Washington Vacation

We made it back!! We have been planning this Oregon/Washington State trip for months now. It finally got here and then it was over before we knew it. We had such a great time. I could not believe how cool it was there, and then I come back to high 90's and all this humidity. We left last Tuesday and it was the first remember able airplane ride for all my kids. They were pretty excited. Gabe was the most freaked out when he saw how high we were. But he settled into it nicely. That first day was pretty boring, just flying and trying to keep kids entertained for all those long hours. We landed in Portland at 10:30pm their time which was way late our time. We were exhausted but ready to start our vacation.

Getting excited
Entertaining Hailey with some Tangled.

Waiting for the bus...it was so hot.

Kids waiting for bus.....more to come.

What A Great Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o2WRHKbNno&feature=fvwrel

Something Worth Blogging About

Has it really been almost a month since my last post??? Sometimes I don't feel like there is anything to blog about or take pictures of. We have been really laid back this month and just flat out lazy. We did go to Hershey for two days and I didn't take many pictures. I don't know why exactly but I didn't. We had a blast and it was so much fun. I also celebrated my 12th Anniversary with Corey. We went out to eat and to the movie Thor and had a great time. Even though 12 years sounds like a long time I always compare to people who celebrate 50 years together and Corey and I have a long ways to go.

I realized how lazy I have been and so on Friday I took the kids to the C&O canal here close by in Williamsport. This is where I run with my running group on Saturdays so I know the trail really well. I had never been in the little museum yet so we went in there and then unpacked the bikes for an hour of riding fun with no cars to worry about. I don't have a bike and Hailey doesn't either so we just strolled it up and down the path. The kids really liked it and it wasn't too hot either.

Kiddos in front of the Museum
Old bridge they used to lift up for the boats to go under.

Kids biking it on the trail.

This is one of the locks. The lady told us that only one man lived at the lock house and opened the float gates for the boats by himself. This thing was massive. You can see Gabe attempting to open the gate on the opposite side. Didn't go so well.

Lock House

This swan just sat there and we walked right up to it.

So beautiful

Just a cute face picture, couldn't resist.

On Saturday my friend Tiffany invited us to go to the American Doll store that just opened in Washington D.C. Lexie has a doll that I got from Toys R Us for 30 bucks compared to the American Doll which is 100 bucks. She plays with her on occasion so we got her and the doll all dolled up and headed out to see it. This place was overwhelming. Everything you could think of for a doll they sold. I was so tempted to just give in and buy her a doll. But I couldn't rationalize the 100 bucks for a doll. Or 30 bucks for an outfit for the doll. But we did have some fun while there.

Lexie checking out one of the displays.

Three girls who went together, and had so much fun.

They have a Bistro there that you can eat lunch with your doll. Tiffany had made reservations in advance so we dined in. The prices were outrageous for what you got. 16 bucks a person and that was even for little Lexie. The food was alright but not worth that much money in my opinion. We still had lots of fun though.

Group picture after we ate.

They even had a beauty salon where you can get your dolls hair done and ears pierced. I did pay to have Lexie's dolls hair done because it was a big mess. They did a great job.

It really was a lot of fun. The drive was long however and after all the excitement of the day my little Miss Lexie was just too exhausted. I came out of my bedroom to find this.

Shopping is just too exhausting.

Memorial Day Weekend

For the spur of the moment decision we went up to Philadelphia for the weekend. It was great to see old history, be in a huge city and see so many interesting things. I was slightly disappointed in the historical buildings. Only a few were restored to actually tour. The rest were just restored on the outside and you could walk around them. Having been to Nauvoo and seeing what a great job the church does, I was expecting more. But we got to see all the big things and some of the little. When we first got there we parked in a parking garage and headed over to the Mutter Museum. I first saw this on The Top 10 Scariest Places in America. Ever since then I have wanted to go. We were not disappointed in the least with this. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, so we only got this one outside of the building.

The kids were so excited and showed lots of interest in everything. Lexie was freaked out most of the time. They have preserved everything, body parts and heads all over the place. I even had a hard time realizing that the body parts were real, and some of the heads looked like they could open their eyes any moment. I saw what small pox looked like on a human arm, and we saw all sorts of skulls and even a preserved arm that grew a horn on it. I really do recommend you hit this spot when you go. It was worth it. Would have been more enjoyable without little Hailey pulling me all over, but great all the same.

After that we walked around the area for a little while till we could check in to our Hotel. We found this old church built in the 1700's and I had to have a picture in front of it.

After we checked into our hotel we headed over to some of the historical things. We got into Independence Hall and it really was interesting to see where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Hailey was more interested in pulling Dad's hair out.

The room where it was signed.

Dinner was hard to find in the downtown area that was affordable so we drove for an Applebees and then headed to the hotel to swim and go to bed.

We got up the next morning and headed back out to see some of the other sites. This was the first Stock Exchange Building in the United States. Of course we couldn't go in, but the outside was pretty fantastic.

There was also the first bank of the United States located across the street. These guys knew how to make a building impressive. There was so much detail on everything. This again was not open to the public.

The other horrible thing was most of the building you could tour were closed on Mondays...who knew. This was the Carpenter's Hall and it was closed but I got a picture of the outside anyways.

Lexie by some of the beautiful flowers.

Me beyond excited to be here. Corey not so much.

Look how cute he was. Holding Hailey's hand and walking on the old wagon roads.

Old 18th century garden there, it was so pretty and symmetrical.

Kids getting bored and playing Pokemen cards on these winding stairs.

Need I say anything, wise man that Benjamin Franklin.

This is the original archway that Benjamin Franklin took to get to his house and print shop.

One time when I was watching Man V. Food, he went to Philadelphia. He highlighted this ice cream shop in the old town and so we went there. The prices were horrible, but the ice cream was really good. We got 5 cones and it costs around 30 bucks. I was pretty sure I saw gold flecks in the ice cream.

After ice cream we were more than ready to head home. It was fun, but exhausting for Corey and I pulling the kids (especially Hailey) all over the place. I was so proud of Hailey who did not have one accident while we were there. She did great. On the way home everyone but Gabe fell asleep at some point. But this was my favorite position.

Just like a cute little puppy taking his nap. How did he get his long legs all curled up like that?

We had such a great time, and we have Hershey planned next week so stay tuned.

Happy Mother's Day!! I woke up to eggs and butter behind the couch, fighting, cleaning poop out of underwear three times, temper tantrum, a broken dresser because of said temper tantrum and yet still we managed to pull out these pictures....

Mother's Day was awesome!!

Marathon!!

Whew...I did it. I ran my first marathon and I have mixed feelings about it. It was actually a perfect day for it. Cloud cover and in the 50's. I was never super hot and that really helped. What I was not prepared for were the hills....I have never seen such repetitive hills all in a row. Just as you press yourself to get up one and over the top you see another huge one on the horizon. I was not prepared for the hills, but I never stopped. And I was so close to being under the four hour mark. Maybe if it wasn't so hilly my time would have been better. But I am relieved it is over and I feel like I worked hard and accomplished something big. My time was 4 hours and 4 minutes. I can hardly walk and I have a blister on the bottom of my foot. But other than the soreness and being super tired I feel great. I already have my second one registered in November in Philly. I will run with a guy in my training group and it is a flat course through the city so I should be able to break my time. It really was an amazing experience.

Me with the kids by the staging area after the race.
Me trying to stand and not look pathetic.

What a great husband this man is. He watched the kids every Sat. morning for my long runs. And he packed them all up to be at the finish line. He is so supportive.

One of my very best friends here also came up to cheer me on. She was there at mile 20 with this cute sign (see below) and ran a little ways with me to boost my spirit. Then she was at the finish line with a Snickers bar and cheering me again. She took the kids home with her so I could relax a little bit afterwards.

What a great day to be a runner.

As a side not, I just looked at the results and I got first place in my age group for the South side. Not too bad I should say.