The Lee Family: Spring Break, Day 7: The Monuments

On Friday morning we decided to explore all of the monuments, since it was basically an extra day in D.C. We originally planned to leave this morning so we could be back in Texas for Antonio and Luca's birthday party on Sunday afternoon, but then we wouldn't even see Uncle Steve. He returned from his week in Ireland this afternoon, so we decided to stay around an extra day so we could enjoy pizza and a visit at their house on our last night in D.C. To break up the trip home, we decided to stay with Cynthia and Jay on Saturday night, which would also give us a chance to visit with them too!

To start our day, we went to Jimmy T's for breakfast, which has been around on the Hill forever. I actually never ate there much, but CK had many memories of eating there when he lived in his group house and also later. The girls enjoyed journaling (Sofia) and drawing (Olivia) while we waited for our food. Olivia actually drew her very first "picture" of me and it was pretty good for a 3-year old! I drew the circle and she did the rest of the drawing. We planned our day over breakfast. CK really wanted to watch the Imax movie "D-Day 3D" at the Air and Space Museum, so we split up and the girls and I drove down to find a spot near the FDR and MLK monuments. Somehow, we found a prime parking spot! We first visited the Martin Luther King Jr. monument, which wasn't built yet when we were living in D.C. It was huge and very impressive. The girls enjoyed walking around and Sofia read all of his quotes. She actually knew quite a lot about Martin Luther King Jr. and said her class learned about him. From there, we walked along the tidal basin to the FDR monument, which I've always felt was a little bleak, but I think that's the point of it given the time in which he was president. The girls loved throwing little rocks onto the frozen tidal basin and trying to break the layer of ice. I tried to explain the FDR monument, but the girls were pretty restless and just wanted to run around and act crazy.

From there we headed over to the Jefferson Monument, a pretty decent walk from the FDR. The girls pretended to be unicorns and then we all became characters in Octonauts, a favorite show they like to watch. I was Klausie, the one who took all the pictures. Both girls wanted to use my camera, so I gave them a quick talk about how to hold the camera and how to use it. Then, they both took turns taking photos. We headed into the Jefferson Monument and Sofia continued taking a few pictures before she read Jefferson's quotes on the wall. We headed back down the stairs to the tidal basin, where the girls wanted to take a few more photos before we walked to the Lincoln Monument. Along the way, we stopped for a snack break and chased the birds in the soccer fields next to the FDR. CK was out of his movie and met us over by the car. He took the girls to visit the Lincoln, while I looked at the visitor's center across from the FDR and MLK Jr. Monuments.

CK and the girls returned from the Lincoln Monument and we loaded up in the car and headed to a late lunch. I really wanted to try Ted's Bulletin, a new restaurant on 8th Street which we've heard rave reviews about since we arrived in D.C. Olivia fell asleep as soon as we got her into her car seat, so I carried her into Ted's Bulletin once we arrived and parked. Ted's Bulletin has about the coolest feel to it of any diner/restaurant on the Hill. It's just so inviting and cozy and all the food looked amazing. Olivia stayed asleep on my lap while the three of us enjoyed lunch. CK and I had a salad each and Sofia had a peanut butter and jelly, which was on really thick bread, so she wasn't that into it. After, we all split a chocolate as well as a strawberry milkshake and they were divine! It was such a great place and CK and I agreed that it was just what we need near us in Texas!

Olivia woke up just as we were heading to my friend Sandy and her kids Emily and Grant at Lincoln Park, just a few blocks further from Turtle Park. Luckily, I packed Sofia's uneaten sandwich to take with us and Olivia ate every last bite of it! Emily and Sofia immediately started playing together and having a great time, despite the fact they haven't seen each other in years and don't remember each other. They were great about including Olivia and pushed her on the swing, etc. The kids had a blast together and it was great to see Sandy and catch up. She and her family are moving to NW Washington soon, so the Hill will soon not have any of my old mommy friends on it. It's still a huge area of young families though, and it's become more so since we moved away. Emily, Sofia and Grant soon were sliding down the skateboard ramps that are under the freeway bridge and had great fun, despite getting really dirty. We said our goodbyes and returned to our basement to get ready to go to Aunt and Uncle's house. They had also invited Chris, who lives in Santa Fe and who we've spent several Thanksgivings with. It was great to see her and visit over some delicious pizza and salad. Uncle Steve had a really interesting trip to Ireland and showed us pictures and videos of his visit. We let the girls use Aunt Shirl's iPad and watch Octonauts after dinner and Sofia lost her top front tooth! She was SO excited! It's been loose for a long time and she's been very cautious with it because she doesn't want it "to hurt" or bleed. She was so happy and wanted to tell Aunt and Uncle and CK the story over and over. She decided to wait until we were home to leave it out for the tooth fairy and Aunt Shirl put it into a clear plastic container for her to take home.

Soon it was time for goodbyes and bed and we hope to see Aunt and Uncle soon! We put the girls to bed for our last night in D.C. and packed up so we would be ready to roll out early in the morning. It's been such a fun visit but it will be nice to be home too.

Sofia busy journaling at breakfast