Washington DC

Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Washington DC for a couple of days. Home sweet home! We love DC! We spent one day at the zoo, which is always awesome. We love zoos. We didn't get to see the pandas because the mother had just had the new baby and was still in seclusion. We don't know when we'll get back there again, but we're excited that there will be a baby when we go! We lived in DC when the Smithsonian zoo had the last baby panda, and we were able to see him a few times before we moved. So cute!

We spent our second day downtown on the Mall - we started at the FDR and MLK Jr. monuments. We hadn't seen the MLK Jr. one since it had been finished. It's ... huge. Of course he's a majorly important person in our country's history but the sheer size of it seemed excessive.

We headed to the Smithsonian Castle to meet some local friends for lunch, and ate in a little garden area. The girls spent the entire hour ignoring their food and all the people around, and instead played in a fountain.

Then over to the National Museum of Natural Science - Sunny's favorite place ever. She loves science and I wonder if this museum is what got her started as a preschooler. She remembers taking her picture by the big elephant in the rotunda when she was 2 (she's 7 now). We saw the Hope Diamond, went through the butterfly house, and watched a movie in the Ocean Hall. The next time we go down, I will be better prepared with materials for her to work with - a scavenger hunt, questions to find the answers to, etc. We really could spend an entire day there.

Family picture by a frog at the zoo.

Watching the sea lions from below with a friend who met us at the zoo (who still lives in DC).

With Dad and FDR and his dog.

The Natural History Smithsonian rotunda. We always get a picture by this elephant. 

In the butterfly house at the Natural History Museum.