DC Vacation Continued

I love this picture of Riley. He was completely out while we were navigating through everything at Arlington National Cemetery.
Watching the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was ______. I don't know what to say. It was sad to walk through this cemetery where so many have given their life for me, my family, our nation. It was inspiring at the same time, by their selfless acts of giving their life. It was humbling too. I wander what some of these fallen soldiers would say about the state of our government today. Rows and rows of headstones, all white, some more weathered than others but all a small stone of remembrance of one that gave his/her life for the betterment of many. I'm truly thankful for them.
Ellie's turn to take a nap while on our way to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The World War II Memorial. It was so much bigger than I remembered it.

Epic DC Vacation - Day 1 & Day 2

Oh, dear blog following friends, our DC family vacation was quite a trip. My side of the family joined us in DC for five days in our nations capital. It turned out to be much more than we expected. On day one, Griff got into a car accident just .3 miles from our vacation rental (he was picking up Shannon, Nicole and Tyler from the airport). On day 2, we lost the only set of keys to the rental car (we got the rental because of what transpired day 1). The car was conveniently parked between a cement wall and a cement pillar in the Ronald Regan International building parking garage, which required Griff, my dad, my brother and some valet attendants to physically move it in order for the tow truck to be able to tow it. Day 3 was full of rain, wet kids, wet adults and an exhausted Ellie and Mommy. Day 4, praise the Lord an uneventful tour of Arlington National Cemetery and I got a date with my Hubby. Day 5, was full of tears good-bye.

That is the short of it. Day 1, possibly the longest day ever, wasn't my favorite day but I'm glad everyone was okay. We didn't get to do anything the first day except talk to AAA, tow truck drivers and get situated in our house. It was a great house with plenty of room for all of us and a great price. If anyone is ever looking for a place to stay in Alexandria, Virginia let me know.

I know you all really just want pictures so here you go, starting with Day 2...


The start of our day, happy kids, happy adults and the National Mall awaiting us.
A great family photo in front of the Lincoln Memorial. (We are happy because we haven't yet discovered the keys are missing.)
Isn't this a great photo! I don't want to brag, but I will. Our three kids were so well behaved and such troopers. We hauled them all over town well past nap time and there were only a few little mini meltdowns.
There were three Chinese ladies at the Lincoln Memorial that just LOVED Ellie. They wanted their picture taken with her. She didn't like them holding her so Griff held her while the women took turns posing with our cutie.
The newly constructed but still undedicated (due to hurricane Irene) Martin Luther King Memorial. It really was beautiful. It over looks the Potomac River and the Jefferson Memorial.
Wrapping up our walking tour. It was about 2pm, the kids were doing great. It was just after this that we discovered the keys were missing and the next saga begins.

Ellie's Owie

Ellie hit the 15 month mark on the 28th of August and to celebrate she decided to trip over a toy, hit her head on Riley's barn and take her first trip to Urgent Care. It was quite a Monday and not at all what I was planning, but are trips to Urgent Care ever on the agenda? She barely fussed about the gash over her eye which made it hard for me to know if I needed to take her somewhere and get it looked at or let it go. I sent a quick picture text to Griff of the wound and he thought I should take her. So, we piled into the van, adrenaline pumping, and headed off to Urgent Care via the McHugh's house so Riley could stay there and play with Owen while Ellie got stitched or glued.
Ellie was an amazing trooper. She really didn't cry and even when we got to Urgent Care she was talking to the receptionist and nurse, blowing them kisses and saying, "hi". The doctor brought great news that she didn't need stitches just some glue and before you knew it she was glued up and happy as could be. The doctor and nurse couldn't even believe how good she was. We didn't have to restrain her or anything. :-) I like to think she gets this easy going temperament from me but any trip to the ER I've had involved a lot of crying.
So, here we are now, a week later, back at home doing just fine. It doesn't seem to bother her at all, except when you ask her where her eye is she points to the owie instead.
This Labor Day weekend has been a good one for us. We have tackled a couple home improvement projects, the big one being repainting a bedroom. It is a calming shade of blue called "Morning Jog". It doesn't' make me want to go for a jog but I do love the color. Last night we blew the air mattress up in the living room and the kids have loved playing on it. This morning, since it was misty outside we stayed put and watched "Up". Ellie loved laying on the bed and relaxing as you can see.

The Great Outdoors

Of all the areas to play in our yard the kids seem to gravitate to the front flowerbed, which isn't much of a flowerbed at all. Ellie loves to chew on the rocks. Riley likes to "plow" the dirt with a mop. He got quiet this morning when he was playing around the holly bush and I got nervous he was eating them. When I got close I asked him what he was doing and he said he was cleaning the bush, pulling all the holly berries off! Sure enough, as I looked at the ground it was covered with little red berries.

A Little Bit of Ellie

For the last couple of months we have been trying to wean Ellie off of her pacifier during naps and at bedtime. It was going pretty well. But, I'm a weak willed Mommy and when my baby girl cries I just want to comfort her anyway I can. So, least to say she is still getting it at nap time. :-) Ellie is quite creative though and found this lternative to a pacifier. Do you remember the small Tupperware playsets with the pitcher, plates and cups. I had them growing up and now my kids are playing with it. Ellie has turned the lid of the pitcher into her personal pacifier. Smart girl!

An August Update

These pictures are all from July when my parents came for a visit. My mom captured all the photos, which is why she isn't in any. We had a great time together. The kids got to play in the pool, Riley enjoyed some Poppy time, we had our first taste of corn on the cob for the summer and got to have a couple fires with smores!

It Turned Out Great!

This day turned out great! Last night I went to bed early with a migraine. Yuck. I'm sick of them and the way they effect not only me but the whole family. This morning I woke up with the same migraine but some high powered incredibly expensive medicine eventually helped.
But, all things considered it was a wonderful day. I survived the morning, the kids took great naps, which gave me some much needed quiet time and then Griff got home before Riley even woke up! And then it got fun. :-)
On a whim (and thanks to a coupon) we decided to all go out to dinner. I thought I may be asking for another migraine taking two kids out to a restaurant but they were so well behaved and enjoyable it was incredible. They were full of giggles the whole meal, Riley said "please" and "thank you" without being prompted, the kids ate well, nothing was spilled, there was no screaming, no one asked us to leave the building, and some older women at another table told us how wonderful they thought our kids were. Now, all of that makes this Mommy really proud. I think the highlight of the meal for me was when Riley found out he was getting ice cream. He raised his hands in sheer delight and excitedly said, "ICE CREAM!" He as on cloud nine. And when the ice cream sundae arrived with whip cream and chocolate chips and smiled with delight. In true Riley fashion he picked the chocolate chips off first and then moved on to the whip cream but he also willing shared it with Griff. "You want some, Daddy?" It was the sweetest thing ever and just made my heart melt. He would take a few bites himself and then share with Griff. And the sweet boy cried when it was all gone.
After the incredibly successful dinner we decided to head to Lowes to look at a couple things. Riley was excited to ride on a "mow-mow" and Ellie just loves being in the cart and looking at everything. Once inside I had to go to the restroom, and as I was walking back out to find them I could hear Riley yelling, "Mommy, where are you?" It's nice to know I was missed. :-) We finished looking at stuff and were heading out the door and Riley was waving to everyone and Ellie was blowing kisses. Seriously, what has gotten into my kids? Whatever it is I love it!
We came back home, put diapers and jammies on, brushed teeth and then Ellie went to bed. Riley wanted to read to us so we got to hear his version of one of his Sesame Street books. We eventually told him, "Good night", turned off the light and shut the door.
Now, Griff lays on the couch with his Bible open but eyes closes, clearly sleeping, as he has been for the last thirty minutes or so. It's been a long day for all of us. It started a little harder than most days but I thank the Lord for His faithfulness and mercy, because this day turned out great!