It all started on Wed, they arrived in DC in the afternoon. We got them safely home and got Popeye's chicken, red beans and rice and biscuits for dinner at home so we could catch up. The next day we headed into the city to see the Library of Congress and do the Capital tour. The big time bummer about the capital tour was that they now do not allow ANY, NONE, ZILCH food or liquids inside no matter what. We threw away a bunch of food and 5 brand new water bottles. Ticked us off, but we wanted to go inside. Lucky for us we had already had hot dogs from a cart! :) Or wieners, as we so lovingly called them. :) On our tour, we found out that we could get passes from our senators to go into the Senate gallery. Yeah, you know the place where you see on CSpan?? We got to sit up in the balcony and see what happens there. The day we were there, not much was happening, but it was still cool. We rode into DC on the Metro so the A Fam could experience THAT. :) I still think it's kinda fun to ride metro. 
That night we headed to Chipotle because it was also Sara's 17th birthday. She was a pretty happy chickto get a Chipotle gift card and a Robek's (her favorite smoothie place) gift card and a pair of Toms shoes. Click on Toms to see what THAT'S all about. :) Her pals, Hannah and Dori joined her for her delicious burrito.
Friday we headed to Andrews AFB to check out the air show. It was SOOOOO.COOOOL! I really liked the Thunderbirds and their extremely loud jet blasts! Oh, and Travis' plane. :) The weather was perfect. Overcast and cool, but that also meant we didn't prepare for sun rays! We all got a little crispy. Em got super crispy. When we are all done looking at planes, we found out that Anisa was out of school and wandering around Georgetown, so we decided it was the perfect change to hit Georgetown Cupcakes – famously known as DC Cupcakes on TLC. So, we headed to that side of town, found Anisa and her school pals, got our cupcakes and figured since we were so close to Arlington National cemetary, we'd take a chance and see if it was still open (it was late afternoon by then). We got there with an hour to spare! We went to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then looked at the headstones on our way to the old Arlington House where we got a fabulous view of DC. By then, it was time to head out since the park was closing. We found our way to the Iwo Jima statue and took pictures before a huge school group showed up.
Saturday, we went to the National Cathedral (one of the Nolen family's favorite places). There was a wedding going on at the end of our trip, but while we were wandering around looking at the cathedral, the musicians were practicing. There were 2 violinists and the organ player. OH MAN. The music sounded so good in that church. Wow. We sat and watched them practice for a bit, then took the gang downstairs to show them where Helen Keller was buried, then we got in the elevator to the top and looked out all the windows over the city. We wandered through the garden before it was time to load up in the van again and head toward DC to check out the monuments and memorials. We saw the Washington Monument and the Lincoln, Jefferson Vietnam, WW2, Korean War and Martin Luther King Jr Memorials and feed some squirrels - really, what is a trip to DC without feeding some little fuzz balls? :) Too bad that the Reflection Pool is being refurbished and wont' be done for 2 years, so it was kinda ugly with tarps, cranes and dirt. It was hot and we were all pretty drained from the rest of the weekend, so we headed home to chill.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church. After all that we had done and seen in the last 3 days we were all ready to just relax, so we went shopping at Tyson's Corner (not relaxing at all, but fun). :) We enjoyed a late lunch at Gordon Biersch and got home to enjoy the last part of our visit.
Monday, we had to say good-bye to our wonderful friends. What a super time we had, tho. I love company, and when it's FUN company, it's even better. :) But, of course, my family and friends are all fun. :) heehee
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