DC trip recap! + the rest of the weekend

Paul and I had a wonderful trip to the DC area to visit my sister and her family last week. It was a fairly brief trip - we flew out Wednesday morning and got home Saturday afternoon - but it was the right amount of time for us. I like shorter 3-night trips and really like having a one-day buffer before returning to work/school. I opted not to bring Taco on this trip since tickets were stupid expensive (since it was fall break across Mn for an educational conference) and it’s just simpler to travel with 6.5yo Paul. This was my 2nd solo trip with Paul. We visited my sister in the spring of 2022 in AZ. This time around Taco was very aware of the fact that he did not get to come so I promised him that we’ll do a solo trip together in the future. Anyways, here is how we filled the time! 

Wednesday:

My sister and her girls picked us up from the airport and we hung out at their house in Quantico. Her family relocated from Arizona this past summer as her husband is attending special schooling at the Marine Corp University on the Quantico base which is about 45 minutes south of DC. I had never been on a military base so was curious what it would be like. But aside from the gated entrance where she had to show her military ID, it felt like a typical neighborhood with lots of young families.

I thought I hadn’t seen my sister since last September but Abby reminded me we saw each other in April at my grandma’s funeral. I had blocked out that visit since it was so brief and I went by myself since Paul wasn’t feeling well and funerals and an active 3.5 yo aren’t a good combo. Abby is 7 years younger than me but our kids are close in age - our kids’ cousins are much older (they range from 10-20 years old!!). Her oldest is a little younger than Taco and then she has a 16 month old and is pregnant with #3 that is due in late April!

We laid low that afternoon/evening and played at their neighborhood park. 

Enjoying some McD’s pancakes at the airport. I had to text Kae since her boys both work at McD’s. And Paul was wearing a hand-me-down shirt from her boys!

My 3.5yo niece Maddy and Paul. She was a little shy around him at first.

Riding a remote control car at the park that belonged to another family! They really got a kick out of this.

It didn’t take long for Maddy to get over her shyness. She scooted right up next to Paul and he read some Dog Man to her. Hopefully he did not pollute her mind with potty humor…

Thursday:

We had breakfast at home, hung out for a bit and then went to the Smithsonian National Zoo mid-morning. Like most Smithsonian places in DC, admission was free although Abby did pay to reserve parking. 

I was amazed at Maddy’s interest in and ability to color! Taco has zero interest in coloring and scribbles when he does color.

They enjoyed watching the Orangutan eat popcorn!

Millie, Maddy and Paul! Paul rode in the stroller a decent amount.

After the zoo we came back home and the kids played in the backyard. Then we ordered pizza and the kids watched a movie - The Grinch! Turns out Maddy likes this movie as much as Taco does. 

Friday:

This was definitely the highlight of the trip - we went to the Mall and saw some of the monuments! Paul was SO EXCITED about this! 

Paul really loved being the ‘big’ cousin for a change. He was so sweet with both of his cousins, especially Millie!

Abby and me!

I love his ‘senior picture pose’ at the WWII monument. He came up with this pose on his own.

Paul and I on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Monument behind us

We ended up seeing the Washington monument, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and Korean War Memorial. We also saw the Capitol building and White House from the distance. There is soooo much to see in DC so we definitely need to come back as we just barely scratched the surface. But considering the ages of the kids we had with us, I think we saw quite a bit that day! My sister expects that they will live in DC for awhile and Phil has a cousin that lives out here so we have lots of reasons to come back!

When we got back the kids played in the backyard again and then we went out for Mexican. 

Cousin love! I love how Maddy is looking at Paul.

Saturday:

We had a noon flight so we had a slow start to the day and then Abby and the girls dropped us off at the airport. Paul and I grabbed some Cava (basically Mediterranean chipotle - it is so good!) and then boarded our flight home. 

I got a kick out of watching Paul carefully put hummus on each small piece of pita with a knife. 

Phil and Taco picked us up at the airport and we headed home. It was a beautiful fall day so we raked leaves and the boys jumped in the piles.

Pretending the leaf pile was their bed.

Sunday was the usual program - I ran, then we went to church/Sunday school and had swimming lessons in the afternoon. And we added in a visit to CVS for flu shots for both and a COVID booster for Paul (they couldn’t give one to Taco due to his age so he’ll get one at his 4yo appointment in December). 

Today I fly to NJ for work. I can’t say I am excited about this since I just got back from a trip but so it goes. I have another trip next week (to Detroit), get a one week break, have back-to-back weeks of travel (DC and NYC) and then it’s Thanksgiving. I only travel once in December (NJ again) thank goodness. I knew going to DC would add more travel to an already heavy season of travel - but it was worth it!! I just hope Taco sleeps better during my work trip this week. He was up 1-2 times/night during our DC trip. He tends to wake during the night when I travel. 

I’ll leave you with a picture from my run on Sunday and another leaf play pic from later than day! It’s so gorgeous in Minneapolis right now although it’s bizarre that it was 80F yesterday.