parents' weekend!

Mama C visits under fall leaves on the National Mall 

This past weekend with our parents in town was SO much fun.  It conjured a few different memories for me:
1- Spring Break 1996- family visit to DC.  I was in 8th grade and it was one of only a handful of real family vacations I remember taking. I was still a pre-teen so I remember this trip as actually really fun (my teenage years were not my finest).  This time was different in that A-we missed having seester there tremendously and B-it was me dragging my parents around and not the other way around.

2- Spring 2010 Mom & B visit me and R, who are newly-engaged, in Asia.  Thankfully this trip did not involve my water going out for 2 days or anyone getting sick.  I can honestly say the pandas were better in Asia (biggest let down of this weekend was the National Zoo).  We still enjoyed the same fun of showing my parents around with R.  We love playing the host & sharing what little "local knowledge" we've gained in a foreign place.  (Which is why you should all come visit us in Shenyang!)

3- August 2010- Mama C (R's mom) visits Mom, B & me in Indian Shores for a bridal shower.  It was so much fun to have BOTH of our parents in town at the same time once again.  We are really grateful that we legitimately like our parents! As it turns out, they like each other too.  I was glad R could be around this time since in 2010 he skipped out on the bridal shower fun while looking for a job in Atlanta.

Ok so on to this weekend. After the Swearing In Ceremony, we headed to Four Sisters for Vietnamese.    If you're in the Northern Virginia area stop what you are doing and go to Four Sisters! It's a great restaurant that has it's roots at the famous Eden Center (vietnamese strip mall comprised of grocery stores, barber shops & pho restaurants that we walk to frequently), but is SO cute. Aside from the incredible food they have huge beautiful fresh flower bouquets on display that remind me of asian flower markets.
outside 4 sisters with mom & mama C
new rain boots!
Saturday morning we headed to the National Mall.  We realized that most of us had never been over to the Jefferson Memorial, as it's a little ways off the beaten path.  The leaves all around town are at their peak drenching the city in gold, auburn & blazing orange.  The mall was swarming with tourists, but who could blame them with such incredible weather!

Perfect October day!

TJ Himself watching over the whitehouse
looking out over the tidal basin

The only far away photo I took of the Jefferson Memorial from across the tidal basin

After we fought our way across the mall & through the WWII memorial (SO MANY PEOPLE), we sought sustenance at a charming cafe in the sculpture gardens near the national galleries.  As we looked across Constitution Avenue we saw this:
photo courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/pages/EDSITEment/40967152965
Now this is one thing I love about living in DC.  We had not planned to visit the National Archives on the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but visit we did.  "To the Brink" is a great interactive experience listening to never-before-released audio taken surreptitiously by JFK himself during White House deliberations that ended up avoiding nuclear war with Russia & Cuba.  It was fascinating and I think we all enjoyed experiencing it together.

Everyone was gracious enough to call it a day after we stopped at our favorite gelato/espresso spot so we could get home and watch the Gators beat South Carolina.  And there was much celebrating by all!

We then went to a nearby Salvadoran restaurant "La Union" and enjoyed a few margaritas and papusas.
My mama C & me
R, mom & B
Sunday morning we took our time getting over to Georgetown.  R used Yelp! to discover this delicious Austrian cafe tucked away down an alley.  The food was amazing (does DC have bad food? I don't think so). Then we walked around Georgetown and explored the shops & fun architecture.
Coffee kept us warm on a cool October morning!


Mama C and I could NOT resist a trip to Georgetown Cupcake! While no one was interested in cupcakes after brunch, we squirreled them away for later in the afternoon.  Definitely worth the wait in line!



We still had a few more hours before we had to take my parents to catch their flight so we went to National Zoo.  As I mentioned before it was a bit of a let down.  It's fine as far as zoos go I guess, but with such nice weather it was also swamped! Watching all of the parents wrangle all of their kids was enough to keep me from baby fever for at least a week. Ha! 

We caught a glimpse of TianTian & MeiXiang but with no baby panda, this experience paled in comparison to the Asian Panda Base.  We saw some elephants & birds and then headed out.  

love this lady!
We dropped Mom & B at the airport and headed to church with Mama C.  We are really glad we've settled on Church of the Ascension for the short time we're here.  It is restorative and encouraging to worship there before another week begins.

Mama C hung out with me for Monday and was such a help in getting a few errands done and just living life with us for the last day she was here.  Thankfully R got out training early and we took her to airport as well.  

It was a long, but wonderful weekend. We are just SO glad that our parents are so supportive and could take the time to come experience DC with us.  Thanks again! 

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