huge buffet, made to order omelets, everything you could imagine. It was good! Then we walked to Union Station to get on the trolley for our tour. 

Union Station

Andy and I took turns hauling around a backpack filled with everything a kid would need in a 10 hour period!

These are pictures we took out of our trolley window. This is the Supreme Court.

U.S. Capital

The Washington Monument has been closed for a couple years as they worked to repair cracks caused by an earthquake. They had taken the scaffolding down a week or two before we got there. However, it wasn't opening back up to the public until the week after we left.

That back brick and stone building with the art work in front of it is the Holocaust building. The artwork/statue is of a broken swastika.

Jefferson Memorial

We took a bus tour of the Arlington Cemetery. I was prepared for it to be moving, but when I saw the grave stones were exactly like my dad's (he is buried in a military cemetery in Killeen), that got to me.

Eternal flame in front of John F Kennedy's grave site.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded by a tomb guard 24/7. They perform a changing of the guards ceremony every hour. It's amazing how precise every step and movement is. Everything the tomb guard does revolves around the number 21 (because it symbolizes the highest military honor- the 21 gun salute). He marches for 21 steps (down that black mat), turns and faces east for 21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds, then takes 21 steps back down the mat. This process repeats. Mason was mesmerized and recorded the whole thing, included the changing guard ceremony.

Back on the trolley. Austin was so excited to ride like the big boys (just ignore that pacifier in his mouth!)

World War II Memorial

FBI building

Ford's Theater

The National Cathedral. I wish we had time to tour the inside. The pictures I've seen of it are beautiful!

The White House (from our trolley).

After 8 hours of touring during the day (austin took his nap on me during lunch), we went back to the hotel for an hour and then got back on the trolley to start the 3 hour night tour!

Martin Luther King Memorial

Marine Corp Memorial

Abraham Lincoln Memorial

Korean War Memorial

World War II Memorial

This was actually taken at lunch. We found a place that had great salads, sandwiches and pizza!

We finished our night tour around 10:15 and walked around trying to find a place, that wasn't a bar, to eat! We finally decided to eat at our hotel, so we were eating dinner at 10:30 at night, with a 2 year old! The boys did so great with such a long day and night.