A Recap of Our Travels Back East Part 1

So I know that it is already February but I still wanted to keep a record of our fabulous trip back east that we took in January. So here you go blog world...

For my mom's 50th birthday she wanted to take a trip to celebrate. She suggested that we spend a few days in New York City and since I had never been there, I was definitely willing to go. On top of the trip to New York, we figured that we should go visit Jeff's sister, Jenny, and her family who live in Reston, Virginia while we were on the east coast. Let me tell you, this trip was much needed for Jeff after such a tough first semester of law school.

Wednesday December 29th, 2010

Some friends of ours took us to the airport here in Ontario, California and we were off to Washington D.C. Our flight from Chicago to Dulles was a little delayed but Damon (Jenny's husband) picked us up from the airport and took us back to their house. The kids were allowed to stay up late and welcome us to Reston, but then it was bed time. It was so good to see Jenny and her family since we usually only see them once a year. We stayed up for a little while catching up with Jenny and Damon before heading to bed to get some rest.

Thursday December 30, 2010

Damon took the day off work and drove us all out to Williamsburg. Williamsburg was one of the first settlements here in America and they do a good job of keeping it authentic still today. It was about a two hour car ride but luckily Zane, Liv and Maeve are so entertaining that the time in the car flew by.

For example:

We pull up to a really nice brand new rest stop to use the bathroom.

First thing Zane says,"This rest stop is so cheesy!"

I have never heard a rest stop described as cheesy.

Anyways, we stopped and got lunch at a great BBQ place and before we knew it, we were in Williamsburg. They had recently been hit with a lot of snow, so of course Jeff was excited to play in it. After seeing their uncle get so excited about throwing snowballs at his wife, the kids acted like they had never seen snow before.

We spent the day walking around looking at ye olde houses, ye olde shops, ye olde capital building, ye olde church and even ye old stalks that were used for public humiliation back in the day. (We also got really used to using the term "ye olde." Damon was especially good at it.)

Friday December 31, 2010

Zane had said that he was so exhausted from the day before that he just wanted to stay home and take it easy that day. As part of Zane's ideal, laid back day we got to have the ultimate Nerf war. Zane got all of his Nerf guns set up and passed them out to each of us. Naturally, Zane got the best gun and the most ammo.

The rules laid out by Zane were:

• No boundaries in Jenny and Damon's three story house.
• Everyone started with 10 "bullets" (except Zane).
• When you get shot you have to lay on the floor and count to 10 before you can get back up
• You are allowed to make alliances with anyone you want
• You can break your alliances any time you want
  

The war got pretty intense. Alliances were made and broken, Damon's gun failed him multiple times, and Maeve proved to be the most dangerous of us all with her Nerf sword. It was a hilarious morning and we all agreed that Zane was definitely the winner.

After the big battle, we all went for a walk on the trails behind their house. I was so jealous of the beautiful walking trails they have so close to them. You could tell the kids know those woods so well and it was nice to see what fun things they have to do in their neighborhood.

That afternoon Damon and Maeve stayed at the house for naptime, while Jenny took Jeff, Zane, Liv and I to the Air and Space Museum. We went to the museum in Chantilly, Virginia and got to see so many cool planes and space artifacts. Zane and Jeff both got really excited about all of the fighter planes and a few guns they had on display.

Then it was time to head back and get ready to celebrate New Years Eve! We went over to Jenny and Damon's friend's house for a party. We played some fun games and the kids got to count down at 10:00. Then we headed home to put Maeve to bed.

Saturday January 1, 2011

This was our day to spend in D.C. seeing the sights. Jeff and I had both been to D.C. before but it was fun being there together. Our first stop was Arlington National Cemetery. The grounds are so beautifully kept and there is really a peaceful feeling there.

Next we headed into D.C. to the National Mall. We saw The White House, the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the new WWII Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. It was a jam packed day, but we were glad we were able to fit everything in.

That night we had a delicious taco dinner made by Jenny and got to spend some quality time socializing with the Larsens and Derek Bitter, a family friend from Canyon Country.

Sunday January 2, 2011

We got up bright and early for 8:30 church, came back and packed and headed to D.C. to get on the bus to go to New York.

It was so sad to leave the Larsens. We such a fun time and it was definitely a treat to be able to see them. Jenny and Damon were such good hosts and the kids were so fun and entertaining. We can't wait to see them again this summer!

Next up.... New York!