Our Summer Vacation

Sayin' cheese @ WWII memorial

Olson clan at the White House

Look Ma... one hand!

How long do I have to hold this up?

Abby goes tribal at the fireworks!

Ooh...Ahh!

US Capitol center of Rotunda

Well, I think this was the biggest vacation we have taken the kids on yet. We went to Washington, DC and it was a blast! We even went over the Fourth of July and it was awesome. It is hard not to be patriotic when your here. We drove out(2 days) & back (2 days) and spent 6 days in town. Let me just tell you that it is not nearly enough time to see what you want to see. Someone told me that you would need a full month to really see it and I believe them! But it was wonderful. We did a couple of guided tours (National Archives & US Capitol) and many self guided. Both ways worked out very well, however, if you make reservations you don't have to wait in the long lines. We went to the National Zoo (Alex's fave of course) and the Smithsonian Natural History museum (Ethan & Abby's fave). Mount Vernon was mine & Todd's favorite. It was chilling to be in the home where our democratic republic was just an idea that took flight. The house and the gardens were lovely and the Potomac River in the backyard... wow. We went to the fireworks at the Washington Monument on the 4th and it was obviously the best I have ever seen. We sat in the park called The Ellipse just south of the White House(!) and had a great view. Abby & Ethan met a girl from Mississippi and played with her until the fireworks started. Getting back to the Metro afterward was an adventure all on its own: 15,000 pelople heading for 1 train station. It took about 90 min just to get to the platform and it was jammed all the way back to our hotel. Glad no one was claustrophobic. All in all a spectacular trip and lots of great family memories. We are planning to go back in a few years to see some of the things we missed this time.