Washington DC Temple and Visitor's Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

We went to the Washington DC Temple today. They have a nice visitor's center that has a cut-away model of the temple. 

Christus statue

Temple exhibit about temples throughout time, this one being the Old Testament tabernacle.

King Solomon's Temple

Kirtland Temple, in Ohio, built in 1833

They just renovated the visitor's center and added lots of new exhibits, this one being for kids.

Color your own temple

the kids were sitting in front of a monitor that had primary songs playing for a sing-a-long

you could move this big screen over different pictures to see different stories of church members

you can have your picture taken as a family in front of a temple mural and they print it out and email it to you

That exhibit in the background is all about missionary experiences. The temple was beautiful and we look forward to attending.

Kids on a train

Walking around Washington DC

We had no specific plan for the day, after going to the temple, we tried to find a train station and came upon Arlington National Cemetery, then made a turn and saw the Iwo Jima Memorial statue! It's so big and very dramatic to see. So we pulled over and walked up to it. 

this is standing at the Iwo Jima statue and looking away from it and you can see all the other monuments behind Carson.

here you can see how big the statue is

we got on the train and went to the White House - it was very different from what I remember it to be from when I went when I was 12 years old! I remember standing quite a distance away and taking a picture of it at night and barely seeing it. Now, you can walk right in front of it, the picture above is of a paved promenade that goes right in front of the house.

On the right of this picture is the White House

Lots of protesters in front

these people were the 'Moms say No to war' or something, and you can see how close we are to the White House!! I just couldn't get over it! Turns out, they cut out all vehicular traffic in 1995, and paved it in 2004.

This is a gate to the left of the White House, and I wanted my picture taken of me just feet away from the entrance to the White House! Couldn't get over it!

Then we walked down a little ways to see the Washington Monument. I'm taking lots of pictures of Carson in front of these monuments so he can email his teacher, Mr. Morris at Mt. Bethel. Mr. Morris is very into history and really wanted Carson to write to him after he moved. We will be going back to these places later for more in-depth touring (lots of walking).