Fabulous Fall Break trip!

We have been looking forward to fall break for a while now...we took the family back east to Washington DC and Philadelphia! Everything went off without a hitch and we had a great time!

Day 1 - Started off with a church service at the National Cathedral! Our kids thought we were doing something wrong going to another church, but we felt like it would be a great experience for them to see! What a gorgeous building inside and out! We sat in on the morning service and got the lesson of the ten lepers and gratitude! Then it came time for the plate to be passed around...as the priest explained the concept of a tithe - he told the congregation that if they had a hard time paying 1/10 then it would be okay to start out with 2% and then go to 5% and build up to the 10%...Greg and I thought that sounded like a pretty good program...we left though before the plate got to us! The music was incredible and the stained glass...AMAZING!!!

Then we were off to the Arlington National Cemetery to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guard. This is one thing I remember from when

I visited DC way back when...It was an unforgettable experience then and it was everything I remembered it to be.

And on to Mt Vernon...Beautiful! What a mah George Washington was and pretty remarkable what he did for his country. Wonder what he is thinking now?

Monday morning we hit it hard...It was the day to see all the monuments. We hopped on the double decker red bus and set out to see everything we could in one day! Started and the Jefferson, Lincoln, WW II, Washington and Ford's Theater. Then at night we took the twilight tour to see them all lit up! We were exhausted and ready to head back to the hotel.

Day 3...Bureau of Engraving, Holocaust Museum (one of my favorites of the trip), Tour Capital with Congressman Flakes office, Library of Congress and the Supreme Court building.

One of the highlights was the filming of Transformers 3...yes we saw SHIA, BUMBLEBEE and OPTIMUS PRIME! missed all the blow em ups - they did those around 3am.

Day 4- no cameras...White House Tour, National Archives, Air and Space Museum and The Museum of American History.

Then we hopped on the Amtrak and headed to Philadelphia.

Very hot HOT CHOCOLATE at the Philadelphia Train station

Day 5 - Hershey PA

Day 6 - Lancaster, PA. My favorite part of the day. Driving through the colors, hills and Aish Farms! Their life is so simple...I love it!

Day 7 - Philadelphia, PA. I had to see the ROCKY steps! Some of my favorite movies...

Independence Hall, Liberty Bell and the Betsy ross house.

Great memories!

Thanks Dad for working hard so we can go have fun together as a family!

Malibu Celebrity Triathlon

Fabulous race day...It had been a while since I had raced, the nerves set in especialy as I watched the ocean waves that I was going to have to get out past to start my swim. I did have my ritual little panic attack for the first 300 meters and then after many prayers to calm myself, my stroke kicked in and I finished! I am always so glad to get out of the water. We could not have asked for a better day, beauitiful weather, amazing course along the beach and the best travel friends ever. I found a friend that likes to eat as much as me...Love that!
Greg got on the podium...3rd place for THUNDERTHIGHS! Why is it acceptable to call guys thunderthighs and they are proud of it? (It means he is 185lbs or more) Not sure many women would want that medal around their neck!
I did not think that I was celebrity crazed...but it sure was fun to watch them race at the Malibu Celebrity Triathlon! My favorite celeb of the day was Chris Lieto - not really a celeb in the LA world, but he is who we wanted to see. Chris Lieto is the 2nd place IRONMAN world champion. Loved watching his transitions, form and ease of the sport! We chatted with him and took a picture with him at the finish!

Who else was there??? Well, I wish I would have had my PEOPLE magazine there with me to see who they were. I felt old because most of the celeb participants were form these new TV show that I have not seen. We did see Ryan Sutter and Andy Baldwin from the Bachelorette. I chatted with Trista like she was my best friend! We talked kids, triathlons, vacations, etc... Terry Hatcher was the biggest name there and so nice to the crowd! Genuine and happy to say hello to everyone. And many more I did not recognize!

CATCH UP TIME...

Life gets busy...We make it busy!

Here's a glimpse of those things that have kept us busy around here...

"CALLIE TURNED 8"

SCORPION HUNTING w/ cousins...yes, they really do glow!

"ANOTHER SCHOOL YEAR STARTED"

Ash - 9th grade

Jax - 7th grade

Annie - 6th grade

Callie - 3rd grade

"CALLIE GOT BAPTIZED"

La Jolla

Enjoyed a few days in LaJolla with GREAT friends! Fireworks, Food (Wahoo's), Ice cream, Beach, Football, Walks, what isn't great about LaJolla???

Summer in a nutshell...

June...pretty much stayed close to home!

Ash took a quick trip to Cali with friends...

Then...off to Hollywood with Ashlynn for a dance convention. FORGOT my camera! Can you believe it!

Then Greg and the 3 youngers met up with us in Newport! We had a wedding of one of Greg's seminary kids from years back, hung at the beach with friends, ate at our favorite restaurants, movies with much more.