The biggest chunk of day three was spent touring the capitol. Dave really did his homework for this trip, and set up months in advance, a tour with one of Orrin Hatch's interns. So, we had to go check in at his office before we could leave on our tour.
You can't tell we're from Utah or anything, can you? :)
Turns out we were a bit early to check in, and so we had some time to kill before our tour. We decided to go check out the Library of Congress, which I was SO glad we did. The building was absolutely gorgeous, and I could have spent all day in there.
Outside the main entrance
This was a part of the Library that is actually used as a
library. People come here to do research. I would DIE
to do my homework in a building like this.
Our tour guide of the capitol was an intern named Shawn, and he did a great job. We got to see lots of really neat things, and Dave and I took about a million pictures. It was hard to choose the best ones to put on here.
Anyone who is a teacher of young kids will find this humorous.
CVC stood for Capitol Visitors Center, but as a teacher is means
Consonant-Vowel-Consonant, and is one of the first patterns of
phonics to teach students. I thought it was hilarious.
Each state gets to put two statues of important people
that came from their state in the U.S. capitol. This is one
from Utah - Philo T. Farnsworth, the Father of Television.
The old senate chambers, where the Dred Scott case was
argued and decided.
Dave's hero, Dwight Eisenhower
The painting on the capitol rotunda of George Washington
as a demi-God.
Ronald Reagan statue - those bits of rock underneath
the actual statue are pieces from the Berlin Wall since
he played such a big part in tearing it down.
Utah's other statue is Brigham Young
In the old House of Representatives, Lincoln's desk sat
right in this very spot. It was crazy to think that I was
standing in the very same place that Lincoln spent so
much of his time.
Before we left the capitol, we got to sit in on a session of the Senate. It was a session to hear different options of how to reduce the national debt. I couldn't believe it, but they actually started out the session with a prayer. It was a beautiful prayer, too. The person praying prayed that the will of the congressmen would be in line with the will of God, and that they would be able to make informed, righteous decisions that would lead our country in the right direction. I had no idea that they started their senate sessions like that! It was nice to know that even though our country may be trying to get rid of God in all schools and public areas, they are still inviting him into the high government offices in our nation's capitol.
This is where the quote of the day comes in. When we were leaving the capitol, Scott was talking about how he knew the congressman who was speaking in the session of Senate that we were able to watch. Brittany then asked what his name was, to which Scott replied, "I don't know, but he's a democrat....BOO!" The BOO part of that statement was yelled right into Brittany's face, and I think we all needed a second to recover from laughing after that!
After the capitol, we walked down to the National Archives, which is where the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution are on display. Seeing these documents was incredible. We couldn't take any pictures, but we could see the signatures of some of the most important leaders of our country. The signatures on the Declaration of Independence were the hardest to read, because that document had been passed around so much. But on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the signatures were easier to read. It was AMAZING to see George Washington, Ben Franklin, and John Adam's signatures on the documents that started our nation. I was so grateful that they had been preserved the way they had. Thinking about seeing these documents that our founding fathers fought for, and even at times held in their hands, was an overwhelming thought.
After the National Archives, we walked a little further down the National Mall to the American History museum. Dave really wanted to see the War displays (it's actually one giant display that walks you through every war America has been involved in), and RaNae really wanted to see the First Ladies' Dresses. There were lots of really cool things in this museum.
Section of the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War was
really the first war that was able to be watched on
T.V. We sat on this couch for awhile because our feet
were so stinkin' tired!
This is Dave's favorite propaganda poster from WWII
Pieces of the actual Berlin Wall
Pieces of the World Trade Center in the aftermath of
September 11th, 2001
The table and chairs where General Lee and General Grant
sat to formally end the Civil War.
Seth making a very dignified Presidential speech
The flag that was laid on Abraham Lincoln's casket as it
traveled back to Springfield, Illinois.
The hat Lincoln was wearing when he was shot.
Charlie Brown. I am a Charlie Brown fanatic!
Michael Jackson's hat. Dave is doing a
pretty good Michael Jackson move, don't you think?
The Lion King mask. Brock especially loved this one
because he currently performs in the Lion King at DisneyWorld
Stradivarius instruments that were very exciting to these
string-loving ladies
Dave was trying to steal the Ruby Slippers!
After the American History museum, we were so tired of walking and being on our feet, that we were all glad to get home. When we got back to the hotel, all of the Dalgleish's were very excited to watch the Bachelorette. We ordered pizza to our room, watched the Bachelorette, and hit the hay feeling very tired and very glad to be in bed.
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