Back in DC...

The girls have been totally spoiled the past few weeks with daddy home on leave. So when he had to go back to Washington for work, the girls and I went too. We flew out Wednesday evening and arrived at BWI a little after six. By the time we picked up the rental car and drove to downtown Washington, we were all very hungry and tired. So we had a quick dinner out before turning in for the night.

The girls in flight...

@ the hotel...

Thursday while daddy was at work the girls and I enjoyed breakfast at the hotel before heading out. I thought we could enjoy the morning before it got too hot, but by 9:30AM it was already so stinkin' hot that we walked the three block up to the mall and went into the first Smithsonian museum we came to: the American Indian Museum. Oddly enough, we had never been in there before. We always walk past it--as it sits right between the Air and Space Museum and the Botanic Gardens--but we'd never gone in. The girls had fun because they got to weave their own little baskets (and it felt so good to be in the air conditioning)! After that we walked up towards the Hill and into the Botanic Gardens. Usually that's a favorite, but it was too hot to enjoy it. We walked along the Mall for a few blocks before deciding to grab some lunch, and get back to our nice, cool room. 102 degrees--way too hot for us--yikes!

Maren outside the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian...

Logan...

Carsyn...

Sweating yet, girls?

Basket weaving...

U.S. Capitol...

I just had to post this--look at Maren's hand ; )...

That's better...

After daddy returned home (actually, the hotel) we drove out to Springfield for dinner with friends. It was just like old times. The girls had such a blast dressing up, throwing water balloons, and just being silly. It was a great visit. Thanks, you guys!

Logan, Charlie, Sydney, Carsyn, & Maren...

With Friday's forecast calling for even warmer temps. than Thursday, the girls and I decided not to venture out. Instead we had breakfast, packed up our stuff, and waited for daddy to pick us up for our long drive down to Virginia Beach. We ended up leaving the hotel at one o'clock, and got out of town with relative ease. Because we were making such good time, I (in a temporary lapse of sanity) thought it would be okay to stop at Potomac Mills to run into just a couple of stores. Well, first of all, you canNOT just "run" anywhere in northern Virginia. Second of all, I forgot how absolutely enormous that mall is--holy cow. Anyway, six and a half hours later we arrived at Maren's Godparents' (sadly, Chad is currently deployed on the U.S.S. Truman)...did I mention that our rental was a car? So, the girls were three across, and NO DVD player...aaagh! (Now I remember why I didn't want to live in D.C. forever.) Were we ever glad to relax and enjoys Jill's cooking!

Waiting for dad...

The girls and their cute feet...

On Saturday we loaded up beach towels, blankets, coolers filled with snacks and drinks, sunscreen, beach chairs, sand toys, and six kids into two cars, and headed to the beach. Inland temperatures were nearing 108 degrees, so apparently we weren't the only ones who sought relief at the ocean--it was packed! But, the kids had a blast. Our girls had gotten used to the calm waves of Lake Michigan, so the waves in the Atlantic seemed huge. They were even knocked down a few times, but took it like champs. Fortunately daddy was willing to get in and stay out there with them so Jill and I could sit on the shore.

The whole gang ready for a day at the beach...

Maren soaking up some sun (and a bathing suit full of sand)...

The big kids playing in the waves...

The little kids watching...

What a fun day!

After we got back to Jill's, (and everyone got showered) we ordered pizza and went out for ice cream. Sunday everyone put on their best for mass. We had such a great time visiting--even though the girls missed Chad ; ). (However, not nearly as much as his wife and kids miss him!) Thank you guys so much for your hospitality and generosity!

Logan, Evan, Madison, Maren, Carsyn, & Morgan:

What great-looking bunch...

When we left Chesapeake, we took a different route back north so we could stop in Patuxent River, MD to see some old friends from VFA 146. It was so nice to finally meet Mike and Noelle's little girl Lily!

Look at those Blue Diamond beauties...

After dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise, we finished our drive up to Baltimore. Monday morning daddy had to make an extra-long commute to work, so the girls and I just hung out by the pool. It was great because we had the whole pool to ourselves all day. When dad got back from work we all went out to dinner.

Carsyn...

Maren...

Logan...

Cleaned up for dinner...

Love my girls...

We had the first flight out of Baltimore (to Dayton) Tuesday morning. So we quickly ate breakfast at the hotel, and waited for the airport shuttle. We had such a great week out in D.C., VA, and MD! The girls were so sad saying goodbye to daddy at the airport because he had to stay in Washington for another week for work. I was a little anxious about flying back with three kids and no help (especially since our seat assignments were not at all together), but we did fine--we're practically pros now ; )!

Waiting for the shuttle...

Boonshoft With Dad...

Today we took the girls to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. It was too hot to do any outdoor activities, so this was the perfect (and by perfect, I mean FREE!) solution. Also, daddy had never been, so the girls had a ton of fun showing him around.

Sunday Girls...

It's another hot one today. We went to 10 o'clock mass this morning, and it was already steamy...yuck! But, the girls were still stylin' ; ).

Lake Michigan...

Basically since the day school got out, Logan has been asking when we're going on vacation. "Usually," she said, "we'd be in Disneyland or Disney World by now!" I guess that's fairly accurate. But, this year because of daddy's work schedule we weren't able to make any concrete travel plans. He had a few weeks of starting at the beginning of July, and we had hoped to take a Space A flight somewhere (either California or Hawaii), but it never worked out. So at the last minute we decided to take a trip up to Lake Michigan. We drove up to Holland, MI on Monday morning. After about five and a half hours in the car we made it to our destination. As soon as we got checked into our hotel room, Nana heard on the news that the President would be coming to Holland on Thursday--so that was a great way to start the trip. Monday night we went to downtown Holland for dinner and ice cream. It's a very nice little town, and our dinner was delicious!

Logan and her favorite: mocha chip...

Maren and Carsyn went for some cake batter...

Lovely evening...

Tuesday morning we slathered the girls in sunscreen, packed up all our sand toys and snacks, and headed to the beach. The girls had so much fun. This was their first experience swimming in fresh water. It was perfect for them. They could go out pretty far without worrying about giant waves knocking them down. And of course they loved building sandcastles. It was a fantastic day.

Logan...

Carsyn...

Maren...

Having a blast...

After spending the entire day at the beach, we worked up quite an appetite. We stopped at the Dutch village for some snacks before driving to Saugatuck for dinner. At the Dutch village the girls tried on wooden shoes, sampled dutch cheese and candy, and fed the ducks in the ponds. We at a great Italian restaurant in downtown Saugatuck, and then had more ice cream for dessert.

At the Dutch Village...

On the river in downtown Saugatuck...

On Wednesday we went to the beach all day again. This time it was super-crowded. But, the girls still had so much fun.

Beach girls...

Wednesday night we went back to downtown Holland for dinner. Daddy wanted to try some of the local beer at the New Holland Brewery--the girls just stuck with milk ; ).

Thursday morning after breakfast we checked out of our hotel. We decided to go over near the LG battery plant where President Obama was supposed to be coming for the ground-breaking. We ended up in the line of cars of invited attendees of the event. The girls were like, "What's daddy doing?" Good question. He said he was just going to try to get in. So we get up to speak with one of the LG employees, and he asked to see our Id's and invitations. By this point I'm thinking, these people are going to laugh and turn us away. Well, since we didn't have an invitation, all we could show him was our military Id's. He clearly didn't know what to do with us, so he just passed us on to one of the Secret Service agents who told us to go on to valet where they would sweep our car. So, there we were at the entrance--still not on the guest list. But, they must have felt sorry for us (or thought we were completely crazy) because they eventually let us in. It was a luncheon, but we decided not to press our luck and just stuck with drinks. After the C.E.O. of LG, the Governor of Michigan, and the Mayor of Holland spoke, the guest of honor arrived. Unfortunately we did not get lucky enough to shake hands, but it was still super-cool to see the President of the United States in person! Afterwards the girls were interviewed by the local newspaper--what an awesome day!!!

Waiting for Barack...

President Obama...