Hmm....What five things could I not live without??? You know, as I am thinking about this, a few of the things that have quickly come to my mind is food - what does that say about me? Ok, well here are my 5 things that I could not live without - in no particular order. P.S. Jana when you tag someone, you need to tell the person they've been tagged otherwise its a month before they find out they have to compile a list of things they can't live without.
Ok here we go in no particular order:
1) Free Long Distance - If I didn't have free long distance, I would have such a huge phone bill.
2) Good Movies - You know, I have never been too big on chick flick movies; however, who could pass up a good nail biting sports movie - you know the kind, based on true events, underdog, against all odds - gotta love 'em!
3) Olive Garden All You can eat soup, salad and breadsticks - self explanatory I would think but when you're a stay at home mom, and the kids are driving you CRAZY, there's nothing much better except for cheesecake.....
4) Cheesecake!!! hehe but really this should be any good desert
5) Outdoors - I have these days where I don't feel like going outside and then the kids start going crazy so I take them to the park or for a walk or something and I remember how much I like being outside. I love the mountains and they are probably one of the things I miss most about home.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Baby Ainsley
I wanted to posts some of the recent pictures we have of Ainsley. She can be the happiest baby! She has the biggest smile - but also has the loudest cry I think I have ever heard in my life! I must say though, she is such a mama's girl. She definately loves her daddy - when he walks in the room, she does everything she can to get his attention and she LOVES chewing on his hands. Teething. She is 
definately adored by her big sisters.
Washington DC
Ok, so while we were in Virginia, Tropical Storm Hannah was making herself known and things were being shutdown due to bad weather. So, we decided that we would head north into Maryland instead. We left early and arrived in Washington DC by afternoon only to find that the lovely storm was visiting Washington as well. We decided we would only see the things that we would be able to stay dry doing. Our first stop was the National Archives. This is where the Declaration of Indepence, Bill of Rights, US Constitution etc are kept. Geneology buffs - this is the place for you! 
One thing about DC is the buildings there are absolutely amazing. The architecture is beautiful. We saw all the documents that were displayed. Although, the Declaration of Independance is so old that the ink has almost completely disappeared. Its amazing though the documents are still in tact. The oldest document that was there was the Magna Carta - circa 1297 - surprisingly this was in better condition than the Declaration of Indepence which was written in 1776.
After we went to the National Archives, we tried to see the White House but Washington is not the easiest city to park, or drive around. We decided that we would try to go to the Capitol Building. Bryon dropped me off to try to find a place to park. While walking up to the bulding, I
got soaking wet! I don't know if you have ever been in a Tropical Storm, but the rain is different. It soaks everything! We decided to go back to the hotel and try again in the morning before we left for home. Sunday morning we hit the road back into DC. First stop...the White house. We walked up to the viewing area but was unable to get much closer because the SWAT team was there guarding and not letting people close. As you can see from the picture (which is zoomed out all the way), we were not very close at all but this is as close as we were allowed to go - the SWAT guys were quite serious! 
We then went to see all the monuments: Washington Monum
ent, WWII Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial. They were amazing!! Our last stop on our tour of Washington was the DC Temple. It wasn't anything like I thought it would be. Its wierd how taking a picture from a certain angle can change the look of the building. It was a beatiful temple. 
Revolutionary War - Yorktown
Have you ever seen the movie "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson? Well, this movie was based on this piece of American history. Just like Jamestown, Yorktown was cool! We took the Yorktown Battlefield tour. Initially we thought it would be something that we walked around but it ended up being a couple hour tour that you drove around. It worked out though because the beginnings of Tropical Storm Hannah had arrived and it was very wet. As you drive around, you get out of the car and walk around different areas. Now, during the war, the soldiers had to dig trenches. They dug day and night. Many of the original trenches are still there and were used during both the Revolutionary War 
and the Civil War. In the Park services building, they have oringinal cannons, desks of General George Washington, tents that George Washington used while planning his next advances. Very interesting stuff. At the end of the tour and after walking around different battle fields you end at Surrender Field where General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington. There are two very interesting quotes on the walls there. From Cornwallis: " I have the mortification to inform your Excellency that I have been forced to give up the posts of York and Glouce
ster, and to surrender the troops under my command, by capitulation on the 19th instant, as prisoners of war to the combined forces of America and France." Quite in contrast from Cornwallis is George Washington: "I have the honor to inform Congress, that reduction of the British Army under the command of Lord Cornwallis, is most happily effected."Jamestown
Early in September, Bryon and I went on a little trip for our 4th Anniversary. We drove to Virginia! We stayed at a time-share resort in Williamsburg, VA. We didn't go around Williamsburg because there was a hurricane coming(more on that in my Washington DC post). We did get to go to Jamestown and Yorktown. Now, for those of you that don't know too much about American History - these are important places. First, I will tell you about Jamestown. Jamestown is the first British colony in the USA. Remember, Pocahontas? Yes, this is the place and yes, she was real. 
Captain John Smith and others arrived in America in 1607. They built the colony of Jamestown. Pocahontas was a Native Princess - daughter to the Chief. She later married one of the British colonists and moved to England where she died. It is told that she saved John Smith's life many 
times, mostly by stepping in for him. Jamestown isn't really there anymore - there are a few old - VERY old buildings but mostly its under excavation by archaeologists who are undigging and piecing together the history. I thought it was amazing. They have a museum there where they have artifacts and they also to forensic recreations of bodies they had found buried in the area. I could just imagine the indians and early colonists walking around, living there. It was cool. You know, when I was a kid, we went to a dinosaur excavation site - I so badly wanted to be an archaeologist. This ignited my youthful wish - how fun would it be to play in the dirt all day!! Not to mention finding the cool stuff!
times, mostly by stepping in for him. Jamestown isn't really there anymore - there are a few old - VERY old buildings but mostly its under excavation by archaeologists who are undigging and piecing together the history. I thought it was amazing. They have a museum there where they have artifacts and they also to forensic recreations of bodies they had found buried in the area. I could just imagine the indians and early colonists walking around, living there. It was cool. You know, when I was a kid, we went to a dinosaur excavation site - I so badly wanted to be an archaeologist. This ignited my youthful wish - how fun would it be to play in the dirt all day!! Not to mention finding the cool stuff!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Family Camp Out
A couple of weeks ago we went for a family camping trip to Hocking Hills. It was a bit of a spur of the moment trip but we sure did have fun. We decided for this family trip that we would stay for longer than just one night. It was a good thing too! We loaded up the van and started the 2 hour drive. Only it didn’t end up being only 2 hours. We mapped out our route using Bryon’s GPS. We got part way there and lost all signals. So here we are, in the middle of nowhere Ohio, with no idea of where are supposed to go. We stopped, asked for directions, and stopped on a few convenient hill tops seeking even the slightest of signals. We eventually arrived at our camp site and we were then faced with a new challenge for the night. Setting the tent up in the dark! Bryon had fun. I got supper ready – it was a culinary masterpiece – roasted hot dogs. Yummy! While cooking we realized that we
weren’t the only ones staying in our campsite. We were joined by some of the weirdest, ugliest, biggest bugs I have ever seen in my entire life. When you have a family of 4 girls, bugs aren’t necessarily the best guests. They didn’t enjoy the bugs. Dark, bugs and all – we had a great time. 
The first stop after conquering our 3 minute shower mess (that’s a whole other story) and having our dance off (I’ll post those videos later) was Ash Cave. It was really neat to see how these giant caves have been formed. We know that much of the earth was under water at some point and being her
e, you can totally see that. All it was missing was the fish and a shipwrecked boat. Our next stop was at Old Man’s Cave. This was a pretty neat place but was a bit more dry than I think it was supposed to. It was a hot day, so when we got to the end and saw water, the girls thought it would be fun to walk in it. A small water fight pursued – Taylor and Rebeckah got wet and we got some great pictures and videos. 
Now, Keleigh wasn’t too excited about the water. But when it came time for Chubby Bunny…..she was all over that like melted chocolate on a smore(which we had right after!)
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