Vacation Days 3 and 4

Still not feeling wordy.


At the Hyatt. Waiting on a party to gather for supper.















The people in this shot are so friendly and talented and they were so much fun to hang out with. I really enjoyed getting to know them.
















Still waiting on people to arrive.















The next morning, Jason skipped out on the conference and we went back to DC. My feet really suffered this day.


The capitol looking very mysterious in all the fog.
















We went to a museum that I can't remember the name of but I was excited to find out that it had several of my favorite paintings by my favorite artist. (Except Jason, of course.)

If the guards hadn't been looking and following me around I could have reached out and touched it.

































George Washington. Looking so honest.















My favorite president since the third grade, Thomas Jefferson.















It was very sunny and I was in a bad mood b/c my feet were killing me and I hadn't had any food all day but I figured that I needed to be in at least one picture.






















We would have taken a picture together but we weren't stupid enough to hand our camera over to a total stranger.

Reston, Virginia and Washington D.C. Days One and Two

We had a wonderful time on our first real vacation since our honeymoon. I'm not feeling very wordy today so this post will be mostly pictures with a sentence or two in between.

This was Jason waiting for our bus that would take us from the airport to the hotel in Reston. It was very, very cold and very, very windy.
















The next morning I set out for DC while Jason attended workshops at the conference.
This was my very first glimpse of DC. It was thrilling, exhilarating and overall, quite lovely. And the weather was perfect.















I loved this policeman on horseback. You don't ever see this in AR.
















I'm ashamed to admit that the whole time I was walking towards this I thought it was the capitol. My map was turned the wrong direction. And apparently, I'm not very smart.















This was right before the Lincoln Memorial...or is it Monument. I get confused. I'm not sure what this is called or what it is supposed to represent but I like it.


















Mr. Lincoln.























Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Monument/memorial looking towards the Washington M/M and the capitol.

















There were people holding signs saying that they were giving away free hugs and right as I was about to take a picture of it these two boys picked this young lady up and started to run away with her.















The Vietnam War M/M. Very moving.


















After walking what seemed like forever, I finally got to stand across the street and take a picture of the White House through a gap in the shrubbery. It was a little disappointing.


















I loved this. I was walking faster than these people were going. But I have to say, the driver was giving it all he had.

















The Metro. This was one of the funnest things about my adventure. I felt like I was in a movie about New York.

















It made my hair fly around as it whizzed by.
















And this is the reason I only walked around DC for a few hours.
It hurt so very bad.

We are home and recuperating. I'll try to get some photos downloaded today and maybe get a post up tomorrow.

Can you guess where we are going?

If you can't guess where this is then you need to go look it up. And shame on you.

Normal posting should resume next week. Adios!!!

I am not ashamed.

You know why? Because instead of just picking up the house I decided to deep clean the booger. So I did. I also got the laundry washed but not folded and put away but I'm close to getting that one taken care of. And...I organized a lot of my coupons. I still have a lot more to organize but I am about to start on that in just a few minutes.

And I played outside with the girls.

And that is why I am not ashamed.

For Bebe "Food and a poem"

I know these videos are a little boring but I wanted to show them to my MIL and I can't get them loaded on any other site.

I know you are tired of this but I really need the motivation right now and since it is my blog, what I want to do, I will do!

Tomorrow's List:

1. The usual. Pick up entire house.

2. Do all laundry. This is not optional. It must be folded and put away before I can cross it out.

3. Vacuum.

4. Make Claire's bed.

5. Clean out van

Congratulations!

I went to random.org and the number it generated for me was

#6
AB-
"George Washington's hat during valley forge"
So, yee-haw! I hope you enjoy your Burt's Bees Pruducts in the nifty zipper bag. Shipping is slow, but sure.

Another Giveway!

This time I'm giving away a Burt's Bees Starter Kit. The difference between the picture above and the kit I'm giving away is that my kit comes in a nifty zipper bag. And as I'm looking closer at the picture I am realizing that some of the products are different. Maybe I should just list what is in my bag.

Ahem...

BB's Coconut Foot Creame

BB's Beeswax Lip Balm

BB's Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Hair Treatment

BB's Orange Essence Facial Cleanser

BB's Carrot Nutritive Body Lotion

BB's Wild Lettuce Complexion Soap

BB's Garden Tomato Complexion Soap

BB's Garden Tomato Toner

BB's Carrot Day Creme

BB's Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme

BB's Hand Salve

BB's Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme

To qualify for the contest you have to answer this question:

If you could be anyone for one day, who would it be?

Contest ends Tuesday night at 6pm.

Good Luck!

You can tell I'm a parent

It finally happened! I finally got to order our new stroller. Introducing the Joovy Big Caboose.
(I would put a picture here but I can't get it to cooperate. Just look at the link.) I am very excited about this purchase. We have a wonderful stroller now. It has served us well but it is now time for it to belong to a new family and help them create many wonderful memories. Specifically, my sister Rachel and her two little boys.
This new stroller has two normal stroller seats and then in the back it has a sit-n-stand seat for Elaina. That way, it has three spots for three children but it doesn't have the length or width that a normal triple stroller has. Good grief. I cannot believe that I need a triple stroller. Anyways...

We got the red one. And ya know what I've been saying around here? Groovy, Joovy!

Lack of sleep can result in the following...

This past weekend I went to Memphis to my cousin's lingerie shower. It was oodles of fun but I forgot to get my camera from Leah before I left. She kept Claire overnight so that I would have enough room in my car for the fellow travelers and these are some of the pictures that I downloaded. I like to come up with my own scenario of what happened.


In this photo, the two girls are playing happily, enjoying each other's company. Perhaps having a sip or two of refreshing liquid if they happen to desire it.

Claire, realizing that Lillie neglected to give her her own sippy cup decides that she has had enough of this unhospitibleness ( how about that word!!) and starts to leave.

"I can't believe that Lillie is getting a drink and all I have to chew on is this stupid toy. Oh, please don't tell mommy that I said stupid. I'm not supposed to say that word. But still, how stupid is this??!!"

Lillie:

"Oh Claire, please don't leave me. You are my bestest friend in the whole wide world and if you leave I will be totally degradatated!"

Lillie is now totally degradatated.

"I can't contain my distress!! I think I shall perish!"

Lillie is now perishing.

Claire, seeing that Lillie is about to perish quickly changes her mind about leaving and dons her pack-n-play carrier hat (what? that's totally in style these days!) and calls 911. We've heard that Aunt Leah knows the number, Claire, in case you have forgotten it. :) (Inside joke. Sorry. Couldn't resist.)















Once the perishing seems to have stopped, both girls realize that life is too short to fight over a lack of sippy-cupness and settle back in to their lounging positions. Lillie drinking and Claire happily chewing on her toy. Life is good again.


















The End
Thank you! Thank you!
Bowing over and over again

Just how hilarious is this?

11 Months and Counting...

Jason:



















Still doing school. Still painting. Still cute.
He won me a Kitchen Aid mixer off the Pioneer Woman blog. I picked the yellow one. I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!!

Rebekah:














When I read that Jason won the mixer I started screaming and jumping up and down. Elaina thought I had lost it. And I had.



Elaina:



















Elaina is desperate to be big so that she can blow bubbles with her gum, snap her fingers, and roller skate. If only that was all that was involved in "being big." Her reading lessons are going well. There is a video of her reading on Facebook you can watch if you are my friend. Last night after her bath, Jason noticed that her neck looked strange and we checked and there were two substantially large, hard as rock knots on the side of her neck. Her hair was covering it before and we never noticed it. I took her to the ER and it ended up being strep throat which is really bizarre because she has no symptoms. Other than the neck deformity.



Claire:













She's getting better. Sweeter. Nicer. Except today at Eily's dr appointment. Then, she was downright embarrassing. Her hair seems to have finally decided to grow and looks somewhat like a little bob. Her biggest desire right now is candy. Please, no one send/give us anymore candy.


Eily:













Eily woke up with a low fever this morning. Normally that wouldn't send me to the dr's office but since Elaina has strep throat I figured I'd better not take any chances. She doesn't have strep but she does have another double ear infection. This makes her 5th round in her short life. Poor baby. We go to the chiro again tomorrow so maybe that will make a difference.

Jason and I leave for DC in a few weeks.
Our 2nd shed is still not built. Will it ever be dry enough for that man to come build it????
We're staying busy and dreaming of lazy summer days.
I'm planning on taking the girls to Harmony Hill this June.

How about you? What's your summer plans? Anyone traveling? Anyone doing summer school? Do tell all.

April Fool's. :)

I'm pregnant.

Guess what I just did!

I walked outside to put some mail in the mailbox and on the way back in noticed a weed that needed to be pulled out of the front flower bed. And then another and then another. Before I knew it I was pulling weeds and throwing out leaves like a mad woman. Once that was finished, the grass looked extra pitiful so I got out the mower, lowered it to the lowest setting so that I don't have to do it again tomorrow, and mowed the front and side yards. Then I walked to the backyard and decided I wanted the swing set turned another direction and twisted the entire thing by myself. (Bravo to me. We have the world's longest swing set. It was not easy.) I then thought about mowing the backyard but the girls are out there playing now and I need to be in here to listen for Eily, Renee and Natalie. So I guess I won't. I guess I will do something else. And that will probably lead to something else, that will lead to something else, that will lead to....