Ninth stop

We warmed up at the hotel for a brief night, had a nice breakfast Saturday morning, bundled back up, and packed our things once again to spend our last day of vacation touring DC during the daylight.

A Christmas tree for soldiers right beside the Vietnam Memorial Wall. 

We hopped off the tour bus to walk around some of the places we wanted to see. This was as close as we got to the White House. 

These were all the Christmas trees in front of the White House. There is the National Christmas tree, and then little trees lined up all around it to represent all of the states. 

The Texas tree

The National Christmas tree

The little train that runs around the big tree

The Indiana tree

The Nativity by the trees

From there we went shopping in the White House Gift Shop, then we kept walking to get to the National Archives. 

On the way we passed the Trump Hotel. 

Arriving at the National Archives 

After seeing the original Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, we decided to hop back on the tour bus to see some more sights and to learn about more of the history of each place via the tourguide. 

Here we are waiting on the next bus to come. 

The Pentagon

Arlington National Cemetary (which took us into Virgina for a few minutes)

A nice stop at Pizzeria Uno in Union Station, trying to warm up after spending the day out in the cold. 

Starbucks made the perfect stop before heading out to our final hotel, one situated close to the airport for our early flight out the next morning. 

Next stop: A quick flight to Chicago O'Hare, then home!

Eighth stop

As much as I treasured every minute with my brother and his family in Pennsylvania, all four of us were ready for an adventure of our own. 

The last time we traveled to PA, we ended our stay on New Year's Eve in New York City. This time, we headed to Washington D.C. Both boys were at the prime age to take it all in and actually remember it.  Juan is taking US History this semester, and David will take it next year, so touring the capital could not have come at a better time for them academically. 

Thanks to a special gift from my parents, we decided to splurge on ourselves and order tickets for the tour bus. Despite the frigid temps, we bundled up and braved the cold so we could sit on the upper level of the double-decker bus. The tour stopped just long enough at each sight so we could stand up and get a picture, and the tour guide was nice enough to take pictures of us on the bus. :)

We really had a great time, and we stopped at the Starbucks in Union Stations to help us warm up a bit before heading to the hotel that night. 

Next stop: The day tour

Seventh stop

These pics are actually a mix of all 3 days that we spent with Jon, but I'm lumping them into one single category, a day with my brother. 

When he started his own business, Kloppmann Architects, several years ago, he sent us a couple of these cool mugs and t-shirts to go with them. Of course, my brother would choose this mug out of his cupboard to serve me the fancy coffee he made for me after dinner. 

We enjoyed exploring a chunk of the land that he and his wife purchased a few years ago to build their house on. 

I loved seeing how well they got along with their cousins that they had never met before. (Actually, David met Shawnee, Jack, and Ethan, but that was when Ethan had just turned two. We celebrated Ethan's tenth birthday on this particular visit.)

These two absolutely adored Juan. 

Ethan's birthday dinner

The last time David and Shawnee were together until now

Still can't believe we're both over 40. I moved away from him when I was only 15 years old and then moved even farther from him in my twenties. 

Most of the Kloppmann cousins together in this pic. Just missing two (plus the Texas Kloppmann cousins).

You can't go to Lancaster County without taking your teenage boys to Intercourse for the day. Lol.

I kept taking selfies with my brother, and we made it a joke that it would be another decade before we saw each other again. I sure hope not!

I took a lot more pictures of the whole family, but out of respect for their privacy, I only posted a few. I'm sure Jill is probably already going crazy for the few I posted with their temporary rental house (and lots of outdated wallpaper and decor) in them.