Maryland and Washington DC for Christmas 2021

Day 1 - Friday, December 24

We woke up, then got the kids up and ready to go to the airport. Grandma drove us to the airport. We had to check bags and car seats, so we waited in that line and checked everything. We found our gate, and I left Marcus with the kids while I went and got McDonalds for them. I brought the family McDonalds, brought that to the kids. Then I went to get coffee at Caribou and was in like by 8:36 a.m. I got back we ate and had our coffee. The kids were getting antsy already. Our flight departed at 10:10 a.m. The flight was fairly uneventful. We landed around 1:38 p.m. and got our bags and waited for my brother-in-law to pick us up. He picked us up and drove us to their house. We had lunch, then walked to the school down the road so the kids could burn off some energy and we could get some fresh air.

We had a great Christmas Eve dinner, and let the kids play a bit. V threw up, we weren’t sure what was going on, she didn't have a fever and was otherwise okay. We put the kids to bed (P and T in the basement, and we put V in our room in the basement. After that, we put out all of our presents and played some games with my sister and my brother-in-law.

Day 2 - Saturday, December 25

Christmas morning! We got up early! At 8:00 a.m. the kids opened their stockings. We had a great breakfast and opened presents.

After we opened presents we went to a nearby park and went for a nice hike. It was 62° out, so it was a lovely day for a hike. After the hike, we went back to the house and the kids took a rest, then we played games and made dinner.

Washington Monument

Day 3 - Sunday, December 26

We got up and had breakfast and packed a lunch. Then we headed to Washington DC. My sister and I rode together, and M and my brother-in-law rode with the kids. The first place we went was the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The kids thought it was really cool. We had looked the night before and it looked the the Smithsonian National Museum of National History looked like it was going to be closed, so that's how we chose where to go. We had given the kids money for Christmas to spend at the gift shop there. P got a snow globe, V got a spaceship who’s wings can wrap around your arms, and T got two toy aircrafts.

We went outside, and it was so nice out! We ate our picnic at a bench on the Mall around 1:00 p.m. We walked by the Washington Monument, and the World War II Memorial. Then my sister, P, T and I went to go see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial while Marcus, Charles, brought the younger girls to the Lincoln Memorial. On our way back, we walked through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial around 3:35 p.m.

We walked all the way back down the mall, stopping to get ice cream along the way. We ate at Carmine's Italian Restaurant for dinner, then headed back to the car with very tired kids. My watch logged almost 9 miles that day. We got back to the house and put the kids to bed. Everyone was tired after our busy days.

Day 4 - Monday, December 27

Due to the busy last few days, we had a much needed slower morning today. We had breakfast and then headed out the door. We went to the National Aquarium. We arrived just before 11:00 a.m. We stopped right away to have a snack. The kids loved seeing all of the animals and exploring. We stopped before heading out to have another snack. We stopped in the gift shop so our kids could get a gift with the rest of their Christmas money. V got a seahorse with baby seahorses, T got a stuffed shark, and P got a sloth, and some slime. We got back and the kids played.

Day 5 - Tuesday, December 28

My birthday! Today was a low key day. We hung out at my sister's house. Our aunt came to visit. When she arrived, we went to nearby area to allow the kids to play and explore. The kids loved playing. We had a great birthday dinner and hung out.

Fort McHenry

Day 6 - Wednesday, December 29

This day was another slower start, which was nice. My aunt left around 9:00 a.m., and my sister and her husband left for an appointment. After they got back, we had lunch and drove to Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Site. We arrived around 12:30 p.m. It was really neat to check out and learn about the history of the fort. We all found the fort really interesting, and neat to hear about some of our countries history. We left the fort around 3:30 p.m. We got back to the house and had a great dinner, packed and played games before heading to bed.

Statue at Hampton National Historic Site

Day 7 - Wednesday, December 30

We finished packing, then headed to Hampton National Historic Site. We got there around 9:30 and were hoping to get the first tour, but two ladies jumped in front of us in line, so we weren’t able to get the 10:00 a.m. tour. We were able to get the 11:00 a.m. tour instead. It was raining lightly out, but not too bad. We toured the grounds before our scheduled tour. So much neat history and old buildings. The tour was really cool, and it's free. So much history in one building. We then headed back to my sister's house to grab our bags and say goodbye. We said goodbye to my sister and niece and headed to the airport. Marcus, V and T all fell asleep on the way to the airport. We got to the airport, had dinner at a restaurant across from our terminal, and then flew home.