Capitol Tour

It is always fun to spend time with special friends. They have been incredibly busy with Jason's schedule, taking time to spend a few days together was a huge treat!

Justice, Honor and Liberty

Paisley is about the happiest baby around. She is so content and lights up when anyone looks at her, which is all the time!

Jess called the Capitol to find out about getting a tour, she was told that they usually schedule the tours a year in advance! Since we are friends and family of our State Representative and homeschooling families in the district we were able to get our own private guided tour.

In the Rotunda is this beautiful chandelier, a VW Beetle fits inside the chandelier! The names of all the counties are in their proper location around the ceiling. We found Whatcom County on the North West corner!

We visited on National Guard day and had the amazing opportunity to hear the band play "My Country Tis Of Thee" I had goose bumps it was very powerful. The Rotunda is made almost entirely of Marble (the marble is split in half and identical on both sides of the room) and the acoustics are something even I appreciated.

In the center of the Rotunda on the floor is the official Washington State Seal.

Ian got to sit behind the desk of Representative Overstreet.

We had the privilege of going on the floor of the House of Representatives. I paid attention to what my children were wearing, clean nice shirts and pants with no holes unfortunately I did not make them take off their coats! There is a strict dress code on the Floor about wearing suits and ties. Even our Tour Guide had not been on the floor with out much thought and planning.

The official photographer came and took our picture with the Seal of Washington. He even asked the Speaker of the House to move out of our picture! I was wearing a sweater (that I could not take off) and carrying Liberty and Justice and was wet from walking through the rain and sweaty, not really feeling my best.

The curtains have real gold thread in them!

The highlight for the boys was holding the guns the National Guard had on display.

Aaron had to help Ian hold this gun, I think it weighed more than Ian! The men we spoke with were Snipers! It was pretty interesting and fascinating to hear about their experiences and why they decided to serve our Country.

We began our day at the Capitol with Ruby puking in the car and me puking while I was cleaning up her mess. Later in the Visitor shop I walked by a display that Libby grabbed hold of and pulled the whole thing down. Then Ian purchased a Native American coloring book with his own money only to find out later that the book was not appropriate for a boy!

Real adventures bring history and learning alive!