Washington D.C. (Sunday)

After another great night sleep, we headed out for one more full day of activities and sight seeing.

Sunday:
16. Jefferson's MemorialWe had to threaten or bribe to get this shot. :)
Pretty cool place.
Family photo = Family Struggle to get Lucas to look at the camera. He was shaking his head back and forth and some how our camera man caught him.
Another trick!

17. National Geographic Society at Explorers Hall

We don't have any photos of the photos we saw at the Nat'l Geographic Society. Their exhibit was all about Lions and Leapards. The photographers spent 28 YEARS documenting these animals. That's a long camping trip!

We almost forgot it was Father's Day but luckily we remembered and Lucas was prepared. Before heading to the art museum we gave Daddy some presents. Happy Father's Day Daddy! You are an amazing father and we are so happy that you love life as much as you do and make the most of each day. It wears us out a bit but we wouldn't want it any other way. Thanks for being such a great Dad and spending so much time with us. We all love you very, very much!
Lucas loves to help unwrap gifts.
He made a nice shirt and tie card which I don't have a photo of for some reason. Here Mike is reading questions about him answered by Lucas like:
How old is your Daddy? 20
What's your Dad's favorite sport? Football
What's your Dad's favorite show? Caillou
One last gift for you Daddy! Hey, he's looking at the camera and boy do I love blackmail photos!18. American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery

Yes, we were nuts thinking this was a good idea with two kids. Luckily, they had an enormous court yard to run around and play in. Mike and I had to take turns after failing miserably with both kids in the muesum....SOOOOOO BOOORRRRIIINNNNGGG if your 3!

Check out these PAINTINGS...yes, I said paintings. Amazing detail.19. Retirement/Promotion Party

I used to work for a wonderful lady named Mildred Bonilla-Lucia. She took me under her wing when I was a little 2nd Lt in the Air Force and mentored me into a super-stellar Capt. :) I love Mildred and always will. She is the most caring person I've ever met (okay, one of the most; my parents rank right up there too along with many others...oh-oh...am I digging a hole here? I love you all...just keep reading) and what a treat to work with her. We were invited over to her house to celebrate her retirement from the USAF and also watch her promote her "little" brother in the Army. What a great get together.
Here's my old Superintentent, Doug Collins holding Axel and with his wife. We worked together in the Fuels Flight...boy do we have some stories about our troops. It was fun to catch up with him and see his family.
Axel hanging out with Daddy. He was the star of the show and was passed from arms to arms.
Mildred's daughter, Erica even got a turn. She held Lucas when he was about this age too. If only I could find that photo...I'll have to dig.
The Real Star of the Show! Mildred - Thank you so much for such a wonderful visit. We miss you and plan to return to DC to see you again soon. Isn't she beautiful?!
No photos of Mr. Camera shy. Lucas kept happy playing outside with all the big kids and then threw a huge fit when we had to leave. "But I love it here?! I don't want to go!"

20. National Air and Space Museum (Round 2)

Daddy found this: A Transistor, the first transistor...this is what makes your computer work.
While Lucas was inspired to do this:
He's an airplane. Elevators, alierons, rudders and sound all coming together in a wonderful motion.
21. U.S. Capital Building
Another trick. "Hey Lucas, where's the Washington Monument?"

Got him!
Big sign in front of the Capital.
Phew! Another awesome day. Only one to go.

Control? Or Lack There Of...

I must interrupt my DC posts to document one of Lucas' "I'm going to show you Mom & Dad!" situations.

To set the stage, it was bed time and Lucas had been typing his name on the computer. He has a little soccer memory game with a certificate you can personalize and print out. We told him he could type his name and then it was time to get ready for bed. He didn't seem to have a problem with that.

So he typed: LUCAS ANDERS

He quickly realized that the "O" was not working so the melt down began. It only gives you 12 spaces to work with. We tried to explain to him that it was not possible to type his full name but he could type LUCAS DANGER.

This was no good, the whining started.

"But I want to type LUCAS ANDERSON!"

We tried to calm him but it was a downward spiral, a big mixture of frustration and tiredness.

Then, he deleted ANDERS and said, "I'm going to type a whole bunch of OOOOs!" So he did and then proceeded to freak out again because that really wasn't what he wanted to do. He then gave up when he realized that he had lost the battle and was not going to get to type his whole name.

In his best tough guy voice, he looked right at Mike and I and said, "That's it! I'm going to stop this game! I'm all done! I'm going to just turn it off and go to bed!"

I told him, "Okay Lucas, that sounds like a good plan." This obviously was not what he wanted to hear.

Then, with more evil-eye he said, "And... I'm going to leave the computer on! (pause) I'm going to let all the power go out ALL night long! (pause) I'm going to keep the computer open too, just like this!"

He was trying his very hardest to make us mad or to get a rise out of us. It completely back fired on him. By this point, Mike and I were trying are very hardest to not laugh or smile but it was impossible. We both busted out laughing. He was really showing us who was boss and in control of the situation. HA! We finally got him to smile and even laugh a little.

Boy, what's in store when he turns 4?!

Washington D.C. (Saturday)

Washington DC is truly an amazing place with all the history and things to learn. It touches your spirit in one way or another.

In true Anderson fasion, we decided to "maximize" our time in DC. Mike printed maps and lists of things to do. So, armed with two strollers, a TJ bag (love this!) of snacks, couple liters of water and a camera...we were off to the races. Oh yeah, our National Park Passport books too!

Note: There are a bunch of photos in this post, however, we barely took any in the museums. There's just way too much to document. We have added some to highlight and hope you enjoy them.

Saturday:
5. Smithsonian Castle Aerial View
6. Freer Gallery of Art

No photos. We wouldn't recommend taking kids to art museums unless it's nap time. :)

7. See Washington Monument

We waited in line for about one hour to get free tickets to go inside. Our reserved time was 7:30pm so we had the whole day ahead of us.
8. National Museum of American History

Here's Mike next to Steven Cobert. Yes, we are fans!
Lucas thought he died and went to Heaven when he saw this lawn mower. We had to have two photos to make sure we could see the blades too. This was the one of the first powered lawn mowers called the "Snappy Turtle" and you can even see the little turtle head on the front. 9. National Museum of Natural History

Axel was fed and ready to go!
This museum is one of our favorites. There is just sooo much to see and do. The dinosaur exhibit was awesome!
10. National Air and Space Museum

Daddy and Lucas' favorite for sure. More airplanes and space ships to gaze upon. Oops, Lucas slept through a little bit but have no fear, he got plenty in when he woke up. You can see the Hubble Telescope replica in the very back.
The Apollo 11 Command Module that Neil Armstrong and company rode to the Moon and back ("Yes Lucas, it's a REAL space ship...look at all those buttons!")

Ever since Lucas went flying at the WPAFB Aero Club he has been asking more and more questions about how airplanes fly. He loves watching the elevators, ailerons and rudder do their magic.
There were wonderful hands-on displays explaining the principles of flight and aerodynamics.Axel checked out a few things too. He also managed to get a few free rides! Here is the first powered aircraft the Wrights flew at Kittyhawk.

And finally, the first operational "small" UAV (Mike's research area) the Navy/USMC Dragon Eye, and it resembles a typical radio controlled model airplane, but with a nice camera on board, and dumbed down so a jarhead can fly it :)
11. Go Inside The Washington Monument

Here's the view right before going inside.
Lucas hates having his picture taken. Mike and I try to trick him if necessary. This time, we thought it would be easier to photograph a more cooperative subject. Thanks Axel!
Here's one of our tricks... "Hey Lucas, look at Barack Obama's house." There are windows facing every direction on the top of the Washington Monument. It's really cool to see everything up there. Lucas was excited about the White House and the big fan they had blowing in there to keep everyone cool. 3 year olds!
View of the U.S. Capital. You can also see the tents set up along The Mall for the upcoming Folk Festival.
View of the White House grounds and beyond.
View of the Jefferson Memorial and the Fish Warf (where we had our Friday night seafood).
View of the WWII Memorial, Reflection Pool and Lincoln Memorial.
View of the Pentagon which is pretty hard to see in this photo.
12. National World War II Memorial
13. Korean War Memorial

These figures were so life-like and made you feel like you were out there in the war zone with them. It will give you the chills!
Catching fire flies or lightning bugs depending on what you call them. We don't have these out West so this is a pretty cool discovery.
14. Lincoln Memorial
15. Vietnam War Veterans MemorialPhew! What a long day. Everyone was done by this point and went straight to bed at camp.