Well, today marks the two week mark of when i did something dumb. Very dumb. Sweet husband has been working hard and travelling a lot lately and i decided i couldn't wait anymore, I was going to do my garden by myself! So, I dragged and hauled 60lb bags of dirt and mulch acroos the yard when there was a loud,"POP!" in my neck and a pain like fire shot down my back and arm. Bad news bears!
The next morning, I could not move my neck, it had locked up. I saw my chiropractor everyday for a week, he swore that it would only be three days to heal, but after a week and a half of being miserable, it was time to try somthing else. I called my family doctor and made an appt. She was concerned and sent me to get xrays "STAT" ( i learned that little word pulls a lot of weight in the medical world!) and see a physical therapist "STAT."
I now have three medications daily, which make me feel like a total zombie:one anti-inflammatory, one is a muscle relaxer, and a pain pill. It is Thursday and I couldn't tell you what i even did Monday thru Wednesday this week. I go to the Physical Therapist three times a week for a minimum of six weeks and chiropractor in between.
I had to call my new job that i was so excited about and tell them to take me off of the schedule for all of July...they will call me if they decide to replace me. I feel like I am not making any progress. I was so excited to finally get out of the house and have a job and feel like I was doing something other than being a housewife.
For now, I am at home with orders from the doctor not to lift more than ten pounds and orders from the therapist not to lift my arms above my head or bend at my waist...what am I supposed to do? I think I will waddle around like a penguin, that'll show them!
I keep telling God, "Okay, You MUST have something you need to get me still enough to tell me, so here I am! Bring it on!"
Pray for healing. Pray that my muscles will loosen up enough to bring some relief. Pray that God will show himself to me and be my Healer and Provider.
(I think my mom and I need to get together and take care of each other...she has a terrible eye infection.)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Facing your Fears Head On.....
I have a wonderful husband,Joe, who i brag on all the time. This post is about his wonderful sister, E.
Families are funny. With some wonderful spouses come a dysfunctional family and you wonder "How in the world did THEY come from THAT?!" But, in my situation, I think I got the best-case scenario: the" holy-grail-of-families-to-marry-into," if you will. I married into a family full of wonderful, fun-loving, genuinely HAPPY people that were so enthusiastic about me joining their ranks and becoming a "Stein." Now, they are a hilarious, very quick-witted and sarcastic bunch, which means I usually lay-low and let them tell the jokes for fear that they will "zing" me and I will have no comeback( I always come up with what funny retort i should have said hours later....tragic!).
But, more on Joe's sweet sister, E, ( the one who just visited us and wanted to go to Philly and run the 'Rocky Steps') has started a blog! Yay! So glad she's joined the bloggy world! You can link to her page here. Looking forward to this blog! It's called "365 things that scared me," and each new day she will attempt to face yet another fear. I read the first one today and it was a hoot... i'm intrigued how she will face the fear of ball-pits!
***Side note:Personally, I TOTALLY understand that fear! I remember being at Chuck-E-Cheese's when I was younger and discovering that things like tokens and tickets fall out of kids' pockets when they are playing in the ball-pits, so a friend and i would scour the bottom of the ball pits looking for treasures that others had left behind unknowingly. We were very proud of ourselves and our new-found riches until i pulled up (of all things!)....a dirty diaper! NO JOKE! Never have been able to face another ball-pit since!
She has such a great sense of humor- every time I am around her I am laughing so hard it hurts! Good luck to you, E, on your first blog- wishing you well as you confront a different fear everyday with smashing success! We love you very much!
PS: I have your next two fears for you right here...you already conquered the subway in a major metropolitan city without getting lost or losing an appendage to the doors that close too fast and will not re-open, and you conquered your fear of alligators (Joe saved you in the nick of time!)
Families are funny. With some wonderful spouses come a dysfunctional family and you wonder "How in the world did THEY come from THAT?!" But, in my situation, I think I got the best-case scenario: the" holy-grail-of-families-to-marry-into," if you will. I married into a family full of wonderful, fun-loving, genuinely HAPPY people that were so enthusiastic about me joining their ranks and becoming a "Stein." Now, they are a hilarious, very quick-witted and sarcastic bunch, which means I usually lay-low and let them tell the jokes for fear that they will "zing" me and I will have no comeback( I always come up with what funny retort i should have said hours later....tragic!).
But, more on Joe's sweet sister, E, ( the one who just visited us and wanted to go to Philly and run the 'Rocky Steps') has started a blog! Yay! So glad she's joined the bloggy world! You can link to her page here. Looking forward to this blog! It's called "365 things that scared me," and each new day she will attempt to face yet another fear. I read the first one today and it was a hoot... i'm intrigued how she will face the fear of ball-pits!
***Side note:Personally, I TOTALLY understand that fear! I remember being at Chuck-E-Cheese's when I was younger and discovering that things like tokens and tickets fall out of kids' pockets when they are playing in the ball-pits, so a friend and i would scour the bottom of the ball pits looking for treasures that others had left behind unknowingly. We were very proud of ourselves and our new-found riches until i pulled up (of all things!)....a dirty diaper! NO JOKE! Never have been able to face another ball-pit since!
She has such a great sense of humor- every time I am around her I am laughing so hard it hurts! Good luck to you, E, on your first blog- wishing you well as you confront a different fear everyday with smashing success! We love you very much!
PS: I have your next two fears for you right here...you already conquered the subway in a major metropolitan city without getting lost or losing an appendage to the doors that close too fast and will not re-open, and you conquered your fear of alligators (Joe saved you in the nick of time!)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
LONG weekend...
Hi friends! Hope you enjoyed a long relaxing weekend, because I sure did NOT!
Have you ever had the pleasure of experiencing something called "cervical torticollis?" Well, I have many times, and though I had not had it for a very long time, it came and visited me this week. Yay!
Torticollis is basically a fancy was of saying you have a very bad crick in your neck, but in my case, my neck literally freezes in place to where i cannot turn it for several days...again, NO FUN!
So, my weekend consisted of three trips to Dr. M, my saint of a chiropractor, and ungodly amounts of muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories, missing a day of work at my new job, and sleeping so much in between that i completely lost track of what day it was! Thank you, sweet husband, for taking care of me and keeping track of my meds so i didn't take too much, driving me to appointments and waking me up to eat...you are wonderful.
Ready to feel normal again and get back to working out and taking care of myself...minus all the pills!
In other news, my Sweet Man is officially "Fully Vested" in his company, as of today, at age 27! Five years with his company straight out of college! Way to go Joe! I am so proud of you, love! Keep up the hard work- you're doing a great job...I know the long hours are hard on you, and at times you feel run down, but you do everything with excellence and others notice! Keep on being "Jesus in skin" to those around you at work, and lead with intergrity and honor!
Today also marks one month away from Dave being gone for a year. I can't believe it's been that long;I can't believe that life just kept on going after July 13th,2009. I remember that being one of the hardest things to grasp, walking out of the funeral and seeing kids playing in sprinklers and eating snow cones and thinking "why aren't they sad too? Don't they know what today was?". Going back to work the next week i was racked with guilt because I was resuming life as usual, which felt so wrong.
Mom and I have planned a trip to Seattle together over the actual anniversary week so that neither of us have to be alone on that day...I think it will be a good thing just to get away and think, to scatter the ashes, and to make new happy memories on that day.
Still looking for a church home and good friends, although we are starting to feel like we are finding our place more and more every day! God is good and is bringing some great people into our lives to fill the "friend void" that opens up when you move to a new place. Keep praying!
Have you ever had the pleasure of experiencing something called "cervical torticollis?" Well, I have many times, and though I had not had it for a very long time, it came and visited me this week. Yay!
Torticollis is basically a fancy was of saying you have a very bad crick in your neck, but in my case, my neck literally freezes in place to where i cannot turn it for several days...again, NO FUN!
So, my weekend consisted of three trips to Dr. M, my saint of a chiropractor, and ungodly amounts of muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories, missing a day of work at my new job, and sleeping so much in between that i completely lost track of what day it was! Thank you, sweet husband, for taking care of me and keeping track of my meds so i didn't take too much, driving me to appointments and waking me up to eat...you are wonderful.
Ready to feel normal again and get back to working out and taking care of myself...minus all the pills!
In other news, my Sweet Man is officially "Fully Vested" in his company, as of today, at age 27! Five years with his company straight out of college! Way to go Joe! I am so proud of you, love! Keep up the hard work- you're doing a great job...I know the long hours are hard on you, and at times you feel run down, but you do everything with excellence and others notice! Keep on being "Jesus in skin" to those around you at work, and lead with intergrity and honor!
Today also marks one month away from Dave being gone for a year. I can't believe it's been that long;I can't believe that life just kept on going after July 13th,2009. I remember that being one of the hardest things to grasp, walking out of the funeral and seeing kids playing in sprinklers and eating snow cones and thinking "why aren't they sad too? Don't they know what today was?". Going back to work the next week i was racked with guilt because I was resuming life as usual, which felt so wrong.
Mom and I have planned a trip to Seattle together over the actual anniversary week so that neither of us have to be alone on that day...I think it will be a good thing just to get away and think, to scatter the ashes, and to make new happy memories on that day.
Still looking for a church home and good friends, although we are starting to feel like we are finding our place more and more every day! God is good and is bringing some great people into our lives to fill the "friend void" that opens up when you move to a new place. Keep praying!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The Dairy Widow....
My sweet friend, A (who writes THIS blog), is the very patient, loving wife of her man, J, who is in law school right now. She has referred to herself at times as a "Law Widow."
I, friends, am a "DAIRY WIDOW!"
You see, my sweet man works for a company who deals in dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt, cream cheese-you name it, they do it.
This has made for an interesting married life. Taco spice days at the cheese plant were the pits. My Joe would come home smelling so strong I would run to the other room so he could make it to the shower before I could smell it, but despite our best efforts, I would sneeze the rest of the night!
Joe used to work at the cheese plant, and he would joke that he "cut the cheese all day long." But now, we are in the yogurt division and he likes to say he is"going to work to get more cultured!" Funny guy, that Joe! Cheesy, but funny.:)
Being a dairy widow was never something I thought about or aspired to. It just found me.
But I can tell you how I cringe when I see Subway is running another "five dollar footlong" promotional...that song haunts me in my sleep. They run that commercial and you can bet my man will be pulling weekend shifts trying to fill all the orders for that week! Now that we are in yogurt, you can imagine my disdain when shows like the Biggest Loser add in copious amounts of shameless product placement throughout the show for the new Greek yogurt that Joe is making. Drat!
(Greek yogurt is a newer thing...its zero fat and very high protein, so its a great breakfast with fruit and granola, or a really good snack after working out! The texture and sour-ish aftertaste take a little getting used to, but I really like it...try it! )
On the flip side, the dairy business does have its perks. I always have a nicely stocked Greek yogurt shelf and cheese drawer with every kind of cheese you could ever imagine or want! On top of that, Joe's company is a private label company, meaning they shred the cheese and put it in the bag with, let's say, your supermarket's name on it and sell it as generic. Well, what's the first thing do when the economy tanks? Stop buying name brands like "K_R_A_F_T"( the enemy) and buy the cheaper stuff, which lets just admit it...it's the same cheese people! And what does Joe's company do when the economy tanks? Has the best sales quarters on record, of course! ( Joe has asked me not to divulge the name of the company on the blog.)
So, since we are here to start up this new yogurt division, Joe has lots of business trips and late nights. Lots is actually an understatement. I miss him when he's gone, but appreciate all his hard work. He's a good man with integrity and good looks to boot!
In the meantime until this project is finished though, I remain faithfully yours, "Katy the lonely little Dairy Widow!" :)
(PS: I forgot to tell you, I got a part time job at a Christian bookstore in the area! I needed something to just get me out of the house a bit! One prayer answered....keep praying for friends and a church!)
I, friends, am a "DAIRY WIDOW!"
You see, my sweet man works for a company who deals in dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt, cream cheese-you name it, they do it.
This has made for an interesting married life. Taco spice days at the cheese plant were the pits. My Joe would come home smelling so strong I would run to the other room so he could make it to the shower before I could smell it, but despite our best efforts, I would sneeze the rest of the night!
Joe used to work at the cheese plant, and he would joke that he "cut the cheese all day long." But now, we are in the yogurt division and he likes to say he is"going to work to get more cultured!" Funny guy, that Joe! Cheesy, but funny.:)
Being a dairy widow was never something I thought about or aspired to. It just found me.
But I can tell you how I cringe when I see Subway is running another "five dollar footlong" promotional...that song haunts me in my sleep. They run that commercial and you can bet my man will be pulling weekend shifts trying to fill all the orders for that week! Now that we are in yogurt, you can imagine my disdain when shows like the Biggest Loser add in copious amounts of shameless product placement throughout the show for the new Greek yogurt that Joe is making. Drat!
(Greek yogurt is a newer thing...its zero fat and very high protein, so its a great breakfast with fruit and granola, or a really good snack after working out! The texture and sour-ish aftertaste take a little getting used to, but I really like it...try it! )
On the flip side, the dairy business does have its perks. I always have a nicely stocked Greek yogurt shelf and cheese drawer with every kind of cheese you could ever imagine or want! On top of that, Joe's company is a private label company, meaning they shred the cheese and put it in the bag with, let's say, your supermarket's name on it and sell it as generic. Well, what's the first thing do when the economy tanks? Stop buying name brands like "K_R_A_F_T"( the enemy) and buy the cheaper stuff, which lets just admit it...it's the same cheese people! And what does Joe's company do when the economy tanks? Has the best sales quarters on record, of course! ( Joe has asked me not to divulge the name of the company on the blog.)
So, since we are here to start up this new yogurt division, Joe has lots of business trips and late nights. Lots is actually an understatement. I miss him when he's gone, but appreciate all his hard work. He's a good man with integrity and good looks to boot!
In the meantime until this project is finished though, I remain faithfully yours, "Katy the lonely little Dairy Widow!" :)
(PS: I forgot to tell you, I got a part time job at a Christian bookstore in the area! I needed something to just get me out of the house a bit! One prayer answered....keep praying for friends and a church!)
Monday, May 31, 2010
A Tale of Two Cities...
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....." Best because we had a GREAT weekend with Joe's younger sister, Elizabeth, and worst because after two jam-packed days in two very different cities, we are so worn out and have the blisters to prove it!
E flew into Baltimore late Friday night and the next morning, we headed out early for Phiadelphia, which we have decided since we have now visited, we are allowed to refer to it as 'Philly.' Joe and E are HUGE soccer fans, and back in March-ish, E called and asked if we would be interested in going to the US vs Turkey soccer game. We said yes, so she bought her plane ticket and made her way to PA!
E had never experienced a subway before! We had been on the metro in DC, but were in NO WAY prepared for the "stank" of the whole place, as the little black boy next to us articulated so well...not stink, "STANK!" As the day went on, we learned that the whole city seemed to have its own distinct smell, and not a pleasant one.
We got off the subway and walked around JFK Plaza downtown in search of a good cheesesteak before it was time for the soccer game...of course, Joe and E had to take pictures :)
I didn't pose them, they just are this crazy naturally! Makes for a fun time!
I appologize for this one! He's a hot mess...get it?!
We stopped to ask several people for reccommendations on good places to get an authentic cheesesteak, but they take this VERY seriously! After each person would tell their favorite place/hole in the wall, they would follow it up with "But I don't want to tell you where to go."We got a little nervous when even the police were telling us things like " there's a good one over there, but you don't wanna go down that street, it's in the hood." Note: it was in the middle of the day!
We found the "LOVE" in the city of brotherly love. Couples were taking engagement pictures by this, which I thought was so cute!
( E is holding the drink we had to buy at McDonald's to use their bathroom, and by this point we would have paid fifty dollars to use ANY bathroom. Again, the "stank" smell emerges, at which point E and I have decided the stank is attaching itself to us and our hair.)
Can you see the man in the background wearing the lavendar leisure suit and safari- style hat...interesting!
So, the place we settled on for our authentic cheesesteak experience was called Mamma Mia's, which was not in the "hood" as far as we could tell and it was quite yummy. We were, however, confused when they were blaring Mexican music...E swore it was a drug front, but we made it out safely!
So, after a successful lunch in downtown Philly, we hopped back on the subway and made our way to the stadium along with 50,000 other crazy body-paited, fans with American and Turkish flags around their necks. The stadium was amazing! Looked like it was going to rain, but it held out for us. We were eight rows back behind the goal!
These people across the field were called "Sam's Army." They were pretty extreme. After a good play or a goal, they would light flares in red, white and blue or shoot streamaers. This would quickly cause about ten security guards to swarm and eject them from the stadium...small price to pay, I guess. They go to every game. Dedicated.
I am not a die-hard sports fan...love my Longhorns, but couldn't tell you sports stats to save my life, but I had a great time and learned I could really learn to love soccer because the game is only ninety minutes and a short halftime inbetween, whereas football can stretch to four hours with all the time-outs and penalties,etc!
US won 2 to 1, so we were very happy! Great time had by all. Please note, I think I am the only one in the stadium not wearing red, white, and blue! OOPS!
Afterwards, we headed downtown to the "ROCKY STEPS." You have to understand, Joe and E had three requirements for this trip: 1) soccer game 2)cheesesteak at a legit place 3) go run up the steps in the Philadelphia Museum of Art where Rocky ran up the steps. They are huge fans and have seen all the movies, and so we went...but first had to stop and take pictures at a George Washington Monument( I think the alligator is eating E's arm! Joe's a good brother for trying to save her!)
HOOK 'EM!
So, of course, we had to wait in line to take pictures with the Rocky statue. Everywhere we went. people were singing the themesong and reliving the movie scene. I thought it was hilarious, but Joe and E were taking it very seriously, so I kept my feelings to myself! ( By this point we are all too sweaty to be confident enough to lift our arms up and do the Rocky pose! )
They're ready to race up the steps. I willingly volunteered to stay at the bottom and wait til they made it to the top to take pictures.:)
I think that they are happy! I still wonder how they always have so much energy!
The view of downtown from the top of the steps was AMAZING!
So, Day 1 over and all of E's Philly wishlist complete, we left the "stank" and quickly went home to wash it off of us! 
We got off the Subway and E, the history buff that she is, was wide-eyed in amazement and ready to explore!
Note: this day was the day E and I took one for fashion. The skirts were a great choice because of how hot it was, but in order to wear the cute skirts, you have to wear cute shoes. Mistake number one.
Elizabeth wanted to touch the Washington Monument! I think it took some of the thrill out of it since it was "ok" to touch it, but she's happy!
It brought a whole new meaning to all the monuments and memorials to go and see them over Memorial Day Weekend.
After the Washington Monument, we headed over to the National World War II Memorial.
Behind us are pillars representing each state, set up geographically and divided between the oceans. People had left pictures of loved ones lost and flowers all around that day.
Proud Texans...we found people from Houston who agreed to take our picture!
Then, we made our way over to the Lincoln Memorial, which Joe and I had not seen yet, so we were very excited!
Sweltering day! Bomber Pops were in order!
Joe's mom kept saying "you have to find Albert Einstein, " so we did. The little girl kept trying to pick his nose.:)
Then, we found 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! If you look really closely, you can see the snipers up on the roof.
The Obamas wanted us to come over for lunch, but we had places to go and things to see, so we politley declined. Maybe next time!
So, we walked and walked, and walked some more to the Smithsonian. We will have to go back because you could spend weeks there and still not see everything- so interesting, and it's all free! (E, being an inner-city second grade teacher, was so impressed by the kids saying things like "whoa, look at that geode!" and "I especially like this sarcophagus." ) We saw dinosaurs...
...and whales in the under- the -sea exhibit.
The Hope Diamond.
I loved all the historic row-homes!
Back to the looong tunnel down into the subway- very steep! ....I had a death-grip on the side rails!
One more stop on our way out of town at the scenic overlook...Note: the man without a shirt on asleep on the wall....hmm.
We had her back to the airport by ten this morning, and she was back on her way home to teach the last two days of second grade!
Seven hundred miles added onto the car and two wonderful days of adventure in two VERY different cities. Overall, a great time had by all! So glad you got to come visit, E! We love you!
E flew into Baltimore late Friday night and the next morning, we headed out early for Phiadelphia, which we have decided since we have now visited, we are allowed to refer to it as 'Philly.' Joe and E are HUGE soccer fans, and back in March-ish, E called and asked if we would be interested in going to the US vs Turkey soccer game. We said yes, so she bought her plane ticket and made her way to PA!
E had never experienced a subway before! We had been on the metro in DC, but were in NO WAY prepared for the "stank" of the whole place, as the little black boy next to us articulated so well...not stink, "STANK!" As the day went on, we learned that the whole city seemed to have its own distinct smell, and not a pleasant one.
We got off the subway and walked around JFK Plaza downtown in search of a good cheesesteak before it was time for the soccer game...of course, Joe and E had to take pictures :)
I didn't pose them, they just are this crazy naturally! Makes for a fun time!
I appologize for this one! He's a hot mess...get it?!
We stopped to ask several people for reccommendations on good places to get an authentic cheesesteak, but they take this VERY seriously! After each person would tell their favorite place/hole in the wall, they would follow it up with "But I don't want to tell you where to go."We got a little nervous when even the police were telling us things like " there's a good one over there, but you don't wanna go down that street, it's in the hood." Note: it was in the middle of the day!
We found the "LOVE" in the city of brotherly love. Couples were taking engagement pictures by this, which I thought was so cute!
( E is holding the drink we had to buy at McDonald's to use their bathroom, and by this point we would have paid fifty dollars to use ANY bathroom. Again, the "stank" smell emerges, at which point E and I have decided the stank is attaching itself to us and our hair.)
Can you see the man in the background wearing the lavendar leisure suit and safari- style hat...interesting!
So, the place we settled on for our authentic cheesesteak experience was called Mamma Mia's, which was not in the "hood" as far as we could tell and it was quite yummy. We were, however, confused when they were blaring Mexican music...E swore it was a drug front, but we made it out safely!
So, after a successful lunch in downtown Philly, we hopped back on the subway and made our way to the stadium along with 50,000 other crazy body-paited, fans with American and Turkish flags around their necks. The stadium was amazing! Looked like it was going to rain, but it held out for us. We were eight rows back behind the goal!
These people across the field were called "Sam's Army." They were pretty extreme. After a good play or a goal, they would light flares in red, white and blue or shoot streamaers. This would quickly cause about ten security guards to swarm and eject them from the stadium...small price to pay, I guess. They go to every game. Dedicated.
I am not a die-hard sports fan...love my Longhorns, but couldn't tell you sports stats to save my life, but I had a great time and learned I could really learn to love soccer because the game is only ninety minutes and a short halftime inbetween, whereas football can stretch to four hours with all the time-outs and penalties,etc!
US won 2 to 1, so we were very happy! Great time had by all. Please note, I think I am the only one in the stadium not wearing red, white, and blue! OOPS!
Afterwards, we headed downtown to the "ROCKY STEPS." You have to understand, Joe and E had three requirements for this trip: 1) soccer game 2)cheesesteak at a legit place 3) go run up the steps in the Philadelphia Museum of Art where Rocky ran up the steps. They are huge fans and have seen all the movies, and so we went...but first had to stop and take pictures at a George Washington Monument( I think the alligator is eating E's arm! Joe's a good brother for trying to save her!)
HOOK 'EM!
So, of course, we had to wait in line to take pictures with the Rocky statue. Everywhere we went. people were singing the themesong and reliving the movie scene. I thought it was hilarious, but Joe and E were taking it very seriously, so I kept my feelings to myself! ( By this point we are all too sweaty to be confident enough to lift our arms up and do the Rocky pose! )
They're ready to race up the steps. I willingly volunteered to stay at the bottom and wait til they made it to the top to take pictures.:)
I think that they are happy! I still wonder how they always have so much energy!
The view of downtown from the top of the steps was AMAZING!
So, Day 1 over and all of E's Philly wishlist complete, we left the "stank" and quickly went home to wash it off of us!Day 2, we decided to go to DC since we had nothing else to do! E was leery about getting on another subway after her not-so-favorable first experience in Philly the day before, but we assured her, DC has a much cleaner feel, so she trusted us and we set off on a new adventure!
We got off at a random subway stop and found a very cool little area with chic little shops and specialty gourmet restaurants...very fun! The restaurant we found was called "Rogue States"and they did gourmet burgers and had their own chef...very tasty- I think we found our new favorite burger place!
We got off the Subway and E, the history buff that she is, was wide-eyed in amazement and ready to explore!
Note: this day was the day E and I took one for fashion. The skirts were a great choice because of how hot it was, but in order to wear the cute skirts, you have to wear cute shoes. Mistake number one.
Elizabeth wanted to touch the Washington Monument! I think it took some of the thrill out of it since it was "ok" to touch it, but she's happy!
It brought a whole new meaning to all the monuments and memorials to go and see them over Memorial Day Weekend.
After the Washington Monument, we headed over to the National World War II Memorial.
Behind us are pillars representing each state, set up geographically and divided between the oceans. People had left pictures of loved ones lost and flowers all around that day.
Proud Texans...we found people from Houston who agreed to take our picture!
Then, we made our way over to the Lincoln Memorial, which Joe and I had not seen yet, so we were very excited!
Sweltering day! Bomber Pops were in order!
Joe's mom kept saying "you have to find Albert Einstein, " so we did. The little girl kept trying to pick his nose.:)
Then, we found 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! If you look really closely, you can see the snipers up on the roof.
The Obamas wanted us to come over for lunch, but we had places to go and things to see, so we politley declined. Maybe next time!
So, we walked and walked, and walked some more to the Smithsonian. We will have to go back because you could spend weeks there and still not see everything- so interesting, and it's all free! (E, being an inner-city second grade teacher, was so impressed by the kids saying things like "whoa, look at that geode!" and "I especially like this sarcophagus." ) We saw dinosaurs...
...and whales in the under- the -sea exhibit.
The Hope Diamond.
I loved all the historic row-homes!
Back to the looong tunnel down into the subway- very steep! ....I had a death-grip on the side rails!
One more stop on our way out of town at the scenic overlook...Note: the man without a shirt on asleep on the wall....hmm.
We had her back to the airport by ten this morning, and she was back on her way home to teach the last two days of second grade!
Seven hundred miles added onto the car and two wonderful days of adventure in two VERY different cities. Overall, a great time had by all! So glad you got to come visit, E! We love you!
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