Happy Birthday America! Being so close to Washington DC, we had to take the kids in to celebrate with the Nation’s Capital. We started our day with a red white and blue breakfast, blueberry pancakes with strawberries and bananas and then we loaded them into the car and headed for Springfield to take the train in.
Every little kid loves to take the train.
We got off at the Smithsonian stop and headed over to the mall to camp out our spot for the fireworks before the crowds came in. We parked our blankets on the hill, right under the National Monument facing the reflecting pool and the Lincoln Memorial.
It was really hot again today, pushing 100 and the heat index was said to be 105, so to cool off the boys we took them down to the WWII memorial fountain to put their feet in.
All throughout the mall there were water fountains, established and brought in, as well as hoses for the kids to spray themselves down.
Another fun find were the air vents…
On our way to lunch we stopped by the White House for the classic out front photo. Davy was so sweet,when I told him we were going to see the White House he says, “Will we get to see President Obama???” If only it were that easy… 🙂
We saw this hanging off of the side of a building, I thought that it was nice.
Ahhhh, an air-conditioned lunch… 🙂
Cucumber gin and tonic with some of the best macaroni and cheese ever… Yum!
Street vendors were lined up everywhere selling water, ice pops, and fruit!
Fat suits, according to the boys…
The Marine Corps jazz band started playing at 6 and entertained us throughout the evening. Right before 9 o’clock, 850,000 people sang the “Star Spangled Banner” together and then did a countdown from 10 to 1… The beautiful fireworks shot off into the night…
After the fireworks were over, Davy turns to me and says, “Well that’s something you don’t see everyday!” Love him!
Little Matty didn’t quite make it back to the train. Although we were all hot, dirty, and tired…we finally made it home. This was a wonderful experience and I can’t wait to do it again!
Mountains! Beach! or Both!... 
Awesome!!!! So much fun!!!