We did a few fun things this week. OK, way more than a few. Alan was on vacation and we took Griffin and Eve to Washington DC to see the capital of our country. Here are the things that stood out:
- Seeing the Supreme Court closed to the public. The website made it sound like it was a COVID precaution, but we are pretty sure it was because Roe vs. Wade was overturned a couple of weeks ago and there are lots of people who are mad the issue has been returned to the states. It was an historic time to visit.
-Seeing the seat of government. We got to tour the capitol building with a fresh young agriculture student from Kansas State University who is an intern for the summer. He reminded me of an improbable mix between Wyatt, Quinn Bennion, and Wayd Odle. He would like to study agricultural law and lobby for Kansas interests. It was also fun to see press following Governor Gavin Newsome on his way into Nancy Pelosi's office. He has the bearing of a king. We also walked by the White House, which has security fenced off farther from the building than I have ever seen it before.
-The monuments are lovely. My favorite was seeing the FDR monument for the first time. It was extensive and really beautiful, planned by a landscape designer. It was fun to reflect with Alan about how we tell our nation's stories, and which we choose to remember and give meaning. It was sobering to see the war monuments. They are mostly negative spaces, physically, dug out to show the loss we feel after losing so many souls. There is a new WWI monument/park that was beautiful. And we watched the changing of the guard in Arlington Cemetary again--twice.
- The museums are also great. We saw the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, which Eve studied. And the National Archives, which Griffin studied. And we went into the Library of Congress briefly for the first time, and wished we could have stayed much longer. We also saw the Museum of American History and the Museum of Natural History. There were SO many cool things to see and we got "museum-ed out" long before we saw all of them.
- We also went to church in the Kensington Ward and had a tiny outdoor Primary with our kids outside on a bench. We saw the temple from a distance because they didn't open the gates to the visitors' center until it was too late for us and we were in an Uber speeding back to feed Griffin some calories.
-We ended with an embassy walk, checking out all the embassies on Massachusetts Ave.
Just for the record, this week Mariah, Mac, Buddy, Eliza and Juliet were in McCall, Idaho, living large with the Kellers on the lake. I think Evan was traveling for work. Willa was in Provo going to school and taking photos of the Richins. Wyatt was on a mission, but we thought about him ALL the time, especially as we took a picture in front of the Haitian embassy tonight.
And now for a random smattering of photos. I may add more later.
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| Last Sunday Griffin got dressed up to give me a formal plea to play a specific T rated video game. It was well reasoned and thoughtfully delivered. I let him. |
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| I have been going through pictures. Eve isn't sure she looks like the cute little girl in this picture, her older sister. We are pretty sure she does. |
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| View of Kansas City. |
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| We went to eat tacos for lunch with Carrie B. |
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| The most beautiful gazpacho I've eaten. This was from a vegan haute cuisine meal Alan and I weren't fully expecting on our date. It was experiential art! |
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| Griffin, looking presidential in the American History museum. |
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| The Library of Congress wowed us in a big way. |
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| Supreme Court, cordoned off. |
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| We hung out a bit with Brigham Young in the hall of statues at the US Capitol building. Kansas is getting a new statue at the end of this month: Amelia Erhart! |
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| Lincoln's view of the National Mall |
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| My loved ones on the lake in McCall |
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| The boys and the girls: Buddy, Brett, Eliza, Juliet, Mariah, Olivia, Georgia |
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| See Wyatt? I told you we were thinking about you all the time! |
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| This was a rainstorm after a wonderful Italian dinner in Georgetown. |
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| We love to see the temple! |
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| Not your usual Thai vibe, but delicious food. |
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| Haitian embassy. |
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| And yellow flowers for Aunt Paige. We love you! |
From Kayci- I agree that Eve does look a lot like her sister in the picture. The lake life looks pretty good on those grand babies and girls. Your trip sounds fun and so educational. It makes me want to go back to DC to visit. I am glad that other people get museum-ed out like me. I am glad we got to be mentioned on your blog. We had so much fun with Willa. It’s fun that you did so many things that connected you to and reminded you of Wyatt.
ReplyDeleteAwwww. I LOVE YOU TOO! Thank you for the beautiful flowers and the lovely girl next to them.
ReplyDeleteYou sure wring the uttermost dregs out of a vacation, don’t you? Sorry. I meant you get all the juice. Or, in the immortal words of all the people who have ever seen Dead Poets Society, you are seizing every day— and then vigourously shaking it by the neck!
And you’re pretty.
The previous comment was from Paige. No idea why Google doesn’t think I’m logged into my account. I am totally logged into my account.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm getting used to you as a blonde, and that it's a good thing with your two babies who are blondies too. I will have to refer back to your list of all the things to do in DC if I ever go! Except I might have to pick and choose even from your list. You're so good at planning fun vacations! I'm very impressed with Griffin for dressing up to plead his cause (and that it worked).
ReplyDelete