We decided that when our kids turn 12, they get to go on a special one-on-one trip with Mom or Dad. Since Hyrum turned twelve in October, it was time! He chose to go to Washington, DC, because he loves to read all the signs in museums and never gets a chance with all his energetic younger siblings around. So, I took him to DC, and he got to read signs for as long as his little heart desired!
On our way out we had a layover and saw this cool Lego store with this sculpture:
Our first evening after our flight landed we walked to get some pizza (it was delicious) and saw the Capital being all pretty:
Plus, we were loving all the beautiful tree lined streets:
After dinner, we went back to the hotel and did what we did every night we were there- curled up in our blankets, ate some treats, and watched some Food Network on the TV. Hyrum also got some extra screen time (which he LOVED).
Our first full day we went to the Air and Space Smithsonian in the morning. It was under construction, but we still got to see a lot!
We even got to touch a piece of the moon!
Hyrum also got to try the VR machine to go to space:
We tried to find a food truck after the Air and Space museum, but didn't really find anything, so we ended up getting Hyrum a pretty gross pretzel from a souvenir stand. We did not make that mistake again!
Later that day we went to see the White House after going through Lafayette Square. Hyrum was convinced that this was the front of the white house:
Even though I tried to tell him that THIS was the front of the white house:
Then we went to the White House Visitor Center, which had some interesting information, and we also saw this pretty building:
We got some Panera for dinner (because Hyrum has really been missing it since we moved to Utah), and ended the day at the Natural History Smithsonian. We only made it through a couple of exhibits on the top floor, including a cool show where we interacted with digitally created whales.
The next day we started out at the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution:
Next, we went back to the Natural History Smithsonian, where we met up with Aunt Meagan and Uncle Jim and counsins!
One of Hyrum's favorite exhibits was the gem one. And this was his favorite gem (aquamarine):
After hanging out in the Natural History Smithsonian for awhile, we walked the monuments! We saw the George Washington memorial:
And the WWII memorial:
Abraham Lincoln memorial:
WWI memorial:
Martin Luther King Jr Memorial:
And the Jefferson Memorial (from a distance):
We also saw a cool helicopter go right over us!
We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe that evening. It was fun to be able to meet up with family on our special trip!
That evening we were supposed to go on a night bus tour of the monuments, but they had overbooked so we didn't get to go. But Ryan did send us Cold Stone ice cream to the hotel instead! We were exhausted from all that walking.
The next morning we went to the International Spy Museum:
Hyrum hung on for a long time on this spy strength test!
A spy disguise:
A cool projector room:
Hyrum could have fit in a car's engine to escape communist Germany:
After lunch, we headed back over to the Mall in the rain. I thought the Smithsonian Castle looked so pretty!
We went to the American History Smithsonian next:
We saw Dorothy's ruby red slippers:
And a boat that fought in the Revolutionary War (Hyrum really loved that):
Hyrum as President!
He really loved the war exhibits and seeing all the different guns:
We stayed until closing, got dinner at Panera again, then headed back to the hotel.
Our last morning we checked out the inside of the Smithsonian Castle:
Then we headed back to the Natural History Smithsonian:
And we ended at the American History Smithsonian again:
We definitely didn't see everything, and Hyrum could have spent many, many more hours reading signs and looking at things in museums, but we had a great time! It was so awesome to get to spend so much time with just Hyrum. He really is such a great, funny, and fun-to-be-around kid.
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