We didn't waste any time after moving here to begin our adventures around the East Coast. Six days after moving in we packed up the kids and headed down to our nation's capital for a little sightseeing.

We made several mistakes in this trip that we are now sure never to make again.

Mistake #1: Kids are not the same as adults. They cannot go go go from one place to another with ease. You must stop to use the facilites 10 times more often. You must account for the occasional stops to look at ants, beetles and grasshoppers. You must have enough snacks and water to keep the kids quiet (and parents sane). If the kids meltdown in a crowded area, it might be time to go home.

Okay I guess we just made one mistake...

I had lofty goals, the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Air and Space Museum, Museum of Natural History, Mount Vernon, and so on.

We got through the Museum of Natural History. Jackson loved the dinosaurs, the ocean theme and the 'real' bugs in the insect exhibit. His mother did not love the real bugs in the insect exhibit. It was so huge, that this museum alone could have taken us the entire day.So we moved on the to next museum, but just after entering the Air and Space Museum, Jackson let us know he was spent by completely melting down in a crowd of people.


Luckily the Farrell's were great hosts and had just the perfect setup to run our kids home for a much needed nap.

The next day we were able to stop by the Temple on our way home and although our camera battery died, a wonderful family agreed to take our picture and email it to us. I love Mormons.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. Too short. Maybe next time we will go without the kids. Then maybe we can see more than 1/5 of our scheduled events.