First Week's Adventures

My mom had never been to Washington DC before so since she and Kurt were helping me with the flight out here, they decided to stay and vacation for a week.  It was so fun to have them out here for our first week!

Their hotel was in Dupont Circle, close to all the action and right on the Red Line of the Metro.  The boys and I traveled into downtown via the Red Line several times to meet up with them for sightseeing.  Getting from Kensington to downtown was relatively easy once I got the hang of it, but I was glad they were around this first week to help me navigate the city. 

Below are some of the adventures we had together this week - mostly during the day while Steve was at work:

Sunday evening after resting up a bit, we all headed into the city for dinner in Dupont Circle and a quick tour of Steve's building which is just one block from the Capitol.  It was neat to see the Capitol all lit up at night.

On Monday, the boys and I met up with my mom and Kurt for a picnic on The Mall and a visit to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  The boys were very tired that day so there was quite a lot of whining and fighting, but they still enjoyed seeing all of the planes and rocket ships.  They especially loved the plane that they could sit in and "fly."

On Tuesday, my mom and Kurt came over to our house in Kensington.  My great aunt, great uncle, and second cousin heard that we were all in town and drove over from Annapolis to have lunch with us at our home.  It was a quick visit but really nice to see them and introduce the boys to them.

On Wednesday, we headed back into downtown for a visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.  The boys especially loved the dinosaur exhibit, the bones, and the insect zoo.  There is a TON more to see at that museum so we will definitely be going back there a few more times this summer. 

On Thursday, the boys and I stayed in Kensington and went to a park just down the street from our house.  It felt good to have a low-key day.  Later that night, we met a bunch of our neighbors while playing outside.  There is a five-year-old boy across the street that Jonah already loves (they spent that first evening in his backyard catching lightning bugs!) and a three-year-old girl next door who will make a perfect playmate for the twins.  We are so thankful for neighbor kids for our boys to play with this summer.

Friday was a bit of a marathon day.  First, we drove into Arlington, Virginia where we boarded a riverboat for a "Pirate Cruise" on the Potomac River.  The pirate aspect of the boat ride was a bit cheesy for the adults...but it was SO FUN for the boys.  They loved getting a bag of pirate treasure (trinkets).  And, the ride on the river was truly beautiful.

Next, decided to make a spontaneous trip over to Mt. Vernon (George Washington's mansion) which is just 10 miles from Alexandria.  We were one seat short in the old Volvo station wagon we are renting for the summer, so Kurt laid down in the back hatch portion of the car...a bit illegal but we felt daring enough to try it (though we hoped that no one in a truck or van passing by would think we had a kidnapped victim in the back of our car)!  Unfortunately, the air conditioner went out on the Volvo halfway to Mt. Vernon (and it was a hot, hot day) so Kurt was a puddle of sweat by the time we got there.

That night my mom and Kurt watched the boys so Steve and I could have a date night (we celebrate our 13th anniversary on Monday!).  We're hoping that wasn't the only date night we will have all summer, but it very well could have been.

On Saturday morning, we went to the Kensington Farmer's Market and then to our public library which is just one block from our house.  The boys were thrilled to pick up some new books and DVDs and I felt like a real "local" with my Montgomery County library card.  That afternoon, we were sad to see my mom and Kurt off at the airport.  We are going to miss them a lot.

Today is the first time I'm feeling a little homesick.  Maybe it's because we're now all alone.  Or maybe it's because it's Father's Day and it feels weird to be away from friends and family on a holiday.  Either way, it's going to take a little while to get used to our new lifestyle on the east coast.  In celebration of Father's Day, we saw Toy Story 3 earlier today...something that seems so leisurely and probably not something that we could have ever done at home with our busy schedules.  So despite feeling a little homesick, I'm so thankful for the precious family time that we are getting this summer.  (and by the way...the movie is excellent - go see it!)

Hugs to all and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!