D.C. and back again.....this is very long so get comfortable

Okay so we made it! I worried much about nothing as usual. The airplanes did not crash and we made it to D.C. and back to Utah alive. We had such a blast! I can't even describe how badly we needed this vacation, but it saved us in many ways. We did tons of walking, sight seeing, sweating, and eating. Vacations are great but it is nice to finally be home. It put a much needed smile on my face (after a 3 1/2 hour lay over in Texas, and a 2 1/2 hour flight) to pull up to our house and see the roses had bloomed and everything was still in one piece. We took millions of pictures but I'll just share some of my favorites from each day.

We had a little bit of drama Wednesday night before we left. Olivia was up until 2:30 crying because she couldn't stop coughing and had a runny nose. I was crying right along with her, I had know idea what we were going to do. Luckily she was okay Thursday morning (though extremely tired) and right when the airplane started she was asleep. So I guess her being up the night before turned out to be a blessing. She was sleeping pretty much the whole flight. And she did well every flight we had. I had my moments when I was thinking about our funerals and everyone we would leave behind but I was brave and survived. We did arrive in D.C. on Thursday afternoon but we didn't take any pictures that day. We were too tired and basically got dinner and went to bed.

Friday was a busy day. We had a welcoming ceremony type thing that we went to in the morning. It was actually kind of neat to see how many Interstate Batteries there are all over the country. And even now in different countries. Cody's office won an award for the most specialty batteries sold which was pretty cool. Of course I forgot my camera so I didn't get pictures of that but it was cool. Later that day we went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. That was so awesome! It is so big and so much to do. We were there for a few hours and didn't see hardly anything. We then had a dinner with all the Utah people. That was delicious! Then we decided to go see all the memorials. Because we heard they were neat to see in the dark. They were beautiful and I enjoyed it much, much more then I ever imagined I would. The Lincoln memorial was my favorite. I've always been fascinated with Lincoln and seeing that memorial was just so unreal. All the memorials really made me so grateful for those who have fought for our country. It was a very long day! We didn't get back to the hotel until 11:30. We were all exhausted. My feet have never hurt so bad. But it was worth it.



Here we are at the Smithsonian. There is a elephant about to walk over us but he didn't make it in the picture.
T-REX!!!!
The Hope Diamond. I wanted to bring this home but they wouldn't let me. This picture doesn't do it any justice.
Olivia picking out her rocks.
The Washington Monument & Reflection Pond.

We have about 25 pictures of Lincoln. And pictures don't do him justice either. I was so surprised at how big this monument was. I have seen it so many times on TV or movies but in real life it is huge. About as tall as our house.

This is the WWII memorial. It is beautiful. Olivia was really upset that I wouldn't let her swim in the water.

Alright so if you are bored already I'm extremely sorry because that was just the first day. And I left out millions of pictures. Saturday we decided to go to Arlington and watch the changing of the guard. This was by far the hottest day I have ever experienced in my 27 years. I think it was only 85 degrees but the humidity had to be at least 80% it was miserable. I can't believe that the guards have to stand in that sun in full uniform like they do. It gave me a new found respect. They did a wreath ceremony while we were there which included playing taps. That brought me to tears it was so beautiful. After we survived the heat we got cleaned up and went to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum for a big party. Interstate rented out the building for us and we had lots of good food and got to walk around. Once again we were there for a few hours and didn't get all the way through.

Pictures of the party at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. I warned you this would be a long post!

The Wright Brothers Plane


Okay moving on to Sunday! Sunday we had a nice brunch then we decided to go to the National Zoo. It was HUGE! I have only been to little Hogle Zoo. And this was so big! We were there all day and we missed a big section of animals. But it was a lot of fun.


Notice the crusty on Olivia's face?? She was convinced this bear was hers. Anytime another kid tried to touch the bear she would yell "NO MINE!! NO, NO, KIDS!" She through a fit when we had to move on.


I know I didn't include a lot of pictures of the animals. But Olivia is fun to look at. If you want to see more animal pictures come to my house I'd be happy to do a slide show. Kacy I know how much you love my slide shows!!

Okay I swear I am almost done. But hasn't this been educational? Monday we made our way to the White House. That was really cool to see in person as well. We were also there when a motorcade stormed into the gates. We got that on video if anyone is interested. We went back to the Smithsonian Natural History to see more things. Then that night we had a huge farewell party at the hotel. They had impersonators Tina Turner and Dolly Parton. They could've been the real thing as far as I was concerned. I was screaming and dancing. Olivia was singing and clapping with me. It was awesome! Olivia also had fun dancing with the kids.

Okay so you are probably thinking...What does this picture have to do with The White House? Well nothing actually. But I think Olivia looks beautiful in it. This was by far the hardest day for her. She had just finished throwing a major tantrum and Cody snapped this picture. Makes you think she's incapable of throwing fits doesn't it?
The Giraffe at the Smithsonian. Olivia was terrified. She thought all the animals were real and about to eat us for dinner.
She is looking at the Polar Bear above her. Holding daddy tight because she didn't want Polar Bear to get her. She didn't seem to notice the big bear behind her. I told Cody to act like he was scared and he said that was lame. Oh well this works.

Now The PARTY!!!! YIPEEEEEEE!!! We are almost done folks!

Olivia & Cody swing dancing.
This picture didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped for. But it still makes me giggle.
Tina singing her heart out. She didn't say anything but I'm sure I was the inspiration for her performance.
Dolly saying goodbye. She sang "I will always love you" just for me. I just know it.

Well if you made it through I am impressed. I will be quizzing everyone so I hope you were paying attention.