Washington D.C.

Last week Aunt Annie took her son, Killian, and 25 percent of my kids (Taylor, Evie & MerriGrace) for a day trip to our nation's capital. That's a benefit to living here -- it's a 2 1/2-hour jaunt up to D.C. The kids and my kid sister had a great time up there. It was a gorgeous spring day in the upper 60s, the cherry blossoms had poked out and they were able to meet a real-live U.S. senator. In this case it was Oregon Republican Greg Walden. Annie has a former volleyball player who is a page for Sen. Walden and Cassidy hooked up my crew, getting them a tour of the Capitol, letting them hang out on the Senate floor to hear some debating and even some personal time with Sen. Walden. My kids sure enjoyed meeting Sen. Walden -- "He's a nice dude," Taylor says. "Real genuine and friendly." -- allowing them to see the words 'politicans' and `snakes' (Or worse!) can be mutually exclusive. I hope Mr. Walden appreciates being known as the "nice senator dude." As you can see, they also toured a bit of D.C., hitting the Vietnam, Korean and World War II war memorials. The ever-present Washington Monument was in the background and they hit the Lincoln Memorial. After Cassidy got off work they treated her to Mexican grub at a restaurant near the Capitol. All in all, good times. Thanks Aunt Annie!