Valentine's Day was pretty low-key this year. We did homemade heart shaped pizzas and Dallas brought me home a dozen red....cans of Dr. Pepper. He sure knows the way to my heart!
If you couldn't tell, I was much more into this picture than he was.
Amaya has been into making not-so-attractive faces for the camera lately. More on that in a minute.
So I told Amaya to smile and this is the face she made. Along with a noise that sounded like a beached whale. So I showed her this picture and told her that when she makes weird faces, this is what it looks like. Her face was priceless. And then I told her that if she doesn't quit with the weird faces, I would print this picture off and hang it in her room. I feel kind of bad for blackmailing a three year old, but she has been smiling so nicely ever since!
The next day we hit the road for our weekend in DC!
Aww! Her smile is back!
Our first stop was Arlington National Cemetery. I've wanted to visit here since I first studied it in school Arlington was General Robert E. Lee's plantation. During the Civil War, Arlington was confiscated by Union troops and the war dead were literally buried in Mrs. Lee's flower garden. Below is a music video that is set in Arlington. I think it's a great tribute to "our nation's most sacred shrine".
Arlington overlooks DC and the view from there is gorgeous! A fitting location for our nation's heroes.
Seeing the rows and rows of gravestones is indescribable. Each time I thought I'd seen most of them, we would hike up a hill and see thousands more. Seeing so many historical sites and battlegrounds has really driven home for me that these events were real, and seeing the grave sites of soldiers who fought in those battles and died in those battles has helped me more understand and appreciate the price of freedom.
Arlington House
The crew.
The view from the top of the cemetery.
Arlington is also the burial place of President John F. Kennedy and several other members of the Kennedy family. Above is the eternal flame. Amaya whispered to me, "It looks like they've been camping or somefin'"
"And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you but what together we can do for the freedom of mankind." --John F. Kennedy
"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." Robert F. Kennedy
Every headstone represented and American soldier who served our country and left behind friends and family.
The mortuary.
"HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD."
It gave me absolute chills, I can't even describe the feeling there. I was just overwhelmed by a sense of enormous gratitude for those who serve and have served our country, and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
This tomb has been continuously guarded, 24 hours a day, since 1926.
I love the quote at the bottom.
Up next, our visits to George Washington's plantation, Gettysburg, and DC.
You do such a great job of documenting your activities! It was so fun to have you come.
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