Tour of the Capitol Building

Taking a tour of the US Capitol during much of the country's Spring Break (with three little ones in tow) proved to be a fun adventure!

 

Our tour guide led us through a number of tunnels, until we got to a line...where we waited close to an hour...but it was worth it!

 

 

 

The Ceiling of the Rotunda in the Capitol Building

 

 

 

"In 1864, in accordance with legislation sponsored by Representative Justin Morrill, Congress invited each state to contribute two statues of prominent citizens for permanent display in the room, which was renamed National Statuary Hall." Utah's donation is below.

 

A picture through the window

 

This was a great learning experience for our family. I would recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

 

You can book a tour on the Capitol's government website.

 

Hershey Chocolate Factory

If you are looking for a good time on the east coast, look no further than the Hershey Chocolate factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania!

 

Take a {FREE}GREAT AMERICAN CHOCOLATE TOUR RIDE tour.

From their site: Follow our cocoa beans on a journey from the tropical rainforest to the SWEETEST PLACE ON EARTH – Hershey, Pennsylvania! See, feel, hear, and smell the delicious transformation from bean to HERSHEY'S famous chocolate. Then, enjoy a FREE sample on us!

 

It was a really cute tour.

 

Check out this cake in the bakery...my boys really wanted it.

 

 

One of the more fun things for the kids was  the HERSHEY'S CREATE YOUR OWN CANDY BAR ATTRACTION-it was $15 and a total blast! There were all kinds of sweets mixed into the candy bar and you get to personalize your candy bar wrapper.

 

There is a shop inside the factory where you can purchase (almost) anything you can imagine related to Hershey, including candy and clothing. We bought a HUGE Twizzlers package.

 

This was a fun Fun FUN place to visit. Can't wait until the amusement park is open so we can return when the weather allows!

We went sledding!

Sledding at the park

 

 

It was awesome! And no one cried :)

First Christmas in D.C.

 

The National Zoo Lights were wonderful

 

 

The Washington DC temple is even more exciting and beautiful at night

 

Inside Gaylord Hotel at the National Harbor

The Tree at the National Harbor-it was amazing! It changed colors every few seconds.

 

Next year we hope to visit the National Christmas Tree in front of the White House.

 

Wish we could have been with family with all that was going on. Thank goodness for FaceTime/ Skype!

Thanksgiving and Zoo Lights

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with our friends.

 

We ended the weekend at the National Zoo ZooLights, and it was awesome.

 

 

And they had trains set up with a Thomas train, and that made little Al very happy.

 

 

Zebra Lights

And the night ended with a dancing Panda bear in a gigantic snow globe, of course.

 

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy

Wow. Hurricane Sandy. It is amazing that weather forecasters were warning us for many days before the storm (Frankenstorm) came.

We had school and work cancelled...and the Governor of Maryland scared many into staying in their homes by saying people are going to die in this storm. Sadly, many people did.

We had LOTS of rain, and enormous amounts of wind.

Now, it is time to clean up the mess. Luckily, no trees fell on our car like last time. We are feeling pretty blessed.

The National Zoo-a fun place to visit!

We are F.O.N.Z.

{Friends Of the National Zoo}

 

Zebras

 

Our friend, the giant panda, Tian Tian. His wife panda had a baby panda the night before

(Sadly, the panda cub died).

He was hiding from the paparazzi that surrounded the zoo, so it was only natural that we try to snap a photo too.

 

 

 

Tortoises.

As Al said, Baby, Mama, Dada.

We are big fans of the zoo. It is FREE to get in, you just have to pay to get there, or pay to park once you are there.