On Saturday, we headed to Mount Vernon to see where George Washington lived. The weather was great: a little chilly in the morning, but perfect with the sun out. We took our time and enjoyed it.
In the evening, we put the kids down for bed and the Broughs had a neighbor friend come over to sit with the kids while we went into the city for a night tour. First, we had dinner at a yummy Thai restaurant called Po Siam in Alexandria (I could eat yellow curry everyday, I think) and then we went to get frozen custard at The Dairy Godmother (I had pumpkin...it was delicious). After that, we did a (mostly) walking tour of the monuments at night. It was great!
On Sunday morning, we got our things together and left for Charlotte. We had a great trip and were so grateful for all of the hospitality. Unfortunately, we failed to get any pictures of Rachel and Regan or their cute son, Ethan. A special thanks to them, though, for our great weekend!
In the evening, we put the kids down for bed and the Broughs had a neighbor friend come over to sit with the kids while we went into the city for a night tour. First, we had dinner at a yummy Thai restaurant called Po Siam in Alexandria (I could eat yellow curry everyday, I think) and then we went to get frozen custard at The Dairy Godmother (I had pumpkin...it was delicious). After that, we did a (mostly) walking tour of the monuments at night. It was great!
On Sunday morning, we got our things together and left for Charlotte. We had a great trip and were so grateful for all of the hospitality. Unfortunately, we failed to get any pictures of Rachel and Regan or their cute son, Ethan. A special thanks to them, though, for our great weekend!
The kids running around the bowling green in front of the mansion.
A tulip poplar planted by George Washington in 1785. Isn't it amazing? Picture credits go to Brian.
We happened to be there on a "special event" day and one of the things they had going on was these 18th century games. This particular game is called "Graces". We also went on a hayride.
As we were relaxing on the Mount Vernon hillside, I decided to have Wes take a picture of Brian and me. This was his first attempt. In his defense, it was a Canon Rebel, which is quite heavy for a 3-year-old.
Not a bad second attempt. Can you tell we were looking directly into the sun? :)
Pretty Sydney with a beautiful view.
The kids running around while Brian and I relaxed. It was fabulous.
Brian and the kids testing out the chairs.
Family picture with the beautiful view.
Family picture with mansion in the background.
There is a really great museum at Mount Vernon. In this picture, you can see the T-square that was used to lay the cornerstone of the Capitol Building.
Halfway through the museum, there is a hands-on area for children where they can play, color, and dress up. I think Sydney looked pretty sweet in this white dress.
Here we are representing G.W.'s family. He married a widow, Martha Custiss who had two children, Jacky and Patsy, from her previous marriage. I didn't realize that she and George never had children of their own, thus, George Washington has no blood descendants. Interesting.
Creative: Showing the President's Cabinet on display as a cabinet.
A view of Washington Memorial and the Capitol from Lincoln Memorial. Again, picture credits to Brian.
The lighting is horrible thanks to the flash, but here's the proof that we were there!
When you go to the World War II Memorial, you can look up people who served in the war. This is my Grandpa Swensen. Pretty awesome. Thanks for serving for our freedom, Grandpa! (Brian's grandpas both served our country as well...a heartfelt thanks to them also. We're lucky kids.)
The WWII Memorial all lit up. It's really beautiful.
