Alexandria's Christ Church. This is where George Washington went to church, and is a lovely building.

I keep reading this thread partly because I don't want to miss anything Eliana has to say. I've also really loved the respect and kindness and different points of view. I ran across this poem by Philip Larkin (stone-cold atheist) and I thought that not only was it lovely, it really fits some of the thoughts and ideas being shared about the place and purpose of religion. http://www.artofeurope.com/larkin/lar5.htm

This story struck close to home for our family. This little girl has an uncanny resemblance to one of my girls. We had an experience that involved an attempted kidnapping and the Rom with our other white-blonde daughter while we were traveling in Croatia. Every time that we see the girl's picture on the news, it's a little jolt of "that could have been V!" To think that some other parent is missing their little girl is heart-breaking.

When we moved to Europe two years ago, we took the Queen Elizabeth II. It was more economical than airfare for our family (six children at the time) and we thought it would be better to arrive at our new home without jet lag and all the stress that goes with a long flight and small children. It was an incredible experience, and we loved every minute. I would highly recommend it. Coming back from Europe, we flew (now with seven children) and I still haven't completely recovered from that experience. (The kids were great, the airline had several delays, among other issues.)

We just moved from the Czech Republic. There, they have a tradition of lighting candles and placing them on all of the gravestones at the cemetery on Halloween night.

Parking at the Smithsonian is all about timing. The road between Washington's Monument and the Smithsonian (14th St. NW) is a 3-lane road (each way) until 9:30 am, when the third lane turns into parking. If you hit that area at exactly 9:30 am, there is plenty of parking, and it's extremely close to the whole Smithsonian complex. The closest museum is the National Museum of American History. It's been two years since we lived in the area, so this is only good as long as no road rules have changed. Good Luck!

I haven't posted here before, but I wanted to EMPHATICALLY agree with those who are urging you to get your child tested for Lyme Disease. We had an issue a few years ago when our then 6-year old had similar symptoms, including depression and joint swelling. Our American doctor blew it off, but when we moved to Prague (aka the Tick Disease Capital of Europe) a few months later, the doctors here quickly diagnosed the problem and prescribed an intensive antibiotic regimen that seems to have solved the problem. Lyme disease is much more common than most people realize.