fall break: a day in D.C.

Last day of the trip but we couldn't go home without a brief stop in DC.  This is on our plans to visit again for multiple days but until then we did our best to get in as much as we could in 5 short hours.  

National Treasure is one of the boys' favorite movies, Micah especially, so our day was full of movie quotes and "hey do you remember when..." sentences.  It also meant that our day just had to begin at the National Archives for a glimpse at The Declaration of Independence.  I was not prepared for how special that moment would be, staring down at these words penned so long ago.  

Next we took a short cut through the Museum of Natural History on our way to the Washington Monument and then kept walking towards the Lincoln Memorial and I think we saw the World War II monument along the way.  Honestly, the whole day is somewhat of a blur!

After seeing the White House from a distance because it was fenced off really far away and then spotting a statue of Marquis de Lafayette we ubered our exhausted bodies back to our car and drove straight home arriving at 2:30 am.

It took awhile to recover from that trip, we packed in a lot, but it is one we will never ever forget!  We made such great memories, saw so much, and bonded well with our boys who were rockstars everywhere we went.  Zach planned it all and I enjoyed every minute, like seriously, and that is saying something!

fall break: valley forge

After a few wonderful days with friends in New England we started the long drive home with a couple stops along the way.  We pulled into Valley Forge National Historical Park moments before the Visitor's Center closed.  After watching the short documentary about the park showing the terrible conditions these soldiers lived through we made our way around the park.  It was huge and beautiful and humbling to see just brief glimpses of what they had endured.  

In the middle of the park stands the National Memorial Arch engraved with a quote from General Washington, "Naked and starving as they are we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery." 

These men froze and fought for a purpose they believed in not knowing whether or not they would be successful.  It is an inspiring quest to continue on fueled by conviction not faltered by the fear that still did exist.

fall break: boston, mass

The stops on our trip were planned with a very historic theme due to the peaked interest the boys have had due to the musical Hamilton.  Boston was just a two hour train ride away from New Hampshire so we woke up early and headed out to spend the day on the Freedom Trail.  

The Freedom Trail is a self-guided, unless you want to pay for a guide, tour along most historic sites in Boston.  Favorites were The North Church, Paul Revere's house and grave, the site of the Boston Tea Party, and Bunker Hill Tower.

Our absolute favorite was the USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides" 

This was one of our most exhausting days because we walked non-stop, but it was also one of our most fun!