Our Week as Tour Guides

We had a very fun and very busy week! Michelle’s sister Becky, brother-in-law Alex, and niece Brynne came to town on Wednesday and stayed for almost a week. It was very fun to have them and, surprisingly enough, there was only one time when we were all anxious to use the bathroom and had to wait in line. It helped that Roy was up and out the door before they woke up in the morning!

Abby and Brynne got along wonderfully! Brynne is just 2 months younger than Abby, but much smaller. Abby loved to give hugs, kisses and tickles (shown below). While we were at the Library of Congress on Tuesday, both exhausted girls lay on the floor and held hands. Very cute, but after a few of the “I can’t believe you are letting your child do that!” looks of disgust, we had to make the girls get up.

We did an incredible amount of sight-seeing in just 4 days. Michelle’s feet have not been this sore since the first days of her mission! On day one, we went to the newly re-opened National History Museum and meandered through every exhibit. Alex is a big history buff and loved every minute of every exhibit. We went to the White House and snapped a couple pictures before getting asked to leave for an undisclosed reason…was Obama getting ready to come home? Becky's theory was that the girls were coming home from school. Maybe in the helicoptor we had seen earlier. Then we parted ways and they met up with friends while Michelle and Abby met Roy at work, wowed his colleagues with Abby’s cuteness, and headed home.

On day two, we headed out to Mount Vernon. It was supposed to be a day of less walking, but we ended up spending several hours just enjoying the lush green of Mount Vernon. Abby got to dress up like a colonial girl (well, she got the under-dress and the pocket on before completely rebeling). Michelle had to sing “The Eensy Weensy Spider” in order to get her to stand still for the pictures. In the picture on the right, you’ll see her hands doing the spider action. Michelle has learned to not be ashamed or embarrassed to sing in public—sometimes that’s the only thing that Abby wants and/or the only thing that will keep Abby distracted and happy. We did a lot of singing this week! And we embarrrassed Alex. That's two for one in my book!

To complete our George Washington day, we tried to go to Gadsby’s Tavern for a mid-day meal, but it was closed for the afternoon. Instead, we wandered around Old Town Alexandria and ate pizza out by the Potomac. The little girls were very excited when we got home and they had a couple hours to play between dinner and bedtime. Abby was especially excited to share her toys with Brynne and only got possessive with a couple of items. When Brynne touched something that Abby didn’t want her to play with, Abby would pick up Brynne’s hand and move it on to another toy. I wonder where she learned that…?!? :)

Brynne spent Saturday playing with us while her parents worked (the reason they actually came). It was fun to watch the two girls play together, especially because Brynne crawls as fast as Abby runs. We were finding toys in all sorts of interesting places the next couple of days! At the end of the day, Becky watched Sesame Street videos with Brynne and Abby—online videos are Abby’s newest addiction. Sunday we spent relaxing and gearing up for the rest of the sight-seeing we would be cramming into two days. Aren't the two cousins so cute in their matchy-matchy outfits?

On Monday and Tuesday, we did tons of sight-seeing. We made it to the Archives, the Library of Congress, all the memorials and monuments, the Air and Space Museum, the Capitol, the White House (and again, we were turned away within a minute of arriving), the Holocaust Museum, and some more of Old Town. We walked many miles and had a great time. Michelle and Abby had a fun time with their visitors while Roy worked. It was his Spring Break, but he spent the majority of the week at work. Fun, huh!?! The family headed out Tuesday afternoon, but apparently Abby still wanted to do more sight-seeing. This morning (Wednesday) after waking up, she found her stroller and sat right down, ready for another day living in the stroller. She’s such a trooper! We had such a fun time together! Thanks for coming, Stoddards!