Mid January brought the opportunity for us to travel back to DC for the first time. Dave was asked to officiate weddings on back to back weekends, so we turned it in to a week of fun.
We flew (and fell in love with) Alaska airlines. More leg room, direct flights into Dulles and National. This boy was excited.
First stop was dinner with the cousins. Will with his Hunter boy.
We made a sneaky late night visit to the Choi's - this was their reunion with Nathan.
The next day I got to experience beltway traffic - a part of DC life I truly hadn't missed. It felt especially jarring after months of driving on an island most of the time!
The boys enjoyed some quality time with the cousins while mom and dad were at the rehearsal dinner. Life with them is never dull.
One last pic in front of Grandma Dee Dee and Grandpa Jerry's tree before they took it down.
Wedding number one - Arpad and Valerie.
One of the most dear, precious couples I've ever seen. We were SO excited about this wedding.
Their reception was at the Army Navy club - we enjoyed sitting with the Smith's.
A sweet farewell.
Sunday after church we hit Benihana!
And then stopped into the old neighborhood to see old friends! The boys with our sweet neighbor Louie.
We popped into the Habib's up the street - we love this family.
Our dear, sweet across the street neighbors, the Skaag's.
Monday (MLK day) we headed down to check out the new exhibit "Wonder" at the Renwick. Waiting outside in line was COLD.
But so worth it. This exhibit was amazing.
Will was very proud of finding the piece featured on the cover.
These were stacked index cards.
Silly cousins, reacting to the 3-d printed statue behind them. Love them.
Upstairs...
Laying on the floor...
Taking in this. I believe this piece was titled "Tsunami".
Checking out the many details of this amazing piece.
Caden and Grandpa by the marbles...
That were laid out to resemble the Chesapeake Bay.
This whole room was designed with BUGS!
Watching a video about how some of the art was made.
A quick coffee stop, just across the street from the White House.
That night Andrew got to go to a birthday party for an old classmate, and see all of his old school friends. The timing was super fun for him.
I somehow took no pictures on Tuesday! It was a sweet day full of seeing old friends - a morning at the Gilberts, an afternoon at the Schick's, the older boys had playdates with friends.
Tuesday night we met up with these two for dinner at Medium Rare - the restaurant Dave has missed the most.
Martin officially joined our family in July, but can't imagine it without him.
The boys were excited to see their Tia and Martin!
On Wednesday we met up with my cousin and her sweet little boy at the Museum of Natural History. Here, the boys are touching volcanic rock from the Cascade Mountains here in WA!
They had a lot of fun posing with these Rhinos...
And seeing their pics pop up later.
T-rex!
Will's fav - the rhinoceros!
The boys got to hold some pretty cool looking bugs.
Trying to break up a frozen puddle outside. They hadn't seen ice in awhile, so it was very exciting.
We made a quick stop into the hold neighborhood on the way home to see old friends again...
They of course had to play a pick up game of football.
Then we were off to church of Weds night dinner - just like old times!
On Thursday we went ice skating before Andrew met up with a buddy for a playdate.
And we started getting ready for the insane amount of snow that was definitely coming our way.
This was the line at Stroesneiders (local hardware store), where we stopped to grab some sleds. Caden was interviewed by a BBC news crew while we were standing in line.
On Friday, things got exciting. With over two feet of snow coming, the decision was made to move Paul and Caitlin's wedding up one day. So instead of a mid day wedding on Saturday, it was a late morning wedding on Friday.
And somehow they pulled it off!
This was the adorable hot cocoa bar, which was so appropriate for the day.
The happy and very relieved newlyweds. Another amazing and incredibly special couple.
The snow started falling during their reception (hence my borrowed rain boots).
We started our drive home just in time - a few inches had fallen, and roads were starting to get bad.
Knowing we'd be stuck for a few days, we decided to move our stuff from Monie's, and hunker down with Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Dee Dee.
And the snow just kept coming.
Dave and I slept next door at the Wintrols - this was walking out their front door on Saturday morning.
Walking up to Jerry and Dee Dee's - a full day of snow still to come.
I couldn't tell where the steps were!
We attempted to begin digging out on Saturday - it was amazing how quickly our pathways accumulated again.
Cuddle time with Grandma Dee Dee - best part of being snowed in.
And Grandpa's yummy breakfasts and mochas.
And reading by the fire.
It was so beautiful to be inside looking out - especially since we didn't lose power!!
Will enjoying these magical pathways.
25 inches.
Digging out was a BEAST of a project. I haven't been that sore in a long time.
Andrew's tunnel.
It was so fun to play in this much snow.
Digging out took hours. And hours. And hours.
Sledding in the backyard..
The sunset that night was gorgeous.
Will getting ready to sled down the hill daddy used to sled down as a kid.
Grandma Dee Dee loves to sled. Andrew doesn't like to have his picture taken ;).
We were supposed to fly home on Sunday, which obviously didn't happen. Dave was able to get out on the first flight Monday evening. But getting to the airport was an adventure. We had to sled his suitcase down the hill...
to a friends house who had an SUV that could get him to their airport.
The boys and I were stuck until the street was plowed and we could get our rental car back to the airport.
This massive wall is what kept us trapped in the neighborhood. And it also made for a really good snowball fight bunker. The boys and I had an epic snowball fight that night.
The path we made down the hill made for a perfect toboggan/bobsled run.
Being trapped at Jerry and Dee Dee's meant being close to several fun friends.
Andrew loved getting time to sled with his buddy Peter.
We got to sled with the Choi's!
Caden jumping on the back of Nathan's sled - they thought this was hilarious.
Andrew loved taking on the biggest jumps (I think he hurt his knee on this run).
Playing cards with Monie was the best.
We finally got plowed out, and decided to hit our favorite barber shop for much needed haircuts.
Tia stopped by for..
one last hug and goodbye.
Will and Monie had fun playing war.
There's so many things I love about this picture - their faces say it all.
Right before we left for he airport, a snowplow came through and pushed a wall of new snow into the driveway. We quickly jumped into action and shoveled it way so we wouldn't miss our flight.
Enjoying Chipotle one last time before jumping on our flight.
Our flight was significantly delayed, which meant we didn't get home until 1am Seattle time (4am DC time). These boys FINALLY fell asleep in line for the ferry.
We were so incredibly thankful for the time we had to see so many precious friends and family.
And it felt good to be home.
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