Someone is pretty excited about seeing the National Archives.

National Archives.

We peeked at the national treasures in the National Archives this weekend. Since we aren't locked up, it's safe to say we didn't try to pull any "National Treasure" moves. There were too many security guards, and we didn't have anyone operating cameras for us.

In all seriousness though, they were pretty amazing, and by they, I mean the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights. They line the wall, along with other historical documents and facts, in a semi circle in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. Sadly, the documents have faded pretty drastically, but you can see make out a faint John Hancock on the Declaration of Independence. Cole and I decided we need to check in with the Brits and get some of the ink and parchment they used on the 1297 Magna Carta displayed at the archives. While we couldn't read it because it was written in Latin, the marking are much more clear than our own documents.

After our historical viewing, we headed to the National Building Museum. I found it listed somewhere, took a look and then found out they not only offer history, they also have mini golf. Can you believe it. So of course, we did all 18 holes. We each won one 9-hole course, but overall, Cole was triumphant.

The National Building Museum has two mini golf courses.

Cole's ball gets trapped behind a digger.

One of the holes featured a chalkboard wall to write on. I left a special message.

Cole tallies the score.

Inside of National Building Museum — pretty place. They can host special events, such as the president's ball.

Besides the mini golf, we also saw architectural history. We learned about building types and viewed model homes in the House & Home exhibit. Another exhibit showcased an architecture company run by the Guastavino family. They specialized in vaulted, tiled ceilings. Fun fact: Their work is featured in the Nebraska State Capitol.

Around the building, there are special history stops. Thanks to some other vistors, we learned that if you laid on the floor, it echoed back — but only you could hear it.

All that learning came with a bit of fun. Play time commenced with foam blocks. The first table had tons of blocks to build anything you wanted. Then, we moved over to large blocks and tried to avoid being hit by the little children running around swinging foam tubes.

My foam building features a staircase and flowers in the front.

It's getting serious.

Cole and his building.

Pretty impressive.

This little girl is also doing some intense building.

On to the big blocks. This is our water fountain.