Spring Break Road Trip

For the past few years, the Mattingley cousins have converged on Nana and Grandpa's house for Spring Break fun, and this year was no exception. Jason had to stay and work, so the kids and I left him in the charge of the gerbil and the fish and took off on our own.

The kids love this electrical box in Nana's front yard! It was used as a Jedi jail, home base for tag, and even for painting fingernails!

We surprised Nana with an early birthday party...

...and had an Easter egg hunt.

And what would Spring Break be without a ride on the Metro? We've decided the kids care more about riding the Metro than the actual destination! Here they are lined up at the station, ready to go.

Why sit when you can stand? Notice the lack of other passengers nearby. There's something about a group traveling with that many kids that sends people either to the opposite end of the train or to another car altogether. (In their defense, the kids were very well behaved.)

Here's our group on The Mall in DC headed towards one of the Smithsonian museums.

Julia and Courtney checking out a giraffe at the Museum of Natural History...

...and looking down at the elephant in the foyer. It was a lot more crowded than we expected, so we didn't end up staying too long.

We had a picnic lunch on The Mall...

followed by tag for some...

and digging in the dirt for others.

The Mattingley cousins

There are four missing (partying elsewhere for Spring Break) and one on the way, due to arrive later this year.