The Vonns in Maryland

Mom and the boys stopped by last week to visit Maryland for a few days. And we certainly had fun! After a day of resting up, we made our way to Washington D.C. to see some of the sites. We saw several of the museum buildings all right - as we drove around and around and around the National Mall looking for a parking space. Finally, we managed to find a two hour parking spot. From there we visited a few of the places I had been to before: The four story fountain and the National Space and Air Museum. Of course, the first picture mom takes is of the fascinating plant life.

Inside the National Space and Air museum, we visited the Treasures of American History and Orville and Wilbur Wright exhibits.

There were also lots of really cool rockets and planes and space stuff hanging up everywhere. By this point, we had to go home because our two hours were up. However, we returned the next day to continue our adventures.

After less time driving around, we found an outdoor parking lot where we could park longer. So, from there we walked to the White House. If you look closely on the White House to the left, there are two guards spying on us to make sure that we don't try anything.

We also visited the White House Visitor Center and the Museum of Natural History. Hyrum and Mom splintered off the group to admire dinosaurs so there were a lot of pictures of Hyrum and dinosaurs. We got back together in the gems section. Meghan enjoyed the touch and total immersion experiences in the rocks and minerals section. We finished out the museum by having the boys spin a giant globe labeled as "Do Not Touch."

So, Washington D.C. was fun, but very tiring. It was more relaxing to play at home with the boys. Kyle was excited to get a chance to play against the boys, but if you look carefully you can see him cheating in one of these pictures.

Meghan enjoyed visiting with her Uncles. They were lots of fun for her to play with and she is excited for the chance she'll get to play when they come visit again!

Washington D.C. Day 2

On the Saturday of Oompa and Nana's visit, we went to DC again, this time bringing Kyle along. This was a much longer trip with more visits. The first place we went was to the Lincoln memorial. Once again, everything was bigger than it looks in movies and pictures. And there is an unhealthy obsession with lots and lots of stairs. Every building has to have lots of stairs. I got tired just looking at all the stairs I had to climb. Inside the monument, the first thing you see is the statue of Abraham Lincoln, chilling on his chair. On the walls to the left and right are his Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address. And inside the memorial is tons and tons of tourists. They swarm everywhere and wherever they go small flashes of light follow as they snap and snap and snap photos. And YES, there are Japanese tourists! Why the Japanese want to see our National History is a little beyond me. I should have taken a picture but I was too polite.

From the Lincoln Memorial you can see the Washington Monument, which is huge as I have mentioned before. Its a good spot for a family photo without too many tourists getting in the way. Since we wanted to see some museums, we decided to walk to the monument and then on to the museums. Big Mistake. It is incredibly hot in Maryland at the moment. I didn't realize I was so fragile, but apparently being a nursing mother requires a lot of energy, leaving little behind for such simple tasks as walking across the National Mall. Once we got to the Monument, we took a break and Kyle took one of his "perspective pictures." He really enjoys playing with his camera.

From the monument we went on our way (stopping only for food, drinks and cool off time) to the National Space and Air Museum which currently houses the Treasures of American History since their normal residence is being renovated. This was perhaps one of the coolest exhibits I have ever seen. First thing on the inside is Abraham Lincoln's hat. His REAL hat. Also, Thomas Edison's light bulb.

Since television and movies is such a big part of American identity, there was a lot of movie memorabilia. The first Kermit the Frog, The Ruby slippers and the Scarecrow's outfit from The Wizard of Oz, R2D2 and C3PO were all showcased there.

Perhaps the best was Mr. Roger's Sweater. Apparently Mr. Roger's mother knitted his sweaters for him. Which makes me wonder briefly whether or not he lived in his mother's basement between episodes.

Anyways. Among the other interesting stuff on display was George Washington's uniform, a sample of the original penicillin mold, a microscopic plutonium sample in a box and so on. To our surprise, there was also a sunstone from the Nauvoo Temple!

After the museum it was time to head home. So Meghan and Kyle played in the grass and chased pigeons while Kyle's parents fetched the car. There is a LOT of pigeons in DC. I even saw one that had been banded for scientific research. I think that may very well be one of the saddest scientific careers I've heard of - tracking pigeons in DC.

After a long drive home, we enjoyed a good nap and a trip well done.

Washington D.C. Day 1

While Kyle's parents were here a couple of weeks ago, we went to Washington D.C.! It was my first time ever. There is a lot of cool stuff in D.C., more then you could ever see in two days. But we did our best to see lots. On the first day, it was just Meghan, Kyle's parents and me. Did you know that the Smithsonian is really a collection of 19 separate museum buildings, most of which are around the National Mall in D.C.? The first place we went was to the National Museum of Natural History. Inside the museum was the Hope Diamond.


Personally, I thought it looked kind of gaudy. But I guess some people like that sort of thing.

The best part of the museum was the stuffed animals. My favorite was the pangolin which looks something like a cross between an armadillo and a possum.

We didn't go to much more that day, but instead enjoyed walking around the mall looking at the buildings. We did find this fountain which shoots up four stories. It also helped to cool us off. At home, I promptly fell asleep. To Be Continued...