Come one, come all!

March has been the month of visits for us. Living away from family makes us a little sad sometimes. There's always a part of us that's living our year looking forward to our Christmas trek to Louisiana where we can be with family. This past month has been a little like Christmas all over again. We had our good friends the Witesman's come out for a long weekend. Then most of my side of the family was able to visit during their spring break. Finally, Jan and Gary just came out for Eden's spring break (pictures forthcoming in the next post--we're playing catch-up.) It was great having my mom and 2 of my siblings here (we missed you dad and Julie!!) with their kiddos. We spent our days out and about seeing all the sights and our nights playing. Eden and Fox loved having sleepovers with their cousins for a whole week. The kids were exceptionally well behaved--everyone ate their dinner and no one complained when they were tired. I think we were all so happy to just be together. I can't say enough what it means to us to have the people we love drive 20+ hours in the car with little ones to see us. We feel so loved. So, after all those hours they spent in the car, we had them all pile back in as soon as they arrived so we could show them downtown at night. But seeing all the monuments lit up at night is a must. It was cold, cold, cold but worth the trip out.  We hit most of the major monuments when they were here. It's too bad the cherry blossom bloom was delayed this year. But I suppose I shouldn't complain about that. They're in full bloom now and the pollen is killing us! One of our favorite monuments is the Einstein Memorial. It was impossible to get a photo of everyone looking at the camera, but I like it better this way. I couldn't decide which one was my favorite. What do you think? Here we are waiting in line at Georgetown cupcakes. Emma watched the show and wanted to try out the real deal. Mom watched the little ones while we headed down there. The line wasn't too bad (only about 20 people ahead of us). Of course we had to go to the Natural History Museum. Laura and I got caught in the rain. A lot of rain. We were completely soaked by the time we made it inside. People just stared at us. Luckily there were plenty of hand dryers in the bathroom. I wasn't the only one wringing out my clothes. We also headed to the American Indian Museum. We never get tired of coming to this place. I think it turned out to be a favorite for everyone. The kids had a great time in the interactive kid zone; the grown ups got to sneak off to see the other floors; the gift shop is unique and many of the items are handmade by Native Americans; and Mitsam Cafe is the best museum food in the District. Ask mom and Seth about their buffalo burgers. Meet officer Dookie, (spelled Dqqkie?). After the Native American Museum we headed to the Capitol Building for just a few minutes. We were so glad we did. A security officer there took us under his wing and let us into a restricted area for pictures. He told all the kids that he was their family now (Fox was very, very confused by this) and took us back to his truck where he gave the kids a ton of police stickers and some cokes out of the back of his car. He also showed us his chocolate handcuffs. Nicest guy you ever met. He gave us his card to call him for a private tour. I told the kids that under normal circumstances they would never follow a stranger to the back of their car and take stuff from their trunk...but I was with them....so it was ok...just this time. About halfway through the trip our brother-in-law Brent was able to fly up but I didn't get any pictures. I can't believe we didn't get a family photo. Did someone else get one of you guys, Laura? We're so glad you all came out to visit us and see DC. It flew by all too quickly and we miss you more than ever now.