April in DC

Hi guys!

With every passing day, my belly grows bigger and our mobile time in the east draws to a close, so we're having a few final eastern hurrahs. We decided to spend a few days in DC at the museums with the boys. Our first stop (of course!) was the new Air and Space out by Dulles. My personal favorites were watching the take-offs / landings at Dulles from the mock control tower and this baby:

Next day we visited the Washington...

Highlights of the day included a very personable elephant
3 hung-over amigos
and THE GIANT PANDA

We also ran into some friends from Des Moines, the Iwaasas, as we were leaving. They're in Harrisburg for their residency and happened to be in DC the same week, at the zoo the same day. We went to the temple for a quick photo shoot and had dinner. So fun to see you guys!

Spring was so slow in coming to PA that we were completely taken with any bits of color

Then we tackled the Smithsonian. Most of our time in the museums felt a little like this:

But the boys ended up doing way better than I expected. I think they may have actually had a little fun! I know we did.

I liked seeing Julia's kitchen. Don't you love how every inch is used up, down to hanging framed artwork on the cupboard fronts?
The American History Museum had a fabulous little kid zone we could have played at .all day long. Here's James' concentration face (I'll be sad when this phase passes!):
His favorite musical marble tower:When we'd had enough indoor time, we grabbed lunch on the Mall. Can you tell the boys had been harassed to stay close to mom and dad a little too long?

hey. come back here.

We made our way past the Washington Monument and a perfect climbing tree:

Then finally down to see the cherry blossoms. Although we were there during the week predicted to be the peak for the blossoms, we spent most of our time looking at the cherry blossoms down below:

.in the water. They were completely done!

Except for one or two trees. But it was still very pretty.

That night, in an early celebration of Jer's bday, we went to Rosa Mexicano. I'm pretty sure it was the highlight of the week -- possibly even the month -- for Jeremy. Every bite was scrumptious and every penny well spent. Yum.

We ended our trip with a visit to the National Arboretum. Aside from the Bonsai, the park was forgettable. The Bonsai garden, however, I could have admired for an entire day. What an interesting artform. New to me, and I'm taken. I want to learn more! This one has been in training since 1625:

A few of them, like the one above and the few below, did more for my imagination than anything has since princess fairytales. These mini landscapes were by far my favorites.

Finally, a tree that illustrates how the following 6 weeks would be for us weather-wise. We thought Spring and warmth were here to stay, but instead we've had some rather blustery days. Glad we got to enjoy a week in the slightly warmer and springier "south."

We finished that week with such mixed feelings. Of course we're delighted about the upcoming additions to our family, but the boys were PERFECT the whole trip. It was so much fun, just the four of us! I know things will be much more complicated for years to come: more expenses, more tickets, more little running feet to follow. But lots of people promise it will be that much more fun. ...if we survive the first year... dun. dun. dun... At any rate, we're so glad we could take that week to spend with just our "four family." Wish you all could have joined us!