A D.C. Tour...

We took "Uncle" John on a sightseeing tour of our Nation's Capital today. Logan and Carsyn hadn't been to Washington since we were living in Virginia Beach two years ago, and Maren had never been. So, it was fun and adventurous for everyone. We had fun seeing all the monuments and memorials, walking along the National Mall, visiting the Smithsonian, and smelling all the plants at the National Botanical Garden. Unfortunately the American History museum was closed for renovation, but we were able to go to the Air and Space and the Natural History. We did not have an advanced reservation to go up in the Washington Monument or the Capitol. And, we also did not go to the White House--I think we'll wait until after January 20th, 2009! We spent over eight hours walking around and being tourists. The girls took turns taking naps all day long. It was very exhausting, but very neat!

The Washington Monument...

From the Capitol...

On the Hill...

The steps of the Lincoln Memorial...

Wonder where she learned to pose like that?

The Jefferson Monument...

The Nationals Sell Out...

Seriously!? John wanted to go to Nationals game today. Instead of buying the tickets before hand, Daddy insisted on just getting them there at the stadium. So, Mommy, Daddy, John, and Maren drove over to the ballpark about three innings into the game, and it was sold out! Not kidding. They said it was only the second time in franchise history to sell out. It was probably because they were playing the Orioles. Anyway, so we walked around a little and then went to the Navy Museum at the Naval Yards. We also toured the U.S.S. Barry--funny name huh!?

Even her super-cute looks couldn't get us in...

Captain Maren, U.S.S. Barry...

Tony's First Win of the Season: Richmond Race...

Friday evening Carsyn's Godfather, John arrived for his visit. The girls had been so excited awaiting his arrival. On Saturday afternoon, Daddy, John, Mommy, and Logan drove down to Richmond for the IRL race. Daddy got us some really good seats and admission to a pre-race party with driver q&a. We were so excited to see Tony (Kanaan), but we missed him by about 15 minutes--darn that D.C. traffic. But, it was still fun staying in the air conditioning with free food and drinks! We'd never been to that track or any short track before. It was pretty cool how you could see around the entire oval. Logan did well at the race, although with all the cautions it was a much longer race than expected. But, it was well worth it to see our favorite driver, TK get his first win of the 2008 season! Go Tony!!!

John, Logan, & Daddy ready to go racing...

Richmond International Raceway...

Fireworks to celebrate Tony's win...

Our New Home...

Greetings from our Nation's Capital! After eight long days, nine states, and countless bathroom stops, we're finally here. We left the Central Valley just in time--right before a big heat wave and wild fires. But, it is pretty warm and sticky here. Our home is fairly spacious, so we have room for guests! Please keep checking back, as there will be lots more pictures and previous updates from our last weeks in California, as well as our trek cross country! (Those will be added chronologically, so you'll have to go back to find them.) Send us an email if you need our new contact info!

Cross-Country Trip...

Saying goodbye to our friends was so incredibly hard, but we had to hit the road. The first stop on our eight day trip, Vegas baby! We arrived in Las Vegas at about 9 o'clock on Saturday night (and it was still super-hot out.) We hadn't planned on getting that late of start, but it was worth it letting the girls get one last day at the pool with their friends. Neither the girls, nor mommy had ever been to Vegas before. But, friends of ours who had just been with their kids recommended the Monte Carlo. The hotel was very nice.

On Sunday morning after breakfast, we lathered the girls up with sunscreen and headed for the pools. We spent all day floating in the lazy river, jumping the waves in the wave pool, and just hanging out in the kiddie pool. The girls had such a blast.

Too cool for the pool...

That evening we walked down the strip and saw a couple of the water fountain shows at the Bellagio. It was quite impressive. However, the girls were much more content playing at the pool than walking around in the excessive heat and crowds.

Outside of the Monte Carlo...

At the Bellagio...

Happy Father's Day, Daddy...

Then we went to the Mirage because the girls wanted to eat at CPK. However, they did not even have a kid's menu, but while we were waiting on our table Mommy won $40 on a quarter slot and bought the girls little Siegfried and Roy white tigers! On the walk back to our hotel, we noticed that Maren was feeling extremely hot. She had be running a low-grade temp. for the couple of days. Of course none of us packed a thermometer, but she was burning up and very cranky. So, mommy and daddy took her to an urgent care clinic. They said her temperature was too high (103) and sent us to the emergency room at a children's hospital. After about two hours of waiting, monitoring, prodding, and both urine and blood testing, they diagnosed her with an ear infection and gave her antibiotics. It was a horrible experience--not the way we wanted to spend our night in Vegas. But, we just wanted to make sure our baby was okay. The antibiotics started working immediately, and Maren started acting more like herself the next day.

Monday morning we all slept in and then had to pack up to make it to our next stop on the map. We did make a quick stop at the slot machines on the way out--we came out ahead!

Too young to gamble...

We drove over the Hoover Dam, which was kind of cool. It was 110 degrees there, so we decided to just stay in the car rather than getting out to see it. Besides, the girls were watching Peter Pan (for what would end up being the second viewing of about ten.) We stopped in Flagstaff, AZ for dinner, and then headed to our hotel in Albuquerque, NM. That was a lot of time in the car--it took us way too long. We definitely do not recommend driving that distance in one day on an eight day road trip. But, we made it none the less. Tuesday morning after Logan and Carsyn ate breakfast, mommy and daddy took them to the pool for bit where we saw a real roadrunner. Maren was still sleeping--she needed the rest.

Coolin' off in the pool...

After we all got cleaned up and checked out of the hotel, we went to Old Town Albuquerque. It was a really neat area. It's like any "old town"--a lot like Old Town Scottsdale. The girls had fun looking around in all the shops and eating ice cream.

Old Town Albuquerque...

Our next stop was Amarillo, TX (only about a four-hour driving day!) But, it started raining pretty hard as soon as we crossed the Texas state line. It was lightening and thundering--something Logan and Carsyn didn't remember and something Maren had never heard or seen before. There was nothing really to do in Amarillo except eat dinner and go shopping (which daddy put the nix on the latter.) So, we just hung out in our hotel room and relaxed.

Wednesday we drove to Oklahoma City, OK. The girls had fun swimming at the hotel pool, but we really didn't do much in that city either, except grab dinner and watch the Cubs on t.v. Maren was recovering from her illness and ended up sleeping for almost 15 hours. She missed out on dinner, breakfast, and the pool. Poor thing. But, she's all better.

Thursday on our way to Memphis, we stopped in Little Rock, AR. Very much to our surprise, it had a very neat downtown area. We had wanted to check out President Clinton's old digs--the old Governor's mansion and the Bill Clinton Presidential Library, but we didn't get there in time. We saw them both from outside--very impressive. We might actually consider going back to see them.

Maren feeling pretty good at the Old Governor's Mansion...

At the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library...

We then ate dinner, and drove to downtown Memphis. Our hotel was a very cool old downtown hotel, very close to the river and just a few block north of Beale St. On Friday walked around downtown and Beale Street, and even talked Daddy into doing a little shopping. It was pretty cool place.

The birthplace of Rock'n'Roll...

Beale Street...

Then we stayed in Knoxville, TN also before driving the rest of the way to Northern Virginia. We got the keys to our new place on Sunday morning and the truck with our household goods met us there. We had fun and safe trip, and now we're looking forward to settling into our new home!

Au Revoir Lemoore!

After a very hectic and stressful moving day, we finally had all of our household goods loaded on the truck at 9:30 pm last night. We had made plans to go with our friends to the khaki pool one last time, but that didn't work out. Instead, Grace's mom watched the girls most of the day while dad, mom, and nana helped move. The girls had a great time playing with their friends. It was so nice to know that they were having fun and being taken care of. They were also able to say goodbye to their other best friends, Ashley and Jenna, and their mom. They are a great family and were so sweet to bring road trip gifts for the girls. It was pretty sad to say goodbye to them. Logan, Carsyn, Maren, Grace, Leo, and Sophie all stayed up pretty late that night watching movies and eating popcorn--it was a fun little sleepover. The next morning we went to the pool. Luckily, Logan's crush Nick was there, and we got to say goodbye to him and his family too (thanks for the pizza!)

Mommy's Girls--yes, we all have matching suits...

Logan and her best friend, Grace...

Carsyn and Maren...

Nick and Logan...

Then it was time to hit the road. Saying goodbye to Grace, Leo, Sophie, Lucy, Sarah, and Josh was heartbreaking. They have been such wonderful friends to us. We've become very close and our kids love their kids. Logan held back her feelings, but Grace just cried and cried. It was very hard to leave. We will definitely miss having our friends across the street! Thank you guys for putting us up, feeding us, and being so awesome!!!

Logan, (a very sad) Grace, Sophie, Carsyn, & Leo...

Last few days in Lemoore...

After packing up our household good all week, we are ready for the movers to come tomorrow morning. It has been extremely stressful and sad preparing for this move because we have gotten so comfortable here. The girls are involved in so many activities, have wonderful friends, and it's just such a nice a safe feeling living on base. We are definitely going to miss it. This week the girls also had their last gymnastics class with Ms. Shannon. They have loved taking dance and tumbling at the youth center. It has been so convenient for mommy too--only three blocks away! We also wanted to make sure and take a break from packing and let the girls enjoy some fun in the sun at the officer's club pool, so we went swimming on Wednesday and brought Grace too. We're crossing our fingers for a smooth move out tomorrow...

Last dance class...

Carsyn, Maren, Logan, & Grace at the pool...

Carsyn, Ms. Shannon, & Logan...

I Love L.A....

Saturday morning we checked out of our hotel in Anaheim and drove up to Dodgers Stadium for the Cubs game. It was a pretty nice ballpark, and you could see the Hollywood sign out past the third base line. There were a couple of the stars of the show Heroes in attendance as well as the Simpson's. Daddy and nana tried Dodger Dogs, but the girls insisted on pizza and cotton candy. It was a great game up until the seventh inning. Carlos had been pitching pretty well, but was left in one batter too long. We couldn't see it from our seats, but later on the highlights we saw Big Z beating up on the water coolers. Oh well, can't win them all.

Outside of Dodger's Stadium...

Afterward we checked into our hotel in Beverly Hills. Daddy had never been and we wanted to show him around before we moved out of California. We met Cousin Missy for dinner at our favorite restaurant (CPK) and then had some frozen yogurt from Pinkberry. The next morning we went to mass at the Catholic church on Santa Monica (but, we didn't see Vanessa Williams this time.) Then we did a little (window) shopping on Rodeo. Of course we had to take Daddy to Hollywood to see the sights there too. It was a fun little trip and a nice farewell to Southern California!

In Beverly Hills...

On Rodeo Drive...