DC part deux

after we toured the capitol and library of congress, we went to three different smithsonian museums.  the aerospace museum, the museum of natural history, and the museum of american history.  

by far one of the coolest things at the natural history museum was the skeleton exhibit.  skeletons from hundreds of animals - it was so cool! perhaps the most interesting was the sea lion - turned out hips.

hazel and john almost got eaten by a t-rex but made a narrow escape.

we also saw the hope diamond there!  apparently, it used to be much bigger and then people cut it into different shapes and settings because they are nuts.

the museum of american history was simply neat.  you can see a lego flag (pictured above), but my favorite flag was the star-spangled banner.  so stunningly beautiful and although i couldn't take a picture of it, it was probably one my of favorite things we did the entire weekend.  i had no idea it would be even 1/5 of the size it actually was.

we then kept walking down the national mall to pass the white house, washington memorial, WW2 memorial, and lincoln memorial.

just the most daunting, reverent part of the WW2 memorial:

 washington memorial at sunset:

lincoln memorial:  i am so glad that they have these wonderful memorials to commemorate brave men (and women - lets be fair), that have been a force for good in our country.  seeing them reminds us the price of freedom and makes me so grateful for those who believe in freedom so much that they are willing to fight for it.

after watching the sun set, we went to "we, the pizza" and ate the best white pizza of my life.  

we, the pizza dancing from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

more to come of our trip to DC!  

read part one, here.

our trip to DC! part one.

since john's parents needed to be in DC last weekend, we all planned a trip to go out there and be with them and explore our nation's capitol.  r+j+c were there, as well as leslie's sister jayme and her husband doug.  we had such a wonderful time with all of them!  

since john was out-of-town for a business training and had to fly straight into DC in order for us not to have to drive until 3am, i did a brave thing and decided to drive down with the girls myself!  i put a pull-up on hazel so as to not have to stop every hour to go potty, and we shoved off.  besides a couple times when cora got hungry and i couldn't find a good/safe place to stop (aka driving through baltimore and i don't know where is safe to stop) the girls were pretty much happy the entire time!  such a blessing.  i did hand hazel's half-finished squeezable pouch to cora on the last hour of the trip and somehow, she got the lid off so when i went to grab her out of her carseat at the hotel she was covered in applesauce.  sweet girl, it didn't seem to bother her!

ryan and janessa were already there so we went and walked along the national mall with them and got dinner:

that night everybody got into town, and the next morning we hit the ground running!  we rode the subway to the supreme court justice building and basically walked all the way to the lincoln memorial from there.

union station:

 supreme court justice building- basically every single building in DC is magnificent.

we then walked over to the capitol and took a tour.  i am so glad we did!  what a fascinating building, and i felt so patriotic during the tour.  democracy really is so beautiful and i am so grateful for what goes on there.  the checks and balances system was put there for a reason and i appreciate the law-makers that listen to the people they represent and try to make the country we live in a better, more moral, and more free place each day. 

serious black mail photo of me right there that john took... 

but it represents just what were we doing at the tour... 

listening to our tour guide on the headsets.

each state has donated at least two statues of important figures from that state.  two of my favorites {pictured above} were brigham young (utah) and sam houston (texas).

the lady doing capitol tours suggested we go to the library of congress next, and i'm so glad we did! it is probably the most beautiful building inside that i have ever seen.

wow will you just look at cora's face!?  she's the best.

DC is so incredibly beautiful.  thanks for inviting us, g+l!

this ends part one of our trip to DC series.  

sorry you didn't make the cut in any of these photos, john ;)

5 years ago today.  i think i'll keep him.

cora eats sand

here's a little video of cora exploring the sand last time we went to the beach.  her face when that sand hits her mouth is absolutely priceless.

Cora + Sand from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

hazel selfies

every once and awhile, i will look at the camera roll on the ipad and discover ten new hazelnut selfies.  they are usually a similar version of the exact same thing: hazel looking at her reflection and making a funny face.  here are four of my favorites from my recent ipad pic cleanse:

and bonus, a video!  love this silly girl so much.

Video selfie from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

down the shore again.

there is something so magical about being on the beach.  the sand in your feet, the sun on your face, the cool breeze blowing in your hair... it's breathtaking.  we decided to make the drive on saturday and i'm so glad we did!  we drove in the foggy morning and stopped at meemaws for the crazy monkey french toast: banana bread french toast with maple syrup, bananas, chocolate chips, cookie butter, vanilla marscapone, and powdered sugar:

then we headed to the shore to dip our toes in the {still warm!} water and play in the sand.

we played in the sand, watched little sand crabs, swam in the water, collected sea shells, and the girls even got a nap underneath the umbrella.

i set cora in the sand and she straight away took two fist-fulls and shoved them into her mouth.  

after the beach, we went to hoffmans and got ice cream.  they have a cookie monster flavor that is everything i've ever wanted in life.  it's vanilla {colored blue} with cookie dough and oreo pieces.  aka pure heaven.

i will think back on the perfect day so fondly.  love my family so much.

cora eats! this is a novelty for me. from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.