Washington DC Trip

With Jeff having some time off, and not having much time left here before it’s time to move, we decided to take a little vacation to Washington DC to do some more sight-seeing. Fortunately with it being the holidays, we were able to book a hotel for really cheap. We took off Monday morning and spent most of our day in DC visiting the Air & Space Museum, one we haven’t seen yet. There are actually two museums, one right in downtown DC near all the other Smithsonian’s, but there was enough material in this particular subject that they opened up another part of the museum away from the city. This is the one that we visited and it was definitely a hit!

Matthew in the little museum restaurant- we took our lunches in to eat them there. I was coming back after getting something, and this is what he did when he saw me through the glass windows- he's so funny.

All three of the boys were in heaven! This is a museum that they could spend the entire day visiting. There were so many airplanes, rockets, jets, helicopters, etc that it takes at least 2 hours to walk quickly through the museum. We loved being able to see everything and read brief descriptions about when they were used, where they were made, accomplishments, and other fun facts.

There were many favorites for everyone, and it would have been fun to stay even longer, but eventually the museum had to close. I was also glad we made it through the whole experience without anyone touching/breaking anything- although there was the one time where we looked over to see Matthew sitting in a little roped-off golf cart type car that museum workers would use to drive around. We got him out before anyone noticed, but I did think it was kind of funny to see him- he just loves things that drive!

After the museum we went to get some dinner. Normally we’ll pack food or get something at the grocery store, anything cheap, but this time we decided to do something fun and go to a restaurant. We had a Texas Roadhouse right next to our hotel, and they had a deal for early dinner so we were able to get dinner for the whole family with taxes, tip & everything for $29. Still a little bit of a splurge, but we never go out to eat as a family and it was fun to take the kids- they were great and sure enjoyed it.

It was nice to be able to go right next door to the hotel afterwards. After getting the kids in pajamas, we played games-UNO is our latest favorite, and then got everyone ready for bed.

Tuesday, we had breakfast at the hotel and then packed up and headed for the temple. I’m not sure what it was, construction or something, but a drive that should only have taken about 35 minutes, ended up taking almost 2 hours. We had hoped to see some more museums after we each went through a temple session, but we didn’t have time. Either way, we were glad we could make it to the temple. Jeff went through the temple first while the boys and I enjoyed time in the visitor’s center (I mainly just tried to keep Matthew from touching all the display Christmas trees). Then I did a session afterwards while Jeff took the boys to play at a McDonalds and walked around the outdoor displays at the temple. By the time I came out, it was dark so we were able to see all the beautiful lights around the temple. We would have headed downtown DC, but at that point it was just too late- all the museums close at 5:30, so we headed home. I was grateful for the chance to go as a family, and as always, enjoyed a drive home with Jeff & the kids. Even though it was a quick trip, it was a fun one with some good memories.