time in D.C.

Tyler had to spend a month in DC for a residency conference.  Thanks to a wonderful friend we were able to rent a somewhat furnished apartment a block from his conference center for an incredible price!  He went up for the first 2 weeks on his own.  He came home on the weekend between those two weeks to leave his car and ride the train back to DC (thanks to another great friend for driving him to the train station at 2am!).  I am trying to clear those two weeks alone (packing for two upcoming trips, being pregnant, experiencing Beckett's birthday apart, dealing with Addellyn's ear infection, etc., etc.) from my own memory...

However, I believe the Lord kept me BUSY, so that being apart for Beckett's Birthday didn't hit me too hard.  Tyler, on the other hand, had a bit too much alone time and ended up getting incredibly sick and having horrible cold sores (which are dead giveaways that he is emotionally stressed and trying to keep it all inside!)

There are some things I will never forget: He placed some incredible people into my life.  Flowers came, cards were sent, a car trip package was left on my door, I was blessed by neighbors that checked in and quickly rescued me when Addellyn's ears began to hurt and then threw a wonderful birthday lunch for me on Beckett's Birthday to celebrate him too!  He was definitely aware of my needs and took care of them through dear friends. 

The day after Beckett's Birthday I packed everything in the car, picked the girls up early from school, and drove to DC.  Stopping a few times to give my poor pregnant body some relief.  We were SOOOO happy to see Tyler that night.  And the 2 bedroom apartment was a thrill for the kids that first night!  It lost it's novelty after a day or two of being piled on top of eachother and sleeping on the floor though.

We took a TON of pictures.  But, after writing WAY too much, I will just post a few to prove that we were there.

We were there for the Cherry Blossom Festival. BEAUTIFUL!

WWII memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Smithsonian

Tiger at the ZOO

Metro System

 I think we made it to every free museum/zoo/monument in DC.  Ty would leave for conference around 8. We did homework in the mornings (during rush hour), then we would pack a lunch, walk to the metro station, hop on the train around 10 and visit one place for the day, then we made sure we left before 3 (to again miss rush hour) and we would pretty much crash (as pictured above) once we were back at the apartment.  Ty would be back home for dinner. (He did ditch part of class a couple of times to see a museum or 2.)

This is the "Ocean" fountain outside of our apartment.  The kids may have loved this more than they liked the National Museum of Art and a few others :). These three were actually incredibly well behaved!  It was a lot of walking for little legs (and for long pregnant lady legs), they also had to deal with their anxiety stricken mother whom would make them all hold on to her in and out of every train stop and lecture them any time they strayed too far in a museum.  It was a stressful way for me to see DC, but I am very grateful the kids were able to experience it!  They really had a wonderful time and learned quite a bit.

We were also VERY close to the DC temple.  It was wonderful to drive by and stop at the temple several times during our 2 week stay.

It was a whirlwind of a month, and we were honestly quite glad when March was over, but it really was a good experience for our little family.