The Howards Go To Washington

This past Labor Day Weekend Mom, Dad, Olivia and Grant took a quick trip down to our Nation's capital. Olivia had been briefly on a trip with a friend a few years ago. This was Grant's first DC experience. Mom and Dad hadn't been back since they took me in 1993. They really enjoyed seeing all of the new monuments and exploring the museums again.

Their trip started out with a double decker bus tour through DC. The first stop they made was Arlington National Cemetery. There was sooo much walking! Grant's goal was to find the famous graves so they made their way to Joe Lewis' and of course JFK's.
The next stop was Lincoln Memorial. They walked the whole length of the Reflecting Pool and stopped to walk through the WWII monument. Of course, jumping and goofy photos are a Howard family favorite tradition so enjoy:
Olivia jumping in front of the Washington monument...
Grant taking a bite out of the Lincoln Memorial (or I think it could also look like he is trying to drink from the fountains!)
Backs against the Washington monument...
The family in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

The view of the Capital Building across the Mall.

Next up was the National Museum of Natural History. They discovered the missing links...

and then tried to take on the dinosaurs...

Next on the agenda was the National Museum of American History. Mom has always loved the First Lady gowns since she first saw them on her first visit to DC as a 12 year old with her family. She was excited to see the Jason Wu dress that First Lady Michelle Obama wore:
The next day they spent some time at the Jefferson and FDR memorials.


Mom especially liked the water elements in the FDR memorial...


Washington is beautiful at night:




They were all tired but happy to retire to their fancy hotel that featured a piano in the middle of a pool!

The next morning the fam rounded out the trip by stopping at Mount Vernon...something Mom really wanted to do. They stopped at Monticello last year coming home from Virgina Beach so it seemed like a perfect way to end the DC trip.

Olivia and Grant will both have the opportunity to revisit DC with their senior class (Olivia's trip will be next year!) but it was great to be able to experience DC with the family first.

Watch for a blog entry from Olivia soon about her European travels this summer!