November 2021

 

True story: 

Poor Ben... he's always up at least an hour before anyone else, but at night, everyone hangs out in our bedroom and puts off going to bed.

UIM Friendship Dinner/Bonfire/Hay Ride in the fall:

Micah shopping with Dad, trying on super cool leather jackets he can't afford but looks good in: 😆

Santa visited Carroll Financial since they were a sponsor of Christmasville in Rock Hill!

For the last week of CC before winter break, kids had a lot of fun in Essentials class with review games and Christmas-themed activities:

Maryland!  Annual Thanksgiving trip. :)  This year, we took a couple extra days and went to Washington D.C. first.  (Pictures all loaded backward again, of course!)

No one understands how Kendrick is so tall. :)

Having little kids around at Thanksgiving again is the best!  Piper and Le'Ella were big hits. :)

Playing with Grandpa's glasses...

At one point Piper got ahold of my phone and managed to take some selfies. :)

Tired Brady...

Trying to do a re-take of the grandkids picture from years ago (but this time remembering to make sure Emily was there!  And last time, Alex wasn't home from China yet.)  Their big bodies don't fit on the steps as easily as their small bodies did! 😆

Playing volleyball at the Cherry Glade gym.  There were some really good volleyball players there!

Washington D.C.!  It was cold and we ended up walking more than we had planned.  Also, all the Federal buildings were still closed because of Covid, and we had to wear masks everywhere.  The museums were open, but only on certain days at certain times, so we couldn't go to all the ones we wanted to. And most places you had to request one of the few slots available... and all the slots would be taken within a minute of them becoming available online.  Indoor seating for food was also hard to find.  So basically, it wasn't the most amazing of trips we've done, BUT since we only had two days anyway, it meant less decisions for us to make on where to go! 

The second day in D.C.:

Our bus stopped at an intersection for the presidential motorcade.  We found online that President Biden and his wife plus the Vice President and her husband were all going to volunteer at a soup kitchen in D.C. that evening and were on their way there.  It was cool to watch how the motorcade worked.

On the Big Bus Tour listening to info as we drove through the streets...

Korean War Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial:

Inside the Lincoln Memorial:

At the WWII Memorial

This building was right by the White House, and I don't remember what it is, but it's fancier than the White House for sure!  It looked like Buckingham Palace in comparison!

And there's the White House.... this is as close as you could get with the current security measures:

Funny story... we went to the American History Museum, but before we could get through all of it, everyone was hungry and Abby had a  headache, so we decided to leave and get lunch. We wanted to get food in the cafe there, but it was so packed and expensive that we decided to go "across the street" to where our GPS said there was a Panera Bread.  We walked ALL the way around this huge building (Ronald Reagan Buildng and International Trade Center) trying to find the restaurant (which we eventually decided was inside the building), and then trying to find a way in.  Half an hour later, we finally get inside from the cold, and realize that, like a lot of the restaurants in DC at the time, Panera doesn't have seating in it because of Covid.  We wondered around the building trying to find somewhere to sit....We finally sat down on these steps to eat.  Some people looked at us funny, but no one told us to leave.  Once we were done, I went to find a restroom and discovered that RIGHT on the other side of the steps, there was a big food court with lots of restaurant options and seating.  I sent a picture to Ben and told him to look behind the steps.  He was not amused.

"Our liberty of worship is not a concession nor a privilege, but an inherent right."

In the American History Museum... George Washington's suit:

Julia Child's kitchen!  I didn't know this was here, but I suddenly felt like I was in the last scene of the movie, "Julie & Julia".

Lots of walking...

The Capitol at night:

The National Archives... this was probably our favorite thing we did, but you're not allowed to take any pictures inside. I had to reserve a time to go in, and I thought the only thing inside was the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence, so I took the last half hour of the day before they closed, thinking we could just make it our last stop before dinner.  Unfortunately, there was so much more to see, like the original Magna Carta and things about all the Presidents.  We could have spent much more time in there.  But it WAS really cool to see our country's original founding documents.  We were surprised by how big they were and how faded the ink was.

National Gallery of Art.  There were SO MANY artists we knew from CC!  It was a huge museum, and we sped through just part of it before our "appointed time" at the National Archives.

Rembrandt:

What surprised me is that there were no railings or glass around any of the paintings... except this ONE piece by Leonardo da Vinci.  It's not like it was the Mona Lisa or anything either. 

Giotto:

Monet:

I think these are the cherubs from Night at the Museum 2... 😆

There was a lot of Gainsborough paintings too, and I took a picture of this one because I liked it, but I don't think it's actually Gainsborough...

Such a pretty building inside...

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum was okay, but honestly, we weren't overly impressed by it.  I liked the Air and Space museum in Dayton, Ohio, better!

How the astronauts prepare their food in space:

Neil Armstrong's space suit he wore when he took his first steps on the moon!

The Wright Brother's plane:

This is all loaded backwards again, but a lady from our Representative Ralph Norman's office met us and gave us a personal tour around "the Hill".  It was actually surprising how run-down everything seemed.  She said some congressmen actually just live out of their office in the capitol instead of renting houses/rooms.  She said most of the houses have leaking roofs and other issues.  I still thought it had some "charm" though!

Library of Congress.  Wish we could have gone inside!

Abby wanted to make sure I took the picture at an angle so we didn't get the "private parts" of one of the statues. 😆

The Capitol from the "backside":

The Supreme Court was one of the more impressive buildings I saw.  It was HUGE and looked like pure white marble.

Photo shoot in front of the Capitol:

The first day in DC, we rode the top of the Big Bus Tour.  It got chilly, but it was worth it for the view! 

The Treasury Dept:

The J. Edgar Hoover FBI building.  Once voted the "ugliest building in the USA"

Ford's Theater where Lincoln was shot:

Going into Chinatown:

National Archives Building from the front:

Department of Justice:

Department of Commerce:

National Museum of African American History 

Front lawn of the White House (from a distance!)

Had to get a picture of my favorite financial planner in front of "The Fed" (Federal Reserve). :)

Arlington National Cemetery... We didn't have time to get out and take the big walk-around unfortunately.

Crossing the Potomac River coming back from Arlington...

Caleb's buddy, Albert Einstein (Caleb did his Faces of History paper on Einstein last year)

Backside of Lincoln Memorial:

Jefferson Memorial:

Bureau of Engraving and Printing... we really wish we could have gotten in here, but it's still closed because of Covid!

We walked the few blocks from our hotel to find our bus in the morning with time to spare!

On the way up to DC... a pit stop in Virginia. :)

Caleb is mini-Ben.  Twins 30 years apart!

We went for a walk around Manchester Meadows, and there were a bunch of deer just off the path (very camouflaged!)

Everyone's happy when Dad's home from work. :)

Caleb reading his paper in Essentials:

Abby's team won the gingerbread house competition:

Caleb's team had a bloody Santa on the roof who got hit by a meteor or something...

Waiting to hear who won....

Going for a walk on a beautiful day!  Early November in South Carolina is gorgeous!

Fall vibes. :)  The view out the back door:

And the view out the front door:

Driver's Ed class!  Micah and Helen got to take it together one Saturday in Lancaster....

Fall bonfire/dinner with UIM Friendship Dinner

Fall PTG dance:

First debate of the year.  Should the electoral college be repealed?

Week 12 Tin Whistle review

Caleb played the Lord of The Rings music....

Just a typical day with Caleb...

It's so nice to live in a pretty neighborhood to go for bike rides!

We had a gift card to Olive Garden so went there to eat one Sunday night.  It was a looong wait! Hence the photo shoot. :)

Micah trying to point out that Ben's shoes are taller than his. :)

Who is taller???

Hanging out at house church...

Teen group...

Caleb's favorite spot when it's chilly in the mornings...

Owl pellets at CC...

Going for a walk in the woods behind our house...

Finding a "wild man" in his native environment... 😆