Washington D.C.

June 3

We had a pretty emotional goodbye as we parted with Emily and my parents, who had driven us to the airport and dropped us off with all of our luggage. Sometimes sharing a child is hard and even though she had a fun summer planned ahead with her dad, it didn't make our departure from her any easier. Being a child from divorce, there is always something that Emily will miss out on. One good thing about this girl is that she is loved and adored by whoever she's with.

Aaron and I quickly realized that we had quite the task ahead of us as we had to herd 4 full size suitcases, 5 carry-ons, 2 car seats and 4 backpacks (two of which were being toted by a couple of helpless little girls) to the check-in counter where we dropped off about half of our stuff. We had wrongfully assumed that having wheels on their suitcases would make it easier for Izzy and Claire to help us, but even their backpacks became too burdensome at times not to mention their legs, which were "too tiyed."

We arrived at the Baltimore, Maryland airport where for some reason our flight overseas wasn't scheduled to leave for a couple of days?? So we took full advantage when we realized this was an opportunity to do some sightseeing in our nation's capital before leaving the country. We gathered our luggage once again and wrangled it and the kids out to a rental car shuttle, where we got some pretty strange looks as people stared at us. When Aaron jokingly told people we had just come for the weekend, he got some pretty confused looks. When we clarified that we were moving overseas people acted as if it was now okay that we had that much luggage. We made it to the car rental kiosk and learned that the car we had paid for to accommodate all our luggage wasn't available. With one look at us and our luggage the rental agent realized a downsize to a compact wouldn't fit us so they upgraded us to a Toyota Sequoia, which we weren't too disappointed about. We headed to our lodging and found some dinner before hitting our beds to get some sleep for the next day.

                                         June 4
The girls had their first metro ride which they thought was pretty cool. You'll notice Izzy got pretty good at this little pose :) We had a little bit of a walk to get into D.C. and to hit the National Mall. The places we hit were: the White House, Washington Monument, Vietnam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. We also saw the World War II Memorial which was new since the last time I had been to D.C. (clear back in high school) and it was really cool. We briefly walked by the National Cathedral and the Capitol Building on our way to get some dinner before hitting the metro.  The girls were troopers and walked the majority of it, which ended up being about 10 miles! Claire had to be carried at the end and fell asleep in my arms on the way to the metro.

Claire in front of the White House "Claire for President"

Izzy in front of Washington Monument

Vietnam War Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Korean War Memorial

World War II Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

While this map kind of makes it look like everything's right there together, my Apple watch recorded us walking a total of 10 miles for the day. It was hot and humid and required lots of water and ice cream stops to keep us fueled.
(Map courtesy of: https://deltiolog.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/dcmap.jpg?w=529&h=363)

And we made it back with Dad carrying both girls

June 5 
The next morning there was a pretty strong vote in favor of no walking so we decided to load up the rental car and drive up to Gettysburg before we had to be back for our flight in the late afternoon. This day also happened to be Aaron and my 9th anniversary so what better way to spend an anniversary than to visit a battleground. I have to say that Pat Benatar was right when she sang, "Love is a Battlefield." :) All in all I feel pretty lucky to be stuck with this guy. He complements my weaknesses so well with his many strengths and keeps me grounded. Our fights are generally few and far between and usually end up in laughter. These past 9 years have been quite the ride and I am grateful that he's been by my side because I feel like we're just getting started and have many more experiences ahead to share with one another.  

Outside the Gettysburg Visitors Center

 We made a pit stop at the Gettysburg Visitors Center to use the bathrooms and to ask some questions at the information center. We explained that we were limited on time and the information guy was super helpful. He gave us a map and drew the shortened version of the drive around the park, marking the most important monuments to get out and see, which turned out great and was just enough to keep the girls interested and give them a chance to stretch their legs a bit.

Army of Northern Virginia

Love these two

Virginia Monument

Battlefield in the background

Pennsylvania State Memorial

Soldier's National Cemetery 

At the cemetery where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address

We concluded our drive by stopping at the Soldier's National Cemetery and got out to look at the many graves. Our timing was perfect for just as we hit the Gettysburg Address monument, the rain came pelting down.

It was an absolutely beautiful day and there was a peacefulness in that hallowed place. It made me so grateful for our founding fathers and the freedoms for which they fought so valiantly. Although there is much unrest in America, there is much to be thankful for.

We ended the day of our 9th anniversary by boarding a plane bound for Germany. I can't think of anything more exciting and a little unnerving at the same time. Happy Anniversary my love!