I got a call from my sister, Jan, just a few days before we left for St. Thomas telling me that her family would be taking a little "Back East Tour" during Spring break. They wondered if we would like to join them for any of it. We were delighted to oblige. :) Just a few days before they were coming, we found out that BYU was in the final four of the NIT tournament and would be playing in Madison Square Garden the night of April 2nd. We had not planned on seeing Jan's family until the following day when they were to arrive at our house, but as it turned out, we headed up to NYC and all of us were able to attend the game. Unfortunately the Cougars came up short, but we still had a great time.
Steve and kids across from the Garden
Ben and Nathan
Katie, Meg and Evan
Evan and Dad
James, Zach, and Jacob
The whole crew on the stairs after the game
An action shot
The next night was the night we did Nate's project at the church. Later that night, Jan's family arrived and spent the night. The next morning we all headed to Washington, DC. We mixed up the kids a little in the cars so they got to have some time together. In Uncle John's car he got a little frustrated that the kids didn't want to listen to his historical information, so he decided to play "Cash Cab" where the kids earned a dollar for every right answer. Needless to say, Evan had earned $4 by the time we stopped for lunch. :) We drove past the DC Temple so the kids could see how it kind of rises out of the road in front of you. Then it was on to Mt. Vernon.
On our way in
With 13 of us, we were a formidable bunch
Zach
The Foulk kids and the Washingtons
The whole crew in front of the Mansion
The kids thought this tree from George Washington's time was pretty cool
Ben, Megan, and Katie
Some of the blossoms were blooming in the upper garden
Waiting in line to see the Mansion....nice face, Nate
That's better
Evan's look of anticipation
Happy sister and brother
The "fair prospect" out of the back of the house overlooking the Potomac
We had so much fun and beautiful weather
Just a little reminder about kicking up dust :)
Our little family
The Lincoln Memorial
The next day we set out to see some monuments and visit the Smithsonian. Because it was Spring break the whole area was mobbed with people. We decided that the drivers (Jill and John) would drop off at the different monuments and allow the rest of the people to see them up close. It worked out really well and I even got to see some other sights like the Kennedy Center and Watergate while I drove around.
The Lincoln statue inside the memorial
Nate and Honest Abe
Megan with the reflecting pool and Washington Monument (under going renovations) in the background
The crew at the new Martin Luther King Memorial
Steve and the kids inside the Jefferson Memorial
Meg and cousins inside the Natural History Museum
Evan making a speech
Us at the White House
As you can see from this photo, you are not allowed to get very close to the White House. But while we were there, we noticed several guys dressed in black that came out onto the roof of the white house and seemed to be patrolling there. Then some official motorcycles started lining up in the road right by where we were. On a signal, they all started moving forward and, sure enough, here came some very official looking limos behind them. Someone inside the limos waved to the crowd. We couldn't actually see who it was, but we have chosen to believe that we got to wave to the president that day. Pretty cool!!
The Strobel Crew
Thanks so much for coming out our way. We had a great time with you guys!!
