Washington D.C.

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky to be able to visit Washington D.C.!!  I wasn't sure if I could get the time off, but it all worked out.  I went down to be there for the lovely Marissa Findlay's wedding extravaganza, but of course, I got to stay with my family while I was there.  Two for one!

The wedding was all sorts of fantastic, and wonderful, and happy.  The night before, we threw Marissa a bridal shower.  We shared our favorite "Marissa moments" (there are a lot of those...), and ate lots-o-tasty food.

The day of the actual wedding, it rained a lot, so pictures were kind of a wash (Pun absolutely intended).  Marissa had originally planned to buy all of the bridesmaids a pair of shiny gold sunglasses, but that didn't seem appropriate given the gloomy sky.  Last minute, she swapped them out for shiny gold umbrellas.  It was such a cute idea.  

Here are some other pictures from the wedding.  

Congratulations to the new couple, and thank you for letting me celebrate with you!

As for the rest of the weekend, I got to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law, and their cute kiddos.  I love them so so much.  We did all sorts of things ranging from joy school, to touring Mt. Vernon.  I was so excited to visit them, and my time there did not disappoint.  

Joy School.  It was Aubrey's week to teach joy school, so she taught the wee students about their five senses.  

Helen wasn't quite sure what to do with her sensory balloons.  They were awesome for the rest of the kids though.  They loved shaking them and guessing what was inside.  Success.

An unexpected balloon popped and taught Penny's friend what her ears were for.  Even better object lesson.

Just Hanging Out.  Philip's version of "just hanging out" included an entire arsenal of Nerf weapons.  His newest battleaxe arrived in the mail while I was there.  

We also danced a lot.

Old Town Alexandria.  We stopped for lunch in Old Town Alexandria, which is an area of town that was quite often frequented by George Washington, back in the day.

Super cheese.

So...Philip caught me unawares.  I'm concerned that this is my normal face all the time.  I don't actually recall the reason that warranted such a scowl.  Judging by Aubrey's "laugh it off" face, something fishy was definitely going on.

Mt. Vernon  We also went to visit Mt. Vernon, which is the home of George Washington.  It was really beautiful.  He had a pretty amazing set up.

George Washington actually had farms on his land as well.  The girls were really excited to see the animals.  So, I have the cutest Helen story from the farms. 

When we first went to see the sheep, I told her she should say, "Come here sheepy!" to get them to come over to the fence.  She gladly took my advice, and as she leaned over the fence, she said happily, "Come here sheepy!".  I'm not sure she knew what would happen if she said this, but the sheep actually came running towards us.  One sheep came bolting from the back of the pen, and stopped right in front of us.  

All of the sudden, Helen looked at me and just said, "Noooooo sheepy!  No Sheepy!"  

Haha!  From then on, I tried to get here to tell the sheep to "come here", and she kept looking at me like I was crazy.  She just kept shaking her head and repeating, "Nooo sheepy.  No sheepy."  Apparently, the sheep were too close for comfort.

I wish Don could have been there, but he had to work.  Hopefully he can join next time.  Thanks P&A for a great weekend!  (And...your kids are the cutest.)