Fun with Family

Dave, Eloise and Tim got here on June 18. Since Tim is moving to Japan next month, we all wanted an extended time together. The first Saturday they were here, the adults all went to DC together. We walked around and then went to eat at The Old Ebbitt Grill, the same place Heather and I ate the week before.
At the White House, we kept noticing very well dressed people going in one of the gates after having their names checked off by Secret Service. We read in the paper the next day that there was a White House reception for Jenna Bush and her new husband.
Here we are in the Old Ebbit Grill and unbeknownst to us Heather's parents (who live in OHIO!) were there as well! It was only when Todd went to the restroom that he saw them. So we were loud and boisterous in our reunion, raising all the eyebrows of the high society that were trying to enjoy a quiet meal.(ha ha ha!) It was great fun!!
The chocolate peanut butter pie.........amazing.
On Tuesday we went to Harpers Ferry. We just love this little town, only about 45 minutes from our house. It was great weather. We walked around the town, shopped in the bookstore, played frisbee, and ate ice cream. The boys also played in the river for a little while.
Harpers Ferry is where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet. Of course, it was made famous by John Brown's raid during the Civil War.
This bridge is part of the Appalachian Trail.
Yummy ice cream!
We have had a great time with our family. We have spent a lot of time talking and laughing. We also watched the John Adams mini series that recently came out. It was fascinating! Also, Uncle Tim just got a Macbook, so the kiddos have been quite entertained by that! We will miss them when they leave for Colorado on Monday. We only wish we were going with them.

Fun Times with Friends

Last week, we had a quick reunion with the Stumbos! They were traveling to NYC to see Philip and stayed one night with us. It was great to catch up with them. Hannah and Cliff quickly bonded. She loves "Clifford the Dog" and was amazed when she found out that Cliff's names is really "Clifford". So she proceeded to call him that for the rest of their time with us. She called Debbie, "Mrs. Clifford". It was so cute!
Thanks Stumbos for coming by and seeing us. Your friendship is a treasure in our lives. We love you!
A few days later, Chris and Rose and their kiddos came by on their way from Rhode Island to their new home in Florida. We hadn't seen them since we had moved. What a treat it was to spend some time together. I also just loved watching Rose being such a great mommy to her two adorable children.
Rose and Chris, thank you so much for coming to see us. You have a precious family and we are so blessed by you. We look forward to what God has in store for You. You both are doing a great job raising these two adorable children. We love you!

Busy, Busy!

It has been a busy time and I will update about all that later. For now, check out this blog. www.belle-photography.blogspot.com

We had family pictures made yesterday!

Heather comes to town!!

Heather finally made it to DC!!!! Last Thursday, I took the Metro and a bus to the airport to pick her up. Our first stop was Union Station for dinner at the Center Cafe. Look who we ran in to! He was the only celebrity we saw, and he was cardboard at that!

On Friday, we stayed close by and saw the sights of G'burg. We ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and did some shopping. Saturday we headed to DC. First we went to the Eastern Market. We loved looking at all the art and jewelry. Then we went to the National Gallery of Art. We also went to the American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery. Both were fascinating.....we didn't have nearly enough time to see everything.

We ate at this great French cafe, Montmartre.
Here we are in front of the White House!! We ate supper that night at Old Ebbitt Grill, the oldest saloon in DC. It was a fun place to eat.
We bought matching shirts. We are such nerds. However, since we do not live near each other, we don't have to worry about wearing them to the same place at the same time.

What a wonderful time we had!! Heather, thank you for being one of my dearest friends and for coming to see me. I'm gearing up for Paris!!!!

Todd, thank you my wonderful husband for freeing me up to spend the weekend playing. You are simply the best and I love you!

Bryan, thank you for sacrificing time with your wife so she could come see me.

update on last post

In the last post I titled it "Falling Tree Day", but I failed to explain myself. That is what Hannah said when she saw the fallen trees. How appropriate!

Falling Tree Day

Last Wednesday, severe thunderstorms rolled through the DC area. I was at school getting David and Jonathon. Ben was at home studying for finals. Rachel and Hannah were there as well. I got stuck at school due to a tornado warning. That is not a normal thing here. I called Ben and Rachel and just told them to go to the basement. Yes, Mary Ann, I now have a basement......of sorts. Anyway, the storm blew in and blew out all the power and toppled trees. The pic above is what used to be our next door neighbors shed.
We had a huge limb fall into our driveway.
Let the cleanup begin!!! We didn't have power for about 8 hours, so there wasn't anything else to do anyway.
The Mayhews dropped by to survey the damage and lend a hand! Thanks guys! We ate tunafish on crackers by candlelight that night, watched a movie on the laptop till the battery died, and all went to bed by 9:30.

Field Trip to the Air and Space Museum

Today I went with Jonathon's class on a field trip to the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport. It was such a great place!!! I had only ever been to the Air and Space in DC before. There was so much to see!!
We have recently watched some episodes of the series "From the Earth to the Moon" and so seeing all of this space stuff was quite fascinating!! The space center was my favorite part.
Jonathon and his friend Eric got to hop in the cockpit of a Cessna prop plane.
We took the elevator up to the Observation Tower-164 feet off the ground. You could see for miles. We could also see planes taking off and landing at Dulles Airport.
The space shuttle Enterprise!

This is finals week for Ben and he is doing lots of studying. The boys are eager for Friday to get here!!! It will soon be summer!!