Reagan's 7th birthday was here, and her big surprise was ready to reveal. We were planning this surprise for over a month, so the fact that it stayed a surprise was great.
I woke her up at 6:00am, Friday morning, with a whisper ... Daddy's surprise is finally here. She got up and came into the kitchen to find this ...
(turn the volume up so you can hear her, as she is still half asleep and is not being very loud)
FRIDAY ... DAY ONE
And so we were off, on our big weekend adventure, to Washington DC.
On the shuttle bus, headed to the airport in Tampa.
At the Tampa airport ...
waiting patiently for our flight.
On the plane, still excited for what is to come.
In Baltimore, where we landed, there was SNOW!
Not much snow, but enough for two Florida girls!
We had to wait a while in the train station, to catch a train to Washington, DC.
Waiting for the train to come ... burrr, it was cold out there!
Riley kept herself warm by jumping from bench to bench.
View from the train platform. The girls wanted to go down there and play in it, but it was a long way down!
On the train ride to DC ... thank goodness Daddy met us in Baltimore ...
the train ride ended up being a lot longer than usual (about 2 hours, instead of 30 mins), due to a broken down train!
We made it to the hotel ... FINALLY!
Daddy's room was really nice!
SATURDAY ... DAY TWO
We were up bright and early, for a White House tour. Daddy and his girls, all dressed and ready to go. We were not allowed to bring anything with us to the White House, so we don't have any pictures of our tour, but the girls LOVED looking at the chandeliers ... that is what they talk about!
Walking around town, first spotting the Capital in the distance. Reagan was preparing to take a picture with her new camera.
Posing with the Washington Monument.
First Museum ... Natural History Museum.
Riley was so excited to see an Elephant when we walked in.
Reagan was all about taking pictures of all the animals.
Cool looking Polar Bear
Riley wanted her picture with the naked baby ... "Mom, he doesn't have on any underwear!"
A Coral Reef made out of crocheted pieces.
The big whale on the ceiling.
T-Rex skeleton
Posing with a dinosaur
The Hope Diamond ... Reagan was so excited to get to see this one!
Reagan was tickled that this building was named after HER!
Lunch at Old Ebbitts Grill, for Reagan's birthday lunch.
Birthday Girl
The yummy piece of cake they brought her for her birthday.
Happy Birthday, Reagan!
Next it was off to the American History Museum.
Riley loved the big train, until it made a noise ... that pretty much did her in!
Reagan posing with the horse ... she is such the animal lover.
Dad and the girls on the Chicago style bus
A big ole bus!
They both were very interested in this HUGE doll house.
Metro Station ... after a LONG DAY.
Riding like a true city girl ... standing up!
Riley wanted to stand up, but Mommy would not let her ... mean Mommy!
SUNDAY ... DAY THREE
Riley checking to see if it had snowed yet ... NOPE!
Walking through The Mall ... there were lots of Canadian Geese.
Girls were running around, having a great morning.
Destination ... Air and Space Museum, where we met up with some good friends of ours.
Riley was worn out from the day before, so she was a bit snuggly with me.
Our friends, Jodi (friends with Mommy since we were in Elementary school), Conner (who is one week older than Reagan), and Reagan.
Conner, Reagan, and Riley ... so cute!
and SO GOOFY!
Riley discovering gravity ...
Reagan too!
What does this hose do?
Conner and Riley, checking out the astronaut.
Space Shuttle
Infrared screen ...
Riley, Reagan, and Conner going inside the space ship
We snuck a picture of Reagan and Conner holding hands! So Cute!
Jodi and Mommy ... ready to leave the museum and head to Jodi's house for an afternoon of fun and food!
Just Dance with Shelly, Jodi's sister, and another friend of Mommy's since she was a little girl.
Conner, striking a pose!
Shelly and Reagan, dancing away.
Jodi and Reagan, still dancing.
Riley getting in on some of the dance action!
Riley thoroughly enjoyed playing with Shelly and Jen.
Conner, Reagan, and Jodi ... still dancing.
Shelly, Jodi, and Mommy ... being silly.
Pictures for memories!
Who knows what they are doing?!
Attempt to get a good picture of the kids ...
they were being so silly, it was hard to get each one to cooperate.
Best shot we got, too bad they were looking at the wrong camera!!!
Jodi and Riley, saying their goodbyes
Goodbye to our friends ... we had such a good time hanging out after all these years!
MONDAY ... DAY FOUR
Back to the White House, to get some pictures ... since we couldn't take the camera the first time.
Family Shot!
Other side of the White House
Off to the Washington Monument, to see the view from the top.
Waiting to go inside. It was the coldest day so far, and the girls were not handling it too well.
View 1, from the top ... The Capitol, The Mall, and the Museums
Family shot
Reagan checking out the view
View 2 ... The White House
View 3 ... The Lincoln Memorial, the Reflection pool, and the World War II Memorial.
View 4 ... the Jefferson Memorial
Bundled up and waiting to go back down!
The World War II Memorial ...
So beautiful, but so cold ... we did not get a lot of pictures.
The Lincoln Memorial
Dad and the Girls were interviewed by the local news station, because they were standing on the spot that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, made his famous speech.
A quick shot of Reagan and President Lincoln, before calling it a day. It was only 11:30, but so cold that the girls could not take it any longer. We spent the rest of the day at the hotel, hanging out with Dad.
Monday night, we went to dinner with some great friends, Mark and Marie, and walked home in the SLEET to get ready for our next day, which was the day to go home.
TUESDAY ... DAY FIVE
Headed home to Florida. We had a dead battery in the camera, so no pictures were taken. Our day started very early as Mommy was afraid of broken down trains and also icy roads from the cold night before. It started with a taxi ride to Union Station, then a train ride to the Baltimore airport. Next we took a bus from the train station to the airport, where we waited for 3 hours for our flight. Once on the plane, Riley fell asleep and Reagan listened to her music for most of the trip. It was a quiet ride, until we got home. Then we took another shuttle bus to the car, where we drove to the Kennel to pick up Irbe, and then finally HOME! After six modes of transportation in one day, we were happy to be home. It was hard to get them settled down for bed, but once they were asleep ... it was a very nice and peaceful night!
We had a great weekend and were so happy to get to see Daddy and our friends. Hopefully the next time we go to Washington, DC, it won't be in January and we can enjoy doing even more than we did this busy, busy weekend!
