Washington D.C.

The weather was cool and rainy today, but that didn't damper our moods.  Everyone was thrilled to see Brett.  He left eight weeks ago and we have missed hanging out with him.  We had a great time catching up with him at "We, the Pizza" a favorite lunch stop of his.  The food was great and the conversation even better.  Brett talked a lot about the events he has been able to attend or help at since he has been in D.C.  He has acclimated himself to the area well and after we ate we started on a tour of the nation's capital.

Our first stop was the National Mall and the Smithsonian Castle and American History museum.  Our favorite exhibits were Dorothy's ruby red slippers, 1969 Bert and Ernie puppets and the Presidents hall complete with Taft's car and Cleveland's overcoat.  Meg and I split off from the boys to go to the Natural History Museum while they went to Air & Space.  Meg and I took pictures of the Hope Diamond to show everyone.  After the museums we walked to the U.S. Capitol and then by the fountain that Brett passes by everyday on the way to work.  Both were impressive, and we couldn't believe how short of a walk Brett had to his office.  I asked him if he had gotten over how awesome it has been for him to have this experience, but so far the awe has not worn off.  Seeing him here just kept reminding me of what a fantastic position he found.

We decided to tour the monuments tonight.  We weren't sure we were going to be able to, but the rain held off for quite awhile, so we thought we'd give it a shot.  On our walk we stopped at the FDR memorial, Martin Luther King Jr's,  the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall and the World War II memorial.  All were impressive, but my favorite this trip was the MLK one.  His was the newest and I hadn't seen it in person until now.  The night air was cool, but the rain held off until we were almost finished, so it wasn't too bad.  Brett picked Nando's for dinner which was close to his home.  Everyone loved the chicken and it was nice to sit down and relax for awhile.