Washington . . . on the EAST coast

Both Dave and I were feeling like we had done a lot of traveling and maybe it was time to take a break, but after 2 days home we were debating a trip to DC on Friday.  We wanted to go before the weather turned too cold to do it.  I was thinking it was an awfully far way to go for only 2 days.  Dave mentioned he had a few days off this year and we were thinking we'd take a day off on Monday, but then remembered that Dave's brother had FRIDAY off.  So, we decided  (on Thursday morning) to head out on Thursday  evening and spent three days with them.  Once again, I had very little time to pack, ready the house and mentally prepare.  I was a bit more worried about this trip because
1.  It was a 5 hour flight!! (3 hours longer than anything we'd done before)
2.  time change for kids aren't fun and DC is 3 hours earlier
3.   We had to bring both car seats and asked Rich and Ashley to borrow other baby items to help the trip go smoother.
With Dave around, the luggage carrying and flight went well.  Hallie slept for 1 1/2 hours.  I watched a movie on the ipod.  Everything was such a whirl wind, that when we finally calmed down on the plane and realized we were actually headed to DC, we remembered that EXACTLY 5 years ago to the day, Dave proposed to me in Washington DC with my real ring!  We were so happy we chose to go back and relive some amazing memories we had there!  By the end of the flight, both kids were totally zonked out (even though it was only 7:30 pm our time).  It was heaven to hold my little boy like he was a baby and remember how big he's gotten.  It was a torrential downpour when we got in Rich's car.

Friday we headed to downtown DC and saw the tourist stops.  First, we visited the FDR memorial where Dave proposed.

Us in 2006:

Now in 2011

"All because 2 people fell in love"  (Aww!  Cheesy!)

 I've adapted the jogger to be like a sit and stand (even though it is only built for 1)  This helps immensely when we need to get somewhere quickly, but Hallie doesn't always like her space to be taken by her older brother.

It was neat to see the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial the very weekend it was being dedicated!  It was magnificent!  Jackson was so thrilled with all the 'big man' statues.  He kept saying, "Oh look, there's the big white man!"  "Look at the white man!!"  and I really hoped no one was offended, but honestly, why make a tribute to a African-American Hero white?  Irony!

 Note to self:  The Smithsonian's are NOT toddler friendly.  Somewhat entertaining, but nothing to TOUCH or DO!  Jackson was such a good sport about being dragged several miles and not really getting to DO anything.  I really enjoy being in our Nations capital and being reminded of our roots.

Virginia is beautiful!!  Rich and Ashley's home is beautiful!   They were wonderful hosts!  We had 2 rooms  (and a walk in closet for the pack and play).   We ate delicious food and loved the company.   We loved the fall colors.  I especially loved running with Ashley through the beautiful colors.   We took a look through Babies R Us, in case a baby is in the future for these two.  Then watched the BYU game  (always great when we get a win!).  Rich and Ashley were so kind to bend to our time zone.  We lived as follows

8:00 wake up

10:30 breakfast

3:30 lunch

8:30 dinner

10:00 kids bedtime

1:00 am Adult bedtime

(This translates into a normal schedule if you lived on Phoenix time)

It was so fun to have so much time to get to know Rich and Ashley and their dog Roxy.  Both kids were nervous at first around the dog.  Hallie let out this high pitched scream the entire time she was around the dog . . .but she didn't actually cry.  . . it was a scream of delight.  By the end we were worried Hallie was going to hurt the dog.  She loved stealing the dog toys right out of her mouth and confiscating the dog bed anytime she left it.  

The beginning

Getting warmer

Blatant harassment

Foxy Roxy

Sorry there are so many videos, but we spent a lot of time watching these 2 gals interact.  Hallie is so happy, expressive and fun!  She lights up our life!

The flight home had 40 seats open, although we were getting a bit nervous because it was 50 seats fewer  than when we planned the trip, we still had complete confidence we would get on with no problems.  So we roused the kids at 5:00 am (that was 2:00 am PHX time!) and headed to the airport.  We went through security with 4 bags, 2 carseats, stroller, 2 kids, and all the extra junk you always have and then found out that we had gone to the wrong gate and had to do a different security checkpoint all over again!!  UGH! I hate security (and am so thankful for it at the same time!)  When we finally got to the gate, the agents were asking people to give up seats for a $500 voucher!  We were shocked, we thought there were plenty of seats.  The kids were tired and hungry (Oh, yeah, so were we!) and we weren't getting on the flight because they had 'weight restrictions'.  I was panicked about Dave missing work, and secondly, entertaining tired kids all day in the airport (We knew the next flights were full all day).  I took Jackson to the bathroom and when I told him we couldn't get on the plane, he started crying like his heart was broken, "I want to get on the plane!!"  I was secretly hoping that the agent would hear it and let us on!  I also wanted Dave to ask if he could get on with no luggage, just sit in a seat so he could get back to work.   After all the heart break and the panic, they lifted the weight restriction and all 25 of us flying standby got on with plenty of seats to spare.  I was so thankful I didn't have to figure out what to do with 2 tired kids and tons of luggage all day!  And that Dave got back to work.  Three of us got naps on the plane (Are you guessing that Jackson was the one that DIDN'T nap?  because you'd be right!)  It was a turbulent flight, and guess what?  I didn't even get scared!!  Up until this past month, I've been pretty afraid of flying, but I am quickly leaving my fears behind!  Dave headed to work, we unloaded and ate lunch at 10:30 Phx time and went to naps at 11!