The Hutchinsons in DC

I was supposed to work this weekend, but got a last minute reprieve. As tired as I have been lately, one part of me wanted to lay around the house all weekend reading and quilting and eating. But Adam was taking the kids to Washington, DC to visit the wonderful (and FREE) museums of the Smithsonian and visit some of the monuments and memorials. There was no way I was going to miss spending that time with them, especially on Mother's Day. Luckily Adam did much of the driving so I got some quilting done in the car.

For those of you who have never been to DC, it is definitely worth the trip, but you must prioritize because there is too much to see in just a few days. Our primary targets were the Lincoln Memorial, the Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of American History.

At Natural History, the dinosaurs were our first stop, and we couldn't resist goofing off, trying to escape the jaws of the mighty T-Rex.

After hours and hours in the museum, we needed some natual light, so we headed outside, past the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial - a very moving tribute to Lincoln. Along the way, my tree hugging kids tried to put their arms around the big trees lining the Reflecting Pool.


They also couldn't resist this neat tree formation at the base of the Washington Monument (the obelisk in the background).

My favorite was the Museum of American History on Day Two of our trip - as an anthropology major in college, the artifacts of our collective past really intrigue me. I could have spent all day there, but the family had other ideas. We wandered past the White House (or Barack Obama's house, as Donald calls it), and I was a bit depressed that today's climate necessitates keeping the public so far at bay. When I was in grade school, you could walk right up and take tours, but not so anymore.

The fun didn't stop when the weekend did. Donald lost his first tooth first thing this morning, so lots of celebration in the house this morning!


Finally, V at BumbleBeans organized a scrap swap for some of us, so this gallon bag of scraps is on its way to Janet in Canada this afternoon. Can't wait to play with the scraps you send me, Janet!


I hope all you mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day - I sure did!