Well we took our first family trip to Washington D.C. this past October! Neither Paul nor I had ever been there, and it just so happened that two of my cousins now work there! That made the trip even more exciting, knowing we had family to visit too.

We got up early on a Wednesday morning and made our way to the airport. Hannah LOVED seeing all of the airplanes fly in and out. She even loved being on them!

We arrived in Washington D.C. at Reagan International and made our way to Alexandria where we stayed the night at Hotel Indigo right on the Potomac River. It was beautiful! I adored that little city. I’m pretty sure Hallmark mirrors all of it’s movies off of that cute town!

Thursday we got up bright and early and made our trek through Arlington Cemetery. This prego mama hiked the entire way, and by the end of it I had some major burning calf muscles! haha It was so beautiful! There weren’t too many people there so it made the ambiance so much more peaceful.

We saw where JFK was buried.

We saw Robert E. Lee’s home. Which, fun fact, looks A LOT like the interior of my home I grew up in. I had to take a pic of the staircase to share with my family, because it is so similar. Even the casings around the door frames look pretty identical. Needless to say, I felt pretty at home in that house. 🙂

 

We made our way down to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where they were changing the guards, and little miss Hannah decided to have an EVER LOVING MELTDOWN right then. She pretty much had had it. Of course, everyone was super quiet and sovereign. Needless to say we booked it out of there. We finally reached the car and she was asleep. haha

 

She took a good nap in the car so we were able to surprise her with a trip to the apple orchard! The farm was adorable! You picked your own apples right off the tree and they were DELICIOUS! Also, a huge plus was that they were cheaper per pound than at the store. We picked a lot and brought them home. 🙂 Hannah LOVED it! I wish Texas would have the same climate to allow for amazing fruit growing (if that’s even a thing). 🙂

 

That evening we had a family photoshoot to capture the memories we made in Alexandria. I love the idea of having a local photographer capture our family at each place we visit. It’s a great way for us to remember the location and also meet some amazing people along the way. As a photographer, I cherish that! So, if you are ever in the neighborhood of Alexandria, VA you definitely need to give Erin Tetterton a call. She is amazing!

Friday we met up with my cousin and walk the Mall. I didn’t realize how far everything was until the end of the day when my feet hurt so bad we paid for a trolley to take us to the opposite end just so we could see the Lincoln Memorial. I was SPENT. Hannah was such a trooper getting to visit the Senate offices, the Capitol, and the Library of Congress! She loved running on the green along the mall too.

That evening we went to dinner with the cousins and turned in for the night. It had been a LONG day of walking, and the next day was going to be just as big.

Saturday morning we met my cousins in Washington DC to hit up the museums. Paul and I hadn’t gotten a chance to see the White House so we swung by there before meeting them. When we did we got tickets to the Garden Tours! They hold them only twice a year, and we just so happened to be there at that time! We got tickets for everyone and were able to see the White House up close and personal! That was an experience I never will forget!

We saw the National Archives, and the Museum of Natural Sciences. I was so excited to see everything from “The Night at the Museum”, but there were so many people there it was little underwhelming. 🙂 I’d go back again, just wouldn’t stay as long!

After our trips to the museums we have a tradition of going to a local brewery in town, so we made our way over to the Blue Jacket Brewery at the Navy Yard. It was so cool! Paul really enjoyed it too. Being a brewer himself he loved it!

That evening we went to my cousin’s in-law’s house and had an amazing dinner followed up by the Notre Dame game. It was a fantastic ending to an amazing trip!

We woke up bright and early on Sunday to attend mass and then headed back to the airport to hop on a plane to come back home.

Overall the trip was AMAZING! I love that side of the country and look forward to going back!

Until our next adventure,

• Lauren