Our Spring Break 2016

The plan was to go to Ford's Theater the first day of spring break but as we pulled up and saw the massive line of people extending down the entire block we decided to go to Arlington Cemetery instead. It turned out to be a great decision because we had an amazing experience there.

As we started walking further into the cemetery, we slowed down and came to a stop as we saw a horse-drawn wagon with a flag-covered coffin in the back. Soldiers lined up behind the wagon and then the family behind them. We stood there in reverence as the band started playing and the wagon carried this American patriot to his final resting place. Later on we could hear the bugler play Taps. I am so grateful my family and I were able to witness such a sacred event. We then continued on our way, enjoying the beauty of the day as well as the cemetery.

Of course one of the highlights of the cemetery is The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watching the Changing of the Guard ceremony. We grabbed a really good spot and as we waited for the hour to strike, we read all about what it takes to be a Tomb Guard Sentinel. The tomb is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and in any weather.

Sentinels, all volunteers, are considered to be the best of the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. Each soldier must be in superb physical condition, possess an unblemished military record and be between 5 feet, 10 inches and 6 feet, 4 inches tall, with a proportionate weight and build.

The relief commander announces the Changing of the Guard and then conducts a detailed white-glove inspection of the weapon.  The relief commander and the relieving sentinel then meet the retiring sentinel at the center of the matted path in front of the Tomb.

As part of the very elaborate ceremony, the relief commander walks out to the tomb and salutes.

A few minutes after the Changing of the Guard took place and the audience was dispersing, I had Noah and Savannah come with me to get a closer look at the guard. It was at that point that a new ceremony began. Family members from the earlier funeral took part in placing a wreath in front of the tomb...

and then the bugler played Taps once again.

Noah was fascinated with all he had seen and as we walked the paths he wrote and drew pictures of the experience.

I thought this was such a beautiful scene.

We visited JFK's grave with the eternal flame.

And although we were about a week too early for the cherry blossoms, many of them were starting to make an appearance. They are absolutely gorgeous so we had to snap a few pictures in front of the blooms.

We thought we'd head back into DC and see some sites but everyone in Maryland and Virginia apparently had the exact same idea. The crowds were overwhelming! Time to head home. As we headed out of DC we drove through Chinatown, which was super cool,

and ran into some police dog activity. Hmmmm...

Another fun thing we did during spring break was take the kids to lunch and a movie. Although we saw Zootopia, Noah was excited to pose with the Angry Birds!

Lunch was at Panda Express which the kids had been begging to try. We all thought it was pretty yummy except for Noah.

Don't let the fun times with his noodles fool ya...the kid barely ate a thing! Typical Noah.