We had so much fun going to stay with my cousin Matthew and his wife Corie in DC a couple of weeks ago.
They live in an amazing condo right next to the (National) Mall, so we just took the elevator downstairs, crossed the street and had museums galore all around. Here are some of the rooftop views. Amazing, right?
Zoomed in picture of the Washington Monument:
We were only there for a couple of days, but we squeezed a lot into the trip and had a great time. Get ready for
lots of pictures because that's how I roll. :)
On the way home from church on Sunday we drove around to see the White House, a ton of embassies, various statues, etc. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. The kids loved playing with their cousins Carolyn and Claire. The girls were very sweet about sharing their toys. Kevin was excited to play with this train
all day Sunday.
Elena wanted to be a mini-mommy to Claire.
Monday was museum day. We went to the Museum of Natural History first. Taking a picture from below is not the best idea for someone whose due date is only one month away, but we wanted the elephant in the picture. :)
I asked them to pretend to be scared of the T. Rex and this is what I got:
One of their favorite things at the museum was this seating area that doubled as a slide. :)
Then we strolled over to the Air and Space Museum. The weather was amazing by the way. This is the Spirit of St Louis and SpaceShipOne.
Apollo 11 command module:
A hands-on area that the kids really liked:
Next, the 2 year olds went home for a late nap, and Elena and I had a Mommy-Daughter date at the National Gallery of Art. She was very excited to see some paintings by Monet and Degas since both of those artists are featured in a Fancy Nancy book. We also got to see Picasso, Renoir, Seurat, and others. I loved sharing this with her. I remember my mom teaching me a lot about art when I was little too.
Tuesday, Dan and I were able to go to the temple. It was beautiful of course. We hadn't been back to the DC temple together (we were married there) since our 1 year anniversary.
Matt and Corie were awesome and they took all 4 kids to the Natural History museum to see a butterfly exhibit that is only free on Tuesdays. How great is that?! Elena and Kevin had a fantastic time and love playing with the polished rocks that they got at the gift shop. After a late lunch on Tuesday, we headed home and somehow didn't get stuck in traffic. Thanks, Matthew and Corie for EVERYTHING!
Here's our 3 carseats in 1 car. Not what we had planned, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Hopefully we'll be able to get a used minivan before the summer. Otherwise, I'll be home-bound a lot. Dan's car doesn't have AC, and it's pretty unbearable here without it. So he'll need to use the Camry.
This is my friend Shelby's new baby. Anne. Isn't she beautiful? She looks a lot like her oldest (Laurel) did when she was born. I love living close to Shelby again. I'll be so bummed this summer when they move.
The kids' Valentine's Day party! We had a great time at the Stubbs house. They hosted the preschool group and the local homeschool group, so we had plenty for a great party. The food was amazing. I think brunch should be an official meal each day. Why is it reserved for special occasions?
Crafting at the party:
The kids (and Dan) love building with Duplos and Legos. It is so much fun to see them create different things - usually vehicles of some sort. It looks like Bethany -in the background- was building with them on this particular day.
Here is a picture from Elena's little dance class at the rec center here. She's the one closest to the camera. The class is only 6 weeks and Thursday is the last week. They're doing a little demonstration of all that they've learned, and I'll have to miss it because I'm getting induced on Wednesday. I've asked my parents and sister to go and document it for me. 
Big smile!
