Good Friends, Good Times

Well it is currently 4am and I am wide awake. It feels like 7am which is probably why 2 kids are also wide awake. We just got back from Washington DC where we spent a few days visiting my good friend Jill and her family. Jill and I go waaaayyy back to the 8th grade. She has 4 lovely girls who are very similar in age to my 4 boys. I've always wanted to visit the East Coast so when Jill invited us to come visit we jumped at the chance.
Our first day there we decided to drive out to the coast and play at the beach.






We drove about 2.5 hours out to Assateague Island which is a narrow neck of land off the Maryland coast. The sand was beautiful and the waves were huge. It was warm and humid so the water felt good. There were crabs everywhere and there was a warning sign to stay away from Jelly Fish-which sort of makes me wonder why on earth did I even get in the water? We stopped off at a little mart and got some sand toys to build sand castles with.


It started to sprinkle on us and we heard thunder in the distance. It was warm rain though so at first we didn't mind. Then it started to rain harder so we decided it was time to go. We packed a lunch but everyone was having such a good time we kind of just forgot to eat....But luckily enough there was a little crab shack nearby which Jills husband made reservations at for all 12 of us to have some dinner.






It was quite an experience learning how to crack open crabs. The kids loved using the mallet to crush the crabs into smithereens. We ate shrimp and fried chicken and corn on the cob. Some of the kids ordered hot dogs but ended up preferring to eat the seafood instead. Thanks to Jill and Russ for giving us that unforgettable experience. It turned out to be my birthday and they even ordered up some yummy cheesecake to top off the meal. I loved it!
The next day was a whirlwind day touring Washington DC. We first stopped at the Air and Space museum.


We saw all kinds of aircraft, spacecraft, astronauts and everything to do with flying. It was very cool. Then we made our way up the Mall with 8 kids, 3 strollers and bags full of snacks and food, stopping at the Washington Monument,


the Lincoln Memorial,


and the Viet Nam Memorial.


We then turned around and walked back up the Mall toward the Capitol Building.



When we finally made it back to the car we had some very tired and cranky kids and parents. We still wanted to see the White House so Russ was going to take us on a driving tour to see a few more buildings...almost immediately our caravan got split up so they went on home and we stopped and hopped out to get a closer look at the White House, (and to find a bathroom). We were unsuccessful at finding the bathroom but got right up next to the fence at the White House.


Driving through DC is as crazy as it gets. the streets dont make sense and if you miss your turn it takes you 15mins to get back to where you were. We drove by the Pentagon (Jake didn't believe us that it really is in the shape of a pentagon untill he saw it from the air) and Arlington Cemetery.
The next day was Sunday and we decided to visit the Washington DC Temple visitors center. It is really stunning to see the gold spires ascending from the trees.


Its very green there. It reminds me of Seattle a lot. We watched the Joseph Smith movie which was really good. We spent a good couple of hours there before going to church with Jill and her family.It was good to have a day of rest-we needed it.



On Monday, our final day there, we decided to visit Mount Vernon, George Washingtons home. It was beautiful! There was more than 800 acres of farm land, orchards, grassy fields, animals, and his mansion, servant quarters, smokehouse, storage, burial grounds and much else. The view out the back of his house is breathtaking. It looks out over the Potomac River. I can imagine him sitting on his back porch pondering really heavy things and getting divine inspiration. After lunch we went back to DC to see one more museum, The Museum of Natural History. The kids loved it and I so wish we had more time there. We saw Dinosaur bones and fossils of all kinds. They especially loved the gem room. The crystals and gold nuggets were just so fascinating. We of course saw the Hope Diamond in all its exquisite glory. Since this was on a Monday the side street meter parking is only valid untill 4pm so we had to leave at 4p and head home. It took us a while to get out of there due to all the traffic and we tried to get a closer look and the Arlington Cemetery but they don't just let you come in and drive around. You have to pay to park and get out and walk. Its probably a good thing but we didnt stay. We decided to rent a GPS this time with the rental car which turned out to be a really good thing. Except for when it decides to send you on side street tours just to avoid traffic....yeah....it didn't save any time. Oh yeah and when it tells you to turn on a street that no longer exists...then the female voice sounds so exasperated when she says "recalculating." I'm pretty sure we were more exasperated than she was....
Overall we had so much fun. I'd love to go back and see more of the city. We could've spent the whole day in just one museum. So I fully recommend visiting the Nations Capital if you've never been there.