Mt. Vernon

The Mt. Vernon Mansion

Adam and Ty in front of a tree planted by George Washington in 1785.

Our family in the Mansion's yard, overlooking the Potomac River

Ty playing in the grass at Mt.Vernon

George Washington's tomb

Our little Washington

Our visit to George Washington's plantation, Mt. Vernon, was awesome! We were very impressed with how well everything was set up, maintained, etc. It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

The Air and Space Museum

Adam and Ty in front of a cool airplane

Meggin with Amelia Earhardt's plane that she flew solo over the Atlantic

Adam poses with Orville and Wilbur

Adam and Tyler in front of the original Wright brothers' flyer

Neil Armstrong's spacesuit that he wore when he walked on the moon

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I LOVE this picture!!

We were able to attend a Washington Nationals vs. Texas Rangers baseball game while we were in DC. It was a pretty good ballgame until the seventh inning when the Rangers just blew the game open. It was a brand new stadium, and we really enjoyed being there!

The Monuments and Memorials

Obviously a huge part of visiting Washington DC is visiting all the war and presidential memorials that are there. Though they are all neat to see, Adam and I both agreed that the Lincoln Memorial was our favorite. It is mammoth, and it is just beautiful. We both felt the Spirit there, too, as we were able to read the Gettysburg Address and contemplate what this simple man from Illinois did to save our great nation. I felt an amazing sense of gratitude for him and other great men like him who gave their lives to establish and preserve our freedom.

The Lincoln Memorial at night

Our family with Mr. Lincoln

The Washington Monument, across the Potomac River

The Washington Monument as viewed from the Lincoln Memorial

Ty and me at the WWII Memorial, with the Lincoln Memorial in the background

Ty at the World War II Memorial

The Vietnam War Memorial Wall--I liked how you can see our reflections in it!

Statues at the Korean War Memorial

Ty sitting in front of the wall at the Korean War Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial

This kind of reminds me of some wedding photos I have seen with the bride standing by the pillars of the Timpanogos Temple. That was not the intended outcome! I just thought it was a cute shot of Adam!

Our Nation's Capitol Building

Adam has a cousin who lives in Washington DC and works for a Senator's office. She was able to get us in for a tour of the capitol building through the Senator's office. It was an incredible experience. The building itself was awe-inspiring, with amazing architecture and beautiful murals and statues inside. It was really good for me to learn more about our government system, too, and gain more of a respect and appreciation for the freedom that I enjoy. One of the highlights of the tour was going into the senate chamber and witnessing the senate in session. They were debating the oil and gas issue. It was so cool to watch and listen to!

Our family outside the capitol

A statue of Brigham Young inside the capitol building--way to go, Brother Brigham!

It's kind of hard to tell, but this is the interior of the dome

One of my very favorite paintings inside the capitol:
The Signing of the Declaration of Independence

Washington DC, Day One

We are finally home! After spending a week in Utah (Adam in Minneapolis), coming home for just long enough to do the laundry (two days) and then an awesome eight days in Washington DC, we are back in Colorado safe and sound.
Our trip to the East was AWESOME!! We are so grateful to our friends, Jeff and Cady Jardine, for letting us stay with them. We seriously had a blast. There is just no possible way that I can blog anywhere near the 200+ photos that we took, so I am going to have to be very selective. Even still, it may take me a few days to blog the winners!
We began our trip to DC by touring a couple of the Smithsonian Museums. WOW! What an extraordinary system of museums that is! There are 19 Smithsonian museums, so we could have spent our entire vacation there and not seen everything. We began in the Museum of Natural History, and then saw the National Art Gallery. Here are some of our best photos:

Museum of Natural History Rotunda

The Hope Diamond (45.52 carats--yikes!)

Ty with a cool crystal

Ty liked seeing the dinosaur bones

This is an original Monet (I can't remember its name, though!) There was a whole room
full of Monet's paintings in the art gallery. It was amazing!

Ty's Birthday Party, Kaiser Style

It was so nice to spend time with our family in Utah. Here are some pictures from Ty's actual birthday, which we spent with the Kaiser side of the family.

Ty's cousin, Bekah

Blaine and Ty hangin' out

This is my first ever cake decorating attempt. I know that it's not amazing by any stretch of the imagination, but I was still pretty proud of myself. I thought it made a pretty cute first birthday cake.

Happy Birthday, Ty!

Ty's Birthday Party, Marchant Style

Ty and I spent all of last week in Utah while Adam was at training for work in Minneapolis. While we were there, Ty turned one! We were able to have a birthday party with each of our extended families. Here are some of the pictures we took at Ty's Marchant family birthday party.Cousins: Jenna, Alyssa, and Ty

Ty's cousins Jenna and Miranda cheesin' it up for the camera

Susan, Emma, Meggin, and Ty

Grandpa Marchant

Meggin and Mason being silly

Ty's yummy chocolate cake

Acting shy

What a mess!