D.C.--- chapter 1

Wedding season officially started for us yesterday, so the blog is going to get tons of love again....hooray!
So I'd better get a start on our vacation photos right away...

We started off our vacation with a coffee social with the fantastic Senator Patrick Leahy and his super-star staff at his office in the Russell Senate building. It was social indeed as many Vermont families on spring break were invited. We met up with our favorite pals, the Pasleys, and spent the remainder of the day visiting the sites with them.

Enjoy!...

we stopped for a couple of snapshots on our way to the senator's office at the US Capitol Building...

Senator Leahy greeted the group and told us some great stories. I especially enjoyed hearing about his role in the upcoming Bat Man movie, The Dark Knight.
Andy captured some moments of my visit with the senator. He gave me a tour of some of his photographs, as he is a very accomplished photographer. He also shared about his family and friendship with Bono. I learned that Bono likes to sit at his desk and stare at a photograph that the senator took of a refugee. Bono says the man is pleading with his eyes...don't forget about me. Out of respect, I didn't take a photo of the photo, so you will have to drop by the senator's office to see it.
The senator arranged for each of the families who visited to have a photo taken with him. Here the kids chat with one of Senator Leahy's awesome staff members, Jennifer, while waiting their turn.

Senator Leahy at his desk.
This is my favorite.
Stop number two was the U.S. Supreme Court. The line was longer than a fun new Disney World ride and there was not a "fast pass" to be found.

The kids kept themselves entertained, and I stayed entertained by taking photos of their silliness. After an epic wait, we were able to sit in on an actual session for a grand total of 5 minutes. Andy saw Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg speak and I only heard them because I was sitting behind tall people. I'm a big fan of stadium seating!


A view of The Capitol Building from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Our next stop was the National Museum of the American Indian. The building was one of the most interesting I've seen. I loved the exhibits inside too. And the unexpected perk was the lunch from their cafe. Andy and I shared a sample platter of Native American cuisine and it was one of the yummiest things ever!
A colorful piece from the Day of the Dead exhibit.
Gold!
This is a Native American wedding dress. CLICK HERE to see the online exhibition!
Max in fine form...
The kids found this sweet family just outside the museum...
Following the urban wild kingdom sighting, it was on to the U.S. Botanic Garden.
St. Patty...

Our final tourist stop for the day was Summer's favorite...The Library of Congress. Summer told us that the library houses over 30 million books. Funny because the only books I remember seeing were from Thomas Jefferson's collection. Where do they hide all of those books?!
Andy was admiring the amazing ceilings!! Do you see any books?

lovely dogwood blossoms



more to come....