Mammoth Part Dos

Day 4: Day four of our journey, we packed it in. Our first stop was Arlington National Cemetary. If you have not been here, you definitely need to go. We stopped to watch the Changing of the Gaurds at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is honestly one of the most awesome things I have ever seen in my life. Breath taking, really.

As it is supposed to be a silent event, the babies obliged and fell asleep. I am not lying when I say that this is the ONLY time all three were asleep at the same time the entire trip (well besides at night). Here is where President Kennedy is buried. Thank you ladies for your solemn faces for the picture. Only fitting.
Here is the view overlooking DC from the cemetary. Just gorgeous.

We thought we would save ourselves some moo-lah and decided to pack our lunch this day. Our frugality definitely did not pay off as we were stuck with the world's soggiest sandwiches. Don't worry, we still gagged them down.
Our next stop: Ford's Theatre, the very place where President Lincoln was assasinated. This just was renovated and barely reopened. We got to go sit in the theater while a ranger told the story of what happened that day. I learned a lot and was fascinated by the whole thing. I really liked this stop.While Nort and Che toured the home where Lincoln was taken to die across the street from the theater, we opted out since there were a billion stairs and we didn't want to haul the strollers up them. So instead, Jen and I hit the classiest store I have ever seen. It was all sorts of DC memoribillia, including these gems of glasses and everything anti-Republican that anyone has ever dreamed up. Fun stuff.
After that, Che' had to depart as she had some work to do. Jen, Nort, and I trooped on like true tourists. We then went to the outdoor mall that hosts all the monuments. This first one is the Wolrd War Two monument. Yes, we saw the signs that said don't wade in the water, but everyone else was doing it, so of course we joined in. Only until an old man named Rex came along and kicked us out, that is.

Lincoln's Monument. Notice Hallie's pose- trying to get something from Sadie or eat her, your pick.The Korean War monument- probably my favorite!
Vietnam War Monument and the long long wall of names of soldiers killed or missing.
The kids wanted to pose by the lake as we were walking to the last two monuments. Again, take note of Hallie's new favorite pose. This time, poor little Max is the victim and he's only half her size.
After the monument tour, we headed back to have a late celebratory dinner for Landon, who was released from the Army that day. Che' had this delightful cake made for him, but when we opened the box, this is what it looked like. What a shame! Good thing it tasted pretty good still. Upon leaving the restaurant, we asked a waitress to take our picture. What does this look like to you? Yep, not to worry, Landon told the waitress that we were a polygamist family from Utah. Sure appears that way, huh?

Day 5:Day five we headed back into Philly to see the downtown historic district. We don't have too many photos of this day, but it was as fun as ever. Here we are in front of the Liberty Bell, rest its non-working soul. Since this was the only day that Landon wasn't working, he got to hang out with us. We even let him choose where we went for our must have Philly Cheesesteaks. Well, that was a mistake. He chose this nasty place named Geno's. Apparently famous, huge lines, but none of us liked it except Landon. Hmmmmm? What's worse is that in order to get there, we had to risk life and limb and go through the ghetto. Although this doesn't look too scary, believe me, it was a rough neighborhood. Just be thankful that we are all still alive.

Day 6:
Our last day in Philly before we flew out that afternoon, we wanted to make the most of it. By this time, we had to return the rental car, so we got shoved back into Che's car. Yep, all 7 of us. Not safe, I know. At least the kids took priority and got their own backseat while we all got the front. How cute is this, the kiddo's all having a bite to eat together. And by bite to eat, I mean thing to drink. Yes, I was sitting on the floor in the back. Most uncomfortable ever. But I volunteered, so I can't complain.
We found this really cool place, the Philadelphia Hospital. It was our nation's first hospital! It is attached to a still functioning hospital, but they just let you in to give yourself a tour if you would like. I highly recommend it. It was super cool. We don't have much documentation of this since we forgot the camera once inside. However, I did take a few pics on the phone.

This is the library. It was awesome. We saw all sorts of old medical books, wheelchairs, and even a mold of a woman's body who died in childbirth in three stages. I will leave off the pictures of those in case anyone is queasy. We also saw the first operation room, which was only usable from 11 am to 2 pm when the sun shone through the skylight. It has seats all around so that people could come watch surgery. No thanks.

After that, we were headed back to the airport to head home. I will also spare the details of that trip as it is nothing but misery in my mind due to one Miss Hallie. Oh and the drunk lady "dealing with her problems" next to me wasn't a help either.

Anyway, as you can see, we had a fantastic time. I can't wait to do it again ladies!!