Happy Easter!

Alstan’s first driving lesson with Aunt Nette!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

We were running a little behind this year. We dyed our eggs Saturday morning, right before heading to the farm for Easter. 

Last Day in DC

We enjoyed our early morning experience yesterday so much, we decided to get up early again today and try again. It was much colder this morning, but a worthwhile way to start our last day in DC.

After returning to the hotel for an hour or so to warm up, we walked back to check out the Museum of American History. 

… and a walk through the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden!

Our afternoon consisted of a visit to Mt. Vernon and George Washington’s home.

Full Day of Sightseeing

We started our day at 6:30 with a walk to the Lincoln Memorial. We were hoping to catch the sunrise and enjoy the monuments without such big crowds. While it was a bit chilly, it was a very cool experience.

We got in the on-site ticket line about 45 min. before sales opened, and we were glad we did.

We were able to get tickets for a 9:00 viewing. They were sold out by the time we walked from the ticket booth to the start of our waiting line. It turned out to be a great experience.

We then walked to the Jefferson Memorial through all the beautiful cherry blossoms.

After lunch, we made our way to the Museum of Natural History and a quick stop at the National Gallery of Art before it closed. By the time we made our way back to our hotel, we were all ready to chill for a bit.

National Treasures

We started our morning at the National Archives.This made “Favorite Part of the Day” for Alstan and tied the White House for Elsie.

On our way to tour the White House we ran into Alstan’s Civics and American History teacher. Although it was a cool coincidence, he did not give us any extra insights aside from which way the end of the line was.

Our last visit of the day was the Library of Congress. This wasn’t originally in our plans, but so glad we made it happen.

Day 2

We started with a tour of the capitol.

We followed that up with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

First Day in DC

We made it!

Adam has been watching the predictions for the peak bloom of the cherry blossoms. We actually missed it by two days, but they are still beautiful!

Trip to Washington DC

Family trips are great times together. Here is a photo from a rest area as we road trip out to Washington DC.

Alstan’s 14th Birthday Party

One of his friends really made him work for his gift. The many layers are shown on the coffee table.

These two have been friends since they could walk. Alstan has always been the shorter of the two by quite a bit. Looks like he’s caught up for now.

2nd Gymnastics Meet

Here are a few photos from Elsie’s last meet.

Elsie’s 12th Birthday Party

She made cupcakes with a surprise filling instead of a cake.

Elsie chose to go ice skating again this year for her birthday party. This year, unlike last time, we we’re actually able to go skating! She had a great time celebrating her last day of being eleven.

Elsie’s 1st Gymnastics Meet

Elsie was excited and nervous to finally be able to compete yesterday! She did great and is looking forward to her next competition in February.

Christmas Sleepover with Their Cousins

Elsie ended up getting really sick the weekend we were supposed to go to Grandma and Grandpa Zielicke’s for Christmas. That is when Alstan and Elsie usually exchange their gifts with their cousins. Since we had a sleepover planned for Christmas break, we made that into a second Christmas celebration so the kids could exchange their gifts.