Washington DC Trip

Dad and I were so fortunate to be able to go tour DC for Spring Break. We took a group of 17 middle school kids and three other adults with us. It was a fantastic trip with a lot of adventures and inspiring moments.

The trip started rough with our chartered bus not showing up to drive us to the airport, so we stayed up all night driving to the airport and then flying to DC. By the time we got to DC we were hammered and hadn't slept much in over 36 hours!! Being so excited helped us stay awake.

This is a sampling of the places we went. It would take too long to post every picture and talk about every place, so here are a few picts.

The first picture is us on the Potomac River.

Farther down is a picture of our tour guide Roy and his train whistle that he would blow whenever he wanted us to gather or follow him somewhere. He was such a great guide. He had so many stories to tell about everything.

I think he talked almost non-stop and everything was sooo interesting.

Below him is a picture of the 9-11 memorial near the Pentagon. Each person who died has one of these benches dedicated to their memory. We thought they resembled airplane wings.

While we were at the Arlington Cemetery we saw this black, horse drawn cart. It was pretty dramatic and special to have been there for that solemn occasion.

The silly picture of Richard in the National Gallery of Art you will only understand if you look carefully in the background for a statue doing the same thing (he, he.)

We were lucky to be able to spend an evening with Gary (Dad's brother) and his family. Our hotel was only 20 minutes from their home.

When we got home our kids welcomed us home with a big Welcome Home sign and we gave them some fun souvenirs and these shirts. They were very good for our babysitter and all survived the week without us.

Alice in Wonderland

Last week I took the kids to see the Eugene Ballet Co. perform Alice in Wonderland. It was very clever and the props and costumes were so much fun!! The youngest two were more entranced with this performance than with any others we have taken them to. It was a great experience all around.

Let's Go Fly a KIte!

This is a picture I shot of the kids after we had gone kite flying at the track last Saturday. They had so much fun. These kites are some that their Grandpa Vance gave them a few years ago. J Man had a kite but it was a dollar store kite and of course it broke. The other kids were kind and let him have a chance to fly their kites. I made Baby R this little "kite" out of a plastic bag and string. It is just the right thing for a kid her age and won't break or disappoint.

It's Always Fun When Grandpa Comes

I don't know if any of you remember the old primary song about when Grandpa comes, but that is how we feel when our Grandpa Baughman comes for a visit. He stops over when he can on his way north or south as he is traveling to and from home. We love his frequent visits and the kids are so fortunate to live somewhat close to one of their grandpas. On this visit we went out to Elmer's. The kids had a great time choosing what to eat and coloring their little books. I was so thankful not to have to cook dinner that night as I was leaving the next day for a trip. Thanks Grandpa, we love you.

Here are the song lyrics:

It's always fun when Grandpa comes, when Grandpa comes horray!

He always says the kindest things and in the kindest way.

He has a wrinkly, twinkly smile, he's jolly all the day.

It's always fun for everyone when Grandpa comes!!

Pasta Fest

Last week my friend Leanne and I spent five hours making pasta salad for her stepson's wedding. We were in olive oil and garlic heaven. Leanne makes the BEST Italian food--she is, after all, half Italian. And even better, she loves to feed it to me. I love her food!!

Olympics Recital

The kids, along with some of their friends, participated in this Olympics recital. They had to talk about the piece before they played it. It was a fantastic recital.

Unfortunately, the recital was proceeded by a huge storm that scared the kids and blew trees over in the city. Luckily, no one was hurt and the storm passed before we had to leave the house for the recital.

It was an exciting day!!

Peace Out

Lady K's 10 year old party was a peace theme. It was hilarious to plan all the activities and the food. We had peace pizza and cake, we played a game involving moving jellybeans with the suction through a straw, another involving passing life savers with toothpicks and a game where the girls designed an outfit for their models using duct tape, tissue and news paper. It was a great group and a ton of fun. Happy Birthday sister.

Cast Your Vote

Which do you like better, the haircut that Baby R gave herself, or the one I gave her afterwards?

Double Birthday

Dad and Lady K love to celebrate their birthdays together. Don't ask me what the math is for figuring out the candle on the cake, but somehow they represent that Lady K is 10 and Dad is 36. Happy Birthday guys.

Two Concerts

We have just been to two concerts that, sadly, were not captured in pictures because the batteries were out. One was the Youth Orchestra concert that our two oldest participated in.

The second was a fantastic concert by the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra. We were delighted to hear yet another concert by internationally renowned musicians. They played a very interesting piece by Prokofiev and then finished with a piece by Tchaikovsky. The audience was so impressed that they got standing ovations and received a double encore. That was fun to experience and the kids were really interested in the process of getting an orchestra to play encore pieces. It was a ton of fun and our whole family got to attend. Even the little ones were able to sit through the concert. Miracle.

Tenderfoot

Our brave little 11-year-old scout just received his tenderfoot rank. I say brave because he had to camp in December to receive this rank so quickly. He has had fantastic leaders who have helped him to achieve this goal. Way to go bud.

Happy Valentines

Happy Valentines. Do you sense a theme with me. Any occasion can be celebrated with a pizza, as long as you shape it right.