Mr. Lockett goes to Washington/Ava James goes to Green Acres

The week after Spring Break Josh had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC to attend an international law conference. Since he would be compensated for his trip, we decided to pay a little more and make it a vacation for two. Josh and I haven't been on a trip together since before Ms. Ava, so we were beyond excited. Coach's Spring Break fell during our time in DC, so Ava stayed in Frost. A million thanks to Mimi for capturing pictures of Ava's adventures while we were gone. I've tried to piece this post together so you can see what we were doing in DC and what she was doing in Frost. It makes total sense in my head...which means it's probably a big ol' mess. Enjoy anyway!

Day 1

Josh and I flew into Baltimore, then took a train into DC. Yes, of course I sang 'Good Morning Baltimore' from Hairspray on the train. Yes, of course Josh blushed 10 shades of red while shushing me. We arrived in the grand Union Station.

Absolutely beautiful

I felt a little like Buddy the Elf at the beginning of his trip to the city, lots of squealing and exclamations. Josh was much cooler about things.

The view when we walked out the front doors.



A shot back at Union Station

Meanwhile, back on the prairie

Ava James was helping Coach and Mimi start their garden.

If you know Josh and me at all, or have read this blog for more than five seconds, you know that we're total dorks. We embrace that, as you'll see in many of the following pictures.

Here I am in front of the NPR building!
(Excuse our layers of bunchy clothes, it was super cold and windy. Also excuse our sleepy eyes, someone booked a 7:10 am flight which meant alarm clocks at 4:00. Ick.)

Josh in front of the treasury

For those folks who think decent Mexican food "up North" does not exist I present Rosa Mexicano.


Thanks to some former DC residents and dear friends, Geoff and Susie, we were able to equal out all the healthy walking we did on our trip.



As close to the White House as we could get

We had hoped to tour the White House, but it requires a formal invitation from your congressman up to six months in advance. Just a little FYI if you're planning a DC trip any time soon.

Hopie came to help Ava in the garden.

Proud of her tomato plant

Something else no one told us about Washington, objects in your line of sight are much, MUCH farther than they appear. We would see a point of interest, decide to walk there, start walking then walk and walk and walk some more.

At the bottom of the Washington Monument

A view back at the capitol from the monument

HLS in all his law dork splendor

Back in Frost, Ava was ending her day in the dirt with a sudsy bath.

Josh and I were still plodding along, trying to cram as many sights into our first day as possible. Here are a few pictures from the World War 2 Memorial.

See that building way in the distance in the center of this picture? That's the Lincoln Memorial. Of course we thought we could just take a quick jaunt there and back, no problem. Right?

Yep, evidently we are just that stupid. Then we got to climb the stairs.

As soon as this picture was snapped we purchased a 2-day sightseeing bus pass. Money well spent my friends.

Day 2

Mimi and Coach took Ava to the zoo.

I wasn't here when this picture was taken, but I am confident that her next words were, "I can see far things!" A frequent Ava-ism in our world.

Down the slide on a balmy Texas spring day

Two cute ladybugs

Josh's international law conference was held at the fancy Ritz Carlton. I met up with him after his sessions to continue our sightseeing.

Ford's Theater

My favorite picture in the National Portrait Gallery, especially following the previous picture in this post.

Josh's favorite Supreme Court Justice, Earl Warren. What, you don't have a favorite Supreme Court Justice? Yeah. Me neither.

I wrote an entire Sparkle post on my experience at Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian. I was not prepared for the impact this particular exhibit had on me. This is her actual kitchen, donated to the museum.

*My camera battery was fizzling out on us, so excuse the blur.*

All of Julia's pans and pots

Another view of the kitchen

And another shot of the kitchen, my mascara-streaked-puffy-cry face did not grace these pictures. You're welcome.

What Josh was most looking forward to seeing:

What I was most looking forward to seeing:
(As if I wasn't already a mess, they cued up 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' just after this picture was taken. Cut to Autumn in a puddle on the floor.)

Back in Frost Ava was building train tracks with Coach,

and piecing puzzles with Beene Beene.

We loved Matchbox pizza, thanks again Wilsons.

The gorgeous Willard Hotel

Lifelong friend Katy and her hubby Joseph traveled into DC from their relatively nearby home to have dinner with us at the Old Ebbit Grill. Hands down best oysters and crab cakes of my life.

We enjoyed hanging out with these two for the first time together, sure wish you all lived closer!

Day 3

Ava and Beene Beene made sugar cookies. I'm sure the Scary Smile was necessary for the baking process.

Measuring out the flour

Rolling pin or weapon? We've seen her batting stance, so I think Beene Beene better watch out.

Carefully cutting out the cookies

I saw this souvenir in a shop and had to snap a picture. So true little tacky foot, so true.

Saturday was finally sunny and slightly warmer

Future place of employment? Hey, a girl can dream. On our capitol tour we found out the only way to access the stairs to the top of the dome is if you're a family member of congress. No pressure Josh, but I think it would be a gorgeous view.

A view of the dome inside

Signing of the Declaration of Independence
(Earlier we saw the real Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights but weren't allowed to even say the word camera near them. Suffice it to say that Josh was super law dorkily excited, and I was just regular have-the-desire-to-say-the-Pledge-of-Allegiance excited.)

Statue gallery inside the capitol wing

The only shot we got of the cherry blossom trees around the Tidal Basin. Our trip was about two weeks too short.

We took our bus out to Virginia and saw Arlington National Cemetery, but did not have the recommended two and a half hours to tour the grounds. Also the predicted mini snow storm was starting to blow in and the temperatures were dropping quickly.

On our way back into DC we saw the Pentagon, but weren't allowed to photograph it for security reasons.

HLS in front of the Supreme Court. Giddy much?

Abe Lincoln's top hat

Outside the Star Spangled Banner exhibit

The Hope Diamond

Day 4

On our way to the train station early Sunday morning we enjoyed some snow flurries.

A view from the plane for Ava James

Always the best part of a vacation, reuniting as a family. Thank you to Mimi, Coach, and Beene Beene for making our vacation and this special blog post possible. We returned to our real lives refreshed and ready to finish up another year and a half of law school. Over halfway done!