The information is classified.
We waved at every single car that drove by. I wish whoever the special person was would have at least wiggled their fingers out of the top of the window.
Maybe it wasn't anyone significant. But we liked to think that it was Mr. Pres.
We then walked right in front of the White House.
Well, when I say in front it really means behind a fence and across the street but we were pretty close. Next time I am totally getting tickets to do the tour.
We then walked to Ford's Theatre.
Here are the kids waiting to get into the museum.
I think Nick is really sick of having his picture taken.
The building President Lincoln was taken to after he was shot.
The museum was incredible. There were so many artifacts and pictures on display. One of my favorite exhibits was a video of past presidents reciting the Gettysburg address.
We then headed over to the National Archives to see an original copy of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
There was not even a line which made me profoundly happy. I was a little giddy as we made out the signatures on the delicate documents. These things actually occurred and there was proof right there in front of me. I mean I was staring right at Benjamin Franklin's finely penned signature.
I know, I am a nerd.
We had some pretty grumpy kiddos after all this tromping around being pulled to museum after museum. I don't blame them because it was a lot of walking around in the awful humid air for days. We had saved the piece de resistance for Liam until the very end and it was not met with as much enthusiasm as we thought he would have. I think he was mentally and physically done.
In spite of himself though, he did have a pretty darn good time at the Air and Space Museum.
So did everyone else. I didn't get a ton of pictures here because it was such a hands on museum that the boys were running around like crazy trying to do whatever they could and it was hard to keep track of them all. I loved it.
We even saw an IMAX film about the origins of space. Liam was fixated on every detail. I saw it as an opportunity to close my eyes. Best. movie. ever.
No, Nick is not hurting Liam. If you will, scroll through the archives of our trip and you will notice that Liam is either hiding, turning his head from the camera, or scowling. This was an attempt to make him look at the camera and smile.
I can see it in his eyes that he is happy.
We were able to see the inside of a real life space shuttle. Here is the astronauts' shower...
...and where they eat. They even sleep standing up in a little compartment off the side of this main area. Talk about usable space!
We had one more thing to visit on our checklist but Luke and Liam vehemently refused to walk one more step. My nice parents took them back to the hotel with them while Justin, Nick, Andrew, and I went to the Capitol building.
On our way we saw a family of ducks...
...and a memorial to Nick's favorite president: Ulysses S. Grant.
There was quite a bit of hubbub around the grounds because they were setting up for a concert that President Obama was planning to attend. Pretty fancy.
I think the Capitol building is exquisite.
We were able to score some tickets for the House and were able to see a debate about medicare and the national budget. Nick asked me what it would take to do that one day.
We met a little friend.
Andrew asked us as we were walking if they had monuments for every president. We said that we didn't know. Then he wondered aloud if they had a monument for a random president, like Garfield. I told him probably not. To be honest, I am not too savvy about what each president has accomplished and I guessed that Garfield's contributions were minimal because I don't hear much about him. But guess what we saw?
Yes, a freaking statue of President Garfield. Andrew laughed his head off.
I guess I need to read up on my presidential biographies.
We went out to dinner at good old Chili's that night with my parents. It was delicious.
I hope to return here in the near future. Maybe during a different season when it is not so insanely hot. There is so much here to experience and see and I know we just scratched the surface. I am so happy that our family had this opportunity to become acquainted with this amazing piece of American history.
But, it will be great to be home.
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