Retirement {National Harbor}

 When people say, "I want to retire there" I could never relate. I have never really thought of that, but I had never been to National Harbor before. The kidlets and I joined Jon at a conference right after we moved here. I LOVED it, cute shops, yoga on the pier, quiet, great food and fun little things to see. I want to retire there. This past November there was a alot of campaigning to turn this place into a "vegas". They wanted to legalize gambling to this part of Maryland. It broke my heart and I gladly voted against it. When the votes came in atleast I got one piece of good news that it did not pass. I am glad it will continue to be a fun place that we can family vacation, couples weekend or Girls night to. Can't wait to go back!!

Antietam Battlefield

 The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Bloodiest Day of the Civil War, took place just a short drive from where we live. You can learn more about it here, it sounds pretty awful. In commemoration of it's 150th anniversary they held special events. We decided to check it out. 

 A lot of people were hanging out dressed the part. They are like the trekkies of the Civil War.

 We have been there in other times with out all the fluff. I have to say I prefer it that way.  It is miles and miles of rolling fields of crops, a few pre-civil war buildings and barns, a cemetery, little dirt roads throughout and monuments all around. It is quiet and peaceful, just how it should be, yet gives you a hollowing feeling that you cannot even grasp all that took place on those grounds. I definitely prefer to visit it with out all the news vans, intercoms, balloons, event tents, performances, and tour guides.

In the mailbox

 The kids are getting used to surprises being in the mailbox from Grandma and Grandpa. Their first package came with this letter that makes me cry every time I read it or even see it in the drawer. I know every word is true and I have such guilt for the sadness our move has caused them. We can't wait for November 15 at 10:30p.m. when we get to go pick them up from the airport.

"Dear Bennett and Libby,
Do you know I was thinking about you today? I think about you everyday and I imagine you playing in your new toy room and peeking through Dad's office door when he's working and looking in your garden for vegetables and sitting at your little table to eat and playing in your backyard and laying in your new bed in your new room. I bet your pictures look great hanging in your new room. And I think about you trying to tell to Mom that you are hungry because she doesn't know that kids are ALWAYS hungry. (That is something Bennett told my Mom one day while forcing out tears. "I'm always hungry because I'm a kid and kids are always hungry and Mom doesn't know it" He is famous for trying to get Grandma to feel bad for him and it always works)

We are trying to buy plane tickets to come visit you at Thanksgiving time. That will be in about 79 days and that is a very long time to miss you. I will stay very very busy and the days will go fast.

I am sending you a few little things. I hope you like them. All of them are for Bennett and Libby but the big blue book is for Mom and the little blue book is for Dad.

You have a fun day and help Mom and Dad. We love you all and miss you.
Grandma and Grandpa Dean"

This one came with Bennetts name on it.

Who needs packing peanuts when you could just use fruit snacks. 32 packages of them. That's just Grandpa putting his spin on things.

One package came for Libby with 12 little monkeys inside that she insisted in carrying all at the same time. It was kind of a circus act, one would drop and she would bend to get it and drop two more and so on.

Pot Rack - made over

My Dad, he goofy, that is old news. When we were unpacking he would grab random things and hang them on the pot rack. I think he thought he was teasing me but after my parents left I could not bring myself to take them down. He left his goofy little mark that I liked to be reminded every time I was in the kitchen, so essentially all day.

After 2 months of living here I finally decided to use the pot rack for ......pots!?! Who would have thought? Well that didn't work because my pots have too fat of handles. So I had to re-purpose it.

In our garden we have herbs running out our ears.

Rosemary, chives, fennel, basil and oregano. Mmmmm....

I love having them there. They make the house smell yummers and they make me smile. When I am cooking I just put my pot under whatever herb I need and crumble some off.

Le~Jardin

The owners of our house planted an adorable garden and trusted it in our hands. We are doing our best with it and it is fun learning and finding ways to use what we pick. The kids love to do the picking of whatever they can get their hands on, but we let them have fun with it. 

 

 I would like to say that they don't always come out with bed head and pj's but I would be lying.

Along with our fresh vegetables, berries and herbs we have had a few critters take up residency in the garden. On a number of occasions I have attempted to pick a green bean and got a praying mantis butt. Can you see why? Yeah, he lives there. It has got to the point that I search for him first before I do my picking so I don't make the mistake again and again.

Did you know caterpillars LOVE parsley and because they are always all over it, it has made me not love it. At any given moment we can find them in there. The best part of it is that we never have to catch them and keep them in a jar in our house. They live in the garden and we visit them and watch them anytime he wants.

 And it doesn't stop at bugs. One morning while searching for green beans I got the strange feeling that the ground was blinking at me, thats because it was. 

Do you see what I see??

Not one but 2 baby bunnies lived in a little hole under the bean poles. They were so tiny, like the size of an egg. We moved the drip line away from them and took the chicken wire off the lettuce plants to that they could stay in our safe little fenced in garden as long as they would like to. 

We sure have a whole lot more critters to watch out here. We see birds of all colors like cardinals and canaries and they go through the bird seed like a Golden Corral. We could fill it about every other day. 

 

Oh and squirrels.......lots and lots of squirrels. Bennett is sure that he is going to catch one and is totally offended that they are afraid of him. 

All in all this is just a few of the new experiences we are having out here. Fall has brought a whole new scenery in nature and critters, but we will save that for another time.

An empty house

These pictures were taken at about 3 a.m. just before we drove away from our house for the last time....at least as "our house". I wanted to remember every bit so I took a few steps and snapped a picture, repeated about 87 times.

:Main Level:
Entryway



Half Bath

:Upstairs:







Laundry Room





Kids Bathroom


Libby's Room






Bennett's Room





Master Bedroom















Master Bathroom  & Closet

:Basement: