virginia / washington, d.c. visit

i began a lengthy and boring entry about our visit to the east coast (not that this entry is exciting).  i have to remind myself to type up highlights of our trips at the end of each day so that i don't have to over think what i should write about and hopefully write better blogs.  

instead of writing lengthy paragraphs, here are some of the highlights of our trip in no particular order:

seeing family - of course!  the reason we went there was to see family.  we haven't seen mama boots and anna in 2 years and the rest of the family  for about 4 1/2.  it was also our first time meeting keira sofia, michelle's cousin who is barely 18 months old.  don't these two look adorable?  =)

tiongco family

going to the national zoo and seeing the panda - i've never seen a real life panda.  my first ever panda memory was that i had a toy panda that played drums.  i loved that toy with it's flashing lights and great beat.  i wonder whatever happened to that toy?  

panda is real, not a toy

going to mt. vernon - at first i thought it was a mountain with a great view!  hindi pala! hahaha mt. vernon was the plantation home of america's first president, george washington. while i wasn't completely blown away by the house, the view of the potomac river behind the house was amazing.  it was nice to see and we got a great discount to get in thanks to my sister in law's bargaining skills!

the cherry blossoms - it was raining in the d.c. area when we arrived.  because of the rain, much of the cherry blossoms have fallen on the ground.  but near the lincoln memorial, we found several trees that were still in bloom.  we took advantage and took these pics...

we also saw the white house, the capitol building, the washington monument and lincoln memorial but paul and i have seen them when we went to d.c. the first time and michelle doesn't care about those places yet. =)  we also went to the japanese festival and had the best yakitori we've ever had.  it was too crowded though so it was difficult to get around with all the kids with us.  it was also there that i first took michelle inside a portable toilet.  it was a scary experience for both of us!  needless to say, i won't be taking her to any more porta-potties and i will still avoid using them unless i ABSOLUTELY have to.  iihi nalang ako sa tabi tabi kesa mag porta-potty! hahahaha

i really had fun in d.c.  i told paul it would be nice if we could visit them every year.  maybe we will. =)

of the hundreds of pictures we took in d.c., this is my absolute favorite.  

spring is definitely here!!!