Trip Highlights

Our Friday/Saturday plans came to a drastic halt when everyone in our house became sick! Thank goodness we did so much Sunday-Thursday. We went to Target to get a few things tonight and went to a Chinese Restaurant for dinner. We figured since we started the trip with Chinese we would end it with Chinese.
These are a few pictures that didn't make the blog earlier in the week.Papa and the boys at the Metro station.
Nate and Dad at the FBI building, Monday.
Mandy and Dad at one of the Smithsonian Museums.
Dad and E at church last Sunday.We hope you have a Good/Uneventful flight home.

Change in Plans

Our plans to see Mount Vernon changed about 1:00 am when I heard Nate in the bathroom throwing up. This continued until 8:00 am. So, we all stayed in and played today. About 10:30 we took a walk down to the creek. The boys rode in the jogger while Papa pushed them. I warned him that there was a massive hill on the way back, but he volunteered to push them the whole way. Luckily, we took several breaks early on to let the kids throw rocks in the creek. After a quick lunch, the boys went down for a nap, and Nate and I headed up for a nap, too. I thought Dad was going to nap as well, but I learned when we woke up that he went back to the creek and did the walk again. I guess it was little easier without the kids and stroller. We decided to head out to Panera for some soup. I didn't bring my camera and Dad was charging his batteries, but here is a picture from our Chinese dinner Saturday night. That restaurant was great!

Happy Turkey Day

We hope you and your family had a Happy Thanksgiving Day. It was such a stress free day for us. We made sure that everything was super easy with exception of the Turkey. We knew that would be the main event and everything else was gravy...no pun intended. Our friends Shelley and Josh joined us for the day. Ethan did his usual flirting and Link warmed right up to both of them. Dinner was great! We ate too much.After naps, we took a quick bath and jumped into the car. We decided to do a moonlight tour of DC. It was the perfect night. Traffic was nonexistent. We were able to park on the street and get as many pictures as we wanted.



After the tour, Nate put the boys to bed and I headed off to see Twilight with Shelley. Nate and Dad watched every football game that was on today. Tomorrow we are off to Mount Vernon.

Wintery Wednesday

It was picture day! We got a late start this morning in the hopes of making it a relatively stress free day. Papa got some snuggle time in this morning.
We took a metro ride to the Capitol. The metro ride took us about an hour. Lincoln was a Momma's boy today (which is typical). Today he wanted to be in my lap all day!
The construction in front of the Capitol is for the inauguration. We walked from the Metro to the Capitol. We had to take everyone's coats off and snap quickly. The boys did very well considering the wind and cold! We left the Capitol and walked to the Old Post Office. They have a food court. I wish we had looked at metro map, but I think the cold made our brains shut down. We left after lunch and walked to the Museum of Natural History. We looked quickly at the Dinosaurs and headed home!
It was so cold today! Everyone was so bundled up today.
Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Boys day out!

I should of known something was up with Ethan last night when he laid his head on Papa and snuggled before bed. When we woke him up to pee at 10:00 he had a fever. He awoke at 5:30 SICK. So, I took one for the team and stayed home with the little boys so that the big boys could do more touristy stuff today. Before they left, I gave them one thing to do---find a spot for our Christmas picture.
We drove them down to the Lincoln Memorial about 9:30 and they stayed out until 4:00. They took their job serious today. They took 235 pictures for my approval. They walked the entire length of the Mall with a few detours along the way. They walked about 6 miles throughout the day.
They even stopped at the Lincoln Memorial and asked a professional photographer where they could get a picture of Lincoln, Washington, and the Capitol. He told them he thought it was taken in a plane or a blimp. I guess we won't be doing that picture.
They left the mall and went to the Old Post Office. Apparently, we walked all around that place yesterday, but never knew it was there. Nate read that you can get the best views of DC from the top.
They ended going over to the Supreme Court.
They must have had a GREAT day. They wouldn't stop talking about everything they did today. There are some amazing pictures out of the 235 pictures, but I HAD to pick the best. I left out the really, really, really good ones that I want for my Christmas picture. Dad laughed and said, "that was the best picture I have ever taken." I told him I would post it for him in January! Be on the lookout. :)

Site Seeing (without the kids)

When Dad's trip was planned months ago, Nate decided to take the entire week off. I think I was a little jealous, so I decided to take Monday off and spend it site seeing with the guys! We spent last night working on our itinerary for today. Our plan was to drop the kiddos off at daycare, take the bus/metro into DC, and start at Ford's theater (which is closed until February).We were able to go into the Petersen house. This is the place across the street where they took Lincoln. He died in a bed too small for him at 7:22 am the next morning.
We trekked over to the National Archives Museum at 9:20. I checked the Internet and a map we had that said the museum opened at 9:00. BUT, when we arrived the sign said that it opened at 10:00. So, we headed over to the mall area and saw the Capitol and the Washington Monument. We did take pictures. (they will be in the blog tomorrow!)At 9:45 we headed back to the Archives and got second in line. At 9:53 Nate had to pee so bad the boy sprinted two blocks to Starbucks, peed, and made it back at exactly 10:00. He's fast!! Dad took actual pictures of the Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, and the Constitution. They don't allow flash photography so, the pictures are pretty dark. After lunch, at Cosi, we headed to the American History Museum. This museum has been closed for two years. It just opened last Friday!
Before entering, I had three things that I really wanted to see....Dorothy's ruby red slippers, Lincoln's top hat, and the Star Spangled Banner Flag. I totally underestimated how HUGE this museum actually was. PLUS, I went with two Clark W. Griswolds. After we spent WAY more time that I could of imagined in the transportation and war rooms, I told these history boys to get a move on it. We had one hour left before we needed to leave to get the boys. We sprinted up to look at the slippers. Then, we went to the Presidents Hall. The first stop was a video clip. Nate and I glanced at it and kept walking. A few minutes/exhibits later, I do not see Dad. So, I go back and he is sitting down watching the video. I turned around and kept walking. Nate and I finished the room and he was still not back. He finally made it over to us and I showed him where the "important stuff" was. The top hat Lincoln was wearing the night he was assasinated was definitely a highlight.
This was a sword George Washington used in battle. We all thought this was amazing that Obama already made the wall of presidents. The most impressive thing the entire trip was the Star Spangled Banner flag. It was soooo breathtakingly large!! The history we saw today was unforgettable! Tomorrow Nate and Dad are heading to the monuments and the mint.

Silence and Respect

Papa arrived yesterday! Ethan and I met him at the airport via Metro. Ethan loved being able to pick him up. Today, we awoke to Papa and Ethan talking downstairs at 6:45. Apparently, the brave lil thing, went down and woke him up without us knowing. We all went to church and ate lunch. Then, we headed off to Arlington Cemetery. They had a convenient tram that allowed you to get on and off at The Eternal Flame, The tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Arlington House. The comedy began at the first stop. Dad sat down on the steps to take a picture of the family over looking Washington DC. He took the picture and then we heard, "Sir, you can't sit on the steps." We walked up to look at the eternal flame and I notice Ethan is trying to blow it out. He is huffing and puffing. At the next stop we were walking to the Tomb of the unknown soldier and we saw these signs were EVERYWHERE. It was super quiet as people were observing the memorial and we hear in a VERY loud voice, "My booty is itchy." We immediately knew that it had to be our kid...and it was. Next, we got on the train and were headed to the last stop. Nate, Lincoln, and I were on the opposite aisle of Dad and Ethan. The narrator was giving us history and we hear, "the little fellow is going to have to keep his head inside or he is going to be a casuality like so many others here." Nate and I immediately look over and once again, it's our kid! The last incident happened when we got back to the visitor center. He and Dad needed to go to the restroom. I take his hat and coat and notice he has a handful of rocks from the cemetery. I guess he had been collecting them the entire trip. He and Papa go to the bathroom and are in there a while. When he comes out Dad tells me that Ethan's aim was a little off in the restroom. I thought that was a fitting way to end the trip! Overall, we had a great time! The weather was nice. It was gorgeous there.

Texas Sized Meal

Tonight's meal was a dream come true in our house! Ethan helped cook dinner tonight. He made the taco shells, carrots, and rice. Then when dinner came, he ate one and a half tacos and ten carrots! Lincoln ate half a taco and three carrots! YES, I said LINCOLN ATE CARROTS. Hey, it's one more vegetable than he has been eating! Yippie!!
You know tomorrow we'll be back to our typical meals---or lack there of!

C is for Cookie

This past weekend, Lincoln took his Elmo book to Memaw. She started reading it and did her Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch voice. Soon after she read it, Lincoln started making his own Cookie Monster and Oscar voices.

I couldn't leave Ethan out. He has started coloring on his own.

Another Monday in the books....

We woke up to a blistery 36 degree morning. A Monday morning at that. The boys have played long and hard since Thursday with Memaw and Pappy. Today was no exception. When we came home from work today, Bob whispered "quiet...Ethan is asleep in the hall." YES...he said...in the hall. Ethan has been sneaking out of his bed each nap/night to go to the "bathroom" or as we have caught him....sitting with his feet dangling over the edge of the stairs. I guess today he snuck out and pulled both blankets on the floor and finally dozed off there.

When we finally woke Lincoln up three hours past his nap, he was in a Mommy mood! He snuggled until I finally put him down to change! What a sweetie. Ethan broke our hearts tonight when Memaw and Pappy left. I heard him crying and I went up to check on him. He was standing at his window crying because he wanted to tell them bye one more time. He settled for a phone call and a "talk" about Christmas. We talked about five minutes about what fun we are going to have this season!

But....he has it!

These two are definitely becoming more and more brotherly. If one has something, the other one NEEDS it! If one does something, the other one HAS to do it, too! But, hey they are playing together!

Body Parts

I will apologize in advance for the disgusting mashed potato mouths!

Lincoln used Ethan as his hands on body part lesson last night! Hands
Eyes
Ear
Neck

Tis the Season, already.

So, last Saturday Ethan asked to get the Christmas books out. (He actually asked for Easter and Christmas-I drew the line with Easter) Oh Christmas Tree and Jingle Bells can already be heard at our house by him! Thursday, the Walmart Wish book was delivered and it has found it's way into Ethan's car seat. The entire trip to school I hear what he is going to put on his list. He asks everyday to start the list, but I keep putting him off. Today, I found these Christmas foamies.

He LOVES these things. So, you may see some of these in your Christmas cards this year. We have a lot of foamies! To be honest with you Nate and I are ready for the holidays. I have to say it's going to be sooo fun here. I've already started my list of things to go and see: Union Station tree and train, the National Christmas tree, Mount Vernon in December, and our church is doing a living Bethlehem. I can't blame him for starting so early!