DC....day 1

We took two major side trips from Philadelphia. The first was to DC. I admit I was worried about how the kids would respond to a bunch of monuments and museums. Not quiet the excitement that some of our past trips like Disneyland and Disney World have provided. We laid the foundation before the trip (which by the way I think is a very important parenting tip....not just for vacations!) We told them they'd see some of the sites they've seen on TV and things that were in the Night at the Museum movies. Our first stop was to the Lincoln Memorial where we had lunch on the steps.

Braxton was super excited to see the Washington monument. So while we sat and ate we checked it out from afar and talked about the empty reflecting pool (it's under construction). 

Later we took a closer look at the monument and had a near mishap when the kids decided to race. They let an unsuspecting Bryson fly solo the last 20 or so feet headed straight for concrete seating at eye level.

Thank God Brian has quick reflexes! Because all I could do was GASP and SHREIK creating a side tourist attraction to the monument. As night fell the kids enjoyed the red air craft warning lights remarking that they look like eyes. We were going to return the following day to try to get tickets to the top but we slept too late and the kids were just as giddy to travel by glass elevator to the 16th floor of our hotel.          

We made our way to the various war memorials: Vietnam, WWII, the Marine Corp and the Korean. We told the kids about their great grandpa who fought and was wounded in WWII and how when their grandma Chong was a little girl about Alexis' age she carried her little sister out of their village walking near armed soldiers because of the Korean war.

We drove by Arlington National Cemetery and talked about the men and women buried there including the tomb of the unknown soldier. They were astounded by the numbers of headstones.


The Smithsonian was on Braeden's must see list while in DC. We started with the Museum of American History. They had a fantastic discovery activity that was geared towards various age levels. The kids were so excited about the challenge and it made the museum more interactive and exciting. The first seek and find on Alexis and Braxton's list was the first memorial of George Washington. They were supposed to attempt the same pose and determine whether he was strong or weak based on the pose. They were too shy so Brian and Bryson took on the challenge. It wasn't long before they were playing along too though.