The city. And a pumpkin spice latte, please.

When you live in the Washington, DC metro area ... you get to frequent The City when friends and family visit. As chaotic, busy and repetitive as it is ... there is just something about experiencing the history of our nation, be it over and over again.

Standing on the National Mall at sunset ... looking west.

Standing on the National Mall at sunset ... looking east.

Kyle's family was in town for Christmas ... we have not seen his older sister in over two years, so it was nice to see them again. I hadn't even realized it, but they hadn't even met Nika yet ... geesh, time flies ... it just seems like she has always been here.



We ventured into The City to do a Smithsonian scavenger hunt ... all 13 of us. Keeping track of five kids is a bit chaotic, even with eight adults ... in fact, that likely makes for more chaos. An hour or so into the day, I told Kyle he was in charge of Payton and that I would take Nika and the stroller ... and hopefully Mason would not run off like the girls. Seemed to work well. 

We walked ... a lot ... from the National Museum of American History ...

Chicky wore her sunglasses all.day.long ... the future is bright!

... to the National Museum of Natural History ...





... to the National Air and Space Museum ...

Mason (age 6) and Ethan (age 10)

Mason and Ethan had a great time together ... from video games to video games to umm, video games ... Mason learned a lot about video games from his older cousin. Listening to their conversations made me laugh ...

M/E: Duuude, look at this!

M: Do you like Justin Bieber?
E: No! Duuude, that is for girls!

Have to throw this in too ...

Me {at Starbucks}: Guys, what do you want to drink?
M: Orange juice.
E: Pumpkin Spice Latte, please.
Me: Ok? {chuckles erupt from other surrounding adults}

Love those kids.