Spring Break!!!

We've had a wonderful week of Spring Break! We were so lucky to have my sister Becky come and be with us for the last week. We have loved every minute of having her back with us. She is so patient and loving with the kids and they just adore her! She was even brave enough to go on a family vacation with us!! We had planned a trip to Hershey, PA, Washington DC, & Gettysburg, PA and she was willing to come along. What made the trip even funner was the fact that the Rasmussen's went to!

On Monday morning, we got up early and headed towards Hershey, PA. Our Odyssey is only a 7 passenger van, but Jon rigged up way to strap Hannah's car seat base in between the two captain seats, so he was able to turn it into an 8 passenger van. We had a great drive to Hershey and were able to spend a couple of hours at "Chocolate World." They have a free little ride that takes you through the process of how chocolate is made. We also watched a 3-D movie with cartoon characters singing happily about chocolate. Then, we went on a trolley ride through the town of Hershey and learned a ton about Milton S. Hershey. What a guy! Not only did he invent an incredible chocolate candy bar, but since he didn't have any children, he donated all his money to a school for underprivileged children and to the town of Hershey. There are over 1800 current students at his school that are given an education and college scholarship. He built pools, rec centers, parks, homes, a zoo and all sorts of beautiful buildings in the town. During the Depression of the 1930's, he made sure that none of his employees lost their jobs and basically made the community immune from the effects of it. Anyway, it was great!

Lindsey and Hannah

Lindsey working as a candy worker

Kate as a candy maker

Hannah & Becky on the trolley


These nine kids were all SO good!! They all got along great and were super excited to see each other each morning. What great friends!

Then, we got back in the van and drove 2 1/2 more hours to Washington DC. Thanks to the Rasmussen's brother-in-law (Thank you so much Jed!!!), we got a great rate on a hotel and had a really comfortable room to stay in.

Tuesday was our biggest walking day. We drove into DC that morning and then walked from George Washington University, past the White House, to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. (this process took us 2 1/2 hours!). The kids didn't enjoy this museum as much as we thought they would and we didn't end up staying very long. We then went next door to the American History Museum. The kids really liked this one. Jack's highlight was getting to see the costume of C3-P0 used in "Return of the Jedi," Lindsey and Emily's highlight was learning about the Revolutionary War, Kate's highlight was seeing Dumbo (from the Disneyland ride), and I personally loved seeing Dorothy's ruby red slippers, Kermit the Frog, and Oscar the Grouch.At the back of the White House

Becky & Hannah with Oscar the Grouch

Kate with Dumbo

Jack with C3-PO (or as Jack calls him - CP-3O)

Poor Becky carried Hannah around for miles and miles

Then we headed to the Capitol Building for a tour we had scheduled. We met up with the Rasmussen's and had to hurry in. (We didn't realize how long it would take us to walk up that hill!). They made us throw away all the food and water that was on us. But, it was a great tour! It is a beautiful building, where a lot of important things happen. Since we were the last tour of the day, we didn't get to see as many rooms as most tours do, but we loved what we did get to see.

After the tour, Jon and Ammon literally ran the 2 or so miles back to the cars and came and picked up all the women and children. We started home (in rush hour traffic) and then ended up in the wrong lane, so we missed our exit - costing us at least another hour of time. But we got back, ate at Bob Evan's and let the kids swim. They had a blast!!

Wednesday was our day at the National Zoo! It's a great zoo - and it's free! They do get you by charging $20.00 to park for the day, but we had a great time at the zoo. Some of our favorites included: panda bears (wow!!), elephants, and the chimpanzees (these were really entertaining - it really seemed like the girl was ticked at the boy and the boy kept getting in her face trying to apologize and just wouldn't let up). Once we got back to the hotel - another fun night of swimming!

Brynlee & Jack

Becky & Kate

Thursday we braved the Metro for our transportation! We drove to the metro stop that was closest to our hotel and then rode it in. The kids really liked it. We went to the National Museum of Crime & Punishment. It was really great. They had a wild west shootout, a mock police chase, finger printing, an electric chair, and lots of information about punishments and different types of crime. We then met the Rasmussen's at Ford's Theater. We had scheduled a tour of the theater and were all really excited about it because it's such a great place to see. BUT, they were opening a show that night, so they had closed the theater for tours. I guess Ticketmaster didn't have the correct times listed. So, we went through the Petersen House (the house across the street where President Lincoln was taken after he was shot and where he died hours later). Then we had plans on eating at the Hard Rock Cafe and actually waited about 45 minutes before thinking of looking at the menu. When we did, we realized how expensive it is and decided to just head out of town and back near the hotel. We made to the the Metro (now approaching rush hour) and easily got on our stop. However, several minutes later, we realized we were on the wrong one and had to get off and back track. Once the correct rail pulled up, it was packed, but we just pushed our way on and rode home. We ate at Ruby Tuesdays (oh, so good) and then had our evening at the hotel.

Emily & Lindsey in a police line-up

Ethan, Emily & Lindsey at the pool

Brynlee, Jack, Emily & Ethan jumping in the pool
I love this picture - Kate loved having Jon throw her up in the air.


Hannah - who would burst into tears whenever she heard the water splash

On Friday morning, we checked out of the hotel and we headed to the Washington DC Temple. The Rasmussen's headed back into the city to see the Lincoln & Jefferson Memorials and Arlington National Cemetary. The Temple was beautiful! Then we drove to Gettysburg, PA. They have a new visitor's center there and so we were able to watch a movie about the Battle of Gettysburg. Then they have a huge, beautiful painting called a Cyclorama. It depicted the three days of battle with narration. Then we walked through the museum. It really is sacred ground there and it was such a blessing to learn more about it.

After the visitor's center, we headed towards home. However, we headed there on a road that took us through every little town, including a village called Saluvia. Becky and I were in the front seat for the grueling 70 miles that took us nearly 2 hours, but we were laughing our heads off. We finally got back on the Interstate and drove home. We got home about 10:30 p.m. The kids were so good in the car - including Hannah, who patiently laid there. She does, however, burst into tears in the car now when she hears music from High School Musical 3!

We had such a great time and created so many family memories! My one huge complaint of the trip was that there was NO where to nurse a baby. No where! I literally had to sit on the floor in the bathroom (of the Natural History Museum, Capitol Building, Hard Rock Cafe, etc.), so Hannah nursed terribly and I came home with a breast infection. But, oh well! Thank you Becky for being such a great travel companion (I think I'm taking you on all of our family trips from now on!) and thank you so the Rasmussen family for being so patient with us. We love you guys and hope to do more fun trips together!!