Sunday Snow

White House + Holocaust & Natural History Museums

We just had our third weekend with Ty since we moved out here. True to our goal, we crammed as much into our Saturday as possible. We left our apartment at 8am and headed up to the White House for a tour. Jack and I kept looking for Obama, but a picture on the wall was the best we did. :) Ty seemed to be most interested in checking out the weapons on the Secret Service agents and SWAT guys...I wonder why. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in, so no pictures.

After the White House, we decided to just start walking and get as much in as possible before we all collapsed.

The Washington monument is so much larger than a picture does justice. We tried to get tickets to ride the elevator up to the top, but were informed that you need to be to the ticket desk at 9am sharp if you want to go up that day.

Jack in the children's section of the Holocaust museum. Ty stayed with him and let me go into the actual exhibit, since he gets to go next Saturday again with the members of his class. I wandered around for over two hours, but could have been there for much longer. I'm sure most of you have heard about it, or maybe even been there yourself, but it is a must-see if you are in DC.

Jack enjoying his 12th or 13th elevator ride with Dad...still waiting for Mom...

Outside some really cool building that I don't remember now...

Penguin-o!!!

Don't worry--it's dead.

FBI Headquarters

...and just in case any of you were wondering whose child Jack is, check out these two candid shots of the Woods boys. I promise, this was not planned. They even have the same slightly-lazy eye!

St. Paddy's Parade

Yesterday, we decided to do some exploring in Fredricksburg. We had heard that there was a historic rail station and Jack liked the sound of that so we headed in that direction. Lucky for us, we showed up five minutes before a parade started to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It was the coolest little parade I've ever seen.

(I asked Ty to get a picture of me and Jack with the horse behind us, not the horse's behind. Oh well.)

That's right...someone was handing out potatoes!

Jack playing on an old train car

Fredricksburg is now officially Jack's favorite. He couldn't understand why we had to go home.

Day in DC

I had my first driving experience in DC last week. Let's just say that it was interesting... I had to take my mom to Dulles and then I was going to drive straight home. We thought the drive to the airport would take about an hour (since it wasn't during rush hour) and she would be at the airport an hour and 45 minutes early. We knew as soon as we got on the freeway that things weren't going to go so well. It was pouring rain and all of the freeway seemed like one big construction zone. It ended up taking us just over two hours to get there! I kept praying in my heart that we would be able to get to the airport on time. Thankfully, my mom got to her gate just seven minutes before they started boarding.

Instead of instantly thanking Heavenly Father for getting me there safely as I should have done, I began to pat myself on the back for mastering the infamous DC freeways. Well, I wasn't more than five minutes into my journey home when I missed my exit onto the 495 South (top left corner of map). Isn't it funny how the Lord works? There were no more exits for several miles and I was forced onto the 66 East where the traffic and construction really started to thicken. There I was...on a freeway I'd never heard of, heading in an unfamiliar direction, with no map or GPS system. I decided to take the first exit I came to and use the city streets to get me back to the 495 South. I found myself in the Falls Church area (very beautiful by the way). I drove around on the curved roads for awhile trying to get my bearings straight, but there is a funny thing about driving in Virginia: It is extremely easy to get mixed up. The trees are so tall and thick that you really can't see any landmarks or mountains that might help you keep north from south. So, I started to doubt myself and kept changing directions. I crossed under the 66 but I knew I didn't want to get back on it because of the traffic. After about 20 minutes, I finally swallowed my pride, asked for forgiveness, prayed for help, and called my trusty father-in-law:

Me: Mike? I'm lost...in DC...
Mike: (laughs) Where are you?
Me: Williamsburg and Sycamore...in Arlington I think
Mike: (pause, obviously looking at BlackBerry) Oh my goodness! Do you want the scenic route or the quick route? (Of course I choose the quick route and he proceeds to give me directions to get to the 50 West and head back to 495 South)

Well, I don't know how, but somehow I screwed up a second time and got stuck on a one way street that was taking me in the opposite direction from where I'd been told to go. It curved me around a bit and I was 100% lost again. I was really starting to feel frustrated (as was Jack--he kept telling me he had "numb bum") when all of the sudden I find myself on a bridge going over the Potomac river and staring straight at the beautiful Washington Monument.

I guess my sentimental side took over for a minute, because the most awesome feeling came over me that I was not lost at all and I just started crying. It was just so beautiful and in that moment I have never felt more proud to be an American. After I gained control of my emotions, I decided to give Father-in-law another call:

Me: Mike? Um...I'm on Constitution Ave...looking at the Washington Monument. 
Mike: (laughs, a lot) How did that happen?
Me: I need new directions home. This time from downtown DC.

Thankfully, I quickly found my way to familiar signs that pointed my way home. By the time I got home, I had been in the car for over four hours and traveled only 120 miles. I don't know why, but for some reason I have zero desire to ever go to that airport again.

Lessons learned:
1. Always say "thank you" for blessings
2. Keep a map in the car at all times
3. Keep in good standing with Father-in-law

Home Sweet Home

 Here are some pictures of the apartment. It's simple, but it's clean. I've lived in much worse! I'm mostly grateful to be close to Ty and in a safe neighborhood.

View from the front door of the dining room

View from the dining room

Jack loves our balcony

Kitchen

Hallway--bedrooms on the left, bathroom straight ahead, and kitchen on the right

Jack's room

My room--thanks Mom and Dad for letting me use your air mattress!

Cozy, huh?

2,257 Miles

Or 37 hours...plus bathroom breaks and meals on the road. Either way you look at it, we just had a very long drive across the country. My mom came along to help out with the driving. I'm pretty proud of us for doing it, too. We started in Florence, AZ and spent nights in Van Horn, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Memphis, TN; Bristol, VA; and finally Stafford, VA. I didn't do the greatest job of pulling out the camera, but I got a few good pictures.

Van Horn, TX: ugly, run down, barren. We stayed at a Ramada Inn that couldn't have been up to code. We were excited about the pool, but found out that it had been drained. Dinner was at McDonald's and then we perused Dollar General for entertainment.

Some sort of rodent living in the empty pool...

Fort Worth, TX: our favorite stop. We got to stay with my brother Mike's family for a couple days. Our first day there was Carrie and Andrew's birthday, so it was nice to celebrate with them. Jack loved playing with his cousins while Carrie, Mom, and I started working on a quilt. It had been 8 years since I visited them in Texas. I'm so glad we went!

Memphis, TN: what a beautiful city. Maybe it was because we rolled in at sunset, but crossing the bridge over the Mississippi River into Downtown Memphis was awesome. All the buildings were lit up and the city just sparkled. There are trees everywhere and I bet it's going to be beautiful this spring. The drive through Arkansas was much the same. I thought it was all gorgeous.

Bristol, VA: cold and wooded. Jack kept saying, "I think we're going camping!"  I was just happy to start seeing mileage signs for DC.

Stafford! We had a very sweet reunion with Ty after being apart for 5 weeks. If you would have seen Jack, you might have thought it was Christmas morning. We got settled into our apartment very quickly since we only had a few boxes and little furniture. Ty got to spend the whole weekend with us, too. I'm so glad to be here! Thanks Mom for crossing the country with me!