DC Day 4

Today is July 17 so one could say that once again I'm a bit behind in posting. And one would be totally correct. Afterall, I'm just now posting for the last day of our DC trip. Hopefully, the number of photos included will make up for the delay.

July 4 dawned as beautiful as the previous days. We had a somewhat lazy day planned - only a lunch date with John's aunt Catherine who lives in Florida and happened to be in the area over the 4th also. Alas, Catherine was staying in the Tysons area and chose to listen to strangers about the hordes of people who would be descending on DC and, well, she cancelled our lunch date.

That's not to say that hordes of people weren't descending on DC for the 4th, they just weren't descending on the Dupont Circle area where we were going to be lunching. Oh well...

Thus our semi-lazy last day in DC became even lazier. While the girls were napping, we perused the Weekend section of the Post and discovered that Milkshake, a kid's rock band that has appeared on Noggin, was performing a free concert at the Kennedy Center that afternoon.

Once the girls woke from their nap, we strolled over to the Kennedy Center for a concert. Ellie, never one to miss the opportunity to play in water, managed to get me yelled at by a rather formidable guard at the Kennedy Center for allowing her to climb up and stick her hand in the water

so we decided to venture inside and Dad took them for a walk while I guarded the stroller.

Milkshake soon took the stage. Don't you just love the lead singer's fashion sense? Gotta get me a colorful tutu and elbow length red gloves. Especially the gloves!

The kids enjoyed frolicking in the mosh pit by the stage. Ellie and Grace were literally running circles around one girl. Gotta admit that a laugh or two did escape my lips - afterall, they do it to me all the time.

Even midst the music and excitement, Grace stood still long enough for Dad to take her picture.

Soon we were on our way to join the hordes at the Lincoln Memorial. Once through the security checkpoint, Ellie and Grace acquired flags to wave.

With our spot staked out, we sat down to wait.

I must be honest and tell you that when we left the Kennedy Center, Ellie and Grace were becoming a bit...well...unruly...so the thought of waiting 2 hours for the fireworks to begin had me a tad concerned. No one wants to be around cranky, whiney, crying toddlers.

And no one was. Once freed from the stroller, the girls were great.

It helped that the family sitting next to us had young boys who played ball with Ellie and Grace. The younger boy delighted them later by catching lightening bugs for them to watch. And they loved their individual walks around the Lincoln Memorial with Dad!

I even found time to try to get an artistic shot or two of the Memorial,

but found the crowds more interesting. While I've been on the Capitol grounds several times for the July 4 celebration, this was my first time viewing the fireworks from the Lincoln Memorial and even I was amazed at the number of people on the grounds behind us

as well as in front of us.

The two hours passed quickly and the fireworks soon lit the sky.

Yes, I ooohed and aaaahed, whistled and yelled along with everyone else. John and Grace quietly watched with eyes opened wide while Ellie whispered "Wee!" each time a new firework exploded in the night sky. It was the perfect ending to our DC trip.