Washington DC

Shortly after clicking "buy" for our airline tickets to Washington D.C., I realized something: our kids really didn't know much about D.C.
As much as my mind naturally wrapped around the logistics, I really wanted to cultivate a general understanding of where we were going, and why we loved it so much.
As fun as it would have been to create the element of 'surprise! we're going on vacation today!' I know myself and my kiddos well enough to realize whatever I planned in my head, the exact opposite would probably occur. For my sanity, I completely deleted that thought almost as quickly as it came in, and focused instead on building excitement for the upcoming trip.

• At Dinner: We started sharing our favorite D.C. things during dinner (most) evenings. And, while I'd love to claim that I remember all kinds of dates and facts, I actually pretty much forget most everything, so I'd start by mentioning a site or a President I LOVED, and the we'd look up answers as questions came up.
• The Library: I *think* we checked out every book about Washington D.C. AND my favorite presidents (Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson), so belated apologies if you tried to pick one up while we had them. The kiddos LOVED reading little facts here or there, and looking at photos - which was a great way to familiarize them with the city. The library also had a Washington D.C. DVD that was a simple virtual tour. Tayler loved it.
• A Blank Poster Board: I actually love creating lists and ideas with a blank poster board. We hung it on our pantry door, and wrote down a 'bucket list' of places that sounded interesting, or places we knew we wanted to go as we found them. Side note: one rainy afternoon, I actually gave my older two another poster board and three of the D.C. library books and challenged them to create something to share with the family. Max is pretty fond of presentations (ha!) and jumped on this opportunity. It was fun to listen to their findings on President Lincoln.
• Art: Please don't confuse this for the word 'craft.' I'm not much of a crafter (love seeing the amazing things others do, but have blessed and released that word from my immediate vocabulary. Imagining a 'craft project' with my kids feels complicated and gives me anxiety. Use the word 'art' or 'create' and I'm all over it.). Anyway, we all created our own National Mall using construction paper, glue, and well, more glue.
• Stories: Since we were grateful to be staying with a childhood friend of Mike's and their family, Mike shared all kinds of childhood stories. That was fun.

For me, those pockets of time - in the car, at dinner, or after school - were opportunities to throw in a little side conversation about where we were going. I found it helped me feel more excited about the JOY and the WHY for going (that matter!) and less anxious about the logistics and things that seem to consume so much mental thought (what to pack, what not to pack, will I pack enough, will I pack too much - tell me I'm not the only one that goes through this!) and don't really matter too much.
This 'building excitement' phase was so cool once we finally arrived on vacation. They would mention a story, or a phrase, or a little fact they'd heard or read. Loved listening to them draw their own connections at the various memorials and soak in the joy of simply standing IN something they'd studied and seen photos of. So grateful for those moments.
A few of the places we loved:

• The Washington D.C. Temple Visitors Center: we actually flew into Baltimore (flights were cheaper AND direct), so this was a natural stop on our way to the D.C. area. We love sharing our love for the temple with our kiddos, why we believe in the importance of temples, and why we believe in the powerful importance of the family unit. The visitors center had some fun, interactive spots for the kiddos.

• The White House: we walked over after eating lunch at a Potbelly's close by. Snapped a pic, waved hello, and headed on (we didn't schedule a tour).

• The monuments and war memorials. While we did walk a lot, there were plenty of places to take a break. We packed some snacks and waters. They were ALL amazing.

• Mt. Vernon: We actually spent an entire day here! In addition to touring the house, my kids loved the little adventure map where they found certain clues, and at the end filled in a puzzle in return for a small prize at the gift shop. Super engaging for them. We also loved the 4D movie in the museum. The path to the Potomac river is simply beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the farmers 'farm' as they did in 1899. As we drove out of Mt. Vernon, we stopped at the Mill (still in operation!) - so cool.

• Arlington Cemetery: This was probably the most anxious place for me with the almost two-year-old because I knew she wouldn't grasp where she was AND there wasn't much to distract her with. But we wanted to share this sacred place with the rest of the crew, so we rolled up our sleeves and jumped in. And actually, she did pretty well, except for the end (see previous DC post). We were SO grateful to share our deep gratitude for all those who have served and sacrificed for this beautiful, amazing country. And to visually create that experience was completely worth the craziness.
• "Driving Tour": Thanks to our amazing hosts, we had a car during our stay and great tips on how/where to park. FYI: there's a cool app that connects your parking meter to your phone and helps you pay/track how much time you have left. We found it handy! Because we did have a car, we enjoyed a driving tour past many of the buildings we simply didn't have time to see (or really aren't allowed to go in!). Such a cool city as you can really delve into the history as well as the current life/energy simultaneously.
• The Smithsonians: We didn't make it to all of them, but these are some highlights for the ones we did peek inside:
  • The Museum of Natural History: Max was a bit bummed what he had planned to see (the Hope Diamond) wasn't on display that day, but there were PLENTY of other gems and rocks for him to explore. While the museum was chuck full of school groups, we still saw loads.
  • The Air and Space Museum: We really liked seeing the inner workings of the various ships and rockets on display.
  • The Native American Museum: Alexis chose this one (I think) because the exterior of the building is so cool. There was a really enjoyable native american short movie we watched and loads of beautiful beadwork/artifacts on display.
  • The Art Museum: Max chose this one, and I won't lie, when he said he wanted to go to the art museum, I responded "you know it's art on the walls to look at, right? Like you can't actually make art, right?" After he gave me the "look" (like of-course-I-know-that-mom), we headed over. Hands down, it was a crowd favorite! The Van Gogh, Monet and Degas paintings were probably where we spent the most time, but we could have spent another half a day in that museum (if we didn't have the one year old with us!). The architecture within the actual museum was so cool.
  • The Renwick Museum: I actually heard about this one from a friend, and was hesitant as it was called a 'craft museum' (read above for an explanation of my love of the word craft). I was BLOWN AWAY! First, if I were only to walk through the restored building with NOTHING in it, I would have been happy. It was BEAUTIFUL! But to have these rooms filled with creative ART (tires, marbles, fishing nets, bugs) in ways I never thought?! It completely opened my mind and we all absolutely loved seeing the beauty. Probably my favorite part was listening to the kiddos say "oh! I'm going to try that when I get home!" or "cool! this makes me want to..." It definitely sparked some creative juices.

• The Potomac: we were grateful to spend time with some amazing friends who actually lived close to the river. While we didn't end up 'hanging out' there (it was actually quite rainy most of the trip), we absolutely LOVED driving by/over it as we traveled in and out of the city. So. Much. History. And. Beauty!
• Souvenirs: I'm not a big fan of 'things' that end up either breaking or cluttering once we come home, but we have really enjoyed a couple of fun Washington D.C. books we found and I always find a Christmas ornament (that's a tradition I started years ago with places we visit and/or live).

We were beyond grateful to share this auh-mazing city with our kiddos, and for such auh-mazing friends who let us crash at their place and keep their kids up way too late! Fun memories.