Visitors!!!

Guess what? My sisters Kari and Melissa and Melissa's son Michael came to visit us! We were so excited and happy to have them here. We picked them up at the airport in D.C. and got a hotel for two nights. We were able to do a lot of sight seeing while we were there. So here's all about our trip.

Our guests were not coming until later in the afternoon so Nels and I went to D.C. in the morning. Nels wanted to go to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing...where they print the money. So we took a tour of their operations. Nels was so happy. He was like a kid in a candy store. He went from one stop to the next and read every bit of information that was posted. So here's a picture of how tall we are in $100 dollar bills. Roughly $1, 537, 800! The souvenir shop was cute and you could even by a $2 bill for the grand total of $7.95! We passed on that and just bought a magnet and postcards.
Here's Nels learning about money.

Afterwards we went to the Dulles airport and waited for the plane to land. I was so happy to see my sisters and nephew. They packed light...they only had carry ons. So we left quickly and went out into the pouring rain. Unfortunately, we were in traffic and rain all the way to the hotel. It took twice as long to travel. But we were just glad to be together. After we got settled at the hotel we headed outside on foot to find a restaurant to eat at.

We originally wanted Chinese, but the restaurant we found seemed a little...scary. So we passed on that and went to Panas. We ate the best empanadas.
Here's Kari, Melissa and Michael at the restaurant.

After eating we went to the hotel and relaxed. The next day, Friday, we woke up very early, ate a wonderful breakfast and hopped on the Metro. We went to the Smithsoninan Castle and learned about James Smithson. FYI: "In 1826, James Smithson, a British scientist, drew up his last will and testament, naming his nephew as beneficiary. Smithson stipulated that, should the nephew die without heirs (as he would in 1835), the estate should go “to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” We're so glad he did that.

After that we went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. We walked through an old plane, saw engines, and planets, and famous pilots and walked through what a space shuttle would be like and so much more.

Then we went to the Washington Monument. Here's Nels and Michael on their backs, so they could feel the building "fall" on them.

Michael , me and Nels...Lincoln Memorial is in the background.

Us Girls, Kari, Me, Melissa

We were able to get tickets and ride to the top of the Washington Monument...some 500+feet in the air. We saw the view which was amazing. All four sides. Starting on the North side...White House, East, Capital building, South, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and West, Lincoln Memorial. Amazing.
Here's the White House

Here's Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool.

We did a lot of walking. No kidding. From the Washington Monument we walked to the White House....here we are.

Then we went to the World War II Monument.

Representing Idaho are the Swensen sisters. Cheese. :)

Michael and Melissa at the Lincoln Memorial.

Then we walked to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. The sun went down and my pictures didn't turn out very well. We walked to the Metro and rode it to Chinatown where we had Mexican food. :) We were so exhausted by the end of the day and super happy to climb into bed with our sore feet. Saturday we left the hotel early and went straight to the National Archives. This was actually a really neat place. We learned a lot about records and what records they keep there. They had letters from kids to the different Presidents over the years that were funny, and different patents that you could see and of course our primary reason for going there...we saw the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. We felt very patriotic and blessed to be living here. Then we headed to our place in Virginia.

Just a quick note: Michael was so much fun and hilarious. He was always making us laugh. He gave Kari a nickname of Platypus that evolved into Grandpa Platypus...don't ask me how he came up with it. But it was so funny how he said it. He was a good sport with all the walking too. At the hotel he loved the elevator and one time he managed to push all the buttons for a long elevator ride. He made up songs and loved the escalators at the Metro. We were so happy he could come.

I loved talking with Kari and Melissa as we walked and just had a great time.

Anyway's here's a few Artsy pictures:

This is the ceiling of the Native American building. We stopped in for a minute, we thought we would eat lunch there. But we decided not to pay $12 and up on a small plate of food. Instead we ate at the Corner Bakery which has delicious food for half the price.

Washington Monument. I love the lighting and the reflection in the pool.

Washington Monument and the Capitol Building in the background. Both of these were taken on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Willow trees at sunset. These beautiful trees were lined up along the river leading to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

This was the only picutre with all five of us. We are holding up our last tickets to ride the Metro. Yes, we are in the metro station and a nice lady took the picture for us.

So we girls all bought the same sweatshirt and Michael bought a sweatshirt too. Here we are trying to be gangsters...I think Michael did pretty well. The rest of us need some work. :)

Last Picture and we were soooooo sad to see them leave. We have such great memories from this trip. Thanks for coming!!!