DC Fun

On the July 5th, I met up with an old co-worker/friend from Phoenix for dinner in Alexandria. The place was right on the river and Alexandria was a really cute place to walk around.

Chart House...gorgeous


in every detail! The entire place was beautiful!


My friend Meg, and yes our table looked out to the water :)


My soup trio: clam chowder, lobster bisque, and gazpacho. Superb!


Hello hottie ;)


My succulent lobster, the asparagus and rice were perfect compliments.


Plate licked clean, no other words necessary.

The next day we went to the pool and I joined Dane and Neve in the water, while the mom and Brynn watched Blythe under the shade.  Wimps :) 

Love this girl, "I'm diving, but wait there's a camera...gotta pose."

Later that afternoon my mom, dad, and I went into DC to see the Capitol. Even though I've been to DC several times I had never actually gone inside the Capitol.

I loved that they had a statue of a Mormon prophet inside and talked about him on the tour.

The main rotunda

I love the details they used to put into buildings.

 I guess I got my love of touring from them, they have to know every detail.

So adorable, flirty old people and a giant statue.

Mom offering to take a photo of me. I'm a bit blurry, but dad is in focus ;) Next time, Mom.

I absolutely loved this statue of Helen Keller, I want in my garden someday.

 The sun was too bright, oh well.

Also something I will have in my garden. It will be a fabulous garden.

Later we had slurpees from 7/11 and lit off our own fireworks in the park behind Ben's house.  The kids loved doing the fireworks. And I have affirmed the decision to never buy the "BIG" firework type again. We bought some "HUGE" fountain for the finale, we had several other fireworks that were more colorful, went higher, and lasted longer. Lesson learned. But still it was a great night!

Dane loved them, Neve didn't love the sound.

Despite the sound, she loved watching them too.

The pyrotechnician (my brother Ben)

He's a smug pyrotechnician isn't he?

No matter my age I will always love sparklers, they're awesome!

 Neve shared my love of them.

The "Grand Finale".

The photographer, who also likes to be in front of the camera :)

Our Nation's Birthday

I waited a dozen years for this re-do.
When I was fifteen, I flew to Virigina to visit a close friend for two weeks. This visit included all the DC monuments, museums, and historic sites. It also included a private tour of the Pentagon (her father is a General.) I also happened to be there during the Fourth and originally they planned on going into DC for the fireworks - I was excited. The day our country celebrates our independence in our nation's capitol - perfect! But then last minute they decided it was too much work, so instead we hung out with family friends and had little fireworks on their street. Needless to say, I was supremely disappointed.
So 12 years later...

My parents were coming to visit Blythe and would be there for the Fourth, so I decided to take half the week off and go up for the Fourth.

I drove up Tuesday night, then Wednesday morning we all piled in my brother's car and picked up my parents from the airport. We had brunch at a place called Silver Diner, it was super cute. They had all these old jukebokes scattered throughout and both Dane and Neve picked out a song.
I think I missed my era, I should have lived in the '50s.
We mostly just hung out at my brother's and bought some fireworks to set off on a different day.

Nana & Blythe

Nana and Papa with the girls

I love this photo of my dad and Neve.

He's a pretty good place to rest your head - I know from experience.

Sweet baby girl

Papa is a pretty hot commodity.

Then the little one needed a nap.

So did the big one, haha.

But that didn't stop Neve from sticking to him like glue.

Finally it was time to head into the CAPITOL!

Neve distracted by anything and everything and Dane very focused on the horizon for that train.

Our little party - Nana, Papa, Ben, Dane and Neve and of course me behind the camera.

New mama and baby stayed home to get some rest.

This is one of the many times Neve was being told to sit still, haha, poor thing, she has so much natural energy.

Hey y'all!

Notice my red, white, and blue. What can I say, I love my country!

I also love hanging with my dad.

Our view of the Washington Monument

Chatting while we waited, it was warm and I wanted a lemonade and surprisingly enough, no vendors, nada.

THE FIREWORKS!!!

 The fireworks were gorgeous especially with the monuments framing them.  The kids got a bit freaked out because the noise was echoing off all those monuments and extremely loud. So we left pretty quickly after they started and I took pictures as we headed to the train. The show was only about 15 minutes long. While it hadn't been that packed on the lawn, the train was another story. It had been warm but with all the people crammed in like sardines, it felt like a sauna in there. Despite the oppressive heat, people were very considerate - strangers fanning strangers and giving up seats for others. It was a great day!
Happy Birthday America!