Move Back to California - Day 1

We spent most of the day driving but was able to make a stop for about 4 hours at Monticello. It was so much fun! We loved it and I learned so much about our 3rd president. He was an inventor and it was very evident when walking around his home that he was very efficient for his day and ran a tight household. The pictures below were all taken on the grounds as they would not permit photo's inside the house.

Driving Off into the Sunset!

One Last Visit to Washington DC

This weekend we went to DC one last time before we move back to CA. It was bittersweet but totally worth the trip. We started off the morning in the beautiful DC temple. Then headed downtown to checkout Ford's theater (where Abraham Lincoln was shot). After the theater we went to the Natural History Museum. We got to see the Hope Diamond and bunch of really cool exhibits. While at the museum we met up with some friends from California and then walked down to the white house. The whole night was a blast!

The next morning we headed out of town and on the way out we went to Georgetown and I got to see DC cupcakes! I was soo excited. I was going to get one but the line was so long and we needed to fit a lot of things in so we took a picture instead :)

Gettysburg... there are so many things that could be said about this experience. It was truly amazing. I didn't realize the battle took place in such a huge area (24 square miles!). The picture in the upper right of the collage is a picture taken of "Wheat Field", this was one of the most bloodiest battles where bodies were piled on top of each other. Those who were alive but could escape were left for days and could hear the wild pigs at night eating the flesh of the dead soldiers. Graphic, but true. These are the kinds of things that stir my heart to gratitude for the sacrifices our soldiers made for our country. They had such courage and strength. More than I could ever imagine.

On the morning of our second day we went to Arlington National Cemetery. It was beautiful! It was a reverent place. One thing I learned when visiting was that Arlington was originally the home of General Lee from the Civil War. His home still stands on the cemetery. During the Civil War, a union general disliked Lee so much that he took his home away during the war and declared the property to be a national cemetery. That is how it became Arlington Cemetery. Lee was never allowed to live there again and suffered much hardship after the war.

Baby Wolf on the Way!!

Yes it is true, Terrill and I are expecting!! We are so excited to have a little spirit join our family and feel so blessed. With 15 weeks down and 25 more to go, I am feeling pretty darn good. The due date is November 9th. We find out in about 4 weeks if it is a boy or girl. We will be happy with a healthy baby but are excited to find out what it is. We had this ultra sound taken a couple of weeks go. It is so cool to see the baby move and to hear the heart beat. I am not posting any preggo pics until I actually look pregnant and not just fat.

20 Mile Back Packing Trip with the Scouts

On April 29th bright and early in the morning, Terrill and I joined the scouts on a backpacking trip on the Appalachian trail starting at the Delaware Water Gap. The night before was a little hectic trying to get everything packed in our bags just the right way. The weather report was calling for rain but we were hoping it wouldn't start until the next day. We started on the trail around 9:00am. The boys were very up beat and excited about going. We rested a long the way, got lost once or twice, got to see beautiful views and had a very enjoyable time. The terrain was very rocky and there were some good sized hills. It was challenging to say the least. On day one we covered 12 miles and happened to come upon a campsite with platforms for tents and a designated area for a camp fire. I was completely exhausted by the end of the day so Terrill and I went to bed around 9:00pm. The next day was crazy. It rained all night and I was having a hard time motivating myself to have a good attitude, but we set out and it didn't really rain that much on us and for that I was grateful! We arrived back at the cars around 2:00ish and got to see some beautiful views! It was a great experience.

Day 1

Yep... Drinking lake water

Day 2

The happy bunch all bundled up for the hike!

Is it odd to be completely grateful of this disgusting site? Honestly, it was way better than what nature had to offer!

Finally Finished!

Family Visits 3-15 to 3-20

I have been slacking at posting lately because I wanted to post so much about when my mom and brother came that I just haven't posted at all. So I have decided to do the condensed version so I can keep blogging other things!

They came in March and it was a lot of fun to have them see where we live and go do a ton of fun things. I planned an itinerary for us that planned out what we were going to do each day. Some of things we did included:

• New York - world trade center, walking down wall street, hot chocolate at McDonald's (because it was so cold!), a Broadway show (The Lion King), time square, shopping and going to dinner. It was a ton of fun!

• Philadelphia - seeing all the historical sites at constitution square, dinner at Reading Terminal market (yum!) and going to the U.S. Mint

• Lancaster/Hershey - going to the chocolate factory, buying too much chocolate, riding in an Amish Buggy, shopping at Amish stores/markets and then coming home and eating Chinese food

• New Hope & Washington's Crossing - this day turned out to be beautiful outside and was about 80 degrees. We drove past Washington's Crossing and walked downtown New Hope which has a lot of fun shops and places to eat

The weather was so nice the day we went to New Hope that we sat outside for about an hour and talked and John showed me some good core workout moves...haha

Mt Vernon 3-12-2011

Yesterday we had the privilege of going to Mt Vernon, which was George Washington's home through out his life. He actually died in the home. The grounds were beautiful and we had a lot of fun walking around and seeing everything.










Besides the the main home, there were various other houses all around that were for the chores of the day. For example, this was a picture of the Kitchen, which had it's own house dedicated to cooking. There was also houses for these various things: blacksmith, laundry, dishes, slaves and shoe repairs







The last picture are wax figures of what it might have looked like when George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the United States.

Wasthington DC

Terrill and I have been wanting to take a trip to DC for a while so this past weekend, we decided to take advantage of the BEAUTIFUL weather. It was about 75 degrees outside so we decided to sport our t-shirt and shorts. We spent Friday and Saturday in DC seeing our nations capitol. I must say we walked a ton!! I felt like an old women because I was getting so tired, I guess that is what a desk job does to you!!

We started Friday by eating at one of Terrill's favorite restaurants he found while he was in London (Nado's). It was delicious. After lunch we went to the national archives museum and saw the original Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence & The Constitution. It was so awesome to see the signature of those brave men who helped form our nation

Then we headed over to Air & Space museum and walked by the capitol building on the way. It was wonderful. After the Air and Space museum we headed down to the Holocaust museum which was very sobering, and eye opening.

After walking almost for 5 hours, we were pooped and needed some food so we headed to Pot Belly's for dinner and then headed back to the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial and The Lincoln Memorial. On our way back to the car, we walked by the white house. The whole day was a blast! Let's just say we slept really well that night!












Terrill wanted a picture with the Washington Monument coming out of his head. Why...I do not know.



This was truely a breathtaking moment.



On Saturday, we went to the Temple in the morning then took the Metro into DC. We went out to lunch at Open City Diner and it was delicious and seemed to be very popular! We walked from lunch over to the Zoo and saw a ton of animals. It was so much fun to see and it was nice that everything was free. As I mentioned this to Terrill, he kindly reminded me that none of it was free and was paid for by our tax dollars. Point well taken.











This Otter was adorable and kept scratching it's back.