We began our next day in DC again on the metro. Still a hit. It tickles me to think about how happy that train made the kids. Today we had decided to spend our day exploring the Smithsonian or at least a few of thier museums. They have SO much neat stuff.. I dont think you could ever really see it all. Espeically since the collections and exhibits are constantly changing. We were pretty silly today as you will see. We took our time today and just saw what we wanted. It was the most walking we did of the trip. That said it was totally exhausting!Here is T2 playing with a snack on the metro. Unfortunatly today the weather did not cooperate. It was raining BUCKETS when we got to our Metro stop… but we arent scared of a little (ok.. a lot) water. By the time we made it the 10 or so blocks to our first planned stop we were ten times wetter than a school of trout. But it didnt take us toooo long to dry out. The first museum we went to was the National Air and Space Museum. It was full of all things space-ish. There were tons of science-nerd activities and exhibits.

There were lots of hands on things to try and learn about.. this is a heat camera.. look how hot Thing One’s head is! I look like I am giving the camera a “thumbs up” but really I am holding a guidebook!

I dont guess we are “space people” since it wasnt very long at all and we were ready to move on to something new… After a STUPENDOUSLY expensive lunch in the caffeteria we headed back out into the mist (thank goodness it wasnt the monsoon it had been though!) to The National Museum of the American Indian. This is one of the less popular attractions.. but since Steven and T1 are PeeDee Indian and T2 is 1/4 Alaska Native we thought it might be fun to check out.. and it really was a beautiful Museum.. the archetecture is amazing. It is built to look like a cave or something, and has water features running throughout it. This was taken after we finished the museum … because as you can see the sky was so pretty and the weather wa finally cleared up. PERFECT and warm and amazing. The side of the building was all bumpy not unlike stucko. There were pretty flowers planted all along the way and little kiosks to read as you walked along.. its a good thing too.. because it was a TREK to American Indian from air and space!

We found this totem near the Alaska Native section.. Its from a tribe not that disntant from T1’s. We thought we were very funny.

There was a really neat movie shown here about American Indian story telling traditions. It reminded me a lot of the begining of Illuminations at WDW.  T1 was convinced it would be a boring reel to reel like in SC history at home.. she wasnt THAT far off. But I enjoyed it. Steven certainly did! After we explored the Indian tribes of America and saw thier beadwork and tons of other indian artifacts.. including a pretty neat display of bibles translated into all the different languages of the tribes. We began the trek to the National Museum of Natural History. Let me tell you… those maps? Decievers. It looked like it wasnt that far away.. But the mall is built to look shorter than it is.. a total deception. I thought my legs might just fall right off! By the time we fianlly made it we were pretty tired.

It was totally time for a snack.  One of our tour guides mentioned that this museum had HUGE rice krispie treats to be had.. so of course the Things wanted to find one.. we didnt have to look to far!

We had a really nice rest in the pretty attrium of the caffeteria. One thing I noticed was the attention to detail in these places. They really know how to deal with crowds… I cant imagine being here int he summertime. totally insane!

Thing One decided to go with a yummy looking pudding parfait thingee. I had a fruit cup and we shared a soda.. it was 20$ or something. They sure know you are a captive audience when it comes to snack food! But … it was just what we needed before tackling the daunting museum. That place was HUGE HUGE HUGE I love this  shot of Thing Two and Steven.. he and T1 didnt get in so many pics because they were the ones with the cameras! I hate that about having photobugs in the family… next trip we take I plan to have a camera of my own to take some of THEM!

This is a pretty iconic shot.. this elephant has been in the smithsonian since the 20’s and people love it.  We were also pretty punchy by this time and it struck us as funny.. i have no idea why.

After the elephant we headed for the hall of dinosaurs.. Both girls were VERY excited to see the dinosaur bones. It was a first for all of us and we were so excited! It totally cracks me up that in every picture we have in here T2 is making this terrible dinosaur face. I love it.

What very scary dinos I have!

This is the hope diamond. T2 had been very exicted to see the jewels in the geology exhibit. There were tons of amazing jewels. Including some earrings that once belonged to Marie Antoinette.  They were akk saphires and diamonds that were the size of baking potatoes. They were beautiful… I could handle some like that for SURE.

After the jewels we headed over to the “boy” area… Orkin’s National BUG ZOO. I was totally not interested. So I sat and checked in with my parents and drank a coffee. The kids had a good time.. and Steven was like a little boy. SO tickled with all of the butterflies and flowers. He couldnt have been happier.

After the bugs we were pretty tired, and we were going out to dinner with Lisa and Pete so we headed back to the Metro. We got there about 730 and got ready to head out to dinner. Lisa was napping (and I was so glad. her cold worried me all week!) so the girls told “Mr Pete” all about thier fun day. He made them feel so important and had T2 in absolute hysterics. He is going to make a great Daddy some day!

  When Lisa woke up we headed out to thier favorite (and now mine.. mmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about it!) chinese place. It was so amazing. I am a notorious plate sampler and I tried a bite off of everyones plate and everything was SO SO good (funny story.. Lisa offered me a shrimp off of her plate.. I snaked a sessame chicken from T2 and a bite of duck from Steven and then snagged some general Tso’s from T1… Pete looks around the table  and then places a bite of his dinner on my plate.. saying “I dont want to feel left out” heh. that guy cracks me up) I love taking people I care about to “my places” when they come to visit. And Lisa and Pete did that with us. It made us feel so special. Ive said it a few times.. but they were GREAT hosts. I REALLY hope that someday they can come south so that we can return the favor!

       SUPER full we returned to the house and Lisa and I again sat up wayyy to late talking. I miss having girlfriends closeby and it was nice to be able to chat with her without worrying about cell charges and the like. Seems like we are so busy we dont have time for chats like that.. and I am finding the more that I connect with Lisa.. the more I look forward to the next time we get to spend together.. She and Pete are good people.

Our second day started out pretty early. After confering with the locals it was agreed that we would drive to a Park and Ride location in nearby Green-belt MD. We were inexperienced with the Metro, but it didnt take us long to get the hang of it. What a neat way to get around! The girls loved it!.

Every day I would ask them what thier favorite thing of the day was.. and every single time Thing Two responded. “THE METRO!” I really gotta get these girls out more often! One thing that T2 was pretty pumped about was riding an escalator. Im pretty sure she rode one at WDW.. but she doesnt remember it. It was darn cute to see her get all excited whenever we saw them. Lucky for here there are tons of big buildings and escalators to ride in DC!

When we got to DC and Union Station were were AMAZED at how beautiful it was.. I expected just another train station, but the archetecture was amazing. We loved all the marble and the ceiling was SO SO pretty

After we explored the train station The kiosks were open, and we bought fare on the “Tourmobile” a bus tour of the city that allows you to jump on and off at different stops throughout the city. I wholeheartedly reccomend them. They had great tour-guides and the stops were convienient to everything we wanted to see. They are also the only NPS regulated driving tour of Arlington National Cemetary which is AMAZING. For the price you pay is totally worth just not having to walk the tens of thousands of miles of sidewalk. In retrospect Id have bought the two day tickets for us and done it longer. You just get to see so much and while the metro is handy, its complicated.

This is the view of the Capital building from the tour. The raised flag indicated that the senate  and congress was in session! Exciting to know that they were making government work right before our eyes! As we rode along the tour guides gave us so many neat stories and history on the city. I learned so much that I didnt know! One thing we learned was about the Washington Monument. If you look closely you will notice that about a third of the way up the stone changes color.. this was because that the building of the monument was stalled during the civil war. When the war was over and funds were available again to resume building, it was discovered that all of the quartz at the original level was used up! Having to dig in a nother section of the quarry resulted in stone that was a different color. Pretty interesting   We rode the entire loop and had a quick lunch back at Union Station.They have an AMAZING food court there.. pretty much any food youve ever heard of.. I had Greek, Steven had NY Deli, T1 had italian and T2 had burgers (boring, typical. She klings to the familiar when it comes to food.)  After lunch we got back on the tour and continued. It was EXHAUSTING! So much walking. I feel like we walked a gajillion miles that week. PHEW! There really is just so so much to see there. The beautiful cherry blossoms were blooming all over washington. We learned on our tour that there are THOUSANDS of the trees in the city and they were oringinally a gift from the city of Tokyo.. and that the fist trees were planted near the Jefferson memorial by Helen Taft and the  then Japanese ambassador’s wife. They gave the whole area a kind misty magical look… it was amazing to see.. especially when the wind blew. It was like you were in some kind of really weird snowstorm! The petals would just FLY!

The girls really enjoyed seeing everything they had been learning about in school. Thing Two had deffinate ideas about where she wanted her picture made. I just LOVE this one. She looks so excited! It was taken from the base of the Lincoln Memorial. I was surprised to see how BIG he was!

Thing Two was hoping she’d be able to have her picture made in his lap.. I tired explaining that if every American had her picture made in the lap of the statue that it would fall apart.. but she was still disgusted at the red ropes around the base of the statue. ugh.

We thought it was pretty neat to get to see the President’s house.. to bad the Obama’s werent at home! (there were in Europe attending a peace conference)

Something I found really interesting was my children’s reactions to the war memorials. I expected to have to remind them again and again of the solemnity of the places.. that those were sacred spaces and that we should respond accordingly.. but I didnt have to even say anything to them.  They totally got it.  The vietnam memorial was epesically so.. It was so quiet there and you got such a sense of mourning. As we bgean to walk the legnth of the wall T2 took my hand and quietly asked about the reasons for it. When I explained it to her.. it brought tears to my eyes when she said “Why did we let that happen?” I didnt have an answer for her at all..

Our last stop of the day was Arlington National Cemetary.. and our favorite. I didnt expect it to be so moving. We boarded a different bus for the tour of the cemetary and as we made our way through the place it made me feel so proud and priveliged to be an American. How could you not feel like that surrounded by thousands of heros who had given thier lives in service to preserve MY rights?

We got to see the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknowns and that was really neat. After the ceremony there was a lady that crossed the red ropes and the soldier actually cocked his riffle and aimed it at her! He hollered at her “STEP BEHIND THE RED BARRIER ROPE!!” It was a little disconcerting… after all.. its a GRAVE.. dead guys are in there. It was very clear that they take thier job very seriously! The Kennedy gravesite and the eternal flame there was interesting to see too. I never did find out if John Kennedy Junior was burried there too… sounds like a job for GOOGLE!  The Cherry blossoms were blooming up there too.. we wanted to take a picture of each tree.. (and I think we may have tried! This picture was taken at the base of the stairs to the Kennedy gravesite. We also toured the Arlington House Manor mansion.. it was very neat. George Washington’s son lived there and his daughter married a young man she met growing up there on the plantation… his name was Robert E Lee.. betcha didnt know that!  The view from Arlington House is AMAZING. You can see the whole city. It was pretty cloudy and misty the day we were there…but I bet on a clear day you could see forever. Ive also seen some pretty amazing night shots from there.. Next time we are in the area we plan to do a night tour of the city.. I imagine its beautiful all lit up.

After we toured Arlington we headed back to our car via the metro. It seemed a much longer ride coming back! We were totally exhausted. When we finally got back to Baltimore and to Lisa and Petes it was nearly 8pm! I felt so bad getting back so late since they had dinner almost ready when we got in. But Pete had worked later than normal so I felt a little better when we found out he hadnt been home that long. Lisa made bugers and hotdogs and the BEST mac and cheese and a cucumber salad ( I cant wait to make it this summer with our overabundance of fresh cukes we get from my Dad’s garden) . After dinner we sent the girls to bed and stayed up later than we should talking. It was so special to get to spend some time with my friend. (even though she should have been in bed early with her terrible cold)

YAY! I am FINALLY getting around to telling you all about our WONDERFUL trip to Washington DC/Baltimore.  As I mentioned before we had a really great time. It was a well deserved few days off!

We started out on a wednesday morning. I had to work that day.. so I had us all ready to head out the night before. Steven and I got the van packed and everything all set and sent the girls off to school that morning to get checked in to recieve thier homework. At 10 Steven, who had already picked the kids up flew into Shoney’s and scooped me up. We were on our way. I zapped Lisa a text message once we got on the road. I was so excited to see her and the gang up there in MD!

 I am a notorious road trip napper. I am a terrible companion, mostly because I get carsick and have to take meds.. that usually render me a zombie. Having stayed up late the night before and then been at work at 545 I was soon totally asleep I woke hours later when we slowed for a terrible traffic jam somewhere in NC. There was single lanes for MILES and miles. I never actually saw anyone working on the roads.. just miles and miles of cones.

After several hours we FINALLY passed the construction and stopped for a quick lunch at Chick-fil-a. We have a strict vacation rule about eating out.. we never eat anywhere that we can eat at home.. being that we dont have a chick-fil-a it fit the rule. YAY. I love me some nuggets! Thing Two also is VERY happy with that choice.   After lunch I settled back in and promptly fell back asleep. Thing Two watched a marathon of Captain jack movies. She loves the pirates of the caribbean. It was so cute to hear her giggling through the movies. And who doesnt just love some pirate action when on the road?

Thing One is a woman after my own heart and napped most of the ride. I slept all the way until we got to King’s Dominion to gas up and let the girls see the roller coaster. They are both SURE that a trip there is quite neccesary!

It wasnt long and we were at the washington/baltimore parkway. It seemed like a really quick trip. We got through DC traffic really easily and it didnt seem long and we were pulling up at Pete and Lisa’s!  My girls were so excited to finally meet these sweet friends face to face.  When we arrived Alyssa was visiting and it was AMAZING to see how much she had grown since we last saw her in November! I was so happy that she warmed right up to us and played with the girls. Thing Two had a great time chasing her around while adults chatted and Lisa finished up the AMAZING BBQ chicken nachos she made us for dinner.  Alyssa played and pretty much has the run of the house. The thing’s won her heart quickly with a can of cheetos and some “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! She does the CUTEST little dance to the them music. SO darn cute.. it tickled me that her Uncle Pete walked around most of the time we were there humming the song!

 The girls had so much fun playing together!

After Dinner we all sat and chatted some and got caught up. Laura and Brandon (Lisa’s sister and brother-in-law) came to get Alyssa and got to meet the girls. Thing One immediatly fell in love with Brandon.. giggling at his antics.. he played a big role in the stories she told from the trip so cute. It wasnt long and it was time to head to bed. Lisa and Pete were the best hosts imaginable! (I hope they will come to visit here so we can return the favor!) The girls were SO excited to sleep in a real TWO STORY house I hadnt thought of it.. but they hadnt really ever seen the inside of one. Talk about country mice in the big city!

I have SO SO SO much to talk about.. I dont even know where to start. I hate that I have taken so long to get around to blogging! This might take a few days.. I guess I will separate it into bullets and then go into each of them.. divide and conquor. Ya know?

here goes!!!

* Our trip to Baltimore/DC

* my new job

*my parents vacation

*softball season

*Easter

*ect ect ect

1. Our trip to Baltimore/DC was amazing. We had so so much fun. The girls enjoyed visiting our Nation’s Capital so much. They also loved meeting Lisa and Pete… The girls were absolutly charmed by Mr Pete and just fell in love with Lisa… (I knew they would) They were the most amazing hosts. I cant tell yall how much we enjoyed staying with them. It made the trip all the more fun to do our touristy stuff in the daytime and then get to spend the evenings with such sweet friends. Lisa absolutely spoiled us with AMAZING dinners. (and I felt so guilty because she had this terrible cold! the poor girl felt crappy all week.. ) Thing Two had such a great time with them she cried when we left. It was so sweet. She said “I just wish we could live close enough to see Miss Lisa all the time”. (I concur.. I wish we lived closer to them too!) We also loved getting to see Laura and Brandon and Miss Alyssa (who is growing up to be SUCH a sweet girl… The Thing’s had a GREAT time playing with her.. )  I have a gajillion pictures to share and an in depth trip report in the works that I hope to finish this weekend.

2. My new job! I am so excited about a new chapter I am begining. Lately I have felt unsettled and frustrated in my job. I am a manager at a chain restraunt and its gotten to be a total grind. I open the store very early and between the hours and the drama and the rude clientelle..  Things had just finally gotten to me.. soo.. I had decided to begin to look for something new before we went on vacation. I was surprised to find something PERFECT on my very first day of job hunting! Steven and I were having lunch at our favorite little cafe, when  I mentioned to a friend that I was looking for something new. I was overheard by the owners.. and they offered me a position on the spot! This is a totally different situation. I will be working mostly in the kitchen. I am so excited about that! I love to cook, and the menu at this place is very ecclectic and different. There is also a lot of room for creativity as they run different specials every single day. I will also be doing some front of the house stuff too.. alot of the same things I have done at Shoney’s… The hours are different too..  they are closed on Sundays and Mondays and serve brunch on Saturdays.. as well as dinner on friday and saturday nights.. in addition to a lunch menu tuesday-saturday. I wont likely be scheduled to work every day..and in the weekdays the earliest I will likely have to be in will be 10 or so and 9 on satruday.. No more getting up at the crack of dawn! BUT!? Best of all? Crocs, jeans and t shirts are the “uniform”!! YES! LOVE that. I can even wear shorts in the summertime. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!

3. My parents are taking the first vacation I EVER remember them taking without us. IN MY HISTORY. I am so so excited for them. They are taking two weeks and going to Colorado to visit family there… I know. Its not the Bahamas or Paris. but its a start. I am hoping that they have an amazing time and it starts a long list of places they go and see together. They have worked so hard, the kids are grown. Its time to PARTY!

4. Softball season is STILL not started. Its so wierd. We have been practicing for 3 weeks, but the game schedule hasnt started yet. Last year at this time we were nearly halfway through the season. Its getting on my nerves. Im getting anxious to get things underway! And this is just for Thing Two.. we havent even heard from a coach in Thing One’s age level. At this rate we will be playing ball into July. Can you say HOT HOT HOT? Looks like lots of gaterade and popsicles in my future!

4. We had a great Easter. But would you believe that I did not take one single photo? I am ashamed of us! The girls both had really cute new dresses and looked so cute. I plan to dress them back up and “stage” some shots just so I have good pics of thier outfits. Maybe next weekend sometime. We attended church and then spent the afternoon napping and laying about the house in en easter candy sugar coma. That evening we joined my family for a steak dinner and then watched the movie “Bolt” (super cute by the way!) It was a nice peaceful day. I sure enjoyed it!

6. ect ect ect.

Thing One is going to her Mother’s today, until Sunday since it’s spring break. I will miss her. I always hate when she goes off.

Our church had a fun easter egg hunt and family day on saturday.. I have a ton of pics to share. I gotta get around to posting some really long photo posts!

We are enjoying working with the teenagers at our church again.. we had taken about a year hiatus and are having fun getting back into it. It makes for a hectic schedule.. but we like it.

I am still trying to grow my hair out. I just dont know if I am going to make it. The layers are long enough to make me look like a little dutch boy. Its really not sexy at all.