Memorial Day Weekend '09

*Warning - very long post ahead. You might want to grab a drink and a snack.

We had a great Memorial Day weekend! On Saturday we headed down to the National Mall for a picnic. It was great weather - hot in the sun and breezy in the shade! Mark and I could have laid there on our blanket all day, BUT for the two year old in our family not so much. We let Jackson run wild, play soccer, and ride the carousel.

Jackson playing soccer - such the athlete!


Mark took Jackson over to ride the carousel so momma could be lazy under a tree. And yes I did give Mark some lazy tree time also. I let Jackson splash in the water fountain in front of the National Gallery of Art. Then we went inside to the bathroom and on our way saw naked statues which is always fun for a curious 2 year old boy.


Where's Jackson?


Here I am!


Since we had officially passed Jackson's nap time, we thought we would lure him into his stroller to go see space ships at his favorite museum. About a block later, he was out! However, when we got to the Air and Space Museum, the lines were really long, so we decided to just head home. Well, lil boy woke up just as we were arriving at the metro, and boy was he mad!!! (I guess he really wanted to see those space ships!) So here he is riding the metro - I think that look is a mixture of tired and sad . . .


On Monday, along with every other tourist in DC, we headed to Arlington National Cemetery. This is one of our favorite places to visit. It gives me goose bumps every time I visit along with such pride to live in this great country. When we were headed into the cemetery they were telling us that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is closed. So of course I asked if that was because the President was there speaking - Yep. We thought that he was on his way, so we just started wondering through the cemetery and happened upon this:


Here it is up close and personal.


There were many soldiers lining this road at attention. So we decided that this is where President Obama was going to enter the cemetery. We couldn't cross the street, so we were stuck. Then all of a sudden we heard loud cannon shots. Then we saw this:




It might not look like much, but that is President Obama's caravan. AND we actually were close enough to see him in the car. (His driver is in the above picture) I love just happening to be in the right place at the right time. If only I was better with my camera . . . .

Here are the soldiers "picking up" the rest that are lining the streets.


Each grave had a flag in front of it.


Of course Jackson wanted a flag. We couldn't find one for him, and he kept asking, "Can I touch one finger momma?"