Washington DC

Grey, and my cousin, Teegan

What do you get when you let a bunch of Canadian roam the capitol of the United States? A few moments of hilarity!

To all my American friends, please note that we are not idiots, or ignorant: US history is studied in Canada only slightly more than Canadian history is studied in the US - so as much as you know about Canada {which is likely next to nothing}...well we know about TWICE that much about the US {one notch above nothing}. Our governmental systems are absolutely nothing alike, and I personally find it very difficult to figure out the US "systems", even though I have lived here for awhile now.

Looking at a map...
Caralyn: oh, so this is the Pot-o-mack river...
Darla: um, I think they say Puh-toe-mic
**
Darla: Is that thing the Washington Tower?
Trevor: yah, I think its the Washington Monument

**
Another funny was my Uncle telling us we were in front of the White House. I personally was incredulous for a few minutes, I think my aunt was too. But it was Pennsylvania Ave...and it was a white house...was it the back of it? Why didn't it look like it does on tv - like, at all? Huge fence, grounds much less expansive than they appear on tv...I guess I was expecting something else. The whole building looks much larger on tv. From our view on the street (and my lofty height of 5'2"), I could barely even see it. I texted Brian my sentiment about my expectations being less than met with regards to the White House, and he thought it was funny.

So we were actually in the front of it, initially, but couldn't see it well. The back had a clearer view, so I stuck my camera through the fence rails and snapped a pic. We were there!

My kids, and my cousins Tatum & Holden, on the fence behind the White House

So I can't speak for everyone else, but I learned a lot, and had lots of fun! This is the World War II Memorial:

Each of the 4048 gold stars represents 100 Americans who were casualties of the war. That is 404800 people!

The Lincoln Memorial:

In this temple
as in the hearts of the people
for whom he saved the Union
the memory of Abraham Lincoln
is enshrined forever

Soldier guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier

Shadows at the Lincoln Memorial. Janessa took the picture, can you tell which one is her?

We did LOTS of walking!! A metro (subway) pass saved our tired legs on Friday. It was my kids first time to ride on a subway, and they really enjoyed the experience!

My Aunt & Uncle, graciously pushing the 700 pound stroller for me. With one of the crabbiest kids in the world riding blissfully. He had just finished ripping an arm off my sunglasses on our tour of the Capitol.

So glad they had the idea for this fun trip!

One dollar coins. They must be a big city thing. The last time I got one was in New York City.