The National Zoo

Well the sun came out and we rode on to the zoo. (Notice the BUDS again....I am worried.)

It was a beautiful, perfect day!
First order of business, break out the lunch!

Sam and Jake had more fun exploring the ambiance than the animals! So many things to balance across and jump off!

Hurray for PANDA! Up close and personal.

Not Japanese cherry blossoms, but stunning! These were everywhere, the blossoms were as big as my outstretched hand.

Loving the map!

Berkeley and Jeffrey took off most of the day on their own. The highlight? An enormous reptile house, and an Orangutan swinging overhead across the walkway.

We are having so much fun!

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I wish I had a picture.

We were waiting for Glen to get us all a little refreshment from 7-11 across the street when during a lapse of attention from Mom, Samuel ran up to pee on the nearest tree. Rather than snap a photo, I opted to point and laugh with the others, pretending he didn't come from me.

Squirrel!

A huge attraction for the kids, particularly Berk, were the squirrels. They were a distracted as puppies running off the chase these little guys around, and UP trees in the National Mall.

Air and Space Museum

It was a cold and rainy walk (green buds, no flowers) our first day on the town, but we were all excited and it wasn't so bad.

Berkeley and Jacob ... my thinker and my engineer! Watch for them in the news!

"HOW BIG WAS THAT THING?"

When we read about the Wright Brothers Berkeley wanted to know how big their wind tunnel was. We tried looking it up, and we found pictures, but no real dimensions. It was so exciting to find the tunnel itself at the air and space museum! And now we know!

Transportation

1,2,3,4,5,6....1,2,3,4,5,6...1,2,3,4,5,6.....

It was like a ceremonial chant. Every time a train came in, I was like some frantic mother bird.

Once we were all safely on board, the metro was definatally a fun way to go!

Day 2 - Gettysburg

Here is where all those hours together curled up around books about Lincoln, the Civil War, and of course reading and talking about Gettysburg Address come to a climax! How often do you get to visit the actual location of a tiny scholar's fascination? Lincoln particularly grabbed the attention of Jacob and BrookLynn this year and it sobering to be at this battlefield. Later in the week, we also tour a special exhibition of Lincoln artifacts at the American History Museum.

It was absolutely POURING while we were there, but Jacob just HAD to touch a cannon, a "REAL CIVIL WAR cannon!" while doing the driving tour of the battlefield.

Family Vacation - Day 1

This entire year the younger kids have been studying Early American History, and Jeffrey and I also finished a U.S. Government course spring semester. In January we started making plans to visit Washington D.C. for the annual Cherry Blossom festival this April. I have always been passionate about American history, and the founding fathers. I love this country! Much of that was reinforced heavily with visits to the capital when I was little, and in high school. When I walk down the streets I can hear my dad's voice telling us all the great stories. I was so excited to be taking my kids there .... this is my dream vacation! Thank goodness for technology
Oh and Dan Brown. That was a seriously short 5 hour flight!

When we got into town we found GREEN BUDS. GREEN. No flowers. Cabbie promised by the end of the week it would be all in the pink. Our hotel was also seriously undersized. The most amazing beds, but we had to walk on them to get to the bathroom. That wasn't going to work for a family of 8 for a week. So Glen got online and rented us two cars, and two adjoining suites in Alexandria for less than our first two tiny rooms. We had two living rooms, lots of beds, a desk and a full kitchen. It was a totally awesome environment! I enjoyed spending time together in this little spot as much as any other part of the vacation.

Sam and I set off to find food for the week, and had the interesting challenge of getting it all upstairs on the dolly.

Dad and the kids practiced riding the subway, and setting the tone for the week at the White House!