The Kissell Place: vacations

Ryan and the kids both had a week off in February so, very last minute, we decided to head out of town. We were leaving quite a bit of snow and a forecast and as we were leaving we wondered if we should just stay and enjoy the fun Vermont snow brings. But we had already made the plans so we started to drive.

the GPS told us it was about an 8 or 9 hour drive but that didn't factor in snow or frequent feeding breaks for this one...

Our packed car....I'm not sure why Clara is so unhappy but she was by far worse than Molly on this road trip. And that is with a binkie that we have since given up!

Somewhere in CT the snow was making it impossible to drive so we stopped at a McDonald's with a play place and got some wiggles out. Luckily after we were done the snow was pretty much done too.

And then this happened and we all rejoiced.

One of our nursing stops we also combined with a Sonic stop.

We got to our hotel about midnight and hurried off to bed. The next morning we took our time getting ready and then headed off for the day. It was rainy so we walked a bit and then decided to take the train.

Our first stop was the Museum of Natural History. There was so much to see and we enjoyed it quite a bit. The first stop was the dinosaurs!

After the museum we headed outside and found that the rain had stopped and the sun had started to shine. It was nearly 60 degrees and we were basking in it!

We found a nice restaurant that had outdoor seating so we could enjoy the sunshine

And then we walked down Pennsylvania Ave to the White House

After taking some pictures and explaining it to the kids the security guards told everyone who was there we had to clear the area...and they were serious about it. As we were walking away one of the security guards asked if someone had lost a purse so that was probably what it was about. It was kind of exciting.

Then we walked towards the Washington Memorial and the clouds created some really pretty light

We walked passed the reflecting pool, the WWII memorial and finally to the Lincoln Memorial.

Here is proof that Molly and I were there...

We found a quiet spot off to the side and enjoyed the nice sunshine and the pretty view while I nursed. This was also the point where Kate got gum in her hair at the tip of her braid

Daddy trying to get it out

Molly was happy after her lunch

When we got back to the hotel we headed to the pool.

Molly and I watched

Then Molly went to sleep and the kids went upstairs to shower and I walked to Trader Joe's for some ice cream and cookies. We ate our dessert, watched the olympics, and went to bed really late. That night, after everyone else was asleep, I was texting my brother and I kept hearing Sawyer turning and making noises. At first I thought it was so cute but then I heard the heave....and he had puked all over his bed, himself, and his sister. I woke Ryan up and we jumped up and tried to rescue Kate and I took Sawyer into the bathroom. And I did all of this totally and completely blind. You see, we had forgotten our bathroom bag with all of our stuff in it and so we had to go to CVS to get all the essentials the first night but the only thing we couldn't replace were our glasses. I use the kind of contact solution that burns your eyes unless you let it sit for 6 hours so I had nothing to wear and without anything I am totally blind. After trying my best to clean him up and sit with him in the bathroom while Ryan was taking care of the bed and the room (yes, we were probably the housekeepers favorite people!) I finally rinsed off my contacts and put them in. Looking back, it might have been a good thing that I was blind for most of it. I think we did a pretty awesome job of cleaning up the mess and we got new sheets and I ran to do some laundry at the facilities they had. What a disaster! Luckily it was the only incident he had.

The next morning we headed out again on the train. When we got to the National Mall I had to feed Molly so the kids ran around outside for a bit