Trip to see Daddy

Daddy is living in Falls Church, VA which is just minutes from DC. So we wanted to take the opportunity while he is there for the kids to get to see all the sites and museums. The museums & almost all sites are free, so we couldn't miss out on this chance! The kids (and Tommy and I, too) got to do so many "firsts" on this trip. The first of which for the kids was riding a bus! Ha! We took an airport shuttle from the parking lot to the terminal in Tulsa and Tag was so excited to ride a bus for the first time! :) We rode the metro in DC, which was a first for all of us, and just lots of other things. There are just so many big and little things to experience in the world and I love getting to show a little of it to the kids! The kids went to school that Thursday and I picked them up and we headed straight to the airport for our flight. I must say, it was the sweetest thing to see how excited they were to be so close to seeing Daddy!


This was around midnight when we finally arrived at Daddy's house.

Tommy is one of the most thoughtful people I know and he loves more than anything to make the kids happy. He had them both little surprises to occupy them while he was at work the next day. One of Bella's surprises were these press on Princess fingernails. She thought she was something else! So cute!

While Daddy was at the hospital, the kids and I went walking around behind the house. It was just beautiful and peaceful there. There are running/bike trails and a few small playgrounds. This was a pretty stream behind the house.

DC is known for their cherry blossoms and I was hoping we'd get to see the trees blooming. We missed most of them but this one was in the park. Beautiful!

A cherry blossom.

Cuties sitting in the blossoms. When the wind blows they fall from the tree like snow.

Pretty girl!

Having fun!

That night we went to the mall. It was 3 stories and the biggest mall I've ever been to. Tag is really into Legos right now and they had the coolest Lego store!

We had just gotten off the metro and were heading to the The Mall (Smithsonian) when we spotted the streetside hot dog stand. :)

The Museum of Natural History

Huge T Rex head! It was amazing to see all the dinosary bones!

The Hope Diamond

The Rotunda in the Museum of Natural History

The White House!

Mommy's turn...wish we had gotten a family pic here. AND wish people wouldn't just sit there in front of it so they aren't in the background.

View of White House from the south side

Bella Rose has become a huge fan of Wizard of Oz and could not wait to see Dorothy's slippers at the Museum of American History!

Inside Union Station

Union Station - just beautiful!

1st trip on the open top tour bus! And it was quite cold.

National Cathedral - so beautiful!

Arlington Cemetary, very emotional and humbling experience to see

JFK's gravesite with the eternal flame

The Beautiful Amphitheater at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetary

Soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier. This is the most amazing thing to see how much detail goes into showing respect and honor. You can hear a pin drop because of the silence and it just will give you tears and chills. Awesome! I am uploading videos that I will post later.

Changing of the Guard

Our tiny kids sitting in the huge Amphitheater! ;)

The flowers were beautiful at Arlington Cemetary

Riding the open top tour bus!

He makes me the happiest girl!

Our last stop was the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

So much bigger than I would have ever imagined! Awesome to see!!

As you can see we saw packed lots of things into this short visit and had a great time! Tommy will finish up in Virginia on May 7th and starts his OB rotation in Orlando on the May 10th. I'm not sure when we will see him again because we are waiting to see what his schedule is in Orlando before we make plans for the kids and I to join him. Of course we want to be with him as soon as the kids finish the school year (last day is May 24th), but I also don't want to be stuck in a hotel room with the kids while he's working long hours if he has a bad schedule that rotation. So for now we have a countdown of 20 days left of school!! And then we will go to WM and from there we will eventually travel to Orlando. Tommy will finish in Orlando on June 18 and we will come back to WM, then Tommy and I will come back to Tulsa to move out of our apt before the end of June! And then another chapter of our journey will be closed!