The WWII Marine's monument
The Women's monument and museum honoring women who have served our country
Watching the changing of the guard and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Just walking around all of the graves and feeling grateful for the sacrifices of so many, and since we were there on Easter, we couldn't help but feel grateful for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which will ensure resurrection for all of us.
Sunday afternoon, we walked around Arlington a little and explored the area around where we were staying:
That evening, we drove to the DC temple and visited the Visitors Center there
On Monday, we took the metro into DC. We spent the morning visiting the Tidal Basin where all of the major memorials are located and enjoyed all of those. Each one is unique and interesting and beautiful in it's own way.
Jefferson Memorial
Walking around the tidal basin - the Washington Monument is in the background
MLK monument - this was definitely one of our favorites
Lincoln Memorial
FDR Memorial - this one is AMAZING!
Korean War Memorial
Vietnam Memorial
WWII Memorial
We spent that afternoon at the Smithsonian for American History where we saw the original Star spangled banner that inspired the National Anthem, the hat Abraham Lincoln was wearing when he was assassinated, gowns worn by the First ladies at Inaugural balls, along with muppets, American inventions and lots of other cool stuff. We also spent a few hours at the National Gallery of Art, which I think was every bit as cool as The Louvre in terms of the quality of famous art there.
We began Tuesday with a pre-scheduled tour of the Capitol building. If you go, you should definitely pre-arrange this by contacting either your Senator or Representative. You get to see more of the Capitol building and get to go to some places not on the regular tour, plus you are in a small group rather than a group of 80 or more. It was a fun tour and we enjoyed getting to see more of how the government operates. You aren't allowed to take pictures of the really cool things like the Senate or House of Representatives chambers, but here are a couple of pics
rotunda ceiling
By one of Utah's 2 statues in the Capitol building
After leaving the Capitol and getting some lunch, we visited the Supreme Court (super cool!)
We also visited the National Archives where we waited in a really long line to see the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the Smithsonian for American Art, where Seth was able to see yet another of the 250 works of art he wants to see before he dies:
We spent Wednesday morning at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, where we learned about nature and animals and such
That afternoon, we went to the Holocaust Museum and were all left feeling very somber after spending a couple of hours there learning about the rise of Hitler to power in Germany and the horrible things that were done during the Holocaust. We were glad we went, but it was so very, very sad to see what humans can do to each other.
Later in the afternoon, we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, which Bryce absolutely loved. We all liked learning more about flight and space
That evening, we took a "Monuments by Moonlight" tour, which we would highly recommend. It was cool to see all of the monuments that we had enjoyed by daylight all lit up for nighttime, plus we learned a ton from our tour guide and had a lot of fun, too. Seth and Autumn both won a little cash answering trivia questions on the bus as well. ;)
Thursday we drove to Mt. Vernon and spent the day exploring George Washington's plantation along the Potomac River, which was awesome!
We decided on a whim to take a short, 5 mile drive to visit the National Cathedral. The cathedral was super cool, but the traffic was unreal and driving around DC is SOOOOO confusing and our "short" drive ended up taking us more than 3 hours. We did get to see some cool things around DC that we hadn't seen before, like tons of embassies and other cool churches, so that was good. ;)
So there you have our trip to DC - it was so much fun and really educational and we are all glad we went, even Autumn who would rather have spent her Spring Break somewhere warm and sunny. ;)
In other news this month, after spending a few days in Iowa learning all about their graduate program and getting to know the campus and the awesome people who let her stay with them without even knowing her, Megan ultimately decided to stay at Utah State to receive her Master's degree. The program at USU that she was accepted into is really good and exactly what she wants to learn, plus her tuition is 75% covered with a scholarship, and she is being given a living stipend on top of that, so it's a pretty great deal. She will start her 2 year program there on June 4 and is super excited about it!
Megan also had the super cool experience of playing the organ in the Tabernacle on Temple Square with her organ class from USU. It was AMAZING to be there in the tabernacle listening to her play the organ there. Once in a lifetime chance!
Devin continues to do great (I think his most oft used word in his letters home is "amazing"). We sure love hearing from him each week and can't wait to see him on Mother's Day!
We enjoyed an afternoon at the tulip festival at Thanksgiving Point - always so pretty!
Seth had his Senior pics done and is working hard to be ready for his AP tests in May.
He also went to his Senior Prom with Grace and they had a really great time together. Hard to believe his Senior year is quickly winding down.
Autumn finished up her dance competition season with her team from The Pointe. She also tried out for and made the Performing Dance Company at Lone Peak for next year. She is so excited to be part of the HS dance team! They are really good and we are excited to see what the future holds for Autumn in terms of dance. She will still dance competitively next year, but not with The Pointe. It's too many hours outside of school and she wants to have a little more balance in her life. She is really going to miss this studio where she has spent so much of the last 8 years of her life. They are a talented, hard working group, for sure!
Whew! Our marathon post for April is over! See you next month!! :)
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