Ice Blocking

Rob's company had a party and of course ice blocking was involved. I was surprised when Anna told me she wanted to try it. She usually is not very brave. But she gave it a go. She didn't want to do it again after once, though.

Then Rob tried it. He went pretty far, but didn't win the race. Me on the other hand...I didn't do it. I'm so not a fan!

I'm Home!

So the last two days were not too exciting. We spent it relaxing by the pool, getting pedicures and eating great food. We did stop at the Iwo Jima Memorial. I think that this is my favorite by far. It just shows how proud the soldiers are of their flag and of their country. Why else would they risk their lives for it.

The ride home was great. Once again, it was a full plane, but not the seat next to me. How did I get so lucky for both trips? It was so great to see Rob and the girls. I missed them terribly. And my husband really is the greatest. Not only did he make it possible for me to leave for two weeks, but I came back to a clean house, clean laundry and happy kids. What more could I even ask for. I do love that man of mine!
I brought Rob home a discover your own Terracotta Soldier from the National Geographic Museum (they are hosting a couple of the soldiers next month.). Anna was fascinated with it and had to help Rob discover it.

The final product. It is now being proudly displayed in our family room, next to my dance trophy!

DC, Day 5...And I Wore Flip Flops?

I owe Sheralyn a lot! I dragged her all over DC today. We decided to just be tourists today. We decided to go and see the exhibit at The National Geographic Museum. As we were getting on the Metro, Sheralyn accidentally demagnetized her card and the only place that she could get it replaced was at the Pentagon stop. We were not planning on going to the Pentagon, but I am so glad that we had the opportunity to do so. We went to the Pentagon Memorial. This really is an incredible place. All of the "wings" represent someone that was lost on 9/11. The wings that face the pentagon were in the plane that crashed and the ones that face away were in the Pentagon on that horrible day. The youngest victim was born in 1998. Three years old. How horrible!

This is where the building was that was crashed into. They are still in the process of replacing it.
One of the things that I wanted to do while we were in DC was get closer to the White House. Our last trip we only got to see it from about two streets away. So, Sheralyn happily trudged along with me. There were not a lot of crazies there that day, but there were some. There is always somebody wanting to protest something or someone.
Here I am at the White House. Wahoo!
We then headed over to the WWII memorial. My Grandpa Colledge fought in this war. Fun story. He was stationed in the Philippines and was an underwater welder. One day he dove down in and was attacked by an octopus. So he took his knife and stabbed it in the eye and was able to escape. We were told this story at my Grandpa's funeral by his brother. I wonder what other stories he took to the grave with him.
It is quite the memorial. I wish that I could have taken a better picture...This one does not do it justice.
The Korean War Memorial.
Just a side note. While I was there I learned that WWI does not have a Memorial. This just does not seem right to me. Anybody know why?
We then went over to the Roosevelt Memorial. This is a huge place. There is a stage for every term he was in office. This one represents the New Deal phase. Thought I would join them in line. I probably don't look as hopeless as them.
Here is the last phase. I guess he really loved his dog!
So after wandering DC for about eight hours (two of them were spent searching for souvenirs) we returned home and went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Yum! What a great way to end such a fun day!

DC, Day 4

First of all, we slept in, which was very nice! We then headed into Delaware and went to Fort McHenry. This fort was used in the War of 1812 and was made famous when Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star Spangled Banner" while watching the flag fly over the fort.
Here's Sheralyn in one of the shelters.
I guess this would be considered a cannon shelter rather than a bomb shelter.
Here is where the flag was flying.
A replica of the flag. We were able to see the original when we toured the American History Museum (see previous post).
Where the battle happened.
We then took the long drive back to DC. I will never complain about traffic in Utah again. There was an accident about two hours before and we still got stuck in traffic for almost an hour. I guess a semi truck tipped over and spilled vegetable oil all over the road. We were disappointed that we were not able to get a picture of the guys in their haz-mat outfits.
When we got back to DC we went back to Arlington Cemetery and we were successful in getting in this time. We were able to find an awesome view of the Jefferson Monument.
Then we found the Washington Monument.
Some guy insisted on taking our picture together.
I just thought that this was an awesome sight. I cannot even begin to comprehend all of the lives that have been taken by defending my freedom. How grateful I am to the soldiers for that.
The Eternal Flame, the final resting place of the Kennedy's.

DC, Day 3

Today was a pretty lazy day for me. Sheralyn had to go into work, I guess that is what you would call it. She works for the Air and Space Museum, documenting the Enola Gay. That day they were opening it up and taking pictures and, of course, Sheralyn didn't want to miss that. How can you blame her? So I had a nice relaxing day of watching what I wanted to watch on TV, eating what I wanted to eat and more importantly, taking a nap when I wanted to. It was fabulous! But I was very ready to leave the house when Sheralyn got back that nightWe tried to go to Arlington Cemetery, but it was closed for the evening. Then we tried to go to the Iwo Jima Monument because that is never closed. But just our luck, it had closed for some kind of marathon. So as a last resort we went to the Air Force Monument. It is a really incredible monument. The tallest of these spikes is 270 feet high. If you look closely you will notice the Washington Monument in the background.
A glass etching is showing the planes doing the missing man formation.
Sheralyn "admiring" the statues.

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Washington DC, Day 2 - A Very Full Day!

We woke up early (well, if you count 8:30 as early) and headed down to the National Archives. Sheralyn has lived near DC for almost 9 years now and has never seen the Constitution, so we made it a priority to see it. We got there about a half an hour before it opened and because of that we were the second ones in. We were glad that we did get there early, though, because by the time it opened a line had formed that wrapped around the building. Here is the front of the building. I love all of the old buildings in DC. You just don't see that type of architecture here in Utah.
I was able to take pictures inside of the building, but not able to use the flash. The lighting is very poor, as well, as to not damage the documents. So, therefore, the pictures are not that great of quality. I loved the mural that was in the room. Our Founding Fathers were so incredible. It makes me wonder what they would think of their beloved country now days.
Here is the Constitution.
I wish that I could read some of the signatures here. What great men!
The National Archives also contains some real letters that people have sent to past Presidents. I wish I had taken some pictures so I can remember exactly what they said. They were hilarious! One was written by a bunch of high school girls pleading with the President to not give Elvis a military hairstyle. They said that they would just die if his sideburns were cut off. Another one asked if he could become the first mascot for the marines. There were plenty more, but I can't remember what they were. If you ever get a chance to go to DC put the National Archives on as a must do!
Afterwards we headed over to the Newseum. It was an interesting one. They had newspapers from everywhere and from every time period. They also had pieces of the Berlin Wall.

Here I am in front of a couple of the panels.
And here's Sheralyn posing.
They also had a fantastic view of the Capital. The Canadian Embassy is behind us as well. Is Canada still a country?
What a view!
The last place we went was the American History Museum. This was the only museum that Rob and I were not able to visit when we were here three years ago. I have to admit, that I was a little disappointed. There were not as many things in there that I thought there would be. But I was able to see the famous "ruby slippers", Kermit the Frog and Oscar the Grouch. They also have the American Flag that inspired "The Star Spangled Banner" on display. We were not able to take a picture of it, so that it can be preserved, but I was amazed of how big it was. I also could not believe how cut up it was. I guess some of the men cut some of it to save for keepsakes. Did they scrapbook back then?
We had quite the day and poor Sheralyn had to go to class that night. I hope she didn't crash too hard!

Washington DC, Day 1

I have the greatest husband in the whole wide world. He made it possible for me to go and visit my greatest friend, Sheralyn, in Washington DC all by myself for a whole week! I got a non stop flight to DC and ended up being on a full plane, minus one seat...the one right next to me. How lucky is that! It was quite nice not having to worry about a toddler bothering anyone else on the plane. Anyway, I arrived and since it was Sunday, we decided to go down and see the temple. My only regret is that we didn't go at night, so I wasn't able to see it all lit up. But it is a beautiful temple, made even more special by the fact that my Grandma Hadfield, who just passed, served one of her missions at this temple.

Here is a picture that I took of the reflecting pond.

Sparklers

We introduced both Anna and Sara to sparklers tonight. Anna wanted nothing to do with them. Sara, on the other hand, would not stay away from them. At one point she had a sparkler in each hand. Anna finally decided that if Sara could do it, so could she. It's interesting to watch Anna convince herself to do something. We can tell her over and over that it is okay, but she has to figure it out herself.


Anna watching the fireworks with Grandpa.Sara found her spot and wasn't going to move.
Sara loved the fire!
We finally had to put one in each hand because she kept trying to grab it the fire. Unfortunately, we didn't get one hand occupied fast enough and she touched the flame. But my brave, tough little Sara only cried for about a minute and was right back playing with the sparklers.
Anna finally felt brave enough to do it.

The Balloons!

For some reason, we thought it would be a good idea to get the girls up at 5:15 and go and watch the balloons launch. It ended up being a lot of fun. We got there in time to watch the balloons inflate. I had never seen the process and it was really quite interesting. Anna was a little nervous at first but grew to love it.

Watching one of the balloons inflate.They're going up!
In the middle of all of the balloons.
An awesome shot!
Anna wanted to "ride up top" so Rob gave in. She was quite happy!