DC Day 1- Three Branches of Government

Today (yes, I'm actually starting this the day of) we visited the White House and US Capitol building. I'd heard it was hard to get a reservation, so I emailed Congressman Burgess Owens' office a few months ago and got a response the next day from one of his interns named Ben Christensen. Ben set us up with a White House tour and then scheduled a personal tour of the Capitol building for a few hours later. 

A few days ago the boys asked if Roland could join us. We still have Buddy passes, so we listed him on the same flight as us and we all made it on. (Mike, his parents, and Andy came out yesterday, so they got another day of sites in and went to Mt Vernon.) We rented a nice AirBnB in Alexandria that is two Metro stops south of the airport and half an hour from the National Mall. 

We arrived at the White House Visitor Center early and got in line for the 9:30AM tour. Ben wasn't able to add Roland to our reservation, since it was too close, so we brought him with and hoped for the best. They didn't immediately let him in, but they pulled us aside and ran a background check on him and let us in around 15 minutes later. I thought we'd be able to see more of the White House, but it was still really neat to be there and hear about the history of the rooms. There were a couple pictures that didn't really fit, but thankfully presidents aren't allowed to change whatever they want in the White House without going through the White House Historical Society. (phew) (Writing this in January 2026 after the current president did in fact undertake a renovation without going through the proper channels. Cough, cough, ballroom) 

It's now 1/11/26 and I'm coming back to finish. I'm glad I started this post earlier so I didn't forget things. I should do this more often. ;) 

We are taking "Sad for Sarah" pictures when we do cool stuff and don't always remember to take non "sad" pictures. 

After the White House we made our way to the US Capitol. DC in much more beautiful than I realized and walking was very enjoyable. 

Visiting the US Capitol was the highlight of the day. It's a beautiful building, and having a personal tour guide really added to the experience. Each state donated two statues to be displayed and Utah donated one of Martha Hughes Cannon who was the first female elected to the Senate. Many people don’t know that women in Utah were granted the vote in 1870, which was 50 years before the 19th Amendment. I love that Martha ran against her husband and won. :)

We stopped by the US Supreme Court building and National Archive to look at the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights. We made sure to watch National Treasure the night before. ;)

DC Travel

I thought I'd have more random photos to post, but I don't. Still, I liked these, so I'm adding them. (It's my blog, so I can do whatever I want!)

 

UTANG Family Day

We joined Mike at his base for family day. It's always fun to see his airplane and look at the displays. Lynette joined us and we got some cool pics. 

Lagoon with the Millers and Bonks

We continued our annual camping trip to Lagoon and this year we stayed from Monday through Friday. We thought it would be too much, but being able to come and go was nice, and we didn't feel like it was too much. Audrey was in cousin/Lagoon heaven. 

Audrey got spoiled and got to ride the Catapult AND Sky Coaster. I was surprised she wanted to, but she was a champ.  

Random July

 Sarah's pictures and letters can be found on her mission blog, sisterstarley.blogspot.com. I'll post some pictures in mine so I have them to look back on. 

Audrey got to hamster sit for Selah and was overjoyed to watch Timmy. The cats were also happy about the arrangement. 

My sweet friend Mandy brought me a treat and a box of tissues with a note. She knew I'd need them, and I appreciated the sweet gesture. 

 I hiked to Lake Blanche with Emily, Jackie, Shawna, and Andrea. We don't do this nearly enough, but it's always great to see them. 

Mike was on a military trip to Japan for a couple weeks and made a special trip to the distribution center to get us the new garments. I'm only including this for posterity purposes, because our descendants will some day get a kick out of knowing what a hot ticket item these things were. Mike only got two tops for himself, and later regretted it, because he loves them so much. He thankfully brought me back a cool new nativity that I love.