Weekend getaway in DC

I'm backtracking a few weeks, but wanted to make sure I posted about our great getaway weekend with the Merrills...

We decided to combine a weekend away from the kids and early birthday celebration for Rob and I...(we share the same Feb 2 birthday)

We left right after Reilly's birthday party on the 29th. My mom stayed with the kids.

We drove to DC and stayed in Georgetown. Heather and Rob drove down earlier on in the day, so our plan was to just meet them in the hotel lobby the next morning.

Here we are just after coming out of the DC temple...We snagged some poor unsuspecting woman to take our picture...I love how there's a huge snowflake covering up the lower half of my face...


We stopped at Senor Peppers for lunch and Oh My Goodness was it good! We took a picture of our food on Heather's camera (spinach and cheese enchiladas) but the copy of her picture didn't translate well on Smugmug...the photo was too small....
It's probably just as well that I don't have tangible proof since I would be pining away for those enchiladas for the rest of my life!

Although the roads were a mess, our next plan of attack was to go to the Holocaust Museum. (Cause nothing says good times like going to the Holocaust Museum, right?) Seriously, though, none of us had ever been, and we were very interested in going.



It was snowing like crazy at this point, so we were really struggling for a place to park...

Rob and Brian finally just let Heather and I out at the museum and they managed to park a block or so away.

The museum was nothing short of amazing. I was, and continue to be, humbled by the stories and exhibits that we saw. There was an entire room just filled with shoes.
Huge cases with nothing but old toothbrushes, combs, nail clippers, etc. --all things that were confiscated from the prisoners. We got to stand inside of one of the actual train cars that carried up to 100 prisoners at a time. I tried to imagine what they were thinking as they were being carted away from their family, home, and life... I can't tell you how moved I was to witness this...It was truly unforgettable! I am inspired by how people persevered after such horrible events.


"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness. I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too. I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too, will end and that peace and tranquility will return again." Anne Frank


We only got to spend 2 hours there before it closed so we went back the next morning (Sunday) and were there for 3 1/2 more hours...



Saturday night, we went off in search of a Thai restaurant and ended up finding one that met all of our expectations! This was a picture of the crazy soup that Heather and I each ordered...

Floating around in there was octopus, squid, and clams just to name a few...(Not foods that I would normally be interested in), but it was hot and tangy and really quite delicious...

After dinner, we walked back through Copley Square stopping off along the way to browse in a book store.

Georgetown is such a cute town...it was fun walking around even if it was a snowy night...

We finished off the night with a quick stop at CVS for a candy run (yay for sprees and sweet tarts!)

It was such a memorable trip and one that won't soon be forgotten...

I came home feeling like things had definitely been put into perspective for me from the trip to the temple, and to the Holocaust Museum.

I feel so blessed to live in a country where we are free to worship however we choose and to have free agency. I take this for granted more often times than not...
I'm grateful for opportunities like this that help me see the big picture of what is really important in life...