Washington DC

For Little Michael's graduation gift we took him to DC for 5 days. It was a secret until grad day and he was very surprised. We gave him a card and tickets to Fords Theater and a DC guide book at his BBQ before the ceremony. Here is how our trip went with some of my favorite pictures.

Day 1: We flew out of LAX Sunday morning. I misread our flight time and we almost missed our flight. I swear it said 9:55 am when in fact is was 9:05 am. We arrived at the airport around 8:10 and I thought we had plenty of time. I forgot to write down the confirmation number to go through self check in so I called the airline. To my horror she gave me the correct departure time. Our flight was boarding in 20 minutes. For those of you who have ever flown out of LAX, 20 minutes is not enough time to check bags and get through security to be to the gate on time. Thanks to some very nice people who let us cut the line and equally nice airport personnel, we boarded the flight just minutes before they closed the doors. Whew, that was close! We arrived at Dulles around 5:00 pm EST and just hit the hotel, had dinner and rested to go to DC in the morning.

Day 2: We decided against a car rental and took public transportation the whole time we were there. To save $$ we stayed in Virginia close to Dulles. Every morning we rode the hotel shuttle back to the airport to catch a bus into DC. It took a little over an hour each way to get back and forth. Nice and cheap but sure took a lot of time. We started at the Washington Monument, hit the War Memorials, then the Lincoln Memorial, walked by the White House (our tour request was denied!), visited the American History Museum and the Natural History Museum. A very full day with TONS of walking but to see these places in person was awesome. Back to the bus to get back to the hotel.










Day 3: Fords Theater was the first stop of the day. We had tickets for a 9:00 am ranger tour. It was a little disappointing because all you did was sit in the theater, hear a recount of what happened the night Lincoln was shot, then leave. You could see the box he was in, which was cool, but I am a close up kind of gal and would have liked to see it closer. The line across the street to get into the house Lincoln died in was too long so we passed on that. We hit the National Archives after that to see all the cool documents and stuff they have there. It was amazing to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in person. After that was our tour of the Capitol building. We did not get to sit in on a session but were able to tour the rotunda and a few other cool places inside. There is a room that has a statue of one or two people from every state to represent them in some way. The Legislature for that state chooses the statue for the room and for Utah it is Brigham Young. That was when we discovered some fellow LDS brothers and sisters. After the Capitol building we peeked in to the Library of Congress and it looks just like it does in the movie National Treasure! The last stop of the day was the Air and Space Museum. It was late in the day and we were tired, we probably should not have gone into the planetarium to watch a movie about black holes. That was a nice $26 nap! On the way out of the museum a thunderstorm hit, and hit hard. We ducked into another museum only to be kicked out because it was closing. We stood under the eaves of the building during the down pour before we ran for the bus stop. Back on the bus to hit the hotel and get some sleep.





Day 4: We decided to sleep in and not get up early. It was much needed! We went to Arlington Cemetery and this was my favorite place on the trip. There was such a respected reverence there, especially at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Cemetery has on average 27 funerals a day. It amazes me the number of people who have served our country and those who died in battle is astounding. There was a memorial for the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger. We saw JFK's grave with the Eternal Flame and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We had planned on going to the Holocaust Museum after the Cemetery, but those plans did not work out. I thank Heaven we were not there that morning. We rode the subway to Pentagon City and hit the mall, went back into DC and wandered a bit then headed back to the hotel.............on the bus. I must say every evening the bus was standing room only and some people were turned away it was so full!







Day 5: We went to the Postal Museum and then Union Station. The Postal Museum was pretty cool. The history of the mail is actually interesting and how it has grown and evolved. Union Station, I have heard how big this place is but had no idea. It is basically a huge shopping mall with a train station inside. We had lunch in the largest food court ever! It was crawling with people and you couldn't even hear yourself think. We decided to see a movie in the theater in the basement. It was the weirdest theater I have ever been in. We saw Land of the Lost. It was funny but typical Will Ferrel comedy. There is A LOT of beggars outside Union Station. I have seen beggars before but not like this. Makes me feel very glad and blessed to have the life that I do. After the movie we hit a souvenir shop to pick up some things for the other kiddies and then hit the last bus ride (YAY!) to hour hotel.

Day 6: Our plane was delayed almost 2 hours from DC then lasted about 5 hrs. Longest flight of my life. I am not sure I could fly international. Finally we made it home!

A HUGE thank you to my parents for watching the other kids while we were away. It is not an easy job and they did fabulously. THANK YOU!!! I enjoyed my time with Mike and Michael but I was glad to be back with the others at the end. I have my complaints about my big family but in the end I would not trade a single one of them. Heavenly Father has blessed us immensely and I take it for granted every day.