It was the best of times...

By now many of you have heard bits and pieces of our vacation story. We'd thought we'd share some of our highlights before we go into the more "sanctifying" details...

Columbus was wonderful - HOT - but wonderful. Thor is so much fun. He's a typical almost-2-year-old in that he jabbers constantly (some things you understand, some you don't), he is into everything, and he doesn't appreciate being thwarted in his efforts to explore his world. He's especially "Thor" in that he is constantly trying to figure out how things work, he's very sensitive to others' emotions, he's good for a laugh, and who can resist those bluer-than-blue eyes? Hannah really took to Thor (as I think Thor did to Hannah...and Rudy too :o) Solomon is absolutely adorable! He looks like Stephanie as much as Thor looks like Ryan. He's a snuggler, and it was so good to hold that little baby after praying for him for so long. If you could catch his eye and talk to him, Solomon would give you a dimply grin and start "talking" right back. Sarah enjoyed the fact that he'd fall asleep on her shoulder. We all enjoyed making rhymes and songs to go with Solomon's name. "Solomander", "Solo-man", "Solomon, Solomon, don't forget the Solomon", "Solonator", "Solomon, Solomon, oh Solly Solly Solly"...(to the tune of Lollipop). Stephanie and Ryan were wonderful hosts. We went to 2 different pools - this was PERFECT considering the heat. We joined their church for VBS. We saw a replica of the Santa Maria - get it? We were in Columbus?! It was interesting, but just too hot to fully enjoy it. We saw where Ryan worked. We also spent a day at the Columbus Zoo. Other than just being able to spend time together with family, the zoo was probably our highlight in Ohio.

Next stop: Washington D.C.

We drove the 8 or so hours from Columbus to D.C. on Friday, July 9th. The kids played in the hotel pool while Mom and Dad made plans for the next few days. That evening we drove into D.C. to see the monuments at night. Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, WWII Memorial (this was our favorite, you'll be able to tell why from the photo), Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the Capitol. This was a wonderful way to get all of us excited for what was to come. This was also just a warm-up for all of the walking we'd be doing in hot and sticky weather - yes, even at night.

Sarah was super-pumped for riding the subway the next morning. After a hassle with using our credit card to buy Metro passes (you can only charge so much per card so we had to go back to the hotel to get another card to use) we were on our way. It was raining so we decided to do the Smithsonian Museums: Air & Space, Art, and American History. It was extremely busy that day as everyone else had the same idea for a rainy day that we did. Still enjoyable though... We stopped at Arlington National Cemetery on the way back to our hotel. Here we saw the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is an extremely formal and precise ceremony - so cool! They asked for complete silence. I think our children were so in awe of the whole thing, they hardly would've been able to speak anyway.

Sunday: Monuments in the daytime - Had a snack by the reflecting pool and the kids had a blast sharing their animal crackers with the ducks there. I know, I know...please no comments on the horrors of feeding processed human food to these innocent creatures. This might have been the highlight of the entire morning. No really...this time I think the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was our favorite. We looked up the name of someone Grandpa knew of who was killed in the war. This kind of brought the whole thing to life for the children. They were intrigued by the number of names on the wall and asked questions about why we fought the war. We talked about the disrespectful behavior toward soldiers when they returned home...good discussion; sad, but good. Had lunch in Union Station and spent the afternoon in the Old Post Office Museum. Due to the lack of people at the museum that day, the kids were able to fully experience the museum and all of the exhibits. They all enjoyed it. Back to the hotel for swimming. Sarah was running a fever so she napped. We all enjoyed the down time.

Monday was Nedra's birthday so we tried to cater to her. Everyone was willing (or at least faked being willing) to pose for photos. Dana went alone into DC on the Metro (subway) early Monday morning to get us tickets to visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The rest of us were able to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. We visited the Holocaust Museum (only the part that was for children). We had read Corrie Ten Boom's biography so the children were somewhat familiar with what went on, but the exhibit was very good at explaining the Holocaust from a child's perspective. It was a sobering morning. Ethan's comment on his "postcard" to Daniel (the boy in the exhibit), "I'm really sad this happened to you." Hannah wondered how people could do that to other people. Sarah's postcard, "Dear Daniel, This is sad. I'm sorry for you."

Our tour to see how they make money was at 12:30. We got to see them making the new $100 bills that don't go into circulation until February 2011. We saw a block of $1,000,000 worth of $10 bills. That's a LOT of money! We tried to go to the Archives to see the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, but the line was incredibly long so we can say we "saw" them from a distance. We finished up the day with a little more time in the Art Museum. That evening we went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant we'd discovered online. We even got a free piece of ricotta cheese cake for Nedra's birthday. Doesn't sound the best, but trust me, IT WAS WONDERFUL!

On Tuesday, Dana, Hannah, and Sarah toured the White House and Capitol. They got to see Bo, the First Family's dog. They also spent some more time in the Air and Space Museum. Ethan and Nedra were on a different sort of tour...photos of the trip and "the rest of the story" soon to come. Brace yourselves....