A warm Sunday in December

Today the sun came out so when church was over at noon we decided we'd have to go get out and explore.  Every year around Christmas the US botanical Garden (at the National Mall) has a train exhibit.  Johnny and Gracie were excited to see this. My camera phone struggled with the poor lighting.  But here are a couple of photos anyways.  They really didn't do it justice.  The exhibit was incredible.

 The tracks were overhead as well.  They had several trains going on at once.

 There was a Thomas the train which was fun to see.

 After going through the train exhibit, Paul wanted to go see the rest of the plants.  They had an incredible selection of orchids.

 We still had some daylight left so we crossed the Potomac river to the Arlington Cemetery.  Every year several volunteer organizations lay beautiful wreaths on the tombstones.  At the entrance to the cemetery is a plaque that explains that this place is our nations most sacred places.  It was a neat experience to discuss with the children the importance of this cemetery.

 We walked through the cemetery to the gravesite of JFK.  In front of the gravesite is a memorial with several of engravings from famous speeches. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jfk.htm  The girls are standing in front of "And so my fellow Americans Ask not what your country can do for you Ask what you can do for your country."

I have loved living here in VA as there as been so many opportunities for teaching my children.  We hiked down the roads and were in awe of all the people who have made the ultimate sacrifice to provide us the freedoms that we enjoy.  Below is a picture of the Arlington Amphitheater that is in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier.  It's a beautiful marble structure.

 We arrived at the tomb 10 minutes before the end of the hour.  Each hour their is a change of guard which is an inspiring ritual.  The kids all sat quietly, and watched this soldier march back and forth, and then the ritual of the change.  I appreciated the reverence given to our military.  Below is a photo we took.

We took several video that didn't work out.  I found a good video on youtube that shows the process.  If you come to DC then this is a definite must see.
http://youtu.be/DLVzKTyXI_E

New York before Christmas (mid Dec 2013)

For Lexies birthday she wanted to spend the weekend in New York City.  It just so happened that weekend we picked saw the first big snow storm of the year.  There was almost no one there.

We got into town and the first thing we did was go walk on the High Line.  It's an abandoned elevated train that has been turned into a beautiful walkway.  It's landscaped and a great way to see NY.  Here Johnny couldn't resist trying to eat the snow as it fell from the sky.

Here after 5 minutes of walking Johnny needed a rest.  Or "snow bathing" (instead of sun bathing) as he called it.
 

In Chinatown we saw this cool graffiti on the side of the building.  My boys are trying to pose like the alien version of the Hulk in this photo.

Next we went to the Financial District.  Here Livy is taking a break at the popular Potbelly Sandwich shop.

We toured Wall Street, saw the stock exchange.  Paul really wanted to see the famous bull.  Grace is kissing the bull (unfortunately it must be full of the germs of a million tourists) because I was not there to supervise.

 

 Next we toured the World Trade Center.  Have I already said how cold it was?  It was brutal.

 It got dark, the snow came down harder and temp dropped further.  So we went in doors.  First we went to the Toy's R Us.  It is 3 stories tall and was packed with people.  Here are the three youngest with "Lego Hulk".

 Here they are again with Optimus Prime.  Liv and John are showing their guns...

 Johnny found this giant Mike & Ike that he wanted for Christmas.  At 1 1/2 pounds I can only imagine the sugar that must be contained in that box and the crazed sugar reaction it would cause that boy after he consumed it in 10 minutes or less.  Why Grace felt inclined to lick the box I'm not sure.  Paul explained to her that the candy was on the inside.

 The next day we went through the Natural History Museum.  The kids favorite was "Dum Dum".

 We finished the History Museum and hiked around Central Park.

 It had snowed about 6 inches and the kids made a snow man.

 The Central Park Lake has several paths that go around it.  We just barely kept all the kids out of the water.

 Here's a photo of Paul and I on the west side of the Lake just opposite of Strawberry Fields.

 The Bow Bridge.  The lake was frozen but not thick enough to walk on.

 On the east side of the lake is a statue of Hans Christian Anderson.  Grace and Johnny on the bench with Hans.

 On the way to the Met Museum we found the Alice in Wonderland Statue.

I wasn't able to find any photos of the Met.  It has to be one of my most favorite museums.  If I end up finding the pics I'll post them later.  The trip was two days long and it went to fast.  Paul and I decided we will have to come back on our own in the springtime.

Touring DC with my parents (December 2013)

 My Mom and Dad came to visit us over the weekend and we braved the cold to go site seeing.  We went to the Capitol mall and started at the Lincoln Memorial.  This has to be one of my most favorite.  Reading the Gettysburg address and his other quotes, one can't help but know this man was inspired of God.

The girls standing at the top of the stairs at the Lincoln Memorial.  They were hoping to spot the helicopters from White House Down.

The Vietnam Memorial is another deeply spiritual place. My father served there and told us about some of his friends whose names are on the wall.

Mom and I decided it was a perfect time to do gingerbread houses. The weather outside was frightful...

My first frozen rain.

The next day we went to visit my dad's friend Congressman Greg Walden at his office at the Capitol. He was so nice and gracious to us. This is a picture of his main office.

He let Lexi sit at his desk.

Going down into the basement to the Capitol subway.  Only congress and their staff normally get to ride this.

The little train was fun to ride.

When we first came in, it was into this beautiful ornate hallway.  On the ceilings were these painted frescos.   Above each door they had engraved marble plaques with important quotes from our forefathers.  This quote from Thomas Jefferson "Enlighten the people generally and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day."

A little further into the Capitol is this bust of Winston Churchill is a gift from England. The original had been in the oval office for many years but the President after entering office returned it to the British Embassy with a thanks. Congress volunteered to house it in their house so England had one made for the Capitol.

The kids are fighting to stand on the tile that marks the center of DC.

These stairs are part of the original building and are really old.  You can see where they have been warn down with use.  It is said that the English soldiers went up these stairs when they burned the Capitol.

Here's Paul, my dad, and Congressman Walden standing in front of Trumbull's painting "Declaration of Independence".  The congressman was explaining some detail about the painting I can no longer remember.

Congressman Walden took us to the balcony and hallway which are normally off limits except for members of Congress and their guests. It was guarded by some big burly guys.

We got to look out the balcony and stand where every President gives the State of the Union address.

This is another photo from the balcony showing the official US Christmas tree.

On our way back to the rest of the tour, we ran into Senator Mitch McConnell.  Congressman Walden introduced my dad.  The future Governor of Oregon.

Next he took us to the House floor.  There was a debate going on.  They confiscated our phones and cameras but not before Paul got this shot of Howard Chandler Christy's Painting of the signing of the Constitution.

We sat up on the balcony and watched as Congressman Walden took our four kids down onto the floor, up to the front of the desk where the Speaker of the House presides, past the ballot box and out the door on their left.  Apparently, congress members can take children less then 12 yrs old out onto the floor briefly.  It was a once in a lifetime experience for the kids.

Here we are walking back to our car after the tour was over.