A Weekend in D.C. with Fall Visitors From Minnesota

Each year, one of my cousins from Minnesota comes out to D.C. for a conference.  This year, he brought his mom (my mom's sister) and his nephew with him.  So, we all headed up for the weekend to spend time with them.  We had a great time!

We headed up Saturday morning and ran around a bit while
we waited for the rest of our group to arrive from Minnesota.

Ice cream from a food truck on a warm day tastes pretty good!

Outside the capitol.

The girls had a lot of fun looking at the trees
around the capitol, though not all were as
big as this monster.

I think the girls would have been happy hanging out at this
pool watching the ducks all day.

The Botanical Gardens was having a special
hands-on program for kids, which the girls
thoroughly enjoyed.

Planting at the Botanical Gardens

The butterfly whisperer at the Botanical Gardens

Clowning around outside the Museum of the
American Indian.

Here's the whole gang!  I tried to get the White House in the
background but it didn't work.  You can see a corner of the Old
Executive Office Building, though.

I think these two have missed each other.  They held hands
whenever we walked.

We did a lot of walking this weekend!

Experiencing everything there is to do around the
Mall, even the public water fountains.

Ahh, cousins :)

All the walking wore out Anja.  Fortunately
Grandpa was there to give a lift.

This bench is at the foot of the
Washington Monument and is curved so
when you lay back on it you can
look up and see the monument from
a very cool perspective.

Washington Monument!

White House!

Silly kids

The Air and Space Museum is really cool, with some great
hands-on exhibits for kids.

One part of the Air and Space Museum had an exhibit about early
navigation and exploration.  This was my favorite part, I think.

I thought this dog statue was a little out of place at the Air and Space
Museum, but the kids loved it.  The dog is modeled after one that
accompanied an early Arctic exploration who was brought with
to rescue people who fell overboard.

My mom and her sister, Margaret.

After Air and Space we hit the Museum of Natural History.
  The girls LOVE this museum!

We wandered through a sculpture garden
on our way from one museum to another.

It was a great weekend in D.C.!

A Visit to the National Zoo

Being 50 miles from Washington, D.C. gives us opportunities for all kinds of great things.  Last weekend we drove up and visited the National Zoo!

Elise and Anja are animal lovers and they enjoy anything having to do with animals.  They prefer hands-on animal activities, but still get excited about a visit to the zoo.

Pandas!

The biggest attraction at the zoo right now are the pandas.  Last summer a panda cub was born at the zoo, and people have been pretty excited to see Bao Bao, the baby.  We headed to see the pandas first and were fortunate to find them outside!

The mama, Mei Xiang

Mei seemed to be looking for her baby.

Baby Bao Bao was hiding down below the ledge,
so cute!

Lions and tigers and wolves, oh my!

We got to see some tigers from a distance, and outside the exhibit the girls compared their hands to the huge paws of a tiger.

So much to see and do

We made plenty of stops for snacks
and treats.



The view is better from on top
of Jason's shoulders.

AAAAAGH!  Elise is being eaten by a dinosaur!

Anja found the dinosaur much less threatening.

That dinosaur footprint is HUGE!

Anja got a lift from Grandpa
when she got tired.

These girls love amphibians!

Getting a closer look

Taking a ride on the carousel.

Otters!  The real ones were
fun to watch.

A very happy girl.

This is in the Amazonia exhibit.  There were even
bigger fish in the tank, but I didn't get
them in the picture.  These fish are huge!
It made me decide I never want to be in any
water of the Amazon.

The National Zoo is pretty large, and we visited as many animals as we could before we got worn out and headed home.  We didn't feel too bad about not seeing them all, as the National Zoo is free and we will certainly go back again.  Whatever we missed on this trip we will see next time!