back to school

 they started on different days, but everybody got back into the school rhythm wether they wanted to or not! goodbye, summer!!

lake day

a day at smith lake with the other brothers was just what was needed to finish out the summer and get the school year into gear!

back to school food fight

 i can't say that i will ever understand this tradition, but it's a big thing.  

the night before school starts, the seniors and the freshman have a food fight.  i'm not sure that it's even fair to call it that because the seniors get the food, and the freshman just get to try to outrun them.  they leave milk outside in the heat for days, use mustard, and syrup and eggs.  you would not believe the nastiness and the horrific smell!  wes is pretty quick, and he said that only three of the seniors were able to catch him.  but, he still required three showers.  gross, gross, gross.  

they are looking forward to being on the other side in four years! 

camp crossings at jonathan creek

reed loaded up with his harrisburg buddies and made the trek to kentucky for their youth camp.  i don't think the accommodations were quite as nice as he is accustomed to at camp, but they had lots of fun outdoor things!  and, judging by the time that he got in the bed on the first night back at home....i'd say that he had his fill of fun!

 

washington d.c.

 we have been talking about doing d.c. for several years, and we finally took it on this summer.  for multiple reasons, we drove.  it worked out fine...great, actually....but, i don't have to make that drive again anytime soon!! after a stop in virginia at a hotel about 4 hours away, we made it to our hotel in d.c. that next afternoon.  we stayed at an embassy suites on 10th street near the convention center, and we will stay there again if we ever go back!  perfect accommodations, perfect location! it's been about 20 years since chase and i have been to d.c.  it's still great.  clean, easy to get around, and lots of stuff is free!! 

we saw the original declaration of independence, the bill of rights, and the constitution at the national archives museum.  

ford's theater was right down from our hotel, so we saw it multiple times.  lincoln's waffle house was right across the street, so we decided that he must have had his waffles there before the show! 

they love some noodles.

the first night we were there, i booked us a guided nighttime tour of the monuments.  this was awesome to do on the first night because we got the lay of the land.  it's also not as crowded at night or as hot! plus, the guide gave us some background info on the monuments.  the ones that the tour didn't hit, we were able to go to on our own later.  

white house

WWII

Korean War memorial

Lincoln memorial

Jefferson memorial

Navy memorial

Jefferson in the background from the MLK memorial

Washington Memorial 

MLK

Lincoln

White House

Washington Memorial

Lincoln

The Capitol was getting revamped on the outside, but it was still pretty all lit up at night. 

By the end of the week, they could navigate a subway and read the maps to get us where we needed to go!

Arlington...changing of the guard

overlooking d.c. from the top of Arlington at Robert E. Lee's house

changing of the guard

 amphitheater at Arlington

we also saw the Pentagon, the 9/11 memorial, and the Air Force memorial, but they are super strict with cameras and don't allow you to get them out or take pictures.  so, the memories will just have to suffice for those places! 

we spent most of one afternoon at the SPY museum.  we found out that none of us are cut out to be spies.

Mount Vernon

goofy people acting like they are in field of dreams...

the wharf (and we had the best sandwiches EVER just down the street)

we rented bikes and scooters and hit up a few places we hadn't been.  

washington memorial up close...

WWI plaza

FDR memorial

funky legs!

Vietnam wall

we had breakfast with Roger Wicker and then toured the Capitol.  it was impressive, and it was definitely a highlight. 

the rotunda

Wes Henson, U.S. Senator

the old house chambers

the very center of d.c. in the vault

we ran into our next door neighbor at Mississippi Morning! 

on the people mover under the Capitol

the top of the rotunda

roger and the crew

william outside the Capitol

we are not museum people.  not really.  our attention can't be held walking around looking at exhibits.  that being said, we were all really sad that we didn't get to go to the air and space museum.  it was undergoing a re-do to make it bigger and better.  chase and i have already done the holocaust museum, and that's just something that they'll have to do on their own one day.  it was fantastically done, but i can't do it again.  the boys did some research and decided they wanted to go to the natural history museum.  we LOVED it! so, maybe we just haven't been going to the right museums! 

last day...

we had an awesome time in our nation's capital.  we got to do everything that we wanted except the air and space museum.  we were also planning to go to a baseball game one night, but it got rained out.  we found a hole in the wall pizza place that we really liked, though, so it turned out ok! since we got everything in that we wanted and we still had half of a day left, we decided to get on the road and get a jump on the trip home.  we got some supper in Bristol, Tennessee, and i had found us a hotel in Knoxville.  however, when we got to knoxville, nobody in the car (except me) wanted to stop.  they all wanted to keep going.  i protested, but it did no good.  so, we left the Knoxville city limits at 9pm and made it home around 2am.  i didn't want to do it, but it's actually a really good time of day to travel.  all the 18 wheelers have pulled over to sleep, and nobody is on the road.  we will certainly lock this handy information away for future travel! not that i'm going to be driving to d.c. again anytime soon!  we loved it and would absolutely go back.....just maybe on a plane!