Back in DC

Doogles and Sam came out to spend a week with me in DC.

Flying through Denver

Douglas had his own seat this time.

 On Sunday (the day before Memorial Day) we met up with Mary and Josh, and Alan and Emily, for dinner at the home of Mary and Josh.  Along with the good food and fun conversations, we took a walk around their neighborhood pond.  Douglas and Blythe (Alan's little redhead) had fun running around and feeding the turtles.

 "Hehe, I fed the turtle!"

Blythe........the cute little speed-walker.

On Monday (Memorial Day) we surprised Dustin (he had no idea that Sam and Douglas were in his neighborhood) and took him to Not Your Average Joe's for lunch.

See food!

 After lunch we visited the Reston Zoo

We all enjoyed feeding the parakeets

Incoming!

"Heeeeeere, birdie, birdie, birdie.  Come and get a big smooch."

 "Aaaaaah!  It's got my hand!"

"Here, lion, I'll feed you some rocks."

Twas a warm, humid day, so we decided to stop by Ben and Jerry's for ice cream.

The distinguished brown goatee.

 After a long, hard day of play, we relaxed at the hotel room and watched Finding Nemo.  Douglas did not stop moving throughout the entire movie, but his eyes were usually facing the TV.

On Wednesday I took Douglas to work.  He marched (literally) around the halls waving at my co-workers, giving people "knuckles," singing songs, and telling people, "I six!" (with five fingers held up in the air) when asked about his age.  I work with great people.

 Wednesday evening we took a stroll through a wooded area where Dada used to live.

 My head received a certain amount Douglas' wet affection.

I took a picture of Douglas in front of some pretty purple flowers...

...and then Douglas returned the favor.

 On Thursday Sam took the little man down to the National Mall.

He liked touching the Washington Monument...

...and looking waaaaaaay up.

Mama and Doogles at the reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial.

WWII Memorial

On the metro back to the hotel.  Being a tourist is exhausting.

Thursday evening we made our traditional visit to Cafe Rio.  Chuck and Jen (not pictured) joined us.
During the course of our dinner I turned to Doogles and asked, "Doogles, who is the current prophet? Is it Thomas S. Monson?"  He replied confidently, "Lehi!"  We tried to recreate that moment on video later on, but it seems that it was a one-time Kodak moment.  Lehi is currently his favorite prophet. :)

Watching the first game of the NBA championship after a long day out and about.

On Friday Sam took Doogles to Arlington to meet a friend for lunch, and Friday night we had a delightful dinner with the Hinman family from our old ward out here.

 Today (Saturday), after getting Sam and Doogles to their flight back to Utah, Dustin and I met Sam's brother (Elder Coombs) and his companion (Elder Herring) for lunch.  They both finish their missions within the next month or so.

Following lunch we spent some time at the DC temple before heading back into Virginia.

What a great week!