Blogging about it already...DC to NYC: Part 1

My apologies (Deena, Grami Tami, Grandma Kim, Aunt Stacy etc. etc.) for the delay in posting. Turns out, I needed a little vacation after my vacation. Except, as is always the case, life was marching right along.

Commence memories. My (again) apologies for the number of poorly lit/poorly framed photos. That's how we roll folks.

But seriously, funnest trip ever. EVER. This was amazing. Incredible. So much fun. No one freaked out. No one melted down. No one puked. No one got lost. No one even cried (except for Keeler and that's totally allowed).

Public Transportation. That was the theme of this trip. We were so adept at subways, metro cards, taxis, shuttles, and giant transport stations (Union and Penn) by the end of this trip. And to think that those skills will go to waste here in little ol' Fort Fun.

Eating in bed. That's Keeler's new favorite thing to do. Because that's how it goes in a hotel (which we stayed in for our 4 day/3 night foray into Washington D.C.). Also, it turns out that a baby can subsist on Fig Newtons and peanut butter alone for a remarkable period of time. Because hunger strikes are his m.o. on vacation.

Stressed out. Doesn't even begin to describe how I was feeling about the prospect of flying across the country with three children. I was mostly worried that someone would hate us (like the poor passenger stuck in 26E or F). But, turns out, my worry was for naught. We got the seats we wanted (back of the plane, all in a row). Keeler slept. No crying. The flight attendants kept our kids loaded (and I mean LOADED) up with snacks and juice. The kids each had their own rolling carry on and backpack and we checked NO luggage. (No checked luggage = one less stop after deplaning and trying to navigate to the hotel.)

Auntie Juliann. The woman is amazing. Seriously, amazing. She is a busy, busy lady (as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Orrin Hatch) yet still found time to show us the time of our lives (literally) in D.C.. She showed us around the senate building she calls home, arranged for a VIP tour of the Capital Building, joined us on a VIP and totally amazing tour of the Library of Congress (possible the most beautiful building in America), treated us to a delish lunch at the Senate Buffet (Hello Trent Lott. Had no idea that pink was your color.), and even joined us on a whirlwind sightseeing/museum-crashing whirlwind two days later. The twins are officially in love. With Auntie Juliann AND her adorable dog, Boscoe.

Peering up at the ceiling of the Library of Congress. Told you it was beeeeautiful.

Checking out the infamous "egg and dart" architectural detail with our super awesome tour guide (and also Legislative Assistant to Senator Hatch) JJ.

Keeler practicing his fork skills at the Senate Buffet. He was a doll and completely adorable throughout. He loves that Ergo baby carrier--thank goodness. And, oddly, that carrier sparked several conversations with men in Juliann's office. Apparently, their wives are all very into baby-wearing as well.

The latter half of our first day was spent at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It was...okay. See NYC post to come. Their museum was way better. But, this one did have this (stuffed and dead) panda that Milo thought was super cute.

Jam-packed first day plus swimming=face-plants into their pillows that night.

The next day was spent traversing the National Zoo in D.C.. Amazing and totally free. Crazy. Milo got to see his beloved giant pandas up close and personal. Well, their bums at least. Because they were both sleeping the entire time. He still loved it. Phew.

Milo with his stuffed red panda in front of the red panda exhibit. Second only to giant pandas in love in Milo's world. Raise your hand if you even knew that their were red pandas before you met Milo...that's what I thought. Now that you know, please do not insult him by accidentally calling his stuffed animal a "raccoon". It will not go without reprimand and degrading looks. Ask the hotel manager.

A meerkat in front of the meerkats.

Our last day in D.C. was a whirlwind of monuments, memorials, and museums. And it was awesome. We could have stayed their for two more weeks and still not run out of things to see and do. Isabel was a big fan of Dorothy's shoes (Smithsonian Museum of American History).

Milo, on the other hand, nearly died upon entering the museum to see this site.

Lincoln Memorial to Washington Monument (Capital in the way background).

Lincoln was huge. Lincoln was breathtaking. Lincoln was amazing and reverent. (It was also stiflingly hot and humid which made it a much shorter stop than we would have liked.)

Isabel sat out for Jefferson. Partly because of her walking boot and the heat, partly because she has an aunt-crush on Auntie Juliann and she got to stay in the air conditioned car with her. Milo thought it was super sweet and wanted to know if "he really was that tall". Not quite.

The White House was much different than we thought it would be. Had no idea it was right in the middle of...everything. It was very cool. The kids were pretty bummed that Pres. Obama was out of town that day.

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On the last day, we also hit the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum (which was cute and interesting and sooooo air-conditioned). Isabel loved it and nearly killed over at all of the selections in the gift shop. That girl is slightly enamoured with history--and especially women in history. She was bummed that she didn't bring her bonnet. No joke.

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After all of that fun, it was off to ride the Amtrak train (highly recommend it) to NYC to see Abbie, Forrest, Eli and Audrie. Phew. Post to come.