Em at the E.M.

Em came out to visit us this weekend and we had a great time.  Even though we missed the rest of her family it was fun to go places with just the two of us.  So, thanks Matt and Vince for taking over the kids!!!  After I picked her up from her red-eye flight, we headed into DC and went to the Eastern Market.  (It is not ideal for large families so we haven't gone there in a while.)  The market building had a big fire not long ago and they are rebuilding it, but everyone was still set up around it just like normal.  They have built a temporary building for the businesses that used to be inside.  

We went in to eat breakfast at The Market Lunch.  The lady gave Emily that hardest time about her order.  It went something like this:

Em:  "I'll have the Two Egg Plate and an order of French Toast" (which comes with potatoes and toast per their sign)(Em and I were planning on sharing the french toast, in case you are wondering why Emily was ordering such a big breakfast.)

cashier:  "Do you want anything with the eggs?"

Em:  "Doesn't it come with potatoes and toast?"

cashier:  "The Egg Plate comes with potatoes and toast."

Em:  "Yes, that's what I want"

cashier:  "Just two eggs with french toast?"

Em:  "No, the eggs with potatoes and toast and an order of french toast."

cashier:  "If you want the Egg Plate, it comes with potatoes and toast but if you want eggs with french toast that is different."

This went on for a few more circles until she got it figured out.  I ordered second so I made sure I said it loud and clear.  Then when we got down the line, this lady was looking at us and shouting out orders.  I thought she was talking to us so I waved my hand as if to say "that's our order" but she wasn't talking to us.  She was yelling at her cooks.  I thought she was funny so I snapped a picture as sneakily as I could.  

After breakfast we walked all over the market looking at jewelry, art, produce, and flowers.  Then we headed to the National Gallery, and after that we got a little lunch in Shirlington.  I can't even remember the last time Em and I did something like that-it was really fun!

To see some lovely shots of Em go over to my photo blog!

Freezing Ferry

We visited Harpers Ferry with Missy and Ru a couple of weeks ago on one of Matt's Monday off.  It was a cold day and we about turned into icicles as we walked across the bridge.  It is a lovely little town and probably even more enjoyable in mild weather.  We had fun being together and on our way home we stopped at Five Guys for warm hamburgers and fries.  

Cherry Blossom Time!

It is one of my favorite times of the year in DC. The trees were beautiful and we were able to walk around the whole Tidal Basin. Pictures of the cherry blossoms never do them justice, so you'll all have to come and visit us next year so you can see for yourselves. It was another chilly spring day but as the morning went on it warmed up and was beautiful and sunny. It was fun to be with Missy and RuLynn. I didn't have all the boys with me which made it easier, but I like to share days like that with them all, so I missed Nate and Spence a bit. Would have like to have Matt there too.
We thought about going to the fireworks last night or maybe going in this morning for another walk but I think we were all too worn out from the hectic game schedule yesterday. I'm happy that basketball is over. They enjoyed it but now we are starting baseball for Spence and soccer for Nate and Sam. Cam continues to be the troubled spectator.

This is the view of the Jefferson Memorial from the FDR side.

I thought this picture was so funny.  He was pulling all sorts of faces for me.  I PROMISE, he does not realize what he is doing with his finger.

The blossoms grow right out of the tree trunks.

Kite Flying

Yesterday was the National Kite Festival. We had a great time trying to fly our kites. The wind was being kind of difficult, but the boys had a blast running the kite all around anyway. There were so many people that it was dangerous too. Our big kite dive bombed a few times and luckily no one was underneath it. As the boys ran around they got tangled up with other kite strings now and then and accidently crashed a couple of people in the head. In between flying kites they played football and we had some snacks. The cherry blossoms are out and Nana is here visiting so it was an all around great day. We were just missing Matt, but he was at a scout camp out--in heaven doing a night vision course. We be going back to walk around the blossoms this week so I'll post more pictures.

Easter

We hope you all had a HAPPY EASTER!  We had a couple of families over and had a nice dinner and a big easter egg hunt outside.  We had a fun time and it almost felt like we were at a family party.  

Doesn't Nate look happy to be in this picture?

Cam caught on pretty quick once he found out there was candy in the eggs.

Sam being Sam.

Philadelphia

The First One

Love this time of year!!!  I like to walk around my yard and see the growth each day. We are headed to Philadelphia tomorrow to visit some of our old favorite places. We are also taking the boys to a Star Wars exhibit at the Franklin Institute. Gotta go finish getting ready. Hope you all have a lucky day tomorrow!

Gear

Matt came home pretty happy Saturday night. He finally purchased some things he has been tracking for awhile. He was trying to snag a great deal on ebay, but no great deal was to be had. So, with the help of a 20 percent off coupon, some birthday money and the "necessity" of having-the right-gear-because-I'm-a-scoutmaster he was able to bring it all home.

I complain sometimes of how much time scouting takes, but I really am happy to see him interested and doing such a great job and I know all the work will also benefit our boys too.






I've tried to post this many times and the pictures wouldn't upload so lets hope this time works.

Here is one I forgot to add last week. What a funny job/hobby these guys have!

Last Friday I got to meet Matt in NYC to stay for a night. We had a great time. We love walking around the streets of NY and we did A LOT of that. My feet were even sore for a couple of days. I took the bus up on Friday morning which wasn't as bad as it sounds. I would even do it again, especially for the great price. I walked around, had lunch, went to the Guggenheim museum and saw an interesting exhibit by a Chinese artist and also their permanent collection. I like Kandinsky.

Then I met Matt at the hotel which was on Broadway overlooking Times Square. Very cool. We had dinner at a little Thai restaurant and I even tried real sushi, and liked it. We went to a late movie (I don't want to talk about my attempt to get us show tickets) and then walked back to the hotel in the freezing wind.

Saturday we thought we would go to the Statue of Liberty. We hadn't gone for many years so we were very surprised to find soooo many people there. We knew we wouldn't have time to go all the way out and still make our train so we decided to go the art museum. After the subway ride and the walk across central park we got to art museum and realized we wouldn't have time to see it properly either. So, we just walked all down through Central Park and thought about bringing the boys someday soon.

We made our train and read most of the way home which was a treat. We really appreciated everyone who helped us with our boys. It was so nice to just be with Matt, to sleep in, and to go where we wanted whenever we wanted to. We do love those boys a whole ton, and I was happy to see them again.