US Capitol

We also toured the Capitol while we were in DC. If you've ever seen the Capitol, you know how beautiful it is. It's even prettier than I remember it being.

Inside the dome

Closeup of the Dome

Speaker of the House, John Boehner's office

Such a beautiful and historic building

Smithsonian - Air & Space Museum

The Air & Space Museum was also pretty interesting. This was my first visit here and I would have liked to have spent more time there.

Spirit of St. Louis

Lunar Landing Module

Rockets
Seats in an early commercial airplane....can you imagine? UGG!
Different planes...I really like how this museum is organized, even though it's an overload! :)

Smithsonian - Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural History has a lot of cool stuff in it but it was really crowded so we didn't get a lot of pictures. We did see the Hope Diamond but didn't fight the crowd for a pic.

This was probably the neatest thing to me. This is the actual capsule used in saving the Chilean miners. It is TINY!!! But I guess if you've been underground that long, you don't care how small the capsule is if it's going to save your life!

Smithsonian - American History Museum

The first Smithsonian museum that we did was the American History Museum. Of course, we were only in DC for a week and it would take WEEKS to do all of the Smithsonians but I would love to go back and hit a few more.

Many of the displays did not allow photography so there aren't many pictures. Of course, my favorite is the First Lady display with the Inaugural Ball gowns along with some of their personal items.

Julia Childs' kitchen

The original Washington Monument was a depiction of George Washington as a Greek God.

This is the actual lunch counter from the Greensboro Sit-In. In 1960, MANY African-Americans as well as some white students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University staged a protest at the lunch counter at a Woolworth's department store. I never knew the story of this sit-in (as I only know of the civil rights events that happened in Alabama from my high school Alabama History classes) so I read more on it here.

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery is, in my opinion, one of the most touching places in the country. Every direction you look, you see rolling hills and rows of headstones of our service members. This was my second visit here with my first being in 1999. Though I did appreciate it then, it took my breath away this time. Not only am I years older, but my last visit was pre-911 and before our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Times were different then, as well as my wisdom. Arlington is a reminder of how blessed we are to live in this country where we are free! We need to be reminded that this freedom came with a high price and many, many men and women gave their lives for it!

The eternal flame for JFK. John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy are both buried here.

The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is so touching. The precision and synchronization of their moves are nothing short of amazing! It is such a beautiful and touching event.

Washington DC - White House

We are back from our weeklong DC trip. It was a fun-filled, action packed week! This was my second time in DC but Rob and my brother's first trip. I don't think you ever have enough time in DC to enjoy everything that the city has to offer!

The only way that I know how to blog this trip and keep it from being one LONG post is to break it up into specific places that we saw. Blogging this trip could take a week or two so enjoy or come back in a few weeks and we will be on to something else! ha!

We were actually lucky enough to get into DC in time to take the White House Fall Garden Tour. On this tour, you can tour all of the White House grounds and see all of the beautiful fall plants and colors along with other notable White House notables.

The last time I was in DC we were unable to get close to the White House. We were all in absolute awe of the history and beauty of this national treasure.

View from the front of the White House looking toward the Washington Monument. This is the area where Marine One (the President's helicopter) lands when he returns from a trip.

The Rose Garden where the President gives many speeches. I will say that this area seems SOO much bigger on TV than it really is. I will be honest and say I was in complete awe of this area when I stopped to think about all of the speeches that have been given here.

The swing set that was put in for the Obama girls

View from further down the lawn

If you follow the current presidency you probably know that Michelle Obama is very passionate about healthy eating and active lifestyles. You may have seen articles or news pieces about her White House garden. It is one impressive and beautiful garden!

Such a beautiful scene

I took TONS of pics on this tour so this could go on forever but I still have LOTS of pics to share so I'll leave it with these. I will say that if you are ever in DC for the Fall Garden Tours weekend in October, you should definitely check it out! It is BEAUTIFUL!

Our 8th Anniversary

On September 27th, Rob and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary! I cannot believe that it's been 8 years! Since we had just gotten back from our beach vacation and are headed to Washington DC in another week, week just decided to do a low key anniversary. We ate dinner at PF Chang's. The staff there was SO sweet to us and they all came by to wish us a Happy Anniversary. Here are the fortunes we got for the night. :)

Our yummy dessert

I am doing a horrible job these days with pictures so these are the only 2 that I got. UGG!

Rob got me a really pretty ring from Swarovski that I had been wanting and I got him an Auburn 2010 BCS Championship book signed by Kodi Burns (one of my favorite AU players, HA)

It was a great 8th anniversary and I can't wait to see what lies ahead! I'm so Blessed to have such a supportive, loving, and the most giving husband in the world! :)