D.C. - Day 2

We started off our day with a trip to Arlington National Cemetary.  There was a lot more walking so this was a bit tougher for the kids with sore feet and thirsty bodies but watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was worth it.  It's about a 15 minute process which is very precise and respectful.  Amazing to think that they do this AT LEAST once every hour, AROUND the clock, in ALL weather and every day! 

Arlington is simply a sight to behold and to remember what great sacrifices have been made in the pursuit and protection of freedom.  I first visited here in college and it was even more powerful to bring my children.

After Arlington, we met me sister and her friend at an Ethiopian Restaurant.  The food was wonderful and for the first time, even my 3 other children found something on the plate that they could eat willingly. :)  Not usually the case but the food was great and it was in the heart of the city rather than the tourist area.  Even that was an adventure for us country folks.

By now we were ready to head to the National Air & Space Museum.   There was an amazing amount of stuff to see - hanging everywhere you looked.  I can see why this is the most popular museum in the country.  The kids loved it and as it was smaller, we were able to rush through it in about 3 hours. 

Here are the kids with the Wright Brothers, sort of. :)  We did actually get to see their plane, The Kittyhawk.  It's amazing to think of how far air travel has gone in such a relatively short amount of time.

We made it back to the hotel to get the van and headed back to the Grandparents for the night.  The kids loved that we again got to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (5 miles long) which they think is SUPER cool!  We didn't see everything we wanted to in DC but there is only so much you can do in 2 days.

Washington D.C - Day 1

The much anticipated aspect of this trip was our nation's capital.  Last school year we studied American History so this was quite a way to finish it off and also to launch us for next year.  Icing on the cake was that my sister met us in the city and spent some time catching up with us (Thanks Aunt Susie!).  It was so hard to choose some photos to represent our time here but here is my snapshot view. 

The kids were quite surprised to see how tiny the Washington Monument was.  Spiderman was ready to put this in his pocket to bring it home. :)  Actually, he spent the week squinting at everything thanks to those glasses sitting in the Atlantic somewhere.

Jaybird and Goose each tried their hand at reading from a teleprompter at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History.  I don't recall what speech Goose picked but Jaybird read Regan's famous speech, "... Mr. Gorbechev, tear down that wall!"  Though you can't see it in this photo, the scene behind him substitued his body in the same scene where Regan was supposed to be.

And here they are at a piece of that actual wall.

I'm not sure the occassion but the Marine Corp band was playing a concert while we were at the World War II Memorial.  Awe inspiring!  It was a pretty warm day and I marvelled at their stamina to play in full dress uniform.  

We took a short break to reflect in the fountain and relieve our ACHING feet!  After spending 7 hours in the History museum and walking the National Mall to see the monuments, every one of us could barely walk.  This was only a temporary reprieve.

My man cringed at how much these shirts made us look like tourists but who are we kidding, most everyone there was a tourist.  The kids loved it and the size and scope of the Monuments was worthy of some patriotic shirts.  This city has the unique ability to stir up a deep sense of pride in what God has done in our nation over the years.

This photo is precious to me.  While visiting the Vietnam War Memorial, the woman in black struck up a conversation with me.  As it turns out, she and her mother (also pictured) had just attended a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetary to honor her father, Richard Castillo.  He had been shot down over Laos 38 years ago and that afternoon had been laid to rest at Arlington.  The story is powerful enough on its own but she also shared with me how her mother had raised 6 children without a father and that her faith in God has carried her all these years.  Then she insisted that I meet her mother and see her father's name engraved on the wall.  It was very emotional for me but I thanked them for their sacrifice, losing a father and a husband.   This meeting was a precious highlight.

By the time we were finished for the day, we were exhausted and very hungry.  We never really stopped for lunch (just snacks) and by now it was 9:00 pm.  Some locals guided us to a small burger joint called Ollie's Trolley that they considered to be in walking distance from the mall (our feet disagreed but we kept on).   We ordered too much food but made short work of all of it.  It's never tasted better.

Then began our trek back to the hotel.  We'd used the metro to get around that day and this was a first "subway experience" for all of us country bumpkins.  To Jaybird it was just an underground train and he has ALWAYS loved trains!  Everything about the metro was exciting to the kids and on this night, we missed our shuttle back to the hotel so we even added on the kids first taxi ride to their list of new things.  We collapsed at the hotel by 10:30 pm and dreamt about the next day.

Fort Delaware

Grandma had a fun, historical surprise for us planned for the middle of our week.  We made a trip out to Pea Patch Island by ferry for a living history demonstration of the Civil War era.  The Fort functioned as a Prison Camp for Confederate soldiers and for our afternoon, it was stocked full of convincing tour guides whose interpretive tour really made the times come alive for us.  We experienced everything from the infirmary, kitchens, armory, blacksmith shop and more.  I must say the guides were quite convincing that they actually live 1864 on a daily basis - in all it's glory.  I highly recommend it for anyone near Delaware.

Here is Grandma with her 6 grandchildren.  It was an added bonus that Teal & Andrew (kids cousins) got to come along with us for the afternoon.  Our kids think they are great and we had a better chance to really catch up with them throughout the day.

Spiderman was chosen to help in the demo of the 32 lb. gun being fired by the soldiers.  He handled his part well, to the applause of the sizable audience , and proudly took this photo with a couple of the guys.  For a kid obsessed with battles, bombs and bullets - this was a perfect fit!

Jaybird was more obsessed with his quest of exploration.  With map in hand, he led our group through the bowels of the fort, looking for the dungeon.  While we found some neat, somewhat creepy, rooms and he managed to make sure we found the roof, no dungeons were located.  Did I mention that he was ALL about his map?

Then there was this handsome guy.  I'm not exactly sure of the size of the guns stationed on the roof of the Fort but the size of his "guns" are pretty impressive. :)

Atlantic Ocean

These guys were SO excited to see the ocean and as you can see, they jumped for joy when we got there.  Unfortunately the one day we planned for the beach happened to be the coolest day of the week.  71 degrees is really too cold if anyone is asking but blue lips and shivers will not keep my crazy kids out of the water. 

It was the first time for Spiderman to see the ocean but it had been long enough for the others that this was like Disneyland.  Collecting shells, building sand castles, boogie boarding and getting buried in the sand.  Even enjoying some of the wildlife.  We had a great day (me in my sweatshirt) and the only downfall was Spiderman lost his glasses in the surf a short time into the day.  He was bummed as it meant a LOT of squinting for the rest of the week.

Special Reunions

Once we arrived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, we had time to reconnect with family that we haven't seen in 4 years.  Here are the kids with their cousin who used to come out in the summers when she (and my kids) were much younger.  They still hold her as very special due to those old memories.  Personally, I just can't believe she's all grown up now and in college!?!

Here is my man with his big brother.  These two are such a hoot to listen to when they get together.  It's only too bad that neither one of them has a heartfelt opinion about anything.  :)  (HA!)

Here is the bigger shot of our little party.  Aunt Liz came down from Delaware and we all enjoyed some yummy wings (thanks Jo-Ann) and other goodies while we caught up.  Unlike back home, the weather was pretty nice and relatively cool all week.

Earlier that morning we made an impromptu stop at an old Mennonite School my man attended for several years.  It was going to be a quick stop but we ran into someone he knew and before you know it, the crowd kept growing.  Even as an "outsider", it was fun to listen to the stories and connections being remade over those 2 hours.

Another special reunion happened 2 days later when we got to see Mumum & Pupup at their home.  At 91 and 98 years old, we weren't sure last time we visited if we would ever get to see them again.  As it was, we had a delightful visit and were happy to introduce them to Spiderman for the first time.  All of us were glad to connect with them again despite their failing bodies.  Isn't this man with his Grandma sweet?

Here are the kids with Pupup.  They love to tell anyone who will listen about their Great Grandpa who is almost 100 years old.

Road Trip 2010

Since it had been 4 years since returning to my man's childhood stomping grounds, we decided we were overdue.  We started out by stopping for the night in Xenia, OH to visit my old friend and roomie, Sandy.  She has always been a sweet friend and had shared her home, family and life with me during my final college years.  How fun to introduce her to my kids and catch up on what God has done for each of us over the years. 

On our way out of town, we swung past our old college campus, now called Cedarville Universtiy.  It was deserted, going on a Sunday during summer break, but we marvelled at how much it has grown and changed physically in the past 15 years.  We will always treasure the years we spent there, the friends made and the spouses met. :)

For a 20 hour drive out, the kids all did great.  They had proven that to us last year and we again had a fun adventure.  As I took HUNDREDS of photos on this trip, I'll have to sum it all up but I will post things separately as they happened.  Stay tuned....

Special Friends = special memories

We were so blessed to have another great visit with our friends, the Morbys.  They drove out of their way in order to stop for a few days and let their kids reconnect with ours.  Spiderman and his buddy have been friends from Ethiopia BEFORE they each ended up in an orphanage.  They arrived in America within a month of each other and while they are on opposite sides of the country, God has allowed them to stay connected.  This is their third visit with each other in America.  His big sis just happens to be good friends with Hope so they both get a special treat when they visit. 

Another fringe benefit of these visits is that I've become good friends with Matt's Momma.  Cindy seems to be cut from the same cloth as Lori and since Lori & I are such good friends, naturally I click with Cindy as well.  I am so blessed to have these more experienced mommas to encourage me in my own journey.  Not only that, they are fun!

Here are some jewels...

This is the boys last week and below is the photo of them back in 2008.  Lord willing I will have many more similar photos of the boys over the years.