Washington D.C. Highlights and Lowlights

I've just uploaded some photos to share with you from our D.C. trip.  Unfortunately, we missed the cherry blossoms.  In fact, I think the festival still went on without them blooming!

We visited Georgetown one afternoon.  During our stroll down "M" street, we ran into Georgetown Cupcake.  I said to Grace, "Look at this cute little cupcake shop!"  In unison, my kids said, "Mom!  It's DC cupcakes!~you know the show on TV?"  I guess I have heard of it, but I have never seen it, so I didn't put two and two together!  Grace is holding a book.... one of her highlights was visiting a used bookstore in Georgetown with her Dad.  They like to go to used bookstores together on their "one on one dates".

After we crossed the street, I realized just how long the line was to get into Georgetown Cupcake.  Look how far back it goes!



Highlight for the boys? Stores like Kickkspot , where they could drool over shoes.  I never dreamt my boys would be so into shoes and clothes.  Just look at how their faces lit up!

We drove past the Washington Monument...

 

Grace wanted to try her hand at editing photos, so she experimented with the next one.  She did a pretty good job, don't you think?

We went to the Zoo which was free.  We were disappointed that we didn't get to see the panda bears, but we did see a Cassowary bird...

We sat there staring at this bird for the longest time.  And it sat there staring at us.  It is so odd.  Like a mix between a pterodactyl and a very large turkey. Its head was a brilliant blue...

A Lowlight of the trip was the international spy museum.  We were all less than impressed.  And, it was a big waste of about $75.00

I was secretly wishing I would stumble upon a unique little boutique in Georgetown, or a fun upscale resale/consignment or thrift shop.  The closest I got (which was not very close) was Anthropologie.  But, I do love that store...mostly for the housewares.

This magnolia tree was in bloom.  It is magnolia, right?!       Simply Beautiful.

On Easter Sunday we went to church near the Washington D.C. temple.  So, after church, we went to go see it.  It is closed on Sundays, but we took lots of pictures.  I used to have a picture of it in my bedroom when I was a little girl growing up in the west.  I always dreamed of going there, and thought that it was too far away, and that I would never get to see it.

 Little did I know that I would one day grow up and raise my family nearby.  I found this photo that I took of my kids when they were little in front of it...

Look how they've grown!

        It is amazing to me how tall this temple is in person.  The spires seem to disappear into the sky.

As we walked back to the car, I realized how much my boys had grown.  I knew I had to capture the moment so that I could always remember them when they were 13 and 16.  They are such good boys.  Ryan has keys in his hand.  He has his drivers permit and is working towards his license.  He needed highway miles, so he actually drove all the way to D.C. and back.  We got stuck in Baltimore traffic on the way home, so it took us about 4 1/2 hours to get home, and he drove the entire time...  No stopping!

We enjoyed a tour of Ford's Theatre...If there is one person I would really like to meet after I die, it is Abe Lincoln.  :)  I loved learning all about him when we lived in Kentucky and Indiana.  Did you know that he has no living descendants?  His family tree no longer sprouts new growth.

I really wanted to take the kids to the holocaust museum, but they book up months in advance.  (Unless you want to start standing in line at 8:30 in the morning and the museum opens at 10:00.)  So, we will go there another time.  It was a fun, memorable trip.