Washington DC

For Memorial Day we took a family vacation to Washington DC. It wasn't long into the trip before I realized that vacationing with a baby takes a lot of the "vacation" out of the trip. So it wasn't a surprise that I was exhausted at the end of every day and was happy to return home to normal schedules and naps. Overall, it was a great adventure and we're glad we got to experience DC.

Cheryl and Wayne

While visiting DC, we stayed with Jason's aunt and uncle. They were so good to us and fed us well. That was the one true part of the vacation, a break from making meals. :) I enjoyed visiting the Janzens and getting to know them better, and it didn't take Ethan long to warm up to them either! Thanks, Cheryl and Wayne!

Since you would all get bored of a full recap, here are the favorites and highlights.

Jason's favorites: listening to 1776 by David McCullough on the 11-12 hr. drive there and back, listening to and asking questions of a superb Lady Washington actress at Mount Vernon, talking to Cheryl and Wayne

Julie's favorites: visiting the Washington DC Temple Visitor's Center, walking around the beautiful monuments and memorials, watching the Mount Vernon 4D movie "The Revolutionary War" where it actually snowed on us in the theater

Least Favorites: Ethan throwing up all over Jason in the Air and Space Museum (fortunately, we brought a change of clothes for Ethan--unfortunately, we did not for Jason), cold and rainy weather when visiting the memorials (thanks for the extra umbrella, Cheryl), trying to find a private place anywhere to nurse (we ended up being creative and loosening our definition of "private"), going to the Air and Space Museum twice and never really seeing an exhibit, trying to decide what to do when and constantly revising our plans once we decided what to do.

Washington DC temple

Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Jefferson Memorial

Korean War Memorial, FDR Memorial, the White House, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Memorial Day at Arlington Cemetery - apparently the place to be since Pres. Obama was there too - Merlon's (Grandpa R.'s brother's) grave, and the tomb of the unknown soldier

Mount Vernon

Ford's Theatre, the Metro, the Capitol Building (including Brigham Young)

Some of the Smithsonians: Air and Space Museum, Natural History, & American History (including a Sunstone Capital from the Nauvoo Temple)

How we traveled on our trip - we also rode a hop on/hop off bus the last day which helped us stay out of the rain somewhat

We learned a lot from this trip and would change a lot if we were to go back and do it again. But, we did it, and that's what counts! I can finally cross this off my bucket list. If anyone wants any Do's and Don'ts of visiting Washington DC with a 10-month-old, let me know!