Washington, D.C. Day One

Anwyn was off school the first week of April for spring break, so Jared took a few days off from work and we headed north for a short vacation in Washington, D.C. We left home at about 8 a.m. on Thursday morning, eating breakfast in the car. After three hours of driving we stopped at at the Chancellorsville battle site in Virginia, to see the spot where Stonewall Jackson was shot. There was a monument in his honor, and a small interpretive center describing the battle.

 

The monument reads "On this spot fell mortally wounded Thomas J. Jackson".

"There is Jackson standing like a stone wall bee at Manassas."

We got back in the car for the approximately 50 mile drive to D.C.--which took over two hours due to traffic! We were happy to finally reach the city, and do a drive by of a few of the monuments--"Look, there's the Washington Monument! There is the Jefferson!" After a little navigating we finally found a place to park, near the museum of the American Indian. We looked around the first floor and used the restroom, then moved on.

Making scary faces in front of a totem pole.

We headed up to the Capitol, stopping at the Ulysses S. Grant memorial on the way.

The Grant Memorial

The United States Capitol Building

Jared and the kids briefly went in the Capitol visitors center, while I stayed outside with the stroller.

The mold of the statue on top of the Capitol

Next we went to the Library of Congress, since we couldn't pass up seeing the world's largest library. It was very beautiful and ornate inside.

 The Library of Congress

  

 The interior of the Library of Congress

There was a Gutenberg Bible on display (weren't allowed to take photos of it), and we also came upon a room in tribute to George and Ira Gershwin.

Back outside we passed the Supreme Court. It was amusing to see that they had covered up the remodeling work being done with a screen covering that looked like the building. From a distance, your photos would appear authentic.

After a little more walking we happened upon the Canadian embassy, a nice surprise for me.

Then we crossed the street to enter the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The kids enjoyed the "How Things Fly" discovery room. The Wright Flyer was interesting to see and learn about (they have the original flyer on display). There really was so much to see, but by this time of day the kids were pretty tired. We made it back to our car and found our way out of D.C. We stayed in a hotel in Sterling, VA, about 45 minutes from D.C. (although in good traffic and taking an express way we could do the trip in about 25 minutes). It was very near the Dulles airport.

The Bell X-1 that was the first manned plane to break the sound barrier.

Zach in front of the Wright's plane.

Lily in front of an Apollo suit worn on the moon

The Spirit of St. Louis - Charles Lindberg's plane.

A replica of the Hubble Space Telescope - it's much bigger than I imagined.

In front of the Apollo suit still dirty from the moon.

Our three-year-old boy Zach

We've got a three -year-old boy in the house!

 

Zach is such a sweet little boy. He loves to play with anything that goes: cars, trains, airplanes, etc. He likes blue because "Thomas is blue". He likes doing puzzles and drawing letter Z's. He plays nicely with his big sisters and loves to be with them. He talks a lot, leaving off a lot of the letters at the beginning of words (spoon is "poon" and asleep is "peep"). 

We had a simple birthday celebration for our cute boy. He was thrilled to discover presents for him. 

 A new pigeon book and Lego Star Wars movie.

 He really likes "piderman", so he was excited for his very own spiderman umbrella.

 Working on new dinosaur puzzles.

In the afternoon we went to the park to play with friends and share cupcakes.

We are thankful for this wonderful boy in our family!

Spring and Easter

The dogwood trees are blooming with beautiful white blossoms, and spring is beautiful in North Carolina!

Here are the kids in their new spring outfits.

 

We had a lovely Easter weekend. Friday afternoon we had a fun little egg hunt with our friends/neighbors the Tarrant family. There was over 100 eggs for 6 kids to find, so everyone got a good stash.

Saturday we colored our hard boiled eggs. Oops, no pictures. :(

Sunday we had nice meetings at church. In the evening we were invited to share Easter dinner with our Bishop's family (along with 3 other couples and 2 singles from our ward). It was a nice group and we had a lovely time.

There was an egg hunt for the kids before dinner. To make it a little more challenging each egg was labelled with a child's initial, so the kids had to find their particular eggs. It balanced out the challenge for the older kids with the younger kids, and I'll have to remember that idea for next year.

If you look at the photo closely, you will notice...chickens! The Kelsey's had about 6-8 chickens that just happily wander around the yard. They were funny to watch.

Exploring the Eno

Saturday was beautiful in Durham, so we took a few hours to explore the Eno River (again).

 The mighty hikers with their walking sticks.

 The turtles were enjoying the sun, too!

 Beautiful smile on a beautiful girl.

 The river at the end of winter.

Pullen Park

One saturday in January, we spent a few hours in Raleigh. 

We stopped at the temple.

Then we made a trip to Pullen Park (it's been on my "North Carolina to visit" list ever since we moved here).

We were enticed by the $1 train ride, which turned out to be pretty decent and the kids loved it. 

We were happy to discover a fun playground as well. 

 

Then we all enjoyed a visit with the local birds and a walk around the lake.

Hello, Andy Griffith!