Jogvan Bjorn in Washington DC (aka "We <3 Pictures!")

I'm sorry it took so long to get this up! It's been nearly a week since Jogvan (pronounced yek-vun) was here, but I've been having some technical difficulties. So, without further ado...

Here is our trip to show Jogvan (and Vienna) around DC.
(pssst! Want to know more about Jogvan? Check out his travels on Shinta's blog)

We started our trip by driving to the nearest Metro station to catch the train into the city.

Jogvan was very excited to ride the Metro for the first time. We managed to get a car that was fairly empty at first...

...then we looked out the window for a while and watched the cities roll by...

...Jogvan caught his first glimpse of the Capitol as we were going past Ronald Reagan International Airport...

...but soon, the rocking of the train made him drowsy, and Jogvan settled down in my camera bag to catch a quick nap.

We arrived in DC, and the first thing Jogvan saw was the Washington monument peeking out from behind the Department of Agriculture buildings, so we hurried off to the National Mall for a better look.

Jogvan thought it was beautiful in the afternoon sunshine.

He also really liked the red-roofed, collumned buildings that were nearby.

Silly Jogvan! You can't climb the monuments!

As we walked around, Jogvan settled back into his favorite spot - the camera bag - so that he could see everything. He wanted to see the Capitol again, so we started the long walk down the Mall in that direction.

We stopped at a souvenier shop and let Jogvan choose something to remember his trip. He picked up this little brown bear. It's tummy says, "I love Washington, DC".

We also stopped to get a photo of Jogvan with my favorite Smithsonian building. It looks like a castle, doesn't it? It's a great museum.

Jogvan took a break by this lamp post. (I love it when the metals turn green! It looks so neat!)

We were finally close enough to get a good shot of Jogvan and the Capitol: he was so excited!

We turned off of the Mall next, and headed over towards the Smithsonian buildings. We found the beautiful Mary Livingston Ripley garden with a fountain, and Jogvan begged to go in, so we wandered the garden paths for a while.

Jimmy was ready for a break, too.

Jogvan and I found some pretty flowers.

Soon, it was time to head home, so we went to the Smithsonian Metro station. It's one of the underground stations, and Jogvan really liked the tiled ceilings.

Here come the trains! Time to go back home.

We had so much fun with Jogvan, and we can't wait for him to meet Vienna and give her all of our love.

Jogvan has arrived!

Have you ever heard of Flat Stanley, the little guy who school kids send around the world on wild adventures? Well, meet Jogvan (pronounced yek-vun) Bjorn: he's on an adventure of his own.

Jogvan stopped in with us here in Virginia during his travels, and we are so excited to have him visit! Here's his traveling box from Switzerland.


When we opened it, Annie said, "Look! You got Switzerland's golden ticket!" And you know what? She's right. It is like winning a prize. It's very exciting to have this little house guest.


He was so excited to get out of the box that he started dancing.


Then he made friends with our Rottie, Bill.


Jogvan got to be a guest "speaker" at our church today, too. He went up on stage and soaked up lots of love and prayers to take back to his little Vienna!

Pastors Rich and Jay with Jogvan in first service

Pastors Rich and Jay with Jogvan in second service

I'm so excited that all my friends got to meet Jogvan and pray for Vienna today!

We have one more afternoon together, and then he's off to Pennsylvania, and my friend Erin.