Three in DC

Flying across the country with a four-year-old and a two-year-old is not for the faint of heat - it is also not for one who doesn't have portable DVD player. 

     Last Tuesday we went to see my friend Tara in Washington DC. Abbie and Tara's daughter Hazel were poised to be BFF when Tara's work took her to DC and will be taking her to China this winter (Cruel, cruel world.) So in order to see that our friendship is passed along to the next generation despite being half a world a part, we undertook this visit. Savannah is broken-hearted to be away from her sister for more than a few minutes so it was decided that she should come a long for a wonderful girls week!

    Our first day in DC reminded me why no one wanted to build the nation's capital just outside of Virginia. It was hot and humid. Sweat dripped from everywhere after doing nothing for three minutes. We had planned a trip to the National Arboretum, which turned out to be a little dull for all in the party under the age of five - until we found this amazing Children's Garden with musical instruments made out of wood and sand.  Thankfully joy was restored and all was right with the world. After the arboretum, being gluttons for punishment, we decided to to the National Mall, because pushing a stroller in 110% humidity in DC means we are patriotic. We went to the Natural History Museum and learned a great deal about the affects of air conditioning on mood. We also saw many animals that Abbie took great pains to inform us were not alive. Clear favorites in the group were the dinosaurs bones and the giant mammoth fossil in the entry.

On Thursday in order to escape what was expected to be the hottest day in DC of the summer on top of already  life-sucking humidity, we escaped to the beach. It was perfect. The water was cool - a pleasant contrast to the hot air and sand. The girls didn't take long to become completely comfortable in the soft tide. We did see a jelly fish and maybe got stung (matching weird rashes on Abbie & Hazel, don't know....). There was a dragon at the beach that chased princesses out of the water, but as soon as the girls decided they were pirates and not princesses they made a truce with the dragon and they all decided to go in search of buried treasure.  We build sand castles and were delighted by the chefs making the best the sand had to offer. The day was perfect, married only by being stuck for two hours in a tunnel at the end of a long car ride home.

Friday we stayed home and had Princess Day! The girls dressed up as princesses, had their nails done, and proceeded to become princess artists for the day. Tara's neighbor had given them the mother-of-all-princess craft sets and we let the girls go to town. I don't think the carpet in her living room will ever be the same again (sorry taxpayers) but it gave us time to chat and relax. The evening was supposed to end with a chocolate cake tea party. See results here.

Saturday the weather had tempered and the humidity had abated so we took another stroll along the mall to see the monuments. The girls were thrilled to tough the Washington Monument or "Big Pencil" and liked to stick their feet in the water at the World War II Monument. They saw the Lincoln memorial... but were more excited by the police horses outside. I think they were just excited to be somewhere they could run around and play. We ended the day with a quick stop at the Air and Space Museum only to realize that every tourist with children under 10 was doing the same thing and left quickly.

Sunday was a nice relaxing day at church and home and we left early Monday morning.
Unfortunately we had to meet our plane at 6:45a.m. Also unfortunately there was an unlisted layover not mentioned on the itinerary (Apparently if the plane stops somewhere but you continue on to somewhere else on the same plane they don't have to tell you about the stop.) Also unfortunately they lost our stroller at this unmentioned stop.  Also unfortunately our last plane was supper small and I couldn't sit next the my girls. This means that after about nine hours of flying and being in airports when Savannah dropped her coloring book and couldn't pick it up, and I was too far away to help her - she screamed her guts out for about 10 minutes (but it felt like forever.) Truthfully though, all things considered I think the girls traveled very well!