Motorcycle riding

Donald went motorcycle riding with Wayne over spring break.  He crashed and came home early.  Jolene had to drive him from the desert all the way in to Los Robles where he had a plastic surgeon stitch up his finger.  We are all grateful that the accident and injury weren’t worse.  

Surprise at home

While Sarah was in Washington, DC, the kids and I were hard at work at home.  I wanted to surprise Sarah by redoing her room while she was gone.  When we moved in almost four years ago, her room was the only room we didn’t repaint.  It was blue and she hated the color.  So, while she was gone, we had it repainted and redecorated.  I got her a new comforter, and added curtains around her window seat in the same style as on a show she was enjoying at the time.  We took down the ratty curtains and got plantation shutters.  She didn’t get home until about 1:00 am, but she was still surprised!

Before:

After:

And me trying to catch her reaction in the dark late at night!

It took her a few minutes to understand what was happening.  It was like she knew it was different, but after having been traveling and being tired, she wasn’t quite sure what was going on!  She says she loves it.  It was a fun surprise for her!  

Washington, DC

Sarah at the White House

The Korean War Memorial

World War II Memorial 

Sarah at Gettysburg.  She recited all that she could remember of the Gettysburg Address and almost made it through the whole thing!

Washington, DC. 2006

We went as a family to DC when Sarah was almost three and Joshua had just turned one.  It was freezing and windy, but still a good experience.  It was fun to send Sarah pictures of her when she was so little visiting the same places again.  Of course, she didn’t remember going the first time!

Grown up Sarah in DC

War Memorials

Vietnam Vetrans Memorial 

Lots of photos from the Lincoln Memorial

Washington, DC

Faith, Hope, and Charity helping a wounded soldier 

The Korean War Memorial

Outside of the Lincoln Memorial they had the Stanley Cup

A Memorial for the Air Force 

The opposite side of the Faith, Hope, and Charity Memorial.

More DC pictures

Beautiful Cherry Tress against the Potomac River

The Washington Monument

Some pictures from the Jefferson Memorial 

There is a beautiful view of the Washington monument from the Jefferson Memorial 

Sarah’s trip to Washington, DC

The eighth grade students at the middle school have the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC to visit all of the historic monuments in our country’s capitol while they are studying US History.  The trip is expensive and except for a few parent chaperones and the trip teacher, the students go alone.  I felt like this was a good opportunity for Sarah to be on her own and have some independence while still being supervised in a group setting.  It was something she really wanted to do as well and she had to earn $1,000.00 toward the trip.  We had garage sales, she saved allowance money, she cat sat and we collected cans.  I was really proud of her hard work to earn the money.  She had a great trip and was super tired when she came home.  She had to share a hotel room with three other girls and eat where, when and what they had available.  I feel like she got to see and do a lot, but that she also grew socially.  The next few posts will be pictures she sent us from the trip.  One of the girls she roomed with didn’t even text her mom while she was gone.  Sarah was great about checking in and sharing pictures!

Mount Vernon

She was lucky to go when the cherry trees were in blossom!

The Jefferson Memorial

Good bye Calcifer

When Jessica moved back to Germany, she left us her fish.  We had him a long time, then one day, he wasn’t swimming anymore.  Lizzie took it hard, but understands that fish have short lives.  It was fun for her while we had him and she loved him a lot!

So much change

So, Sarah had her braces on for exactly two years.  In case you can’t believe how much she changed in those two years, take a look at these pictures taken the day she got her braces!