District of Columbia

 We're finally at the end you guys!  Washington, D.C. was the last stop on our whirlwind East Coast road trip and to be quite honest with you -- it should have been it's own separate trip.  It was just too much to tack on the end.  It is what it is, however, and my only hope now is that D.C. hasn't been completely ruined for the kids and they'll want to go BACK someday to experience it all a little better.  Hahaha.

Nevertheless, our FIRST stop was a hit.  The Spy Museum was at the top of everyone's list to experience, and while Scott took kids 1-5 to enjoy some espionage, I wisely took the sugar bear and browsed the book store/gift shop for a bit before strolling across the street to check out the National Portrait Gallery.  It was a win-win situation, because I'm pretty sure that no one else would have wanted to look at a bunch of art with me and I was fine taking one for the team and missing out on the Spies.  Hahaha.  Isaac was mostly cooperative in the Gallery and was then rewarded with a free family activity thing going on in the courtyard at the center of the building.  There was music and water to play in and we enjoyed ourselves immensely while waiting for the others to finish up.

 That's a pretty good mug shot there, wouldn't you say?  Hahaha.

 Crawling through an air duct?  I think?

 Cracking a code.

  I'm not sure what exactly the deal was here, but I think they were supposed to hold on to this bar for as long as possible (while it was turning?) and Sophie hung on longer than anyone and apparently drew a real crowd.  Hahaha.

 Me and Shoo Shoo outside the National Portrait Gallery.

 I thought this was pretty cool -- it's the Preamble to the Constitution spelled out on all 50 states' license plates.

 It was pretty cool to see some famous faces -- Alexander Hamilton...

 ...and Joseph Smith

 He must have subconsciously known he'd be playing in water that day when he insisted on wearing his swimming trunks that morning when I got him dressed.  Hahaha.

If we were REALLY smart, we would have ended our day there and headed back to the hotel to rest.  BUT, since we had already decided at that point to cut our trip short by a couple of days, and would thus be leaving the next day, we felt the pressure to squeeze in just a couple more museums and some sightseeing (in the rain).  After driving around to see the White House and other monuments and memorials,  Scott took Alex and Jane to the Air and Space Museum while I took the others to the American History Museum.  Once we were done at the History museum we met back up at the Air and Space before leaving for the day.  Just as a heads up -- these two museums are not really near each other.  And it ended up being a TON of walking.  I was wiped out, the kids were museum-ed out, and at the end of the day, aggravations were running high.  I think EVERYONE was happy to finally get to the hotel for the evening and veg out by watching TV and doing nothing. 

 

 Right as we were finishing up at the Spy Museum, there was a torrential downpour.  Hence the sightseeing by car in the rain.

 It gave dumplin' a chance to take a nap at least.  ;)

 {Alex wanted me to get a picture of him cozied up with his souvenir pillows from Hershey and Crayola at bedtime.}

Check out was the next morning, and since Mt. Vernon was my FAVORITE thing I did when I visited Washington, D.C. with my mom and some siblings several years ago, I really wanted to experience it again with MY little family before we left town.  It was a bad call.  The weather was miserable -- super hot and SO, SO, SO very humid -- and no one wanted to walk around outside; everyone was a little sleep-deprived and over-tired from the road trip as a whole at this point; and I think we were all just ready to go home.  But we persevered and in the end I think the only enjoyable portion of the experience was the air-conditioning in the museum.  True Story.  Oh well -- live and learn, right???  Hahaha.  

I'm not quite sure why this was Grace and Sophie's signature pose all over D.C.

After eating an early lunch at the cafe, and refusing all demands for souvenirs, we were FINALLY on our way home after 10 days on the road!  For as amazing and awesome as MOST of the trip was, though, there really is no place like home.  :)  Whew!!!  The recaps are done.  I don't know about you, but I'm excited to be blogging about something ELSE from now on.  Hahaha. 

Hip Hip Hooray!