So, there's this song that plays on the Christmas radio station here... a LOT. "Christmas Time in Washington". It's one of those songs that made us laugh really really hard the first time we heard it. It's got all the qualities that make you say, "Huh..." : amazing cheese-head lyrics, a lady singing bravado...it's got it all. But you know what? It's also one of those songs that we will probably download and listen to every Christmas after we're no longer here because it will remind us of our first Christmas. If you'd like to hear it, turn off our great playlist and click here.
Anyway, it IS Christmas time in Washington, and there are so many fun things to see and do. Before we leave for Utah tomorrow (woo hoo!!!) I thought I'd share how we've celebrated in the capital.
Our first Christmas activity was Mt. Vernon (George Washington's home). They let us take a special tour of the rarely seen third floor, had a giant Mt. Vernon gingerbread house, and even had a Christmas camel on the property. The picture of him isn't the best, but no matter how I baby-talked, or smooched, or flirted (yes, I flirted with a camel) I could NOT get him to have anything to do with us. (I never was much of a flirt...) Fun fun fun!
Next, was the Festival of Lights at the Washington DC temple. We loaded into Sophie with our good friends the Jacksons (sorry it was such a tight squeeze guys!), and were off to see lots of pretty-ness (not a word, is it...). It really was gorgeous.
Our next adventure was to tromp through the city in the freezing cold (seriously, I think we picked the coldest night EVER) to see the two big trees: the Capitol Christmas Tree, and the National Christmas Tree. It was awesome to be there, and worth the cold (my legs DID eventually regain feeling, after all). The Capitol Tree is decorated with homemade ornaments from school kids of the state that provided the tree (Montana this year, I think). It was TALL and skinny, and somehow I loved it.
The National Christmas Tree is in the coolest spot. Turn one way and you see the Washington Monument, turn the other and you see the White House. It has more lights than I thought possible, and it's also surrounded by a walking path lined with 50 smaller trees--one for each state. Lots and lots of lights! And lots and lots of people!
In the midst of our tree hunting, we stopped to warm up in the Botanical Gardens, and were glad we did! They had a really neat exhibit--some guy had carved a cute little village (I think out of cedar because it smelled delicious), and trains were running all through it, and...it was just sweet! The pictures don't do it justice...it was like a winter wonderland!
Our last shabang of the season went down last night (huh...kinda sounded like a really bad, amateur wannabe gangster in that sentence...interesting...). We had such a Serendipity moment! Brian took me ice-skating at this cute outdoor rink! It's in the middle of a sculpture garden in the city. It was a gorgeous night (I think in the high 50s!), and I seriously could've believed I was in a movie. We had lots of fun, and even though there were some close calls, we made it through without falling. It was hard to get a decent picture with the lighting and the trying not to fall, but here's the best we could do. Magical!
And there you have it. Christmas time in Washington. Merry Christmas to everyone!
