Washington DC in 2003

Danielle and Brooke just outside of the Lincoln Memorial;

Looking toward the Washington Monument and the then under construction WWII Memorial.

I keep thinking of the DC trip my parents took us on right after I finished high school. It was May of 2003. I was 18; the Iraq war had just begun.

Noteworthy experiences included:

1) Watching the supreme court render a decision. We saw all the justices in their robes. For a young woman full of dreams and ideals seeing Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bater Ginsberg in person was incredible.

2) Watching the annual PBS concert and fireworks at the US Capitol on Memorial Day eve. We'd watched it on TV a bazillion times and now we were there. It was a bit rainy but Lonestar preformed (Danielle and I were freaking out) and the capitol building served as our backdrop. Very cool.

3) Tours of the library of congress and the capitol (among others) were the most memorable along with a visit to the Smithsonian American History Museum. I think my parents had to drag me out of there....

The three of us with Mr. Lincoln

Washington Monument

Danielle, Brooke, and I at the White House

Danielle and I at the White House again...

Iwo Jima Memorial; the three tiny girls in the middle are us

Brooke and I

Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day--every headstone had a flag

The FDR Memorial/Park

I really liked this one even though it is often overlooked because it isn't a monument

Me on the steps of the Supreme Court building...maybe someday...

A lovely photo of us...near the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland?

I'm not sure just how my Mom pulled this off, we saw and did so many things! Thanks to Mom and Von for giving us such a wonderful trip. I remember it fondly.

Arlington National Cemetery

The next stop was Arlington National Cemetery. We opted for the tour mobile. I remember having a good experience with that when my family went. It was a little more cumbersome with the stroller but better than walking up some of those steep hills.

Lincoln Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery

Willie and his Meghan with almost matching sweaters

H1N1 anyone?

We saw where the Kennedy's were buried and noted the new spot for Ted Kennedy. It was interesting to live in Massachusetts when he died. I didn't realize what a public figure he was; I think we heard about everything from his legislation and public service--all the good coupled with the bad and ugly.

Changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

This is an impressive ceremony but even more significant in that it represents all of the fallen unknowns. Since I'd already seen it I was able to read a bit more about the history and how an unknown was chosen from each war to honor and bury here.

Brad, Meghan, and William watching intently

Does William have red hair? I'd say it is brown/auburn but I've gotten many "oh look at that cute red head" comments as we've been out and about. Thoughts?

Meghan and Deidre

The headstones are placed so that any way you choose to look they are perfectly in line.

Another shot of Meghan

I would have liked to finish the tour but the lines for the bus were long, the boys were tired, and we were hungry so we made our way back to the car. They didn't even make it that long!

Sleeping boys

Iwo Jima Monument

We made it to a 9 am sacrament meeting in a brand new building nearby. We regrouped then headed down to DC for a few more sights in the mini-van this time. Much more comfortable than smashing 5 of us into our car!

David sporting a Pooh Disney World hat, a monkey neck roll, (we thought he'd fall asleep--WRONG!), and the snap on soft high chair tray we bought for the trip. The last was a WONDERFUL product. A flat space to vroom cars and eat snacks...

A lovely WARM November day. It was humbling to walk around the statue. Since Brad will be in the Navy I notice him appreciating these things more and more.

A tiny Brad and Deidre on the left

This statue is based on a photograph taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima in WWII. In the photograph there were five Marines and a Navy Corpsmen raising the United States flag. This photo became a symbol of the war and wikipedia mentions that is possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time. It is fitting that a monument was made out this famous picture.

I vividly remember sitting in Mr. Carpenter's class a student teacher. He was teaching his AP US History students about WWII. As part of the lesson he recounted the stories of each man in the photograph/statue both during the war and afterward. The room was silent as the students realized how costly fighting a war was; not just to a nation but to individuals and families. I remember feeling that I'd learned two lessons that day. One about why I love studying history and those that have gone before and another about the kind of teacher I hope to be someday.

David and William enjoying themselves.

This is typical, David being the clown and William being upset by David banging on his head. (I think.)

The inscription reads "Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue"

Meghan enjoying the sunny day.

Much happier when big brother is out of the stroller.

A tiny Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Capitol building seen from the bell tower near the Iwo Jima monument. DC is so beautiful. It seems that from every monument and memorial you can see another.

Monuments by Night

Thanks to Meghan we had a lovely date night in DC. We started with dinner at a Salvadoran place in Leesburg. Brad decided it was the best Salvadoran food he's had in the sates. That is quite a compliment because it was the 5th place we've tried since his mission.

Lincoln Memorial

Mr. Linclon was sure impressive, especially by night. You don't realize just how big he is until you are up close. An interesting fact that ties the statue to Boston--Lousia May Alcott's sister tutored Daniel Chester French who went on to create this likeness of Abraham Lincoln.

A view of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial by night

Jefferson Memorial

Brad in front of the Washington Monument

We saw the "new" WWI memorial. They were building that when I visited in 2003.

Being dorky and taking photos next to every state we've lived in...

Massachusetts

Utah

Arizona

A view of the fountains

Brad made sure to stop and read every plaque, he really felt a sense of reverence at this last stop. We both had a good time walking to one monument and then looking back toward another in the distance. On the drive home we got as close as we could to the White House and the Supreme Court building. Washington DC is one of those places that is never done...always more to see! Someday we will return.

The Ferry Setting

The "Over the River and Through the Woods" portion for you avid readers (are there any?) Most GPS systems have a little setting called ferry. There are only three ways to cross the Patomic by bridge. Even after a hearty warning from Meghan about her experience of driving up to the "small piece of floating cardboard" and turning around we ended up here...

White's Ferry

It was really quaint

We decided the ferry was more like floating corrugated tin...

The boys liked riding on the boat.

Equipped with life jackets just in case.

Somehow I don't think this was anything like the ferry ride I wanted in Seattle this summer! But you may want to turn the "ferry" setting off on your GPS. There is just no telling where it will take you.

Girlfriends

How could we pass up an opportunity to get together?

Shannon, Deidre, Meghan

Thanksgiving Weekend 2009

Outside some Chick-fil-a in Maryland

(sans two husbands and four children)

Meghan, Shannon, Deidre

Fall 2002

Brian (Shannon's brother) came home from his mission so we all got together once more!

Deidre, Shannon, Meghan

Summer 2002

Singles Mud Activity (it was fun--don't ask)

Shannon doesn't live too far from Meghan. We couldn't resist the chance to catch up and meet the brand new baby girl.

Air and Space & Natural History

Our next stop was the air and space museum. I think Brad has dreamed about seeing this one for along time...but he was even more excited to see his cousin Josh. Josh, his wife Stephanie, and their two boys live in Williamsburg and drove more than two hours to meet up with us.

The space stuff was probably the coolest...

I was really partial to the WWII exhibit. This is a replica of the underground where the British hid during raids. Below are different types of friendly and enemy aircraft depending on which side is yours. :)

Brad and Josh (along with Will) at the Natural History Museum

Don't they look related?

We didn't realize the museums would be so crowded today, I think it might have been worse than black Friday shopping. We couldn't find a table at a very large two level McDonald's inside of the air and space museum. Often there were just too many people to successfully push the stroller through the exhibits or even learn and read about things. Tragic. We need to go back, you could spend a whole week at all of the different Smithsonian Museums.

It was wonderful to catch up with Josh and Stephanie and see their two little boys.