excitement builds

My mother, Margaret, has instilled in my brothers, sister and me a love for travel and new experiences. We took "educational" trips as a family which I didn't really appreciate until I was older. And now as a parent, one of my priorities has been to travel with my children and to make sure that they have "educational" trips and experiences. My family, husband, Tom, children Pete (18), Grace (17), Bess (15) have had some great trips. Many times, the children have not been excited in the beginining, but each time at the end of the trip, they have thanked us for "making" them go. We have been to: Yellowstone National Park, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Charlottesville, New York, Key West, Alaska, London/Paris, Jamaica, Cancun, etc. On each trip, we have gone to museums, battlegrounds, waterfalls, landmarks etc. I really enjoy hearing the kids talk about the trips, remembering the sites we saw and what we experienced. These are the best memories. It is also fun for me to hear them mention class discussions at school about the places they have been.
This upcomong trip to Washington is another "educational" trip. But this time, I did not have to do any persuading. Grace and Bess were immediately excited about the plans. Pete is disappointed that he can't go. I know that this trip will be a highlight in the girls' "travel journals" for many reasons. We are all so excited about having this really cool, historical experience with our extended family.
Ready to go,
Kelly