A Visit to DC with Friends

We recently went into DC with some friends. The kids were all excited to ride the metro.


We got off at the Smithsonian stop. The escalator takes you right up onto the National Mall.


We stopped to take pictures in front of the Washington Monument and then headed over to the Smithsonian Castle for lunch.


We spent most of our time in the Natural History Museum. This is a picture of the center of the museum.

We spent some time in the Hands On Room.




We spent a lot of time in the Forensic Anthropology Lab. The kids loved playing with the bones.


We saw the Hope Diamond.


Kaylee was excited to see that they still had caterpillars that she could hold.


Kaden surprised me by holding this bug. We also watched a tarantula eat a grass hopper.


We saw the dinosaur and stuffed animal sections. This was our first time going into DC this summer and we all had a great time.

The Smithsonian Kite Festival

Yesterday we took Kaylee into DC for the Smithsonian Kite Festival. Kaden stayed behind for a birthday party. People were flying kites in front of the Capitol, Washington Monument, and all across the mall.

This area is near the Washington Monument.

A view of the Jefferson Memorial from the Washington Monument.

The cherry trees were in bloom and they looked beautiful!

Here is a close up of some cherry tree blossoms.

Geoff and Kaylee looking up at the Washington Monument.

Two of the cutest people in the world.

Just in case you haven't been informed. :)

We stopped by the National Building Museum. They were having a family fun day to kick off the start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Kaylee loved watching these Japanese dancers.

Kaylee got to try on a Japanese Kimono.

She also got to take home a flower, make a tissue flower, and color a picture.

After visiting the National Building Museum we headed over to China Town to look through some souvenir shops and find a place for lunch. We ended up eating around the corner at a place called Peri Peri. It was really good!

Geoff and Kaylee in front of a souvenir shop.

If you ever get a chance to go to the kite festival you should. It was a really fun experience!

White House Easter Egg Roll

I am so behind on blogging. I will try to catch up soon. For now here are some pictures from the White House Easter Egg Roll.








We were excited we were able to get tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll. The kids participated in the traditional Egg Roll. There were several activities going on including arts and crafts, face painting, an egg hunt, soccer and basketball games, kids cooking classes, and live entertainment.
We met Curious George, Word Girl, and the Easter Bunny. There were several other characters there including Sponge Bob, Elmo, Max (from Max and Ruby), Clifford, Maya and Miguel, and a few others I didn't know the names of. Kaylee was very excited to see the characters there.
The kids came home with souvenir bags full of stickers, a character pin, a commemorative ticket, and a wooden Easter egg with the president and first lady's signatures on them. It was a long but fun day! Both of the kids fell asleep on the way home.

Chinese New Year & Chinatown

We celebrated Chinese New Year by eating at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. The restaurant is actually a hole in the wall kind of place but the food is amazing. The kids had fun and loved watching the man making noodles from behind the front window. After lunch we let the kids pick out a souvenir from a little Chinese gift shop. Kaden picked out a snake and Kaylee picked a fan.

Here were our fortunes from the fortune cookies.

Geoff's & Kaylee's: God will give you everything you want.
Jadi's: You have an important new business development shaping up.
Kaden's: You and your wife will be happy in life together.

After we read Kaylee her fortune she immediately stated that she wanted an oven and a baby. :)


During Chinese New Year it is traditional for parents and elders to give gifts of "lucky money" to children. The money is always presented in a red envelope. My mother-in-law always mails these to our kids. I was so excited to find some in a gift shop in Chinatown. I left these on Kaden and Kaylee's pillows.


We also decorated our living room with homemade paper lanterns. What a fun holiday!

INAUGURATION DAY

Yesterday Geoff and I were able to attend the inauguration. The Judge Geoff works for offered us his reserved tickets. It was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. Our good friends Shad and Esther agreed to watch our kids for us so we could go. We woke up at 2:30 am and were at the metro stop by 3:45 am. We had to wait in a 45 minute line to get on the metro. That was the longest line I had ever stood in. However, they were prepared for the crowds so the line moved pretty fast for how many people were there. We got into DC around 6:00 am. We walked over to the Tax Court and slept on the couch in the Judge's chambers for about an hour. Then we sat in Geoff's office and watched the steady stream of people walk by for awhile. At 8:00 we decided to go stand in line to make sure we got through security in time. That line was by far the longest line either of us have ever stood in. It was at least a mile long. We stood in that line for at least two hours before going through security. On the way to our section we were walking behind a couple that the crowd was cheering for and waiving to. Geoff was curious to see who it was so he sped up and walked in front of them. We discovered it was Mariah Carey. After we found our section and got to our seats Ashley Judd came and sat down in the row directly behind us. She was very outspoken and emotional throughout the Inauguration. It was so much fun to be a part of the crowd and feel the excitement in the air. It was an experience we will both always remember. After the Inauguration was over we walked to the metro station and discovered we were going to be standing in line for at least a few hours so we decided to go visit Geoff's cousin Meredith who lives close to the Capitol. She was kind and fed us lunch and gave us some hot chocolate. By the time we got back to the metro stop we still had to wait for an hour to get on the metro but we expected that. By the time we got home we were exhausted but thankful for the experience.

The Washginton DC Temple and Visitor's Center at Christmas Time

Last weekend we met Geoff's cousin Meredith and her family at the Washington DC Temple Visitor's Center.


This is a view of the Temple from the Visitor's Center.


Geoff and Kaden outside of the Visitor's Center.


Geoff's aunt Sherrie is in town visiting Meredith and her family. We were so excited to see her. Mirabel and Sofia were kind and shared their Grandma with Kaylee. Kaylee has really missed her Grandparents. She didn't want to let go of Sherrie's hand all night.


We were also able to see the live nativity twice. It was a fun evening.

A Tour of the Capitol

Last weekend we took a tour of the the US Capitol. They just opened a new visitors center this month. The tours start out with a 13 minute movie. After the movie they hand out headphones so that you can hear your tour guide and block out the other noise since there are several tours going on at once. The Capitol is an amazing building. It was my first time being inside and I couldn't have been more impressed.


This statue is the cast they used for the bronze statue of freedom that currently sits on top of the Capitol. This is in the visitors center. Our tour guide told us this is currently the largest statue in DC. It is 19' and 6" tall.


This is a statue of Brigham Young inside of the Capitol. Each state has chosen two statues to display inside of the capitol.


This is a painting on the ceiling of the dome inside of the rotunda. If you click to enlarge the picture you might be able to see that George Washington is the only man in the circle. If you are interested in the meaning click HERE to read about this painting.


I found this picture on line. It shows the lower walls of the rotunda.


This is another view of the top of the dome in the rotunda.


A picture of Kaden inside of the rotunda.


Inside the Capitol.


Inside of the old Supreme Court room. This room is no longer used for anything except for tours.


There is a tunnel connecting the Capitol to the Library of Congress so after our tour of the Capitol we walked over the the Library of Congress.


This building is amazing. We were able to look down into the library but were not allowed to take pictures. You have to obtain a special pass to go inside.


Here is a view from the inside.


Here is their Christmas tree. Every time we visit DC we get a strong feeling of patriotism. I love our country and I am thankful for the opportunity that we have to be living so close the it's capitol.