Washington, D.C. Day 6

A N'oreaster was expected to move in and so we headed to the airport area early.  Since the Udvar Hazy Museum was next to the airport, we headed there.

Great photo of Zach

The Under Armour Crew

The Discovery Space Shuttle had just been installed in the museum earlier this year.  It was amazing to be so close to one of the original orbiters!

The flight home was fairly empty so everyone had their own row.  They returned home tired, but happy!

Washington, D.C. Day 5

The boys spent the morning sleeping in, enjoying the Embassy Suites breakfast, and swimming while I was at my conference.  When they picked me up, they were ready to hit the pavement.

Our first stop was the American History Museum.  We saw the Star Spangled Banner, the President's exhibit, and the Americans at War exhibit.

We trekked to the Old Post Office Pavilion for dinner and to take the ride to the top for the view of Washington, D.C.  It was soooo cold up there!

There was nowhere near enough time to see the Museum of Natural History before they closed, but we tried to see as much as we could.

Our last stop of the evening was at the Marine Corps Memorial.  My grandfather fought at Iwo Jima so this one always has special meaning to me.

It was election night in America, so we headed back to the hotel to watch the results come in.

Washington, D.C. Day 4

Tuesday we were able to wear out the boys.  I had planned a day at the International Spy Museum for them.  They would tour the museum, do a mission inside the museum, and then venture out and do a mission in the city on foot.  By the time they picked me up from my conference that evening, they were ready to stay in the hotel for the evening.

Wolf, MJ, and Zach with their Spy Museum Guide.

Their city mission led them to Ford's Theatre where President Lincoln was shot.

Solving the clues

Washington, D.C. Day 3

Sunday morning I had to attend my conference.  Jayson took the boys to Arlington Cemetery for the tour.  They were able to see many of the memorials there, as well as the Changing of the Guard.  They took video, but no still pictures.  When I finished at my conference we were ready for a late lunch, however Gadsby's was closing for a private party.  This is a little tavern in Alexandria that George Washington himself used to frequent.

We decided on Cedar Knoll instead on the scenic drive to Mount Vernon.

Wolf, MJ, and Zach with Mount Vernon in the background.

We next visited the National Archives to see the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

The next stop was the White House.  This was the Sunday before the presidential election.

We went back to the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Wall that evening.

Jayson, Zach, MJ, and Wolf at the Vietnam Memorial.

Washington, D.C. Days 1 & 2

We took Zach and Wolf, as well as my nephew MJ to Washington, DC the first week of November.  MJ and Wolf are both in eighth grade, they year they have their school trip.  But after looking at the itinerary and cost, we decided the trip would be more fun with the three boys together.  

We flew Southwest Airlines Friday night after school.  We stayed at the Embassy Suites Chevy Chase Pavillion that was undergoing some renovation.  We had a smaller room the first night, and then were upgraded the next day to a sizeable room.  

Saturday morning our first stop was to Washington National Cathedral.  It was still under renovation from the earthquake from which it sustained substantial damage.  Zach, Wolf, and MJ

MJ & Wolf with Abraham Lincoln inside National Cathedral

Zach, Jayson, MJ, and Wolf with George Washington inside National Cathedral.

Our next stop was the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Watergate.  

When we arrived at the National Academy of Sciences, we happened to see Abraham Lincoln getting out of the car and the boys had a photo with him.

MJ, Zach, and Wolf at the Einstein Memorial at the National Academy of Sciences.

Zach, Wolf, Jayson, and MJ at the Lincoln Memorial.

The boys pose with some soldiers on the Mall.

The Korean Memorial

It was time for a late lunch so we headed to Chinatown.  From there we visited the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and saw the Building Museum.  After a break at the hotel, we decided to head out at night to a few more memorials.  We had a great night out seeing the memorials.  

Wolf, MJ, and Zach at the FDR Memorial.  They really like this one.

Tebowing with the Jefferson Memorial in the background.

MJ, Zach, and Wolf at the Jefferson Memorial.

Wolf's Basketball Debut

We went to watch Wolf's best friend play basketball Wednesday night.  Ryan plays on a select team and was competing in a tournament.  Unfortunately, his team only had 5 players there and 1 got sick during the first game.  They brought Wolf in to play the second game!  It was Wolf's first organized basketball game outside gym class; he scored, had an assist, a block, and several rebounds.  We have a lot of video of the game, including him scoring.  Way to go Wolf!

Wolf and Ryan

Christmas 2012

We were blessed with an amazing Christmas this year.  Zach and Wolf have grown up so much since last year and it is so heartwarming to see them excited about giving gifts and signing Christmas cards.

Of course Wolf's birthday is Christmas Eve, so we started the day with brunch at Village Inn with Todd, Tommy, and Alli Molstad (Julie needed them out of the house for a little while to work on some gifts).

We had a lovely visit with Grandma Millie before the influx of aunts, uncles, and cousins at Grandma's house.

Then it was off to my Mom & Dad's house for Christmas Eve.  I have lots of video of the kids singing for their presents this year, but I didn't take any still photos.  The boys had fun playing spoons and Taboo with everyone.

We returned to our house about 1:00 a.m. and the boys wanted to open a gift.  I had a little surprise for them this year.  They enjoyed the Spy Mission when they went to the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., so I planned a mission for them to find their gift.  They had 9 puzzles to solve, each leading them to another clue hidden in the house.  They had to unscramble words, solve crosswords, decipher cryptograms, etc.  The mission took about an hour and they loved it!

Cheez-Its for Wolf

Bacon Mints for Zach

A girl is never disappointed with a blue box from Tiffany!  A beautiful ring from Jayson.

Wolf loves his new Manning jersey!

Kid Rock tickets for Jayson, Zach, and Wolf

Zach just opened his new pea coat that he loves!

After we finished opening gifts on Christmas morning, we headed over to Julie and Todd's for a wonderful brunch prepared by Chef Todd!

Jayson and Alli

Tommy and Alli have some presents from the Lucases

Hugs for Uncle Jayson

Rock Em Sock Em Robots for Tommy

 Zach, Tommy, Wolf, and Alli playing Play Dough together