Carol and Mike arrived on a Thursday and I created a packed itinerary for their day, Friday. They checked out all of the monuments, beginning with the Arlington Cemetery and seeing everything in between all the way to the Washington Monument before meeting me for lunch. Then, the checked out a few museums until Ryan and I were able to meet up with them after we were finished with work. That night we went to dinner at an awesome German restaurant, Leopold's Cafe, and were all in food bliss! It really inspired me to crack open my German cookbook. I'm trying to recreate one of the recipes this Friday. On Saturday, they visited some of Carol's family in the morning and that afternoon, we went to the Spy Museum and Crime and Punishment Museum, which was very cool because I had yet to visit those two museums. That night we got some yummy Italian food and then nearly lost our dinners when we saw "Jackass 3D"! Hilarious! I highly recommend it! Sunday, we took a timeout from sightseeing to watch the Steelers game- Mike and Carol are both big fans! Mid-game, I dropped Ryan off at the airport for a week of training in Atlanta and made it back to the bar, only missing a few minutes of the game. Afterward, we headed back to the mall to visit the Air and Space Museum, get some pictures of the Capitol and Smithsonian Castle, and stop by my favorite monument, the FDR Memorial. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend and I know Carol and Mike had a good time!
I always look forward to spending time with the Pino family. Kalee and Bear are little sponges and you all know how much I love learning (and teaching those who want to be taught)! We met in the morning at Mount Vernon, one of my favorite places and now one of Kalee's favorite places, too! It was a special weekend at Mount Vernon: Harvest Days! The emphasis for the whole weekend was teaching kids about colonial times and life at Mount Vernon during George Washington's time. Everyone was in character, so many of the exhibits were interactive, and we were blessed with an absolutely gorgeous day! We were there all day and literally closed it down! When we got home that night, Averi helped me make a delicious veggie-dinner while Ryan entertained the kids with a pumpkin painting project. Sunday, we spent the morning at the Natural History Museum focusing especially on the oceans, dinosaurs, mammals, and their new human origins exhibit. That afternoon, we had a picnic on the mall and got up close and personal with a very friendly squirrel before they headed home. It was such a fun weekend!
We really had two great weekends in a row!! We love having visitors and being able to share our home and our neighborhood with family and friends, so please visit soon!!
