One day a bunch of us were outside visiting and enjoying each others company. And then we noticed Aidan. He was deep in thought. He wanted to ride his car...but he also wanted his lawn mower and his golf bag. After much thought and trial and error. Aidan figured it out. He hooked his lawn mower onto the back of his car. And then he had his golf bag over his lap and went on his merry way. I love this picture because it says a lot to me. Aidan is quiet the thinker! Thanks to Lorraine for taking the picture for me.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Aidan and golfing
One day a bunch of us were outside visiting and enjoying each others company. And then we noticed Aidan. He was deep in thought. He wanted to ride his car...but he also wanted his lawn mower and his golf bag. After much thought and trial and error. Aidan figured it out. He hooked his lawn mower onto the back of his car. And then he had his golf bag over his lap and went on his merry way. I love this picture because it says a lot to me. Aidan is quiet the thinker! Thanks to Lorraine for taking the picture for me.
Aidan and DC
I just had Brian send me some of the pictures that he had stored on his phone. This is one from when we were in DC. Aidan would sit in the spot and play. To the left of the picture is the other room's connection door and to the right is the desk that I would use while blogging. Aidan would open the door wide, and have it rest on the desk and have his own little area. This is Aidan showing Dad his toy.
Goofiness
What do you get when Wal-Mart has a sell on pillows and you have a 18 month old....
An enjoyable moment at the grocery store....Aidan played in the cart, happily, for a while.
An enjoyable moment at the grocery store....Aidan played in the cart, happily, for a while.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Reality...yuck!
So today we are back from our trip and trying to adjust back to civilian life (not tourist life). Aside from being super tired....we are doing well. Aidan is still slightly sick, as am I. But today is the day of new things and goals. I have been saying it for awhile and it came today. Because we have no more vacations or visitors or other potential obstacles...Aidan was forced to go to sleep in his own bed tonight. And at a some what decent hour. We started about 9 and at 1020 we were done (so far so good). It wasn't as painful as I thought...and yet the time frame was the same. It was easy to do because Brian is at the theater tonight. Not that Brian is detrimental...per se...just that it is and was easier just Aidan and I in the house (the roomies were gone somewhere).
I am now in the process of doing about 14 loads of laundry...are washer is acting weird so it takes a while.
Tomorrow Brian has his first and only attendance required class to go to. He is enrolled in 4 classes. 3 online classes and one classroom class. I have a class, hopefully, on Wednesday. I need to go and talk to the secratary tomorrow...hopefully now she will be in the office. Talk about hard to find and talk too!
Brian is still looking for jobs, so if you know of anything let us know. He has heard from a couple of places but hasn't got an interview yet.
I just applied to work at a day care, as a substitute, when I need money and they need me. Aidan would get to come to work with me and for free...cool huh. That's it in our life....how about yours?
I am now in the process of doing about 14 loads of laundry...are washer is acting weird so it takes a while.
Tomorrow Brian has his first and only attendance required class to go to. He is enrolled in 4 classes. 3 online classes and one classroom class. I have a class, hopefully, on Wednesday. I need to go and talk to the secratary tomorrow...hopefully now she will be in the office. Talk about hard to find and talk too!
Brian is still looking for jobs, so if you know of anything let us know. He has heard from a couple of places but hasn't got an interview yet.
I just applied to work at a day care, as a substitute, when I need money and they need me. Aidan would get to come to work with me and for free...cool huh. That's it in our life....how about yours?
Washington DC trip Day 11
Sorry everyone. Yesterday was crazy and I was exhausted upon arrival so here is the last and final blog about our DC trip.
We wanted to be up and checked out of the hotel by 9 AM but everyone was so tired that we all took our time and finally left about 11 AM (checkout time for the hotel was noon, so we were okay). We only had two things scheduled for today. One was make the airport on time so that we could catch our flights, the second drive around Baltimore and find Charm City Cakes. (not my picture...but close enough)
For those who don't know what this is or what this means...well that's just odd. Myself and a good portion of Brian's family love the food network. An awesome channel to learn about food and cooking and especially great white noise. One of the shows on the food network is Ace of Cakes with Duff Goldman. This program is hilarious. Duff is a pastry chef who loves to make outrageous cakes. I am sure these are expensive cakes...but they are amazing. To see for your self just google Ace of Cakes or Duff Goldman. He is a mix between a baker and a shop teacher. His cakes are animated, usually have some kind of firework attached to them and apparently are tasty bites of goodness. I digress...we found there address online and decided to go and take some pictures. The staff of Ace of Cakes was on vacation so the store was pretty dead...but what a fun adventure! My photos are not posted today because I am too lazy to upload them...maybe one day.
Then we went and drove around Baltimore looking at the sights as we searched for an Applebee's restraurant. We drove past John Hopkins University...that was pretty magnificient (that means we drove past four large universities on this trip....Georgetown, George Washington University, John Hopkins and another in DC the name escapes me)...all this as a small reminder that this week school starts. :)
Applebee's was yummy. Aidan was such a flirt with all of the staff. He even showed a couple of the ladies his awesome dance moves. :) Then off to the airport.
We did our duty and arrived two hours early. Craziness I say! We boarded the flight after what we thought was ample time to let Aidan get some wiggles out. Boy! Were we wrong. He did sleep for about 90 minutes of the 4 hour flight...not bad. But then he had enough. He escaped a couple of times and ran laps up and down the aisle of the plane. Everyone seemed to enjoy his energy. Everyone except Ornery Pants. The man sitting in front of us. Commented to Aidan that "you sure are a cutie...can you understand me if I said stop kicking my seat? Well hopefully your parents do...it's obnoxious." Honestly...this was right after Aidan had woke up so there wasn't much time to do "so much kicking." Needless to say...that will never happen again. Too much drama. Ornery Pants was very patronizing and irritable before we took off...his comments mixed with our own troubles with Aidan...never again. And for those of you out there you do fly and do fly with young children around you...please be patient with them. And there parents. Unless they are being real jerks...realize the parents are struggling and don't need to worry about situations with ornery people. Sorry, I am still irritated and saddened by the whole situation.
When we landed it was raining buckets. When we left it was dreary but not raining so bad. How wonderful! Suzie and Grandpa picked us up. Grandpa missed Aidan like the dickens apparently. Aidan missed him too. We got home, showered, unpacked, grocery shopping and ate a snack all by 1030PM (are flight landed at 815PM) and were asleep by 11 PM...that's 1 AM DC time...we are still running on DC time. :)
That's all folks.
Oh and this is a picture of Duff from Charm City Cakes...I hope he had fun on his vacation...I sure did! (also not my photo...gotta love google images)
We wanted to be up and checked out of the hotel by 9 AM but everyone was so tired that we all took our time and finally left about 11 AM (checkout time for the hotel was noon, so we were okay). We only had two things scheduled for today. One was make the airport on time so that we could catch our flights, the second drive around Baltimore and find Charm City Cakes. (not my picture...but close enough)
For those who don't know what this is or what this means...well that's just odd. Myself and a good portion of Brian's family love the food network. An awesome channel to learn about food and cooking and especially great white noise. One of the shows on the food network is Ace of Cakes with Duff Goldman. This program is hilarious. Duff is a pastry chef who loves to make outrageous cakes. I am sure these are expensive cakes...but they are amazing. To see for your self just google Ace of Cakes or Duff Goldman. He is a mix between a baker and a shop teacher. His cakes are animated, usually have some kind of firework attached to them and apparently are tasty bites of goodness. I digress...we found there address online and decided to go and take some pictures. The staff of Ace of Cakes was on vacation so the store was pretty dead...but what a fun adventure! My photos are not posted today because I am too lazy to upload them...maybe one day.
Then we went and drove around Baltimore looking at the sights as we searched for an Applebee's restraurant. We drove past John Hopkins University...that was pretty magnificient (that means we drove past four large universities on this trip....Georgetown, George Washington University, John Hopkins and another in DC the name escapes me)...all this as a small reminder that this week school starts. :)
Applebee's was yummy. Aidan was such a flirt with all of the staff. He even showed a couple of the ladies his awesome dance moves. :) Then off to the airport.
We did our duty and arrived two hours early. Craziness I say! We boarded the flight after what we thought was ample time to let Aidan get some wiggles out. Boy! Were we wrong. He did sleep for about 90 minutes of the 4 hour flight...not bad. But then he had enough. He escaped a couple of times and ran laps up and down the aisle of the plane. Everyone seemed to enjoy his energy. Everyone except Ornery Pants. The man sitting in front of us. Commented to Aidan that "you sure are a cutie...can you understand me if I said stop kicking my seat? Well hopefully your parents do...it's obnoxious." Honestly...this was right after Aidan had woke up so there wasn't much time to do "so much kicking." Needless to say...that will never happen again. Too much drama. Ornery Pants was very patronizing and irritable before we took off...his comments mixed with our own troubles with Aidan...never again. And for those of you out there you do fly and do fly with young children around you...please be patient with them. And there parents. Unless they are being real jerks...realize the parents are struggling and don't need to worry about situations with ornery people. Sorry, I am still irritated and saddened by the whole situation.
When we landed it was raining buckets. When we left it was dreary but not raining so bad. How wonderful! Suzie and Grandpa picked us up. Grandpa missed Aidan like the dickens apparently. Aidan missed him too. We got home, showered, unpacked, grocery shopping and ate a snack all by 1030PM (are flight landed at 815PM) and were asleep by 11 PM...that's 1 AM DC time...we are still running on DC time. :)
That's all folks.
Oh and this is a picture of Duff from Charm City Cakes...I hope he had fun on his vacation...I sure did! (also not my photo...gotta love google images)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Washington DC trip Day 10
Sorry again...no pictures.
Today we woke up early and headed North to Philadelphia. Glad we woke up early too...just North of Baltimore we ran into some weird traffic that made it so that we got to Philadelphia at about 2 PM. That means it took us about 4 hours to make a three hour drive. After driving around looking for Independence Hall and then parking we barely made our 215 PM appointment for a tour of Independence Hall. What a fun building to walk through. We had a great tour guide that was equally funny, intelligent, knowledgable and hearable (GOOD voice for being a tour guide). I think I also loved her more because she wasn't a park ranger...just a citizen volunteer who had a love for history. My kind of lady. I also loved this tour because I was able to see scenes from 1776 in my head. I could see Mr. Finney singing songs all around me. :) I think when we get home I will be watching a bunch of fun movies. 1776, Mr. Smith goes to Washington, Gettysburg, National Treasure 1 and 2, Night of the Museum 1 and 2, any how you get the point.
Then we headed over to go and see the Liberty Bell. Aidan started to have a melt down so he and I walked around the grounds waiting for everyone else to go throught the exhibit. I have seen it before so it was all good. Then we went and found the van and started looking for Pat's Cheesesteaks. Pat's was featured on Diners, Drive In's and Dives with Guy Fieri. That place was packed. The food was good (mine was a little dry) but it was worth it to have such a fun experience. Aidan enjoyed feeding the pigeons and sparrows that hung out around the joint. Then we went for a drive to see if we could find the stairs that Rocky ran up. No luck. So we decided to head back to the hotel. Three hours later we have now arrived and thankfully Aidan slept a good leg of the trip...sadly that means he will be awake for a while. Oh well you win some you lose some. :)
Right now we are watching the NASCAR race and then we will finish packing our bags and taking showers.
Goodnight...
See you in Utah tomorrow night!
Today we woke up early and headed North to Philadelphia. Glad we woke up early too...just North of Baltimore we ran into some weird traffic that made it so that we got to Philadelphia at about 2 PM. That means it took us about 4 hours to make a three hour drive. After driving around looking for Independence Hall and then parking we barely made our 215 PM appointment for a tour of Independence Hall. What a fun building to walk through. We had a great tour guide that was equally funny, intelligent, knowledgable and hearable (GOOD voice for being a tour guide). I think I also loved her more because she wasn't a park ranger...just a citizen volunteer who had a love for history. My kind of lady. I also loved this tour because I was able to see scenes from 1776 in my head. I could see Mr. Finney singing songs all around me. :) I think when we get home I will be watching a bunch of fun movies. 1776, Mr. Smith goes to Washington, Gettysburg, National Treasure 1 and 2, Night of the Museum 1 and 2, any how you get the point.
Then we headed over to go and see the Liberty Bell. Aidan started to have a melt down so he and I walked around the grounds waiting for everyone else to go throught the exhibit. I have seen it before so it was all good. Then we went and found the van and started looking for Pat's Cheesesteaks. Pat's was featured on Diners, Drive In's and Dives with Guy Fieri. That place was packed. The food was good (mine was a little dry) but it was worth it to have such a fun experience. Aidan enjoyed feeding the pigeons and sparrows that hung out around the joint. Then we went for a drive to see if we could find the stairs that Rocky ran up. No luck. So we decided to head back to the hotel. Three hours later we have now arrived and thankfully Aidan slept a good leg of the trip...sadly that means he will be awake for a while. Oh well you win some you lose some. :)
Right now we are watching the NASCAR race and then we will finish packing our bags and taking showers.
Goodnight...
See you in Utah tomorrow night!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Washington DC trip Day 9
Well today was another fun filled adventure. The day actually started late last night. We were planning on going to Philadelphia today but when we tried to get tickets to Independence Hall...Friday was all sold out. But we got tickets for Saturday afternoon...so this morning's plans got all changed up.
We woke up around 10 AM and got ready for the day. Everyone but Lorraine decided to and look around downtown DC one last time. We went over to the National Archives and went right in. It was awesome to see what documents are in there. Aidan and I left before we got to see much...he needed his diaper changed most urgently. But that's okay...I have seen it before. Then we walked around some of the exhibits that had there. Did you know that the National Archives is more than just seeing the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights? We were able to see one of Shaq's basketball shoes....Holy cow..its huge! After looking at the documents and seeing the exhibits we headed back to the hotel. Once we picked up Lorraine, we decided to head out to the Udvar-Hazy musuem. But first we stopped for some lunch. Popeye's chicken. Yum! All the food has a nice southern (Louisiana) kick to it. All but the chicken. The chicken batter is fantastic! The most moist fluffy crispy fried chicken I have ever had. Delicious! Then we headed out to the museum. I am so glad that we made it to the museum. So much to see and everyone had a good time. Lorraine took Aidan and walked around with him. All the planes were amazing! We saw the B-29 super fortress (enola gay...it dropped the bomb on Hiroshima), the Enterprise space ship, the concord, an SR-71 (yea...so what...Hill Aerospace Museum has a better one), and so much more... so fun. Then we decided to come back to the hotel and have a swim. But those plans were changed when we arrived to find the hotel evacuated. Someone had pulled the fire alarm and we had to wait for the fire department to okay our entering the building. In the mean time...I don't know why...but Aidan had a HUGE meltdown. HUGE! Right there in the Lobby of the hotel. So no swimming for us...we had to calm him down. Once he calmed down we decided to go and drive around and see the memorials and monuments that we hadn't seen yet. What an adventure! We saw Iwo Jima, FDR, and Jefferson... once we had our photo opportunities we tried to get home. But we ended up driving all over DC and then....boom....we found our way back. Now it is blogging time and then bed time. Tomorrow has the potential to be crazy.
I took lots of pictures, but the camera is acting silly so I can't get them off my camera and onto the laptop.
Maybe tomorrow...
We woke up around 10 AM and got ready for the day. Everyone but Lorraine decided to and look around downtown DC one last time. We went over to the National Archives and went right in. It was awesome to see what documents are in there. Aidan and I left before we got to see much...he needed his diaper changed most urgently. But that's okay...I have seen it before. Then we walked around some of the exhibits that had there. Did you know that the National Archives is more than just seeing the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights? We were able to see one of Shaq's basketball shoes....Holy cow..its huge! After looking at the documents and seeing the exhibits we headed back to the hotel. Once we picked up Lorraine, we decided to head out to the Udvar-Hazy musuem. But first we stopped for some lunch. Popeye's chicken. Yum! All the food has a nice southern (Louisiana) kick to it. All but the chicken. The chicken batter is fantastic! The most moist fluffy crispy fried chicken I have ever had. Delicious! Then we headed out to the museum. I am so glad that we made it to the museum. So much to see and everyone had a good time. Lorraine took Aidan and walked around with him. All the planes were amazing! We saw the B-29 super fortress (enola gay...it dropped the bomb on Hiroshima), the Enterprise space ship, the concord, an SR-71 (yea...so what...Hill Aerospace Museum has a better one), and so much more... so fun. Then we decided to come back to the hotel and have a swim. But those plans were changed when we arrived to find the hotel evacuated. Someone had pulled the fire alarm and we had to wait for the fire department to okay our entering the building. In the mean time...I don't know why...but Aidan had a HUGE meltdown. HUGE! Right there in the Lobby of the hotel. So no swimming for us...we had to calm him down. Once he calmed down we decided to go and drive around and see the memorials and monuments that we hadn't seen yet. What an adventure! We saw Iwo Jima, FDR, and Jefferson... once we had our photo opportunities we tried to get home. But we ended up driving all over DC and then....boom....we found our way back. Now it is blogging time and then bed time. Tomorrow has the potential to be crazy.
I took lots of pictures, but the camera is acting silly so I can't get them off my camera and onto the laptop.
Maybe tomorrow...
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Washington DC trip Day 8
Today is day seven. We woke up around 8 AM so that we could be out the door and head towards Gettysburg by 9 AM. After a beautiful drive we arrived about 11 AM. When we got there we proceed to the visitors center. This is a new visitors center. When I went to Gettysburg with Stephanie the center was in a completely different location. This visitor's center was large and amazing.
Here is a picture of Aidan and I in front of the welcome sign.
Because we didn't want Aidan to get out of the car 16 times (16 stops on the self guided tour route) I decided to take his picture with the Gettysburg pamphlet.
Throughout our travels of Gettysburg we stop sporadically to see the stops. But the humidity slowly got worse and worse. And then we stopped on Little Round Top (I loved the booked "Killer Angels" by Shaara and this is where all the action takes place) and noticed this killer view on the horizon. This is Little Round Top facing Seminary Ridge... the Confederates are hiding in that group of trees. :)
After Aidan ran around a bit....this is how he got hauled around by Brian. Aidan wanted to climb all over the rocks. Very dangerous.
After we saw the sights of Gettysburg we food a KFC for lunch. When we got into the store Aidan immediately ran for the high chair and started taking it directly to the dining room. I think he was hungry...you?
Then after Gettysburg we headed to Carlisle, Pennsylvannia. Pat is a supervisor at Lagoon. One of her employees, Lisa, recently moved back to Pennsylvannia with her grandparents and we decided to drive and visit with her. She had been homesick and was delighted to see Pat. And we all enjoyed the trip through some amazing scenery.
About 3/4 of the way through our trip Aidan got ORNERY! But he did do well considering our day trip lasted about 14 hours. So to entertain him...I gave him the camera. He quickly learned how to use it and got some funny pictures...see above and below. A picture of his leg.
A picture of his face....
And Brian being the navigator.
We drove and drove and drove....heading toward Lancaster, Pennsylvannia. Everyone said go and get a cookie made by the Amish...they are to die for! So we drove and drove and drove...only to find out that this area had a tornado warning issued for the greater part of the day. (See sky in Gettysburg pic) When we arrived we had a hard time navigating the streets of Lancaster. The area didn't get hit by a tornado nor was the warning still in effect when we arrived. But the streets were hammered. Heavy winds took down trees and debris was everywhere. I did try and take a picture but it didn't turn out. So we drove some more and found this lone buggy with some Amish women inside. We believe that the storm scared all the Amish into there homes. So no cookies for us...but we did get a killer road trip experience.
We started in DC drove north to Gettysburg, north-east to Carlisle, south-east to Lancaster, south-west to Baltimore (we had dinner at Wendy's) and continued on...back to the DC area. What a fun road trip. This is the kind of craziness that I love about road trips.
The End
On a side note...we drove for 14 hours. We made sure to take the 495 down and around the area that the temple is located...so that everyone could see the beauty of the 'Floating Temple.'
Here is a picture of Aidan and I in front of the welcome sign.
Because we didn't want Aidan to get out of the car 16 times (16 stops on the self guided tour route) I decided to take his picture with the Gettysburg pamphlet.
Throughout our travels of Gettysburg we stop sporadically to see the stops. But the humidity slowly got worse and worse. And then we stopped on Little Round Top (I loved the booked "Killer Angels" by Shaara and this is where all the action takes place) and noticed this killer view on the horizon. This is Little Round Top facing Seminary Ridge... the Confederates are hiding in that group of trees. :)
After Aidan ran around a bit....this is how he got hauled around by Brian. Aidan wanted to climb all over the rocks. Very dangerous.After we saw the sights of Gettysburg we food a KFC for lunch. When we got into the store Aidan immediately ran for the high chair and started taking it directly to the dining room. I think he was hungry...you?
Then after Gettysburg we headed to Carlisle, Pennsylvannia. Pat is a supervisor at Lagoon. One of her employees, Lisa, recently moved back to Pennsylvannia with her grandparents and we decided to drive and visit with her. She had been homesick and was delighted to see Pat. And we all enjoyed the trip through some amazing scenery.
About 3/4 of the way through our trip Aidan got ORNERY! But he did do well considering our day trip lasted about 14 hours. So to entertain him...I gave him the camera. He quickly learned how to use it and got some funny pictures...see above and below. A picture of his leg.
A picture of his face....
And Brian being the navigator.
We drove and drove and drove....heading toward Lancaster, Pennsylvannia. Everyone said go and get a cookie made by the Amish...they are to die for! So we drove and drove and drove...only to find out that this area had a tornado warning issued for the greater part of the day. (See sky in Gettysburg pic) When we arrived we had a hard time navigating the streets of Lancaster. The area didn't get hit by a tornado nor was the warning still in effect when we arrived. But the streets were hammered. Heavy winds took down trees and debris was everywhere. I did try and take a picture but it didn't turn out. So we drove some more and found this lone buggy with some Amish women inside. We believe that the storm scared all the Amish into there homes. So no cookies for us...but we did get a killer road trip experience.
We started in DC drove north to Gettysburg, north-east to Carlisle, south-east to Lancaster, south-west to Baltimore (we had dinner at Wendy's) and continued on...back to the DC area. What a fun road trip. This is the kind of craziness that I love about road trips.
The End
On a side note...we drove for 14 hours. We made sure to take the 495 down and around the area that the temple is located...so that everyone could see the beauty of the 'Floating Temple.'
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Washington DC trip Day 7
OH my! Today started out busy and stressful and then....nothing.
We woke up super early again so that we could make our appointment at the White House and get tickets to the top of the Washington Monument. Brian and I headed to the Monument to stand in line and Pat, Jeff and Ann went to the White House. Lorraine wasn't feeling well and didn't want to go. We managed to get four tickets to the top of the Monument and then Brian and I headed on the metro up to the White House. Our appointment was for 930...we were supposed to be there 15 minutes early...we exited the metro at 920 and were supposed to walk 3 blocks. Brian and I were exhausted so we decided that there was no way to make it up three blocks for the tour so we got back on the metro and found his family. We now had an hour to kill before the elevator to the top. Jeff and I were exhausted and didn't want to go, so we headed back to the room. Brian, Ann and Pat went to the top and said it was awesome. They made it back to the room about 1230 PM.
From there....the day is extremely boring! We all stayed in at the hotel and we just watched television, did circle finds, read books and everyone had some pretty amazing naps. Brian, Aidan and I ended up sleeping for almost 3.5 hours! We were exhausted. Lorraine grabbed us some burgers from the hotel cafe and then for dinner we ordered pizza. And that is all we did...all day long. We didn't even make it to the swimming pool. But we all really needed this day to regroup and refocus. The last days of our trip are planned for travel and long days in the rental car.
So now I say to the blogging world...we are relaxed are ready for more travel.
On a side note...I never saw Jimmie, Jr. or any others...but as you read...we never made it to the white house...to stinking tired.
Good nnnnnnnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...........
We woke up super early again so that we could make our appointment at the White House and get tickets to the top of the Washington Monument. Brian and I headed to the Monument to stand in line and Pat, Jeff and Ann went to the White House. Lorraine wasn't feeling well and didn't want to go. We managed to get four tickets to the top of the Monument and then Brian and I headed on the metro up to the White House. Our appointment was for 930...we were supposed to be there 15 minutes early...we exited the metro at 920 and were supposed to walk 3 blocks. Brian and I were exhausted so we decided that there was no way to make it up three blocks for the tour so we got back on the metro and found his family. We now had an hour to kill before the elevator to the top. Jeff and I were exhausted and didn't want to go, so we headed back to the room. Brian, Ann and Pat went to the top and said it was awesome. They made it back to the room about 1230 PM.
From there....the day is extremely boring! We all stayed in at the hotel and we just watched television, did circle finds, read books and everyone had some pretty amazing naps. Brian, Aidan and I ended up sleeping for almost 3.5 hours! We were exhausted. Lorraine grabbed us some burgers from the hotel cafe and then for dinner we ordered pizza. And that is all we did...all day long. We didn't even make it to the swimming pool. But we all really needed this day to regroup and refocus. The last days of our trip are planned for travel and long days in the rental car.
So now I say to the blogging world...we are relaxed are ready for more travel.
On a side note...I never saw Jimmie, Jr. or any others...but as you read...we never made it to the white house...to stinking tired.
Good nnnnnnnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...........
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Washington DC trip Day 6
Today was another amazing day in the District of Columbia. We woke up WAY early so that we could experience the DC traffic on the metro and make our way over to the White House tour. Brian's family had reservations for 830 AM and we had reservations for 930 AM. So they headed toward the White House and we headed to the Washington Monument to see if we could get some tickets to the top. Side note...we also had tickets to tour the Library of Congress at 830 AM and decided to cancel those and do the White House. When the greater Larson clan got through the security check the security guard let them know that they were not scheduled to go on a tour today...it was scheduled for tomorrow. So Brian and I left the line at the Washington Monument before we could get tickets to high tail it over to the Library of Congress to see if we could still get our tour. Thank goodness for the metro and wonderful citizens of the DC area that are always willing to give directions and suggestions. We met at the Library with just enough time to say our names, get our headsets and enter the tour. *breath* And that was how we started the day. The Library of Congress was super fun. This was one of the tour Jeff was super excited to go on; so we were delighted when we found out that we would be able to go. Aidan was a little trooper until that moment in a child's eyes that say...okay mom...enough with the good boy routine...I have to wiggle. So he wiggled around a bit and enjoyed the marble floors and all the intrict designs on them. He even befriended a very nice Capitol Police Officer that was nice enough to find Aidan his very own patch for the Capitol Police Department. Aidan kept looking at it on his uniform and saying Wazzz that. So the officer decided to get him his own. How nice was that! Aidan enjoyed still enjoys that patch. Then he got ornery so I gave him a Red Vine...hey it makes me happy. And it made him happy...red all over his face.
Then we decided to go and eat lunch on the Capitol grounds. The weather wasn't nearly as hot as yesterday but hot enough to be exhausting. Pat made a friend...we learned today that potatoe chips are loved by one and all. Then Lorraine and Brian and Aidan fell asleep on the grass, Pat and Jeff wanted to sit and enjoy the afternoon, and Ann and I headed over so that she could see the inside of the Supreme Court building. We then headed over to the Hart Building, this is where Senator Hatches office is, we just wanted to find it in advance. Upon meeting up with everyone else I concluded that Aidan was ornery and needed to not be confined to a stroller, Lorraine wasn't feeling well and needed to sleep, so the three of us headed back to the hotel room for some showers, Sesame Street and Super Why on PBS and a nap. Aidan was so much happier after all of this. During our stay at the hotel Ann, Brian, Pat and Jeff went and looked through the Natural History musuem for a bit, looked through the gift shops again and took the tour of the US Capitol building. When their tour was over, Lorraine, Aidan and I met them at the food court at Union Station. We ate dinner at Johnny Rockets....a decent hamburger joint with a 1950s style to it. Then we shopped around a bit at the shops and headed home via metro. I love the metro. Once we got home we got on our swim suits and headed to the pool. Who doesn't love swimming after a long hot humid vacation day? After swimming it was time for showers and relaxing time. We watched a little television and that was when I realized it....
Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr., Jeff Gordan and many, many other awesome NASCAR drivers are supposed to be meeting with President Obama tomorrow at the White House....I have tickets to tour the White House tomorrow....I MUST MEET WITH THE NASCAR BOYS! I WILL SEE THEM AND I WILL ENJOY IT....AND SO WILL THEY!!! I so hope our paths cross tomorrow....until then!
Rosslyn metro station....the scary moving staircase..it is literally like a 100 degree angle and it goes so slow and on forever...talk about some vertigo!
Remember me talk about the the Church of Chevron...This is a Methodist Church with a Chevron gas station on the ground floor...I am sure this is common in the world of skyscrapers and such but for me....odd.
Aidan dancing and spinning around on the floor at the Library of Congress.
Pat and her squirrel friend eating a chip right out of her hand.
The squirrel hanging tight while Pat opened some more chips to share.
My little clown boy...Red Vines all over his face...he enjoyed it so much he fell asleep in mid-vine.
Johnny Rockets for dinner...decent food...expensive price. Be careful.
Good night ya'll.
Then we decided to go and eat lunch on the Capitol grounds. The weather wasn't nearly as hot as yesterday but hot enough to be exhausting. Pat made a friend...we learned today that potatoe chips are loved by one and all. Then Lorraine and Brian and Aidan fell asleep on the grass, Pat and Jeff wanted to sit and enjoy the afternoon, and Ann and I headed over so that she could see the inside of the Supreme Court building. We then headed over to the Hart Building, this is where Senator Hatches office is, we just wanted to find it in advance. Upon meeting up with everyone else I concluded that Aidan was ornery and needed to not be confined to a stroller, Lorraine wasn't feeling well and needed to sleep, so the three of us headed back to the hotel room for some showers, Sesame Street and Super Why on PBS and a nap. Aidan was so much happier after all of this. During our stay at the hotel Ann, Brian, Pat and Jeff went and looked through the Natural History musuem for a bit, looked through the gift shops again and took the tour of the US Capitol building. When their tour was over, Lorraine, Aidan and I met them at the food court at Union Station. We ate dinner at Johnny Rockets....a decent hamburger joint with a 1950s style to it. Then we shopped around a bit at the shops and headed home via metro. I love the metro. Once we got home we got on our swim suits and headed to the pool. Who doesn't love swimming after a long hot humid vacation day? After swimming it was time for showers and relaxing time. We watched a little television and that was when I realized it....
Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr., Jeff Gordan and many, many other awesome NASCAR drivers are supposed to be meeting with President Obama tomorrow at the White House....I have tickets to tour the White House tomorrow....I MUST MEET WITH THE NASCAR BOYS! I WILL SEE THEM AND I WILL ENJOY IT....AND SO WILL THEY!!! I so hope our paths cross tomorrow....until then!
Rosslyn metro station....the scary moving staircase..it is literally like a 100 degree angle and it goes so slow and on forever...talk about some vertigo!
Remember me talk about the the Church of Chevron...This is a Methodist Church with a Chevron gas station on the ground floor...I am sure this is common in the world of skyscrapers and such but for me....odd.
Aidan dancing and spinning around on the floor at the Library of Congress.
Pat and her squirrel friend eating a chip right out of her hand.
The squirrel hanging tight while Pat opened some more chips to share.
My little clown boy...Red Vines all over his face...he enjoyed it so much he fell asleep in mid-vine.
Johnny Rockets for dinner...decent food...expensive price. Be careful.Good night ya'll.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Washington DC trip Day 5
Sorry everyone...no pictures tonight. I am exhausted and don't want to find my camera. Today was pretty mellow considering how busy our week has been. I keep telling myself not to worry about schedules and agendas. I have visited DC twice before...once with Jodi and Maren and Cedric. The second time with Stephanie. Both times I was only able to come back for about 5 days. Those were busy busy trips. This trip is busy and we are only half way. Crazy to think about it like that.
This morning my body ached. I slept like a rock and that aided in my hurt body. When I stood up (and all the following steps) I creaked and cracked. Everyone bone in my body was arguing with my decision to start moving. I am getting too old for this kind of trip...but it is so worth it! After sleeping in and finally leaving the hotel room around 11 AM we hurried to the metro to go into the big city. Today was our monument/ memorial tour. We arrived at Union Station to buy our tickets for the tourmobile. $27 a person! But so worth it...less walking and more memorials. All tours must end by 4 PM so we had to hurry! We left Union Station around 1145 AM and started our tour at the Washington Monument. We were unable to get tickets to go to the top (we were really late in the day) so we headed West towards the WWII memorial. We walked around the grounds and enjoyed the area... and the heat...so hot. We took pictures of Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, the Reflecting Pond, walked past John Paul Jones, Korean War Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. We then bought some cold drinks and ate lunch around the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. Then we caught the bus going to the Arlington Cemetary. We briefly saw the Eternal flame of JFK and families gravesite and the wooden cross of RFK. Then we jumped on another bus and went up to the Tomb of the Unknowns. I wanted to see again and nearly begged to go up and see the changing of the guard. What a wonderful and special event. Everyone else really enjoyed seeing it and I am glad. One of the soldiers was a woman, she was guarding the tomb. I didn't think nor realize the impact of seeing this would have on me. I got all choked up (though no tears fell). I feel so strongly that those in and around the Cemetary are so important not only to history but to me and my freedoms. Thank you to all for your sacrifice.
Then we over to the Lee Plantation house. We were unable to get off of the tourmobile as it was 4 PM. So we continued on into the city, back over to see the Vietnam Memorial. What a wonderful experience that was! I have heard stories of the feeling you get when you find a name on the wall and how spiritual it is...we were able to find Robert Allan Rex's name on the wall. For those of you not in the know my grandfather Bob, served with him in Thailand during the war. His jet was shot down and he was MIA for many years. Jeff, Brian's father is from Randolph (Robert Rex's hometown) so he too has a connection with this young soldier who died for his country. We got pictures of his name on the wall. We even took a picture of the large books indicating who, where and how to find soldiers on the wall.
From here we went and found a wonderful tourmobile guide that insisted that if we had our tickets his bus would still take us to our destinations (current time nearly 5PM). Thanks to Benjamin for being so darn sweet! (He was the guide) We then caught the metro back to the hotel so that some could use the facilities, shower and get the van keys so that we could find some nourishment. We drove into Alexandria and found an IHOP. Such hearty food was welcome in our stomachs! Then we found a Target and purchased some more needed items for our stay here in DC i.e. diapers, Gatorade, and stuff for lunches. Now I am back in the room and blogging away when I should be in bed for our 530 AM EST wake up call.
So good night all.
This morning my body ached. I slept like a rock and that aided in my hurt body. When I stood up (and all the following steps) I creaked and cracked. Everyone bone in my body was arguing with my decision to start moving. I am getting too old for this kind of trip...but it is so worth it! After sleeping in and finally leaving the hotel room around 11 AM we hurried to the metro to go into the big city. Today was our monument/ memorial tour. We arrived at Union Station to buy our tickets for the tourmobile. $27 a person! But so worth it...less walking and more memorials. All tours must end by 4 PM so we had to hurry! We left Union Station around 1145 AM and started our tour at the Washington Monument. We were unable to get tickets to go to the top (we were really late in the day) so we headed West towards the WWII memorial. We walked around the grounds and enjoyed the area... and the heat...so hot. We took pictures of Washington Monument, WWII Memorial, the Reflecting Pond, walked past John Paul Jones, Korean War Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. We then bought some cold drinks and ate lunch around the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. Then we caught the bus going to the Arlington Cemetary. We briefly saw the Eternal flame of JFK and families gravesite and the wooden cross of RFK. Then we jumped on another bus and went up to the Tomb of the Unknowns. I wanted to see again and nearly begged to go up and see the changing of the guard. What a wonderful and special event. Everyone else really enjoyed seeing it and I am glad. One of the soldiers was a woman, she was guarding the tomb. I didn't think nor realize the impact of seeing this would have on me. I got all choked up (though no tears fell). I feel so strongly that those in and around the Cemetary are so important not only to history but to me and my freedoms. Thank you to all for your sacrifice.
Then we over to the Lee Plantation house. We were unable to get off of the tourmobile as it was 4 PM. So we continued on into the city, back over to see the Vietnam Memorial. What a wonderful experience that was! I have heard stories of the feeling you get when you find a name on the wall and how spiritual it is...we were able to find Robert Allan Rex's name on the wall. For those of you not in the know my grandfather Bob, served with him in Thailand during the war. His jet was shot down and he was MIA for many years. Jeff, Brian's father is from Randolph (Robert Rex's hometown) so he too has a connection with this young soldier who died for his country. We got pictures of his name on the wall. We even took a picture of the large books indicating who, where and how to find soldiers on the wall.
From here we went and found a wonderful tourmobile guide that insisted that if we had our tickets his bus would still take us to our destinations (current time nearly 5PM). Thanks to Benjamin for being so darn sweet! (He was the guide) We then caught the metro back to the hotel so that some could use the facilities, shower and get the van keys so that we could find some nourishment. We drove into Alexandria and found an IHOP. Such hearty food was welcome in our stomachs! Then we found a Target and purchased some more needed items for our stay here in DC i.e. diapers, Gatorade, and stuff for lunches. Now I am back in the room and blogging away when I should be in bed for our 530 AM EST wake up call.
So good night all.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAD....
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS THAT IT IS HIS BIRTHDAY AND I LOVE HIM.
I HOPE ENJOYS HIS DAY
Washington DC trip Day 4
Today started out slowly. Everyone is so tired and hurt. Our bodies are crying stop! But our minds are ready for another adventure. Tired because Aidan freaked out this morning and the people above Jeff, Pat and Lorraine decided to slam doors and rearrange furniture at about 3 AM. What a joy!
The Smithsonian Castle...it is actually referred to as the Castle. For more on this go and see Night at the Museum 2.
Katie, Aidan and Brian standing in for the President. There was this replica of a presidential speech that we could stand in front of and become a part of the experience. Sorry can't figure out how to rotate.
Katie and Ann riding a 1960s bus in Chicago (replica of course) in the exhibit documenting the wonders of Transportation.
Lunch on the grounds of the American History museum. So much fun to take a lunch and relax. And believe me....our bodies needed a moment of rest.
Walking into the Air and Space Museum... Aidan loved to be out of the stroller.
Jeff being super cool in front of the Air and Space Museum.
The Spirit of St. Louise...
Just getting off the metro and ready to see the sites.
Lorraine enjoying herself at the Julia Child exhibit. They have her actual kitchen! And everything in it is real. I want all of her gadgets. That would be wonderful!
Oscar the Grouch, Seinfeld's puffy shirt and and ventriloquists doll I forget whose it was.
Aidan and myself sitting at an interactive computer screen and the Air and Space Museum. Aidan loved touching the buttons. Good times!
And that's all folks....until tomorrow....goodnight.
So after a slow moving morning we made deli sandwiches and heading out to the Mall around 10 AM. The Mall is the park in the middle of all the city. All of the Smithsonian Museums surround the Mall. Today was our day set aside for museums. We started out at the American History Museum. And then headed over to the Natural History Museum to look for an armadillo....Jeff loves and collects all things armadillo. Fun huh! Then we ventured over to the Air and Space Museum. Jeff took a quick detour to look inside the Castle. The Castle is like the information hub of all the Smithsonians. Then after going through the Air and Space Museum we decided to go and find either food or the metro, which ever came first. For a long time nothing was winnng. Then we asked and found the metro and headed back to the hotel room. Once we found our stop, Rosslyn we separated for dinner. Pat, Jeff, Lorraine and Ann went to McDonald's and Brian and I came back to the hotel room with Aidan. Aidan finally fell asleep on the metro and I needed a shower more than anything and Brian doesn't eat McDonald's. Once back in the room. We all took showers...Brian and I munched on random things in the room and Aidan slept. Then Brian, Ann, Lorraine and Pat went swimming. I let Aidan sleep a bit longer, then I woke him up for some food. We bought some mini-ravolis. Aidan loves his ravolis. He almost ate the whole can by himself he was so hungry. Then we went and tried to do some laundry. After quite an exhausting search we found everything we needed. All the clothes, money, laundry detergent, and machines avaliable to clean the clothes. Now it is just relaxing reading, playing and blogging time in the room.
Aidan is being such a good boy. He is only getting ornery when he is hungry, thirsty or in need of a diaper change. Today I let him walk around the Air and Space Museum by himself...well I had him on a child leash. I have been getting a number of looks. Most of them were ones of delight and hilarity. Many have commented on their need to get one. :) Today doesn't seem like much, but it was a lot of walking and we are all exhausted. We need good sleep and then we will be refreshed for tomorrow.
These pics are in no specific order. My camera was acting funny so I had to upload pictures from Lorraine's, Pat's and Ann's cameras for this blog. Thanks to them for the help.
The Smithsonian Castle...it is actually referred to as the Castle. For more on this go and see Night at the Museum 2.
Katie, Aidan and Brian standing in for the President. There was this replica of a presidential speech that we could stand in front of and become a part of the experience. Sorry can't figure out how to rotate.
Katie and Ann riding a 1960s bus in Chicago (replica of course) in the exhibit documenting the wonders of Transportation.
Lunch on the grounds of the American History museum. So much fun to take a lunch and relax. And believe me....our bodies needed a moment of rest.
Walking into the Air and Space Museum... Aidan loved to be out of the stroller.
Jeff being super cool in front of the Air and Space Museum.
The Spirit of St. Louise...
Just getting off the metro and ready to see the sites.
Lorraine enjoying herself at the Julia Child exhibit. They have her actual kitchen! And everything in it is real. I want all of her gadgets. That would be wonderful!
Oscar the Grouch, Seinfeld's puffy shirt and and ventriloquists doll I forget whose it was.
Aidan and myself sitting at an interactive computer screen and the Air and Space Museum. Aidan loved touching the buttons. Good times!And that's all folks....until tomorrow....goodnight.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Washington DC trip Day 3
Last night was an interesting night. Our hotel neighbors across the way were so loud! We called and complained. Then at like 3 AM are phone rang. We are pretty sure that they were the ones to call in a wake up call. What jerks...but it gave me something else to blog about.
This morning I woke up to this....
Aidan smiling in his semi-awake, semi-asleep...I don't know if I want to be awake or alseep stage cuddled next to Brian. I love these pictures!
We got ready and then headed out to Mount Vernon to meet up with Stephanie and Amy. The drive took us a while to get there but we finally found one of the supposed 20 Wal-Marts in the area and 3 Targets and lots of food places for later. When we got to Mount Vernon...the parking lots were packed! We had to drive around for a little bit to find one. Then we unloaded everything and headed to meet with Amy and Stephanie.
We had to wait in a pretty long line but it went by quickly. Good company and conversation helps. This is the front side of Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon, for those who don't know, was George Washington's Plantation. What a grand looking estate...even for today's standards.
A beautiful view of the Potomac River...from the back of the house. We were unable to take pictures inside the house, due to copyright issues. Sorry. But to see what we saw you can search the web. About 50 % of the artifacts in the house were truly from the time that Washington lived there. The other 50 % are replicas.
A view of the back of the Plantation house. What a beautiful grand view. Sitting in these chairs you can look out onto the Potomac River.
Can you spot Aidan, Stephanie, Amy and Ann? Look at the first pillar on the left...that is our little cluster of people. Behind the pillar on the right is Brian.
The last time I came to Mount Vernon it was 2005 and rainy. So we didn't see much. This time it was pretty warm (according to my melting standards). And I am pretty sure Aidan agreed. We were able to go inside the visitors center and use the restroom and get some cold drinks (water!). Aidan wanted to get some wiggles out. So we let him wiggle around. He found the nice cool floor and all he did was lay on it. The other people that passed us laughed. I was both cute and embarassing.
Once we toured the grounds and saw the exhibit, we all walked out to the van for lunch. We brought some lunch meat and stuff to make for a cheap meal. During the sandwich making/ picnic/ tailgating experience Ann fell into the the cubby of the van. Poor Ann....she got stuck. And then to add to the being stuck she couldn't quit laughing...and then I had to go get the camera before anyone could help her out. Sorry Ann...but it was a funny sight. Aidan got mad and scared at this time and wanted out, away from what was happening.
Preparing our lunches in the back of the van...mmmmm...lunch!
Some very unafraid squirrels decided they wanted to come and eat our food. Aidan decided to feed them...he had fun.
Driving back from Mount Vernon....Pat driving and Brian navigating.
The rest of us enjoying the ride...Lorraine is hiding behind my head.
On our way back to the hotel we found a Wal-Mart and bought some more supplies.
When we arrived at the hotel Ann, Katie, Aidan and Brian decided to go swimming. The pool was pretty full but we had fun until Aidan wanted to go and play with the other kids. Not a good thing in a pool.
Then we decided to walk the streets of Rosslyn to find something for dinner. We found a place called Chipotle. A generic, Cafe Rio-type restruarant. Not too bad...but NOT the RIO! It was full of cilantro...almost so that you couldn't taste anything but cilantro. Aidan fell fast asleep on the walk there.
A steak burrito. Not too bad...all the cilantro tried to kill Ann.
Lorraine enjoying her tacos. YUM!
On the walk home we found a McDonald's and got some McFlurries and nuggets for the now awake child. Then we walked back to the hotel. On the way back I tried to take a picture of a very interesting church. Next time we pass it during the day...I will post the picture...we find it very entertaining.
Now we are back at the hotel and blogging. I believe it is now time to play some card games....
This morning I woke up to this....
Aidan smiling in his semi-awake, semi-asleep...I don't know if I want to be awake or alseep stage cuddled next to Brian. I love these pictures!We got ready and then headed out to Mount Vernon to meet up with Stephanie and Amy. The drive took us a while to get there but we finally found one of the supposed 20 Wal-Marts in the area and 3 Targets and lots of food places for later. When we got to Mount Vernon...the parking lots were packed! We had to drive around for a little bit to find one. Then we unloaded everything and headed to meet with Amy and Stephanie.
We had to wait in a pretty long line but it went by quickly. Good company and conversation helps. This is the front side of Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon, for those who don't know, was George Washington's Plantation. What a grand looking estate...even for today's standards.
A beautiful view of the Potomac River...from the back of the house. We were unable to take pictures inside the house, due to copyright issues. Sorry. But to see what we saw you can search the web. About 50 % of the artifacts in the house were truly from the time that Washington lived there. The other 50 % are replicas. 
A view of the back of the Plantation house. What a beautiful grand view. Sitting in these chairs you can look out onto the Potomac River.
Can you spot Aidan, Stephanie, Amy and Ann? Look at the first pillar on the left...that is our little cluster of people. Behind the pillar on the right is Brian.
The last time I came to Mount Vernon it was 2005 and rainy. So we didn't see much. This time it was pretty warm (according to my melting standards). And I am pretty sure Aidan agreed. We were able to go inside the visitors center and use the restroom and get some cold drinks (water!). Aidan wanted to get some wiggles out. So we let him wiggle around. He found the nice cool floor and all he did was lay on it. The other people that passed us laughed. I was both cute and embarassing.
Once we toured the grounds and saw the exhibit, we all walked out to the van for lunch. We brought some lunch meat and stuff to make for a cheap meal. During the sandwich making/ picnic/ tailgating experience Ann fell into the the cubby of the van. Poor Ann....she got stuck. And then to add to the being stuck she couldn't quit laughing...and then I had to go get the camera before anyone could help her out. Sorry Ann...but it was a funny sight. Aidan got mad and scared at this time and wanted out, away from what was happening.
Preparing our lunches in the back of the van...mmmmm...lunch!
Some very unafraid squirrels decided they wanted to come and eat our food. Aidan decided to feed them...he had fun.
Driving back from Mount Vernon....Pat driving and Brian navigating.
The rest of us enjoying the ride...Lorraine is hiding behind my head.
On our way back to the hotel we found a Wal-Mart and bought some more supplies. When we arrived at the hotel Ann, Katie, Aidan and Brian decided to go swimming. The pool was pretty full but we had fun until Aidan wanted to go and play with the other kids. Not a good thing in a pool.
Then we decided to walk the streets of Rosslyn to find something for dinner. We found a place called Chipotle. A generic, Cafe Rio-type restruarant. Not too bad...but NOT the RIO! It was full of cilantro...almost so that you couldn't taste anything but cilantro. Aidan fell fast asleep on the walk there.
A steak burrito. Not too bad...all the cilantro tried to kill Ann. 
Lorraine enjoying her tacos. YUM!
On the walk home we found a McDonald's and got some McFlurries and nuggets for the now awake child. Then we walked back to the hotel. On the way back I tried to take a picture of a very interesting church. Next time we pass it during the day...I will post the picture...we find it very entertaining.
Now we are back at the hotel and blogging. I believe it is now time to play some card games....
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