Washington DC- Day 2

We started day 2 with a tour of The White House.  The weather was rainy and cold- not near as nice as the previous day that didn't even require a jacket. 

As we were walking into the White House, the president's dogs- Bo and Sunny- were coming in from a walk so I reached out and pet one of them.  I'm pretty sure I'm one of the few people that can say that I've pet the First Dogs!

The White House was decorated beautifully for the holidays.  It was just as impressive this year as it was last year.  Some things are stunning no matter how many times you see them.

After our White House tour, we headed to The Library of Congress for another tour.  This is something I didn't get to see last year and I'm so glad we took the time to take a tour.  The Library is probably one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen.  It was full of history  and symbolism and impossible to put into words.  While we were there, we were able to see the original copy of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. 

Since it was still raining after our tour, we decided to spend the rest of our day in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum where Cory got to see the Wright Flyer.

For dinner, we ate at the famous Ben's Chili Bowl- one of the president's favorite local restaurants.  It was a fun way to end another fast and furious day in DC.

Washington DC- Day 1

I"m pretty sure that we have the worst Internet service in the world.  For the last 2-3 weeks, our Internet has been in and out of service (and mostly out of service).  Even when we do finally get our service to come back up, it usually goes out within minutes of me starting to upload some pictures to the blog.  I know that this is a first world problem and that I should be thankful for computers and Internet at all, but it is extremely frustrating to say the least!

So, while things look like they are finally up and running again, I'm going to try and catch up on the month of December.  Cory and I were blessed to get to take a trip to Washington DC the weekend after Thanksgiving.  After going to DC last year with my mom and sisters, I knew that Cory would LOVE to take a trip there, so we worked it out to go the same week of the year when the crowds in DC are minimal. 

We started our first day at Ford's Theater.  The museum was interesting and we got to see both the balcony where Lincoln was shot and the room across the street where he died. 

After we left Ford's Theater, we stopped at the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

We also spent about an hour in the National Art Museum before heading to the capitol for our scheduled tour. 

Our capitol tour guide was not as good as the one my mom and sisters and I had last year, but Cory enjoyed it regardless.  He especially liked the House of Representatives chamber.

After we left the capitol, we started walking down the Mall.  The World War II Memorial is still one of my favorites and Cory loved the Lincoln Memorial. 

After a long day of walking around DC, we finally stopped for dinner at a local pizza place that was so good.  We were so tired and it didn't take us long to fall asleep that first night!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  We hope you have a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our Savior with your family and friends!

Santa Pic 2013

Well, it took six years but we finally did it!  We finally got a picture with Santa without anyone crying!  I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about this!  I think Santa pics with crying kids are some of the most precious pictures ever! 

And just in case you were under the assumption that this picture was easy to get... Eden spent the 15 minutes leading up to this picture screaming and clinging to me for dear life.  I'm not sure what set this off.  She hasn't cried around Santa for two years.  We were about to give up and just take the picture without her this year, when she told me that she would take the picture if she could have some gum.  And wouldn't you know it that I ran out of gum yesterday.  Thank goodness for one of Cory's coworkers who just happened to be there and offered Eden some gum.  After a quick trip to the bathroom to regroup, she turned into a completely different child.  She walked right up to Santa, gave him a high five and a hug and then climbed right onto his lap. 

It took a little bit of work, but I am glad that the Santa picture turned out cute in the end!  Hopefully Santa pictures will continue to get easier and easier as the years go by!

Parkerisms, Edenisms, and Lilyisms

It's time for one of my favorite kinds of posts... funny things that the kids do and say! 

Parkerisms
Parker has mixed up compound words from the time he was just learning to talk.  His newest switch-up is "holdcupper".  For those of you who do not speak Parkerese, a holdcupper is the place that you put your drink in a car.  For example, "Granstan's car does not have a holdcupper!".


Edenisms
Me- "Did you take a bath?"
Eden- "Yes, it's called swimming lessons!"

Accidentally = an accident
For example, "It was an accidentally.  I didn't mean to do it." or "It's ok, Parker.  Accidentallys happen."

Paint nailish = nail polish

Chickmunk = chipmunk

PBS = VBS (Vacation Bible School)

Kershemals = Commercials- "I don't want to watch the kershemals."


Lilyisms
Spicy water = Sprite

Merry round = merry go round

Bikecycle = bicycle

Every time Lily jumped into the pool this summer, instead of yelling "Cannonball!" she would yell "Kindergarten!".

One more scoop- Whenever Lily wants to do something again or wants more of something, she will always say "one more scoop".  If she wants another bite of my cereal or wants me to read another book at bedtime or wants to go down the slide one more time at the park, she will say "one more scoop". 

Holiday in the Park

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we took Eden and Parker to Holiday in the Park at Six Flags.  They were both so excited about riding a roller coaster, especially after seeing them at Sea World but not getting to ride on one due to Parker's untimely case of the stomach bug. 

 

The weather was less than ideal with 40 degree temps and high winds.  I almost backed out of going but Cory convinced me that we could bundle them up and they would be fine.  I am so glad I listened to him.  The cold weather kept the crowds away and the kids never complained once about being cold.

Both of the kids were excited about the thought of riding a roller coaster but I wasn't sure how they would react when it came time to actually get on the ride!  We started small with the Mine Train- one of my favorites when I was a kid.  I assumed that Parker would love it (and I was right!) but the biggest shock of the day was how much Eden loved it!  The minute the ride finished, she was begging to ride it again.   

Next up were the swings.  Just watching these made me queasy so I decided to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground while the kids rode with Brende, Jewell, and Peyton. Once again, they both loved it! 

We all enjoyed sledding down the snow hill!

After sledding, the kids started asking to ride the double loop Shock Wave.  I knew I wouldn't be able to ride this one either and planned on letting Eden sit out with me... until the tears started!  She was devastated that I wouldn't let her ride so I finally gave in and let her ride with Brende.  Watching her ride off without me knowing that she was about to be turned upside down not once, but twice, was one of the hardest things I've ever done.  When the ride was over, she started crying and we assumed she was scared and hated it.  Turns out she was crying because she didn't want to get off and wanted to ride it again!  I just kept looking at her and thinking "Who are you and what did you do with my shy, timid Eden?".  She was completely fearless the entire night!

After  a few more rides (and tears when Eden realized she was too short to ride one of them), we stopped to drink some hot chocolate, warm up and watch a live Christmas show. 

At one point during the show, they called several kids up on stage to help them sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer".  Parker and Jewell joined right in while Eden hid behind me praying they wouldn't pick her.  (She's definitely her mother's child when it comes to that!)

We ended the night with the several more rides including the Conquistador and the Bobsled.  Eden cried again when the park closed and we were forced to leave.  I still can't believe how much she loved it!  She's already asking to go back!

 

It didn't take long for her to crash once we got in the car!  Sweet girl!

I couldn't have imagined a more perfect evening with Parker and Eden!  It was a great way to start off our Thanksgiving week! 

Happy Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving this year was wonderful- low key and relaxing...just how I like things!  I am so thankful for my family so it was nice to get to spend lots of quality time with them over the holiday.

 

Parker and Eden both had feasts at their schools the week before Thanksgiving.  I was able to slip away from Gerard's Grandparent's Day on Friday to join Eden for a few minutes before I had to head back to work.  She enjoyed eating with her friends even though she really didn't eat anything on her plate except the cookies!

Parker's class also had a feast in their classroom on Thursday.  Parents weren't invited but I slipped in long enough to get a picture!

On Friday (Grandparent's Day), his class put on a Thanksgiving play for the parents/grandparents.  Parker was one of the Pilgrim men.  He got to shoot his gun and say "Bang! Bang! Bang!" which was right up his alley! 

We mostly stayed at home during our week off of school.  It was so nice to sleep in and not have to get up to an alarm.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night that my mom prepared.  Meredith and Craig were able to come down for the day so it was nice to spend some time with them. 

We took the kids to see Frozen on Thanksgiving Day.  It was Lily's first trip to the theater and she did a pretty good job sitting still and watching the movie.  (Thank goodness for popcorn!)

We got the Christmas tree up, the house decorated and I even listened to some Christmas music this weekend!  I finally feel like it's beginning to feel like Christmas around here!