SPRING BREAK 2009 - WASHINGTON D.C.

To all family and friends who might read this post that live in this area of the country, we must apologize for not visiting while we were so close. The time came and went very quickly. We hope that ALL will forgive us and that you each enjoy reading about our last family trip for a while.

WARNING!!!!!
PREPARE YOURSELF BY GRABBING A DRINK AND SOMETHING TO EAT BECAUSE THIS ONE IS PRETTY LONG

This year we decided that we would take the girls to Washington D.C. for Spring Break. They were very excited about it. When we asked them what they wanted to see Alexis said, “The Statue Of Liberty and the Liberty Bell.” We had to explain that neither one of those were in DC. It was cute that in her mind those were things that should be there. We invited Jenn, Albert, and the kids to come with us again this year. The kids always have such a great time together. We are so glad they were able to come with us.

Day 1 – Saturday, April 4
Things didn't start off as planned. We ended up having to take Alexis into the doctor’s office before we ever left to make sure she didn't have pneumonia. She had been sick earlier in the week and I took her in on Monday and found out that she had Bronchitis. They put her on an antibiotic and sent me on my way. She missed a few days of school and then was fine the rest of the week so we thought. Friday afternoon her fever came back and Andy and I were doing a wedding so I had no choice but to wait until today to take her in. She didn't have pneumonia but they gave us some medicine just in case. We finally ended up leaving around 2:00 PM. Poor baby had to travel with a fever of 101.7.

We had decided to break the trip up so that the kids didn't have to be in the car so long. We drove to Greensboro, NC and stayed the night there. We of course had to stop at Dairy Queen (a Cersey Tradition) on the way for a blizzard. Our hotel had an indoor pool and the kids were so excited. Alexis only lasted about 15 minutes in the pool, but Megan had a great time swimming with her cousins. We ordered pizza and had a nice relaxing night together.



Day 2 – Sunday, April 5
Alexis is still feeling bad today. Having Asthma combined with the fever and Bronchitis = Not good. The day started off with Alexis losing her breakfast in the parking lot. She was coughing so bad that it just came up. After breakfast we finished the 4 hour drive to our next hotel. We are staying in the Arlington, Virginia area just outside of D.C. To be exact it was only 1 mile away from Arlington National Cemetery. Jenn and Albert decided to stay in a different hotel so they are in Maryland about 20 minutes away. This would be our humble abode for the next 4 days. When we got to the hotel the kids were so excited. Our room had a door bell and a full kitchen. They thought it was great. Once we got settled we decided to go see the Washington D.C. Temple. It was only 11 miles from our hotel. We thought it was a great thing to do on Sunday. We got some great pictures and went into the visitor’s center and talked with some of the Sisters. When we came out it was dark and we got to see the Temple all lit up. It is such a pretty Temple.



Day 3- Monday, April 6
In GA we have the MARTA train and here in Washington they have the Metro Train that takes you into the city. The station was just a block up from our hotel which was very nice. The hotel bus took us up to the station every morning. Today we had tickets to go into the capital at 10:00 AM. We met the Cano's at the door. As we were waiting in line for our tour to start the kids decided to sit on the floor in line. A few minutes had passed and one of the guards came over and told us that the kids were breaking the law by sitting on the floor. We asked what was wrong. The officer said that they were in his words, “DEMONSTRATING WITH OUT A LICENCE OR PERMIT” and that they would have to get up. Of course Megan freaked out and started crying and was upset for the next 20 minutes. The lady that was standing in front of us in line got pretty mad about it. We all just laughed and thought it was pretty funny. They tour of the Capital was really cool.




After the Capitol we went to the National Air and Space Museum. It was really neat to see all the planes. The kids got to look inside a few planes which they thought was really neat. We ran out of time today to do the space side of the museum so we will go back another day to finish. The kids enjoyed it.



Next we went to the National Archives Building. We had to wait in line for an hour and a half. The kids did not enjoy that one bit. They just wanted some ice cream from the truck on the corner. We told them that we would get it after we were done but had no idea it would take so long. Just as we got near the front of the line it started raining again and we were glad we had our umbrellas. Once inside the kids enjoyed themselves. Megan got to see some documents of Susan B. Anthony, who she was learning about at school. She thought that was really cool. The girls finally got their ice cream and were extremely happy!




We went back to the hotel and had dinner. Our hotel had free breakfast and dinner which was really great. By the time we got back to our room the girls were exhausted as you can see by the pictures.




Day 4 – Tuesday, April 7



Today we met at the National Museum of Natural History. We spent several hours here. There was so much to see. We saw all kinds of cool things like sea life, animal bones, minerals, plants, and the Hope Diamond. Alexis started having an asthma coughing attack when we got to the mineral section. I had to take her out in the hall and was so afraid she was going to puke in the building. The presenter that was there at the mineral table came out and gave us a peppermint for her to suck on. I was so grateful for that. I almost had to use her rescue inhaler. Andy left for an hour at noon to go have a phone interview with Grainger. We are so hoping this works out for us. Once he got back it was time to leave. The museum was really cool. Megan Insisted on wearing flip flops today, and just as we started at the museum her flip flop broke. She couldn't even walk in it so I had to give her my flip flops to wear and I wore her broken one all day. We looked for a place to buy shoes but had no luck. My legs were so sore from trying to keep the flip flop on. It was not fun to say the least.



We decided to purchase tickets for the Double Decker bus for today and tomorrow. The kids thought it was so cool that they could sit on the top of the bus and ride around town. We jumped on the bus and it took us to the back side (South Side) of the White House. This was pretty exciting to see. A funny note: there was a sniper up on the roof which was really cool to watch but Alexis saw him and thought it was President Obama coming out to say hi. We all laughed so hard and she got embarrassed and had some tears.






Andy had another phone interview today at 4:00 so it just happened to be when we were in between the White House and the Washington Monument. There was a grassy field and some trees there so we decided to let the kids run around and play. Andy went down the other side of the field to a tree and stayed there for his call. It was very windy and cold today so we were all bundled up. The kids had fun climbing the tree and chasing each other. Ethan ended up tearing a big hole in the butt of his pants from climbing the tree. There was a police SUV parked right beside where we were playing. After about 20 minutes of playing in the tree they finally decided to come ask us to stop. I thought it was pretty funny that they waited that long. Finally after about 45 minutes we decided to go ahead and start walking to the Washington Monument. I ran down the field to tell Andy to follow behind, and then I ran back to the group. Andy had his black jacket on with the hood up and he was using his ear piece because it was so windy. He had his hand up to his mouth holding the cord. He had been all alone in the field pacing behind a tree doing his interview. As he began to get closer to us the police men that were in the SUV jumped out and went to find out what the suspicious mad was doing between the White House and the Washington Monument. He did look a little suspicious. Andy was so clueless he didn't even see them coming. We started freaking out that they were going to go get him right in the middle of his call. I motioned to the police that he was with us and that he was ok. Once they figured out he was with us they backed off and got back in their SUV. It was sooooo funny!



When we got over to the Washington Monument and got up on the hill it was so windy we could hardly stand up. I thought Lexi was going to blow away. We walked over to the bus stop and waited for the bus to come. On the way we saw a really cool looking Hawk in the tree. While waiting for the bus Alexis had another moment. She had another coughing attack and threw up all over the grass. Ellie was trying to make her feel better and told her now she can go home and tell her class that she left some of her DNA in Washington DC. I'm not sure Alexis understood what she was saying but she didn't think it was as funny as we all did. Poor Lex. Having asthma stinks.



When the bus finally came we took it over to the Air and Space Museum to finish the space side. The Cano's split from us to go do the airplane simulator so we got to be alone with just our girls. We had a nice time just playing with all the interactive things. I think the girls thought the space side was a lot more entertaining than the airplane side.



By the time we finished we were exhausted. We went back to our hotel and it was too late to eat dinner there so we ordered pizza. We didn't get to eat till about 9:00. YUCK!

Day 5- Wednesday, April 8
Today we got up and went to Arlington National Cemetery. Our hotel is only about a mile away from it. Every night at 11:00 PM we could hear them playing “Taps” at the retirement of the day. I was asleep most nights but I did get to hear it once. It was really cool. First, we walked way up the hill to watch the changing of the guards. After that we took some pictures and walked around the grounds. What a cool place to see.



We got back on the bus and it took us to The Lincoln Memorial. I was so excited to go here. There is such a pretty view from up here. We got some great pictures here as well.



The Vietnam Memorial was next on our list of things to see. We looked in the books to see if we could find any names and we did find some, Dollar's, Rudd's, and a Cano. So we found the names on the wall. It was way cool.



Our next stop was Union Station to eat some lunch. Alexis got to take her picture with a replica of the Liberty Bell. We went to McDonald's for lunch and the Cano's split and went to have Pizza. During our lunch Andy was offered the job with Grainger. Yippee!!!! We were so excited. He received a 25% increase in his base salary and several other perks. The girls and I couldn't be more excited to have daddy back home with us. He will start on the 27th of April. No more traveling!!




After lunch we had tickets to go to Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was assassinated and then across the street to the house where he actually died. We really enjoyed this. When we got there and a Ranger was talking about all the history and we were able to ask any questions we wanted. It was a good learning experience for us all.




We ended our day in the city with some shopping in China Town. Jenn got Pooped on at some point while we were shopping which was pretty funny. The kids enjoyed the shopping for sure.



The Cano's drove in and parked at our hotel today since we were so close to Arlington. We got to ride the Metro home together and then followed them to their hotel for some hot tub and pool time. We had a really fun night.

We left their place at 9:00 PM and still hadn't had dinner. There is no place to stop in D.C. for quick food. On top of that we got a little lost on the way back and ended up driving through D.C. at night which was really pretty so we were glad we made a wrong turn. We finally made it back to our place where there was a Wendy's on the corner. Alexis had fallen asleep by then and we had to wake her once inside to eat. It was about 10:30 PM before we actually got to eat. We were starving! What a very long day this was.

Day 6 – Thursday, April 9
Today we had to check out of our hotel because we are staying closer to NC tonight. We still had a little to do in the city so the Cano's came and parked at our hotel again and we caught the Metro into the city. We got off at the White House. We were able to be on the front side (North Side) this time. I am glad we did. It was alot better for picture taking. We then walked to the Visitors Center. The kids got to sit and color which they thought was just great.




It was time for lunch and we decided we would just get hot dogs from the street stands again. This was much easier than a restaurant. We sat in a grassy field and ate our lunch. The kids decided to start racing each other across the field. Albert said he would give a quarter to everyone of them that raced. Well since Alexis can't run with her asthma this week, I didn't want her to be left out or to throw up again. I told her I would put her on my back and race for her. (sorry we didn't get any pictures of this) The field was huge! It was at least 75 yards one way. This was no easy task and we ended up coming in last place and when we were done she still threw up. It was so funny! I guess from all the bouncing and the air she sucked in she couldn't breathe by the end and neither could I. HAHA. We had lots of throwing up and lots of sleepless nights doing breathing treatments in the middle of the night but she is a trouper and didn't complain a bit.



Now it was back to the Metro to get our cars. On the way back we got to get off on my favorite stop. We had passed it all week but never got off. It was called Foggy Bottom!! So I made Andy take a picture of me with all the kids with our bottoms up! They thought it was hilarious.



The Cano's went to Georgetown and we stopped at the Iwo Jima Statue. We all met up at the hotel that night. This Hotel was the best one by far. We had a separate living room with a flat screen and a flat screen in the bedroom. We took the girls out to dinner at Texas Road House for some real food. We came back and went swimming and enjoyed the relaxing hot tub.





Day 7 – Friday, April 10
Are we tired yet? Today we went to the Science Museum in Virginia. This was a really fun place. We spent an hour just in the first 10 feet of the museum. The kids really enjoyed this place. There were a lot of interactive things to do. We all got to take a turn sitting in a space chair that was moved only by air. That was pretty fun and our instructor well he I mean she was well I can't even say. We saw the movie, Storm Chasers, in the IMAX which was really neat. The kids loved it! We split from the Cano's and enjoyed the rest of the museum as a family. The girls even got to pet a snake. What a cool museum this was.



We drove through McDonald's for lunch and made the trek back to Greensboro, NC. We had poolside rooms at this hotel and so the kids hung out on the patio, swam, and played all night. Andy and Albert went and got Taco Bell for dinner. I need a home made meal.




Day 8 – Saturday, April 11
We were so ready to get home. We were up early, ate breakfast at the hotel, and were on our way home by 8:30 AM. We got into town about 1:30 PM.

We had the best time being together as a family and I think we made lots of great memories.