Washington DC

Riding the Metro.

Broden, Avery, Drew and Remi.

Pajama party in our room!

Relaxing in the grass.

In April we decided we wanted to take a trip to the temple. Then Blake found out he couldn't be in the clinic on Thursday and Friday because the seniors had boards, so we decided to take a trip to the DC Temple. We left Wednesday afternoon and after 4 potty stops for Remi and constant screaming by at least 1 child we made it to the Temple just in time for me to go to the 8:30 session. The Temple was so peaceful and it is a beautiful temple.

That night we stayed in a hotel then got up and Blake went to the temple while we got everything packed and ready to go. We then drove to the next hotel and checked in so we could park our car there and we rode the metro to DC. We went to the zoo for a little while, it was packed though, so we went all the way into town and met up with some friends to see some sights. That night we watched all the kiddos while the other 2 couples we went with went to the temple. They each have 2 and 1 on the way. 2 of the kids slept in their room, so we just had 2 extra in our room. All the kids had so much fun eating candy, playing on the beds and watching movies.

Friday we rode the metro into town again and walked all over to see the Declaration of Independence, the Air and Space Museum, and the Capitol Building. When we were in the room to see the Declaration of Independence it was really quiet. The atmosphere was reverent and everyone was serious. There was a really long line to see it and as soon as we got in the room our kids went bezerk. They started screaming and running around. They weren't mad really, just highper. So I peeked over someone's shoulder at it and we hurried out of there as fast as we could so we didn't get arrested for disturbing the peace. Then we rode the Metro to the pentagon, just for fun. It right at 5:00 so everyone was leaving. When we were looking at a map a man stopped us to offer help. We talked to him for a while. He was from Utah and a member of the church. He had 6 kids and is in the Air Force. He is going back to Finland I think this summer where he will be stationed for the Air Force. He was really nice. I'm sure we stuck out there with our 3 kids, all of us dressed modestly on a hot day, looking at a map. He probably had a good idea we were members.

That night we drove into town to see everything at night. It was neat, but not what I was expecting. I though everything would be lit up like we light up our temples. They weren't. It was still fun though.

Washington DC is an amazing city. The Metro is so easy to use and easily accesible for strollers. There is so much to do there that is free and so much to learn. The hotel we stayed in was amazing. All the bathroom soaps and everything were Bath and Body Works and the furniture was really nice. It was one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in.

Saturday we packed up and drove home. The kids didn't do too much better on the drive home than they did on the drive there. When we got home I wasn't sure if I even wanted to go on another road trip. EVER.

That night we went bowling with a bunch of friends from church. It was sooooo much fun. We had different competitions with the couples then went out for ice cream. It was a sweet date!