11

Yes, once again I'm really behind on my blogging. On May 24th Alli turned 11. She invited her friend Mikki over for a "spa day" and bowling. We turned our kitchen into a spa where they got facials, pedicures, and manicures. After that we went bowling, had dinner, and watched a movie. I can't believe my oldest is 11! Next year she will be in young women's! It is really fun to have her growing up and maturing. She makes for a great friend and shopping buddy! I'm so thankful for my little girl! Alli got her and Mikki some flip flops so they could show off their new cute toes.

Don't worry...those were disposable bowls. If you come to my house for dinner, I will not serve you salad out of them!

Last but not least...breakfast in bed. Yummm!

Dave

He got to us. Dave Ramsey. We read the Total Money Makeover and now we are officially gazelles. I was really nervous to start it, thinking it would be super restrictive, but I have found it to be completely opposite. Of course we are in our first month still, but it is going marvelously! We'll see how the summer is when all the kids are home and we need to get out of the house and find fun things to do! Here's to becoming debt free!

I had written this post a couple of weeks ago and saved it but never posted it. Then I looked on my cousin Jamie's blog today and saw that they just completed the baby step we are on (which is to become debt free besides your house) and it was so inspiring I decided I would post this finally. Way to go Clint and Jamie!!!! Everytime I need some motivation I am going to read that blog post!

Washington DC

Matt had a conference for work in National Harbor Maryland which is just a few minutes outside of Washington DC and I got to go with him. We stayed in a really fancy hotel called the Gaylord National. It was right on the Potomac river and it was beautiful! There is really nothing else around except a few more hotels and a little stip of shops and restraunts. It was quiet and perfect! These pictures are completely out of order, but at least they made it on here. There was a bus stop right by our hotel, and since we didn't have a car, we jumped on the bus that took us to the metro and then rode the metro into Washington DC. It was very convenient!
This is the view right outside our hotel. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was beautiful and there was a walkway right by the river that had a few boat harbors along the way.

This little beach was so cute! I was wishing my kids were there to play on it!

We went to a Nationals baseball game one night. It was so fun! We had great seats and the weather couldn't have been more perfect!!!

They had four of these mascots (former presidents). They were so funny. They had a race around the field. I don't know how they could run with those huge heads.

At the game. Four rows from the front behind right field.

The delicious meal we had at Mai Thai in Alexandria VA (the cutest town anywhere!!!)

I mentioned the boat harbor right outside our hotel. We took a boat across the Potomac a couple times to Old Alexandria. It was by far my favorite place we went on our trip! It was so cute and quaint and had the funnest little boutique shops and restraunts!

The harbor in Alexandria

We spent a whole day walking around DC. We walked so much that day my feet hurt so bad! I thought we walked a lot in Disneyland, but at least you get to sit when you walk to whatever it was you were going to next. In DC you would walk to a museum or landmark, then walk around to see it. It was such a blast though! Here we are at the US Capitol.

We took this the day Osama Bin Laden was killed. We were standing outside the White House as the mayhem ensued on the inside.

Lincoln Memorial. This was pretty cool too. It's so funny to see these things on movies and have a vision in your mind what it will be like, then you see it in person and it is nothing like you thought it would be. Like the White House...I thought it would be all alone, but there are quite a few buildings right close by.

Washington Monument. They were doing construction on the reflection pool which was very disappointing. But we did get to walk through the national Cinco De Mayo celebration going on in the park.

I think we only missed one or two museums in DC. This is the Air and Space Museum. (obviously). We saw lots of kids on field trips and thought how cool it would be for our kids to get to go on field trips to DC. We even met some 7th graders who were on a field trip from Florida! I felt lucky to go to Hogle Zoo and Lagoon!

This is the American History museum. We really liked this one!

This is at the Natural History museum. Isn't Matt funny? Actually I made him do that. He was talking to his boss on the phone and couldn't argue that he didn't want too.

Not pictured is the National Archives where we saw the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and the Constitution...among other historical documents, the Holocaust museum, FBI building, and the National Art Museum. We had such a fun time! Thanks to both sets of grandparents for watching our kids...AGAIN.