From Coast to Coast!

Last Christmas, our plane didn't pass its pre-flight check and we ended up waiting in the airport all day for another flight. Southwest consequently provided us each with $200 plane vouchers that needed to be used within a year's time, which we were happy to accept. After a couple of moves, and our voucher expiration drawing nigh, we started to think more seriously about where to fly to. We of course looked into Hawaii, but realized that wasn't too realistic of an option, and subsequently looked into ticket cost for all airports near our siblings. Much to my surprise, a flight from Seattle to Washington DC was the least expensive. 

I have to say that I love Southwest. When I finally coordinated a time that would work for the Rasmussens and us, I went to book the tickets but couldn't find the vouchers ANYWHERE! I searched the entire house. I could picture exactly where they were in the Provo house, and then in the Magnolia apartment, but hadn't the slightest idea where they would be in our new home. Tyler and I went through every drawer, file, and stack, paper by paper and found nothing. At Brooke's suggestion (I still can't believe this thought didn't even occur to me) I called Southwest and they immediately emailed the voucher codes to us. I booked the flights and anxiously awaited our trip! We planned for Thayne and I to fly over Friday, November 30th and spend a week in DC before Tyler would come the following Friday and we would all fly home together the following Monday, December 10th. Brooke and I were both pregnant and we hoped having a week would give us plenty of time to have quality sister time via sight seeing, shopping, taking care of her normal family schedule, etc., without overdoing it for either of us. I worried about the 7ish hour flight over with just Thayne and I, and picked up a variety of new toys, snacks, and books in the weeks prior to our trip in hopes of keeping Little Man entertained on both legs of our flight. November 30th came, and off we went to the airport.

Tyler dropped us off and helped me get to the check-in counter. I was really nervous about how I was possibly going to maneuver through the airport with a stroller, car seat, and Thayne (this was a huge topic of internal debate leading up to the trip, but I ultimately decided the benefits of being able to put Thayne down during the flight was worth it) and wanted to jump over the counter and hug the lady behind the desk when she said Tyler could come through security with us and up to the gate. 

Thayne was fantastic on the plane. We made it to Denver, and I learned that some airports, such as Denver, have trains within them. I was really confused when the signs for Concourse C suddenly turned to signs for the Train Platform and was still skeptical, but grateful for the Help Desk Man who instructed me to simply take the elevator down to the platform and get on the C train. We had just enough time for a bathroom break, diaper change (so grateful for family bathrooms big enough to fit a stroller), and plane-side check ins with our hour and 45 minute layover. Thayne was wonderful on our last leg and we were thrilled to end the day with Brooke and Scott in their Virginia apartment.

Saturday was filled with Rasmussen activities and we were grateful to tag along while we tried to adjust to DC time. Sunday was occupied by church activities and Thayne started showing some  cold symptoms. Monday Thayne woke up with a slight fever that went right down with a little bit of baby drugs, so we decided to bundle him up and take a nice walk around the Smithsonian Mall and Washington Monument.

DC has the coolest buildings! 

Our awesome walking buddy, Will

THE Capitol Building!

The Washington Monument

The lovely Brooke with Will, Nattie, and their red chariot 

The Smithsonian castle

The happy sicky. We all LOVED the sunshine and 65 degree weather !

The WWII Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background

The memorial was absolutely beautiful

The kids loved the fountains and pools

We started walking toward the Lincoln Memorial, but impending naps and lunchtime steered us to the car instead. The next chunk of pictures are things we drove past and all the pictures are borrowed from my lovely friend, the internet.

The Lincoln Memorial

Looking for pictures made me realize why I expected the White House to be in an open and secluded area. None of the pictures I've seen show all the downtown buildings nestled almost immediately around it

Jefferson Memorial

The Kennedy Center on the Potomac 

We anticipated that we'd explore more in the coming week and felt very satisfied with our walk-around that day.

However, Thayne became more and more sick through the week. One day we did go out for a quick walk in the neighborhood cemetery across the street, and that was really cool and nice to get out. Nights were terrible. Thayne was so stuffed up he could hardly breathe, and his fever required constant doses of baby drugs. Coughing spells woke him (and me) up every time he'd settle into a deep sleep. 

Thursday morning rolled around, and Thayne's fever was still hanging on at 103 degrees, and he started pulling on his ear saying, "owwie!" He also started throwing up from choking on all the gunk in his throat. I tried to call Brooke's Pediatrician to set up an appointment, but turned into a pregnant bawling mess when the receptionist said they couldn't offer medical advice if my son was not a patient. I wasn't quite clear minded enough to ask if he could be admitted as a new patient. Brooke saved the day and figured out where we could take my little sickie to get help. We ended up going to a nearby Urgent Care and after confirming an Ear Infection in both ears, the wonderful Doctor gave us a prescription for antibiotics that we were able to pick up on the way home. We gave him his first dose and he did great as long as he was on meds. 

That afternoon Thayne and I tagged along to pick Scott up from work and ended up going to the National Cathedral. I LOVED it! The cathedral was breath taking in every way. Thayne did a little walking, and snuggled on me the rest of the time. I was grateful that he saved the throwing up until we were getting ready to leave. We had quite the grand exit as I ran through the cathedral clutching a gagging/puking child to my chest, exaggerating my protruding pregnant belly as I held him tight, and trying to keep any puke from hitting the floor with my sweater-turned-burp-rag. Once his coughing episode died down, he was just fine and we were able to get him cleaned up enough to get in the car.

Walking up to the Cathedral

Cute houses like this one were everywhere

I figured it was hopeless to even try to capture the beauty of the cathedral with the camera on my phone, so here are more images from Mr Internet

Notice how little the people are

We drove passed the Iwo Jima Memorial (which was much larger than I expected), Arlington Cemetery, and the Pentagon where Scott pointed out where the plane hit on 9/11

*Borrowed image

*Borrowed image

This is pretty much what the Pentagon looked like from the Freeway
*Borrowed image

Twenty-four hours after starting his antibiotics, Thayne was practically his happy normal self. And it was SO good to have him back. He was finally playing with his cousins and really enjoying himself. With cousins like these, how could he not?

Thayne especially loved "nattie" and their hugs and giggles never got old

Tyler flew in Friday night, and Brooke and Scott were sweet enough to keep Thayne all of Saturday so that Tyler and I could explore the Smithsonian Museums. We started at the Natural History Museum and weren't super impressed. We saw a few cool things like a giant squid, and the Hope Diamond. Those were cool. We each ordered $9 sandwiches in the basement cafeteria; the most over-priced turkey on bread I've ever eaten. Luckily Tyler's BBQ brisket sandwich was tasty. We looked through the archives building and read a letter from the ten year old Fidel Castro, saw the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Maybe we're terrible Americans, but our absolute favorite was the Museum of Art. The paintings, statues, and architecture moved us far more than anything else we saw. We attempted to look through the Air and Space Museum, but just didn't have enough energy. So we found our way to the Subway and enjoyed the ride and short walk back. Just the two of us.

In front of the Archives Building

I LOVED the buildings! 

"Eternal Diligence is the Price of Liberty"

Rotunda in the Museum of Art

We left early Monday morning and had an uneventful trip back home, except for Thayne throwing up in the Denver Airport. He had perfect timing though. It happened with just enough time to get him and the floor cleaned up, change his clothes, and board the plane.

We had SO much fun with Brooke and Scott's family and they were so good to us.They travel - a lot - and to have the chance to visit them was wonderful. I now have so much more respect for their lengthy travels and the ease with which they seem to pull off every trip. I do wish that Thayne and I had had more healthy days to get the most out of our time with the Rasmussens, but I am grateful that we had a long enough vacation that even sickness couldn't steal all our time in DC.