FTOL....the saga continues

Where were we. Oh yes. The secret tunnel.

Some how we managed to have tours of both the Library of Congress AND the Capitol building on the same day. 1 1/2 hours apart. Great planning, eh?

Well, we left the LOC tour as soon as it was done. Turned in our nifty little headsets and started to go back out security to walk the longest block ever to the Capitol building. (If you haven't been to DC before, the Capitol, LOC and Supreme Court buildings are set up like a triangle, with the Capitol building being the tip).

But the security guard stopped us. And NOT because we had contraband or because Elijah had stolen a book or something (I know how some of you think). He told us about the tunnel that connects the Library to the Capitol! SWEET! So we went up a flight of stairs and went down another ( I know, I know) and went through a security checkpoint and walked through the tunnel to the Capitol! We were the only ones in the tunnel, too! It was pretty cool. Plus, we went from running late to running ahead! (I mean, no running was actually done in the tunnel, of course).

We arrived at the new Capitol Visitor's center and looked for the statue where we were supposed to meet our tour guide. Get this. We had a PRIVATE tour of the Capitol. Just us and Senator Durbin's aide. At first she said she would give us the abbreviated tour because, you know, "4 boys might not be all that interested in this stuff." Fooled her. I told her to give us the full tour. That my boys might surprise her. And they did!

Our first stop was a sappy movie that made me cry. We won't go into details. But I did need a tissue.

2nd stop. The Rotunda. AKA, the neck breaker.

We were in the Rotunda quite awhile whilst the aide went on and on about the art work. Don't they look so excited?

Then we saw the original location of the Supreme Court. This was after we stopped one child who shall remain nameless from wanting/trying to swing on a really old chandelier.

This is the actual hallway where all of the President's walk on there way to give their Inaugural Address. I had to take a picture, you know, just in case..... This little star used to represent the exact center of D.C. If you step on it, supposedly, it brings you good luck. Pretty sure that later on in the day, after sitting in pigeon pooh, Ethan responded. "That luck thing sure isn't working out for me."
I'm thinking that my boys were getting tired of the photo shoots, don't you?

More later....