Destination: Washington, D.C.

So then we headed up to D.C., about a 4 hour drive. We had Matt's birthday and Lydia LOVES cream puffs.

These pictures aren't in order, so I'm just telling them how I see them :). Here is a picture of the Capitol Building.

And the huge tortoises at the National Zoo, which apparently just peed.

T-Rex at the Museum of Natural History. We had just watched Night at the Museum on the way up and the girls were particularly interested about his.

So cool.

The girls got to hold some bugs, which of course was right up Nathalie's alley.

It took a little convincing for Charlotte, and in the end she was only willing to hold the grasshopper.

Then Nathalie had to as well.

Beautiful National Cathedral. It reminded me of some of the churches I saw in London and Quebec.

Granny reading books to the girlies at bedtime.

Aunt Kelsey and Charlotte having book time.

One evening my mom, sister and I went on a night tour of the memorials. It was amazing! I highly recommend the night tour. It's not an organized tour, but my sister knew her way around. This is the Lincoln memorial.

 

MLK Jr Memorial. My favorite.

I loved the MLK Jr memorial. It was so moving.

 

Nathalie and Granny dancing at the National Zoo.

Caution: Ape Crossing. Can you spot it?

The panda mama, taking a well deserved nap.

And later, eating a "Panda Popsicle" which, according to one of the zookeepers, it just frozen chicken broth.

More the Lincoln Memorial.

Washington Monument at night with the Capitol Building behind it.

 

At the Museum of Natural History doing some driving.

 Apparently my brother was hiding.

 And Emily loved this.

 Back at the bug exhibit.

 I mainly love this picture because of Charlotte's little face peeking over the edge of the table.

And last but not least, playing with the wonderful Uncle Dan.

We had a great trip! All in all, we saw the Air and Space Museum, Natural History Museum, Botanical Gardens and Conservatory, National Zoo, Monuments (except Vietnam, but we did see Korea at night which was incredible), Ghiradelli's chocolate shop (get the Dark Chocolate Shake), several playgrounds and Matt, my bro, my dad and my bro-in-law went to an NBA game.

We had the best time. It was wonderful to see these sights. Best of all, they were all free! As part of the Smithsonian Museum series, there was no admission. Except for the zoo, we took the metro in town and saved ourselves some dollars (read: LOTS of dollars) we would have spent on parking miles away.

Favorites? The girls loved the Natural History Museum, Matt and I adored the Botanical Gardens and Conservatory. The Air and Space museum was interesting, the Zoo was the PERFECT size for a zoo and the Monuments are an absolute must see.

First stop: Portsmouth, VA

I realized that it's been a month and I never posted pictures of our trip to D.C. and Virginia! I honestly thought I had already done it.....I must be losing my mind! Anyway, here is the first stop on our trip. One of my good friends from Savannah just moved to Virginia. Her husband is the GM of a hotel and he put us up for a night in his fancy hotel.

I was basically in love with all the little details about this hotel. I have a passion for good trim work (see above picture) and I absolutely adored the furniture.

Don't you love this door? I love it. Which is silly, because it's just a door, but I love the wood.

I want a piece just like this little cabinet thingy.

I am not one for china cabinets, but this was absolutely beautiful.

We were right on the water and it was SO neat. Beautiful. This hotel was super fancy, with ballrooms and a presidential suite and Matt and I got to sleep in a king size bed! That's our first time ever and we loved it. Our friend's husband took Matt on a behind the scenes tour after the kids were asleep.

We went for an early morning walk along the water.

The big thing on the left side is a Navy ship, which is currently protected while they repair it. It was HUGE. The size of a factory, but on the water. I had no idea ships could get that big. Our friend's husband said once he saw an aircraft carrier come up the river and it took up literally the ENTIRE river, it was so big.

I loved these colonial houses. I wouldn't want to live like that...but I love the style nonetheless.

The windows, the trim, the light....can't get enough.

I want a mantelpiece just like this one.

I thought it was so funny because I'm normally not an architecture type of person, but for whatever reason, I absolutely loved this hotel.

A little reading room off the café. I love the look of it.

We had SUCH a great time with our friends. I truly miss her and even though it was short, I'm grateful for her.

Short and Sweet

At the end of February we had some friends stop by on their way down to Florida. They were some of our great friends while in Ohio and we sure miss them!

Emily was a big helper with their youngest daughter, E. And yes, I'm aware that Emily's hair is one pigtail, one braid. She asked for that specifically. Also, note the skinny jeans she is wearing! She wears jeans now!

All of our kids, plus a neighborhood kid. Their oldest is 9, but then they have kids just our girls ages. We used to play together often!

And Jenny, one of my best friends! I am so grateful for being able to see her. We spent a couple of years having fun together.

Thanks for coming friends!

Birthday Boy

This is a month late....but Matt's 30th birthday was in March! He's entered a new decade...

I threw a surprise birthday party for him, which he loved. Apparently he's never had a surprise party before! Matt's parents were in town for the party, and then Matt's actually birthday was in Washington D.C., with my family. So the best of both worlds.

Matt's parents got him a little RC helicopter. We have had so much fun with that thing. We love it, the kids love it. Correction: Lydia doesn't love it. She cries whenever he flies it near her.

My sister and bro-in-law in D.C., were tasked with having a birthday dessert for Matt. They bought this delicious cake from Whole Foods with cream puffs on top!

Happy Birthday honey! We sure love and adore you.