Spring Break in Washington, D.C.

For spring break this year we took the kids to Washington.
Both the kids got really involved this year with the whole
election so they were excited to see the Whitehouse.
Jarren wanted to see where Lincoln was shot, and after
being told by his Grandpa Jackson that we have an ancestor
who signed the declaration of independence, he couldn't wait
to see that either.

Since Marc was already at the Masters down in Georgia, the

kids and I drove out all by ourselves and stayed an hour out
from the airport in Baltimore. They rode great for me! After
picking Marc up the next morning we headed to D.C. and
had a beautiful day to walk the Mall and see all the monuments.

At Jefferson we got in the paddle boats in the tidal basin. We all
got to wear those really cute orange life vests, even Marc. This
is where I would have inserted a picture of Marc in his vest
(fat guy in a little life vest) but I think he would have filed for divorce the next day! It was nearly impossible to even get the picture

-he kept blocking my shot! The kids each took a turn or two on
doing the peddles with Marc. With Marc doing most the work
we cut our hour of time short and headed in after 25 minutes
or so.

Many of the cherry blossoms were still out for us when we
arrived. We came at the end of the festival.






















On the walk past the reflection pool Reese stopped many
times to play and talk to the ducks. This pair was very close
to the edge and she was able to sit right down and talk with them
and then they noticed the leaf in her hand so she started moving
it up and down. I said to Marc they are going to get her, she is
getting too close. And sure enough it bit her. As you can see in
the picture Jarren thought it was the funniest thing!



This picture is at the new WW2 memorial. It was very pretty
with the fountains. A totally different atmosphere compared to the
very quiet, sad surroundings over at the Vietnam memorial.
I had to take this picture quick before they noticed me. They are at the
age when if they know the camera is out, the goofy faces come out too.






We took a DC Duck tour one afternoon. This is the
actual WW2 (or was it WW1) amphibian GM vehicle. We didn't
tell the kids before hand that we would be driving the truck
right into the Potomac river. Jarren pretty much figured it
out, but Reese was shocked and really enjoyed it when we took
a right and headed down the ramp to the water. She even got
a turn to drive the boat/truck in the river. On the way back
they passed out these (very annoying!!) duck quackers! The
kids love them, and it is great fun on the tour, but afterwards
they could drive you NUTS. The guide tells all the kids they
aren't allowed to do their quackers in hotels, or cars.

On Saturday we hiked it again around town -in the rain. We walked miles and miles and miles on this trip. We hit the museum in the morning and once they overflowed with people trying to
get out of the rain we went back out into it. We walked to Ford
theater, only to find we couldn't get in that day. And then we
hoofed it down to the whitehouse. They were setting up outside
for the Easter Egg Roll while we were out there. I thought to late
to check for tickets to this. This was the first year they were

available online, but they probably went fast. We missed
out. As we headed back to the hotel late that afternoon, cold and
oh so wet, the sun tried to peak out and the rain cleared up. So
we headed to China town for dinner later that night. Which was
an experience in itself. Cops everywhere. A kid in handcuffs.
My kids got to experience real city life. We even rode the subway
which makes me paranoid as all get out. I refused to touch the
railings, and bars as much as possible I was really grossed out, not
to mention the scary people you can run into down underground.

The last day, Easter, was beautiful. A little cold when the wind picked

up but nonetheless, a perfect day for the zoo. Reese couldn't wait to see the Giant Pandas. When we got to the zoo Jarren was pouting because
the zoo is so boring. But after looking at the alligators, komodo dragon
and then the giant pandas crunching on bamboo trees he turned and told me sorry for saying that because this is a lot of fun. Following the Panda
viewing, Reese made her way to the Panda store where she wanted
everything, but came away with a mini Panda stuffed animal, a
Panda backpack, and the panda ear headband, of course. She was thrilled!