the 4th of July in Washington DC!

Tyler and i headed up to Washington DC for the July 4th weekend, and we had SO MUCH FUN!!! 

neither of us had ever been up to DC, and what better weekend to go than Independance day ammiright? especially while we are here in Virginia. we had to take advantage! and wow, what an amazing place. it was so much fun to see everything i have heard about // seen in movies, in real life. just breath taking. and man, we are so blessed to live in this country. it was reverent and quiet as we visited the monuments, and remembered everything so many people have done to defend our freedom.

we drove up early Sunday morning, went to the first hour of church, and began exploring the city. we took a bunch of pictures at the local places, and also went to the National Zoo! which was free! all the National monuments, museums, the zoo, aquarium, everything... is free. pretty sweet huh? 

we even found a Cafe Rio in DC.... booyah! also had our first experience at Shake Shack. YUM. Sunday night we also headed over to see the DC Temple! and wow, that Temple is a straight up castle. so beautiful and SO. BIG! 

 ^^^ flash quality on that pic of us in front of the temple.... not the best but atleast we have the memory right? i can't get over how beautiful it was! and how BIG. it's 6 stories, guys! SIX!

we stayed in an Airbnb Sunday night. it was our first experience, and it was a great one! lots cheaper than staying in a hotel in the city, and our hosts were so kind. + they were Spanish, so we instantly connected. definitely something Tyler and i will do again!

Monday morning we were up bright and early to beat both the crowds + the rain. both only lasted so long haha... we were actually lucky to beat the rain as long as we did! but we had such a fun 4th. and there are 500 pics to prove it! 

 ^^^ by about 3 or 4 o'clock, we were spent. lines were long and rain was pouring -- and here we are on the metro, soaked and exhausted! but also absolutely loving it.

Tyler and i both defintiely missed our families this year. it has been 3 years, because of our missions, since we have had 4th of July with them! miss them like crazy, but this was definitely a 4th of July i will never forget. sad i never got to see Obama... haha lol... but we absolutely had a perfect weekend.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, land of the free, and the brave. i feel so blessed to be American.