Fabulous Army Life

Lots of walking and museum exploring made us hungry. We decided on Matchbox in DC's Chinatown based on glowing reviews from Yelpers. We were not disappointed. Sharing burger sliders and brick-oven pizza (plus the dessert trio) was delicious and efficient. Delicious in a truly crisp and juicy, sweet and savory kind of way. Efficient in that there was not a single morsel left over. :)

We continue to enjoy the amazing Smithsonian museums. The Museum of American History is now another favorite. I loved the Inaugural ball gowns of our First Ladies (favorites for me are Hillary Clinton's and Nancy Reagan's). The boys enjoyed learning more about our Nation's wars and drawing on the wall. It's a fabulous museum that we'll likely visit again soon.

We stumbled upon the 2012 National Book Festival held in the National Mall and sponsored by the Library of Congress. Tons of readers, authors, and speakers. Trey and I explored as much as we could while Nate and Joshua looked for parking. It was a fun surprise on our way to the Smithsonians.

Happiness is having your family gathered around the kitchen table ...

Joshua volunteered to be a part of the McLean Bible Church Kids Serve weekend and was excited to be a part of the fun this morning. He handed out programs, held the door, greeted guests, and took up the offering. His group was assigned to the Edge community so Nate and I decided to worship in that area. I am so proud of this boy and so excited to see him start to settle in to life in Virginia. It's been a tough adjustment for him and his fabulous church and school have been instrumental in making him feel a little more at home here. That's something this mom can celebrate.  

After our excursion to the National Zoo, we decided to hit another Washington DC must-see location ... Ben's Chili Bowl.  It's tiny front room and long line made us a little nervous at first, especially since everyone else there seemed to know what they were doing.  I had a quick flash-back of the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld and was momentarily concerned that I might be denied a chili dog if I didn't order it quickly and correctly. No need to worry, though, the line moved swiftly, giving us time to review the menu on the wall, and the ladies manning the front desk were friendly and accommodating.  Yelpers advised the half-smoke and chili-cheese fries so we decided to go with that.  Preteen Trey ordered a plain hot dog and nine-year-old Joshua ordered a cheeseburger.  Lots of greasy bites later, we were full and happy.  We enjoyed enlarged photos of famous guests to the restaurant and were pleased to check the block on visiting this famous DC spot.

The National Aquarium in Baltimore was a great way to spend our day today. Click here to view these pictures larger