Goodbye DC-Day 5

We were sad to leave DC, but we had a great time, saw lots of new things, and made many memories. This day was also Judah's birthday! Wow, what a way to spend turning 9! We stopped by the Capitol one more time before leaving to get at least ONE picture with me in it. :)

We decided to take a different way home so that we could drive through the Shenandoah National Park. The Blue Ridge Mountains provide some beautiful scenery, and we wanted to see the sights. We were able to stop a few times, get out, and enjoy the view.

This is the place we stayed at. We stayed in the basement apartment (it was an English basement). You can see the stairs going down right behind me. And, oh look, these children DO have a mother.

Now we have proof that I was in DC, too! :)

This birthday boy is 9!

This is how they felt about leaving DC-boo hoo.

We stopped to see Iwo Jima Memorial on our way out. I think this was my favorite memorial. There is something powerful about imagery, and this was really beautiful. 

On to see some beautiful views along Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park.

Ah, the infamous hike. This was supposed to be a shorter hike up to the Stony Man Mountain overlook, which is supposed to be a wonderful view. There were lots of tree roots and rocks along the way, and unfortunately, Eric sprained his ankle towards the beginning of the hike. Despite his bad sprain, he wanted to continue hobbling on, knowing that it shouldn't be a super long hike. Unfortunately (again), we accidentally took a wrong turn and walked for a while in the wrong direction. Once Eric realized that we were going the wrong way, and we walked back to where we had taken a wrong turn, the two younger kids were done walking. So, I took them back to the car, and Eric and Judah continued on to finish the hike and see the views. This picture was taken when we started out. I wish I had gotten one of Judah and Eric when they came back...the two finishers!

Eric took a couple pictures with his phone at the top. It was windy!

We ended our day in Lexington, VA, and had a celebrated the birthday boy at dinner. Look at the size of that sundae....don't worry, we all shared it!

Yummy!

Back at the hotel icing that sprained ankle