A New Vehicle

Once home from our road trip, our vehicle search officially (and gratefully) ended. We are amazed at it's technology as seen below. We are so happy to end our search and not to mention so happy with our purchase.

More Pictures Off the Phone

You say, "More pictures from your phone?"

I say then, "Yup. It's what I got to do with family all over the nation."

You end with, "Ah. Understood."

Please enjoy the pictures below from the most recent to the oldest.

I would like to comment about the second to last picture. We have one awesome new library near us that we like to frequent often. It has a great children's area filled with touch screen computers, a giant tree for reading, and even a playground only accessible to library patrons. We actually went today but the second to last picture was taken about a month ago. Gavin loves the computer and touching the screen endlessly.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

During one of the days it threatened less to rain, we got back in the car to visit Gettysburg. Home to the great Civil War battle of July 1863 and the historic speech of one Mr. Abraham Lincoln. The best way to tour the park was actually on a 24 mile automobile tour. We tried to time the ride perfectly during afternoon naps and it actually worked pretty well in our favor. Sean and I decided that if we are ever in the Gettysburg area again for three days during the first part of July we want to attend the total reenactment of the battle. I think our chances might be slim but possibly doable.

At the very end, Gavin woke up and got the wiggles. Even though this shot is unfortunately out-of-focus on Gavin you can still see the pure excitement he gets from his grandma.

Despite saying farewell to our family and friends, it was good to get home. We had a fabulous road trip up the east coast this summer. The kids were troopers in the car and even during our 18 hour car ride home.

Our last stop to Harrisburg.

After our glorious patriotic tour, we arrived just north of the Mason-Dixon line to visit my mother in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We first made a drive-by excursion through my old high school stomping grounds of Hereford, Maryland and the surrounding areas. I was quite depressed that some of my favorite stores no longer exist but also impressed how much growth had occurred in the area.

Since we knew what to expect, we did not tell Gavin we were visiting grandma until we were approaching Harrisburg. He was overcome with excitement to learn of our visit and kept shouting 'Mama's Home' over and over again. To get the full effect you need to imagine Gavin throwing his arms in the air too. That boy sure does love his grandma. (I left that statement general since he really does love both of his grandmas but this time we were visiting Grandma Forbes.)

Just like the rest of the trip, the time we spent at my mother's was perfect. Restful and enjoyable. The weather was sadly not the best with rain threatening every day but we made the best of our visit. We squeezed in a visit to see my favorite Great Auntie Helen that was of course filled with laughter. We even squeezed in dinner with one of my best friends from high school but the state of Pennsylvania left a nasty taste in my mouth that night. We had another best friend of our trio missing the dinner due to horrible Pennsylvania roads and traffic. Sean and I even experienced a 20 minute stand still on our way to dinner that night since those wicked Jersey walls on the interstate cause an accident even if someone sneezes.

I loved watching Helen make Logan smile.

There was lots of snuggle time with grandma. Neither grandson minded.

Do you have best friends that you may not talk with regularly but every time you do it's as if you pick up where you left off? That's what Cara, Anna, and I have. Even after several years and several hundred miles later.

I included this shot of Logan since we just adore his lips while he is trying to learn the different sounds. He puckers up and hums to his heart's content. I adore it but I am also his mother.

Day Two at the Nation's Capital

After saying good-bye to the Meridian Manor and Sean carrying our luggage back down four flights of stairs, we headed to the Capital and the Library of Congress. We knew taking the official Capital tour with a toddler and infant would be out of the question but we still wanted to take a look. They just recently finished a very impressive visitor's center so we got our fill of information. One day we plan to go back when the kids are much older and take the tour. Our one day will come, mark my words.

And then we entered the Library of Congress. Suddenly the minutes that remained on our coin metered parking space were too few. We could have spent hours in there admiring the floors, ceiling, walls, windows, skylights, statues...you get the point. The building was amazing and we already love books, thus its our new favorite building.

We could have spent another couple days in Washington. We loved every minute but we had Grandma Forbes eagerly waiting to see her grandsons in Pennsylvania. Back in the car we drove to Harrisburg! But first we drove through Embassy Row and drove by the National Cathedral. Just another perfect stop in our Road Trip 2010 maybe just minus that eritrean food.

Day One at the Nation's Capital

After our play date, we returned to the car for more adventures northward. Our next stop was downtown Washington, D.C. We found a bed and breakfast that was kid-friendly right around Dupont Circle. We were pleasantly surprised since you usually never see 'bed and breakfast' and 'kid-friendly' together. It ended up being delightful and perfect for our adventures. However squeezing two pack'n'plays in a queen size bedroom made things interesting but doable.

We arrived close to bedtime and Gavin was still wired with energy. While Sean put Logan down for the night, Gavin and I took a walk around the neighborhood. We were just minding our own business playing the 'run/walk' game when we happened to come upon a firehouse in the middle of the city. Most of the firemen were sitting out front waiting for a call when Gavin shouts "FIRE TRUCK!" Gavin was so excited and the fire chief just happened to hear this little boy's excitement. The fire chief then made the rookie give us a tour of both the water truck and ladder truck. Gavin loved it, and I loved it too. Watching my son's total elation was priceless. I was so consumed with his excitement that it did not dawn on me to capture this with pictures on my phone until the last few minutes. I do not know if Gavin will remember this experience when he is older but I certainly will. It was priceless.

The next morning we woke and magically Logan had discovered his feet. Anytime he is without a toy now, Logan will default his amusement to his feet and toes. He rolls into a long, tiny ball. Adorable.

After the breakfast part of our accommodations, one member of our family promptly fell asleep.

While Logan slept, we walked around the Mall and its surrounding monuments and memorials.

Here we are at the Washington Monument.

In the picture below, you can see our next stop on the left in the distance.

(The Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool)

Those of us who can walk in the family took a very long walk to the memorial. And it was HOT!

Did I happen to mention that Washington D.C. was experiencing record heat of almost 99 degrees?

Cool, or quite the opposite actually.

Gavin is growing increasingly tired. I mean look at all those steps above!

Having ptosis in his right can sometimes be a great indicator to us when it's time for his nap. When Gavin is especially tired, he has a hard time trying to keep both eyelids even. And when he is tired, obedience tends to blow away in the wind.

Hello, Mr. President.

I did not know Sean had captured this moment until we got home, but here is proof of Gavin's fatigue. Just laying around the feet of Mr. Lincoln.

I would like to interrupt this post and talk about the woman below holding the tan purse talking on the telephone. Countless people asked her to move her conversation elsewhere since she was not there taking a picture. She was just talking and standing when we arrived, and she was just talking and standing there when we left.

After a quick, shaded picnic on the lawn of the Lincoln Memorial, we took another long walk back to the Archives. Guess who fell asleep this time?

The Archives did not allow photography inside the building to help preserve the integrity of the documents (think Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.). Once inside there was a pretty long wait (30 minutes or so), but the cool air condition made the wait bearable. However to our surprise, the officials jumped us to the front of the line since we had strollers in tow. We felt a bit guilty but since Logan's feeding time was quickly approaching we were grateful for the break.

After a quick ride home on the Metro, we rested a bit and cleaned ourselves up for dinner. We felt adventurous and in the mood for a new style of food. Thus we landed at the Dahlak Eritrean Restaurant. Have you ever had eritrean food, let alone heard of eritrean food? Well in case you are unfamiliar Eritrea is a country in northeast Africa. It was not horrible but let's just say we will not be seeking out eritrean restaurants in the future. In case you are wondering what Gavin had for diner, we ordered spaghetti for him and I am 98% sure they ran across the street to the italian restaurant to get it. True story.