Sunday= SUN day

We tried to wake a bit earlier than the day before... although it was hard because we were still so tired!
We woke and headed down to the Corner Bakery down from our hotel. Since it was so late we decided to go ahead and eat lunch. Yummy chicken salad sandwich (I am on a chicken salad sandwich kick).

Since it was Wes' Day to choose our activities, we walked in the humidity down the mall and across the way to the Air and Space Museum. He said he easily could have stayed there for 2 solid days. (Personally, I could have walked it in about an hour and then headed to the American History Museum.) We saw so many amazing planes and rockets and such. The Wright Brothers' first flying craft was my favorite. Sara F and I were a bit surprised that there was no mention of the space shuttles that exploded in 1986 (Challenger) and 2003 (Columbia)... but maybe we just missed it.



After a few hours, we needed to cool off. The building was a bit warm and none of us do well in the heat. So we got a tasty treat at the food court. Still no Barq's Root Beer! I had not had one since we left Friday morning. But they did have a McDonald's Mocha Frappe! YUM. Nice and cold and good caffeine to keep me going!



We walked next door to the American Indian Museum but we had poor timing- arriving just 15 minutes prior to closing. So we literally ran through as fast as we could, soaking it all in. We definitely want to go back and check it out next time we visit. Madison liked the dolls and sculptures. They did a great job of displaying it all.


We stepped outside and agreed that we wanted to visit the American History Museum next (yeah!). I was curious about the bike taxis outside and asked a driver what she would charge us to petal us down to the museum. Ten bucks got us a 10 minute ride and saved us many minutes and sweat drops. It was well worth every penny! And a bonus to our little adventure. But I bet she was glad that ride was over. 3 adults and one kid= one hefty load!




Madison and I loved the American History Museum. Our favorite room was that of the First Ladies Ball Gowns. Madison's favorite was Michelle Obama's whit inaugural ball gown.


We also saw the Star Spangled Banner, Dorothy's red slippers, a huge dollhouse, Carol Burnett's Green "O'Hara" dress, Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs.



Madison also practiced the escalator- up and down holding my hand and then eventually doing it alone. She finally got over her phobia and forgot about the incident at the airport just a few days before.

We decided to go back to the room and check in with with CMN staff before it got too late. We met Patrice and Alison and got our name tags/lanyards and meal cards for the week. We also found out we would be on the ORANGE bus.

Children's Miracle Network and Wal-Mart had a great backpack for Madison with lots of goodies inside: a CMN pin, markers, water bottle, sanitizer (her favorite, haha), sunscreen, coloring book, more champion t-shirts, a DC cap, a CMN hat and more! It was like Christmas in the hotel room as she went through each little thing!

We washed up and walked a few blocks to Potenza's Italian Restaurant. We shared calamari that was out of this world! Madison ate a thin-crust pepperoni and black olive pizza (I helped her out). It was a nice, quiet dinner. I just wish we could have taken some yummy treats from the bakery... it smelled so delicious in there!


As we walked back to the hotel we passed some homeless residents setting up camp for the night in front of different businesses. A mission group was passing out food to each one. It was the only sign of poverty that I saw in the city while we were there. Made me appreciate my life and everything that I have.

It was very hard to go to sleep that night, we were all excited about the days to come. Were we really going to be able to meet the President? Would a senator or representative join us for the luncheon Tuesday? Who would appear at the ESPN Zone the next morning for breakfast? We knew there would be stars present but not 100% what to expect. I didn't even know what I was going to wear that next morning! haha