Mother Daughter Trip: DC

*This trip happened back in March, so this is long overdue. But I had to wait for Nate's contribution... see end of post*

Our first stop in DC was to the Costco right down the street from Jill's apartment.

The highlight of that trip was when we were all casually walking down some steps and Jillian full on toppled down the stairs. Not just a little trip, but legs coming out from under her and falling on the ground and essentially rolling down the rest of the steps. It was bizarre and a little sad because she really did get hurt. But to be honest, it was mostly funny. I mean her legs were actually in the air. It just looked so spectacular, and it was so crazy that she had such an amazing fall on all of 4 steps, that once we knew she was ok, we couldn't help laughing. But she healed up fine, so now it is nothing but a great memory! :)

Our first day on the town, we were getting ready to leave, and when I saw Whitney ready to go, the first thought that came to my mind was "first day of school". With her backpack and cute outfit, she looked like someone headed out for her first day of school.

Our first day we did Museums. It was fun. I'm not much of a museum gal, but I still enjoyed it. I can't remember the name of the museum we went to, Museum of American History? Something like that. But it had all the Inagural Ball dresses of the first ladies which was cool. It also had Julia Child's kitchen, which I thought was very cool. We also went to the Holocaust Museum. It's a very somber, fascinating place, but after the first 3 floors, I was done. I don't think I need to go back there for at least another 10-15 years.

Day two was my favorite. We went to the mall and had a picnic and flew kites and blew bubbles. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. It was so relaxing to just sit and talk and laugh and people watch. Here is Jill with our awesome eagle kite that she bought at toys r us in Times Square.

Whit and Ash blowing bubbles

My Aunt Karen came down for the day with her daughter Robyn and her daughter Belle. It was fun hanging out and catching up with them.

Lexy, Morgan, Jill, Hailey, Aunt Karen, Belle at the WWII Memorial

Mom and Morgan

Mom, Lexy, Jill, Whit, Morg, Hailey

After the WWII Memorial, we kept walking along the reflection pool and up to the Lincoln Memorial. From there we walked to the Jefferson Memorial and were able to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms. After that we went to dinner around Chinatown. It was a lovely day in DC!

This is unfortunately, the end of my picture taking, but not the end of our trip. The next day my mom got super sick, so we just went shopping at the mall and met up with Doug and Jackie who were driving through from Virginia, and then later met up with Burton and Janaya Rampton, good friends of Ben and Whit from their Provo days. The next day it was time to head back to NY. We had a fabulous trip, and it was so nice to get away without kids for a few days. It would have been perfect if I hadn't been pregnant and could have actually enjoyed the chance to sleep in as much as I wanted. But when you are 8 months pregnant, there is just no comfy position to sleep in. Oh well. It was so fun to be with my mom and all my sisters. Hopefully we will be able to do this at least every couple years.

Things I learned while Morgan was gone ( By Nate. Of course Morgan already knows these things!)
*If you load kids up on enormous ice cream cones with chocolate sprinkles, they will not fall asleep on the ferry/subway. Instead, they will be bouncing off the walls like crazy people, screaming at the other boats, and generally annoying everyone around them.
*Always bring a spare set of clothes, because if there is a mud puddle in or near the playground, one of the kids will find it, step in it, and of course fall down in it.
*If you don’t open the window in the bathroom, the entire house will smell like pee.
*If you don’t get the 2-yr-old into his diaper IMMEDIATELY upon exiting the bathtub, he will pee on your running clothes.
*If you let said two year old get out of the tub to look for toys you can’t find, there is a good chance that while he is out of the tub and disrobed, he will relieve himself on the floor, and then step in it.
*There are no beaches on Staten Island, even if you walk around the coastal area for 45+ minutes.
*If you bring potato chips as part of the lunch and don’t separate them into little bags, they will become the entire lunch.
*If you bring carrots as a snack, you will end up eating them yourself.
*In the sandbox, little girls like to build castles, dig holes, and make sand cakes. Little boys like to destroy these things. No matter how much you tell them not to. You’ll probably have to sit next to them to ward off their destructive instincts so that all the other parents don’t glare at you, thinking you are a bad parent and hoping that you will leave soon so their kid can play in peace.
*There is never an acceptable time to leave the playground. Desperate screams of “no!” and frantic running will inevitably accompany your proposed departure.