Feeling Grossed Out

Camp life is making me slightly crazy.

Maybe it's because I found four tiny white worms in our room today and can't find out where they came from. Yuck.

Or maybe it's because I found a tick on me the other day and don't know how long it was there. I'm shivering just thinking about it.

Those of you who know me well know I'm a clean freak, so finding gross creatures on me or in my room make me paranoid. I feel itchy all the time now, and on top of that I'm sure the tick that was on me will give me Lyme's disease because that's what I read on the internet and we all know it's best to diagnosis illness from the internet!

Justin thinks I'm crazy...I just may be.

Despite the bug infestation we have been traveling in and out of Washington DC exploring the sights.

The last couple trips into DC we took the Metro.

My friend told us about the Science Festival being held at the Convention Center. It was huge, over 3,000 hands on STEM booths for the kids to explore. We could have stayed all day and not seen it all.

The Magic School Bus was there along with Ms. Frizzle. Mike Rowe was also there, we saw him on stage talking about his show "Dirty Jobs".

I couldn't believe that the expo was free. We checked Science off the home school list for the week.

After the expo we strolled on over to the White House. It's been fun watching Justin in DC because I know secretly he would love to be the President of the U.S...or at least be involved in politics. I laugh because I would be the worst politician's wife, but I do think that Justin would make an awesome President or Senator or Congressman.

Here we are in Ford's theater, where President Lincoln was shot.

I had no love for the Spy Museum, it was the end of the day and I was tired. Justin and Blake had fun though.

We spent one full day at George Washington's Mt. Vernon.

His back porch faces the Potomac river.

A replica of the threshing house George Washington invented.

George Washington and most of his family are buried on the grounds of Mt. Vernon.

Mt. Vernon was beautiful. Everything was well kept and the staff was so welcoming and eager to share information.

Since it was raining today we stayed indoors and went to the Smithsonian Natural and American History Museums. They were crowded and full of evolution hoopla confirming my dislike for museums in general. There were a few neat exhibits...

Layne holding a huge grub like insect.

My favorite was the Mineral exhibit.

So many shapes and colors.

Even at a young age our children know how to correctly photo bomb.

It's been a busy few days. I'm reluctant to go to sleep tonight. I need to find out where those icky worms came from. It has been raining non stop the past few days maybe that has something do with it. Nevertheless I might be on the couch tonight!

First Day Discovery in DC

Humbled, overwhelmed, and grateful are just some of the words I would use to describe our first day in Washington, DC. I am ashamed to admit that I didn't really want to visit DC at all, it was just a stop on our trip that I thought would be good for the kids. Not caring much for museums, which is what I thought DC was all about, I was taken off guard by all the amazing places to see. I fell in love with the monuments and memorials built to help us remember such bravery and courage. It wasn't until I actually experienced DC did I finally grasp the significance of it all.

Our first stop of the day was Arlington Cemetery.

Over 400,000 service members, veterans and their families are honored there, including Justin's Grandpa who served in Korea and was career Navy. He passed away from MS 27 years ago.

We stood in awe and reverence for those who risked their lives for our country as we watched the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldiers.

The landscape was serene and peaceful.

Since it is spring most of the trees were in full bloom, creating a beautiful pink canopy for us to walk through.

We found Grandpa Vogel's site and placed a few of the pink flowers around.

Then we traced the inscription so we could send it back to Justin's Dad and Grandma Pete.

Arlington was the perfect place to start our DC tour, the experience gave me a new outlook on how our time should be spent here. Grateful for our country and the men and women that helped make it what it is...pretty much sums it up.

Since the time at Arlington only took up our morning we decided to walk across the bridge over the Potomac river and check out the Lincoln Memorial. The walk was longer than expected, but it was worth it.

Layne was so excited to see the building on the back of a penny in real life.

What I loved about our day is that we did everything without rushing. Here we sat on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and took in the sights of the Washington Monument...the kids spent some time drawing what they saw and we all relaxed and enjoyed the view.

Next to the Lincoln Memorial was the Vietnam Memorial...

all those names, it's just overwhelming.

We ended our day with the Iwo Jima Memorial and took a drive through Georgetown.

Exhausted...emotionally and physically, but I am looking forward to this week in DC more than I thought I ever would.

Our Week in Williamsburg

This is going to be a long one my friends.

We spent the week at Williamsburg Thousand Trails ready to see some history, celebrate Easter, and Blake's birthday. I took so many pictures of our time here, it's hard to choose which ones to share.

On our first full day we set out to discover Jamestown Settlement, but were slightly distracted on the way there by a sign that read "Duck Donuts".

I am a doughnut girl...doughnuts for breakfast, doughnuts for dessert, doughnuts just about anytime. I just wish I could eat more than two without feeling sick or gaining weight. Why oh why does something so yummy make you feel so bad! Anyhow, we were excited to try out this new place.

Yes, that is a bacon maple donut and it is made fresh right when you order.

Our stop was worth it, I am in heaven!

After our little distraction we made it to our original destination. Jamestown Settlement is an amazing recreation of the first English settlement in America...the earliest beginnings of this great country.

The kids had a blast exploring, we went inside wigwams...

carved a canoe with shells

and made leather in the Powhatan Indian village.

We toured replicas of the ships used to cross the Atlantic...

and walked through the Jamestown Fort exhibit.

So educational...the museum was amazing, we learned about how hard it was for the first English settlers to survive, the real story of Pocahontas, and how John Smith was the first governor of the settlement.

Later that week we went to the actual Jamestown archaeological site right down the street from the Jamestown Settlement museum.

It was amazing to be standing in the same spot where the first English settlement was started...400 years ago.

John Smith, first governor of the Jamestown settlement.

Many artifacts have been found here...helping us learn about how life was for those who lived here. So fascinating.

One of the monuments at Jamestown...erected to honor the many graves discovered on the same site.

While in Williamsburg we celebrated Easter. Although we missed our family that day it was nice to go to church and spend the day remembering our Savior and all He has done for us.

Thousand Trails Williamsburg had some activities for the kids to participate in.

The girls colored Easter eggs...

and went on an Easter egg hunt in the forest, which was a first for us.

The next day was spent walking around Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond. The sun was warm as we strolled through beautiful spring flowers.

I just have too many pictures of the garden to post.

Our week in Williamsburg was extra special because our kids made so many friends at camp. They were busy from the time we woke to the time we went to sleep. We also met other families that travel full time, which was a first for us too. It was so nice getting to know them and I hope we can cross paths again in the future.

Blake celebrated his 11th birthday. We surprised him with a day at Go Ape...zip lines and mountain biking. He has no fear of heights.

We ended his birthday with a potluck dinner with our new friends and cupcakes. My sweet boy is growing older, he is so responsible and funny...and I am cherishing this time I have with him on the road.

I think that covers a little bit of what we did in Williamsburg...we really enjoyed Virginia. It was such a good week. On to DC, I'm sure I will have a lot more to share soon.

Blown Away by the Outer Banks

This post will be short and sweet.

I was really looking forward to spending some time on the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina. As we drove into the area we were greeted with high winds, reminding me of the Santa Anna's where we used to live except these winds were freezing. Ok it probably wasn't freezing, but we are from Southern California for goodness sakes and it felt like freezing to us!

After we pulled into our campsite that afternoon we quickly decided to only stay one night and hit the road in the morning, the wind was expected to continue for a few days. It was such a bummer because we were really looking forward to exploring the beaches.

The view from inside our coach at our campsite on the Outer Banks. One of those bird houses actually blew over.

The next morning we packed up and headed north to Kitty Hawk to check out the area where the Wright Brother's built and flew their "Flying Machine".

It was pretty amazing to stand in the exact spot where the first successful flight of an airplane was.

It was still freezing and windy that day, you can tell by Layne's ear flaps. We later read that Kitty Hawk was chosen as a prime place to study and test aviation due to it's wind. Also the soft sand helped the landings. Makes sense.

Decked out in snow gear we didn't mind the long trek to the monument.

We choose not to do the Jr. Ranger Program that day and I will say I enjoyed not having to look for answers to questions. We just had a blast discovering and learning on our own even with the crazy weather.