Author: Caroline

We made it to the top of the Washington Monument! To save yourself 8+ hours of standing in line stalking these elusive tickets, here are the views from each direction at 500 feet. There’s a local peregrine falcon that hangs out up there, so you can also see the remains of its snacks (not pictured).…

Mom is usually the one behind the camera, so I made a point of getting in some pictures too. We embraced being tourists and did the big monument tour thrice!

Slightly creepy but very fascinating: Ford’s Theatre, the place where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. The site is run by NPS, not the Smithsonian, and they do a great job. Ford’s Theatre is still a working theater!

We are strangely obsessed with presidents, so it was such a thrill to visit Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home. (Monticello is a bit further out — next time!)

Impossibly cute pandas!! I am rarely one to buy souvenirs (hey kids, the TRIP is your present) so they were stunned when I whipped out two panda stuffies at the National Zoo in front of the panda enclosure. (Pre-purchased at Ikea, $3.99. )

Showing the kids our nation’s capital was a bucket list item delayed 2 years by you-know-what. But SO worth it. These boys ranked D.C. above Disneyland. I am the kind of person who researches everything to death, and I condensed the tips I learned about how to make the most of a trip to D.C.…

Visual evidence that I did something fun — WITHOUT KIDS! Ten days of school left, time is running out for interruption-free mom dates.

We had a blast checking out Remlinger Farms on opening weekend. I wrote about what’s new and different this year for ParentMap here.

Paul is 7! May our birthday boy have a year full of joy and pandas.

The last of this year’s cherry blossoms…