Trip East: Mt. Vernon

Scott and I were able to get away for several hours without the kids and go to the home of George Washington, Mt. Vernon.  Of the 42 years he owned this residence, he was only able to live there for a total of 20 somewhat interrupted years.  I was amazed at the amount of constant guests he and Martha entertained almost constantly.  He was always a very gracious and kind host, but visitors became such a regular occurrence that he added a separate and closed off wing of the house just for him and his family to sometimes get away from the crowds.  I found the entire experience very interesting, and I would love to do some more reading on President Washington and the Founding Fathers.  I could go on for a while, but I let the pictures do most of the talking so I do not bore you!

We were not able to take any pictures while we were inside the house.  Apparently, Martha was very accustomed to fine living and she was not afraid to spend some money, and President Washington was very particular about how the house was built and maintained.  So, the home was beautifully decorated and had very fine furnishings and craftsmanship.

This "chair carriage" was the one of the fastest and most comfortable ways for a gentlemen to travel over the rough dirt/rock roads in Colonial America.

Scott likes to practice taking pictures with our zoom lense, so here are some of the nice pictures he captured:

The next two pictures are of a female cardinal and then a male cardinal.  I read that cardinal couples have specific territory and will mate for life.  We saw these two birds flirting in some trees, so we concluded they were mates.  It was cute/fun to watch.  Yes, I know I am being a little sappy, but we had not been on a date for 4 months, and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to spend time with my hubby and no kids!!!

Trip East: Baltimore Aquarium

I have to say that the Baltimore Aquarium is one of the best aquariums I have been to (expensive, but great).  So, we decided to splurge a little and take a little trip while we were at Scott's parent's house.

Doug, Kristine, Peter & Rigby

The three finned turtle that was probably 5 or 6 feet long!

Scralet Ibis

The boys probably liked the dolphin show the best.

Adeline was carried by Scott in a backpack carrier because there were no strollers allowed, and she was wonderful.  She napped in it and was very content most of the time; but towards the end, she was done!  So, Grandma became Adeline's best pal.  Grandma ran around with Adeline while the little girl ran here, there and everywhere!

 Kris and Doug in the shark jaws.

Adeline, Scott, Rachel, Peter, and Rigby in the giant shark jaws.

The boys loved spending time with grandpa!

Trip East: Air & Space Annex

In 2003 the Smithsonian opened a giant aircraft hangar for many of the planes/aircraft it has had in storage over the years.  It is called the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center or Air & Space Annex and is located right next to Dulles Airport.  It was a lot of fun, and I would definitely recommend a visit.

Grandpa and Rigby in front of the orange airplane (Rigby's favorite color).

They had the Enola Gay (the plane that dropped the atomic bombs in Japan).

Here are the boys at the overlook for the restoration area.

This is the area where they restore and assemble different aircraft.

The space shuttle Discovery.

Grandma, Grandpa, Rigby, Peter, and Adeline

I love this picture because it shows the intricate tile work on the shuttle.  Amazing!

I am always looking for a T-33 or "shooting star" when we go different places with aircraft on display because my Grandpa Madsen use to train on these when he was in the U.S. Air Force in California.  I was so excited to finally see one in real life!

 This was at the end and the boys were not interested in cooperating for a picture.

Rachel, Peter, Scott, Adeline, and Rigby

Trip East: Grandma & Grandpa's House

While we were in Virginia, we were able to do some fun things in Scott's hometown. 

We visited Great Grandpa & Grandma Freeman.  Oh Adeline, what are we going to do with you?! 

We visited Clemyjontri Park.  It is a large park created so that children with specials physical needs can play alongside other children.

The boys loved picking tomatoes from the garden with grandpa.

Gabriel, Peter, and Rigby all enjoyed playing together.  Gabriel especially loved playing with Adeline.  He was so attentive to her.  He would tell her to do things and wonder why she did not obey or respond; it was really cute to watch.

Scott's Fishing Trip

The middle of June, Scott was able to go on a fishing trip in the Gulf with some other men from church.  He left at 3:30 am Saturday morning and arrived at the Gulf to start the trip by 5:00 am.  

   Here is one of the boats that they went fishing on.

Scott with his first catch of the day.

They had to wait out a storm before heading back to shore, so the people that owned this house let them hang out until it passed.  Scott said they had very strong Cajun accents, and they were also pulling frog legs off of live frogs to cook up and eat.  In Texas people might have called them rednecks, but here in Louisiana the term is coon-ass.  So there is your Louisiana vocab lesson for the day!

Here are Scott, Tyson, and another Scott with all the fish that the group caught

Here are two red fish that that Scott's group caught.  They also caught speckled trout.

Part of the trip fee covered the guides deboning and cleaning out the fish.

So they all came home with a bag full of red fish and trout ready to cook up and eat.

New Orleans Aquarium

Peter, Rigby, and Adeline in the bone replica of a shark mouth.  Adeline thought she was going to die because Mommy was too far away.

After a little while she figured out she was going to survive.  Silly girl!

As usual, I forgot to get any pictures of my husband (working on that); although I did watch the kids a lot while he got some great shots of the aquarium life.  Here are some of my favorites:

Guess why a sea horse has to be one of the most awesome creatures ever?

The guys get to be pregnant!!!

Rigby absolutely loved the penguins.  He would run back and forth with them across the glass.  It was really cute!

Peter and Rigby riding on the "frog prince."

Again, it took several pictures before we even got this half smile.  She was not happy that I was not holding her.  Life is going to be interesting when #4 gets here!

I know I put up a lot of sleeping pictures of Rigby, but the kid is just so darn cute, and I am totally jealous of his sleeping talents.