A girl and her dinosaurs

While Kent and I were in D.C. (I promise the rest of our trip will be coming.. eventually) we picked up the boys some dinosaur t-shirts and some dinosaur toys. Their sister got a butterfly t-shirt and a toy giraffe (her favorite animal, currently) and a little pouch type thing that she can put all her "treasures" and other stuff in. Anyway, the boys loved their stuff, as did Zoey. But.. those cute little dinosaurs did their magic on Zoey and she couldn't resist. So, for the past few days (going on a week now) she has been playing and sleeping (!!) with those plastic, prehistoric wonders. What can I say.. she takes after her momma.. she is all tomboy. Flowers and ruffles just aren't enough for her. :)

Washington D.C.: The Middle

Our 2nd day was amazing. It started with us taking a segway tour. If you have never ridden on a segway then it might seem intimidating. I was certainly nervous about doing it. But the guide was very helpful and made sure the group as a whole was ready to ride around the city safely. It was about a 3 hour tour. We made several stops and got to really see the whole city. The guide said if we were to take the same tour, on foot, it would take us about 8 hours without stopping. We stopped at the Lincoln memorial, Vietnam memorial, Koren memorial, White House, the Capitol) Some of the facts that we picked up along the way were that at the Navy memorial (where the Navy band plays) that once a year Navy sailors bring water from all the waters they occupy and sail in and dump it into the water foundation. Also that the Lincoln memorial that Lincoln's hands are in sign language of an "A" and "L". A funny fact is of Ulysses S. Grant's memorial is that he commissioned his own memorial and he wanted to make sure that the horse he was on had its "rear" facing the Capitol because he hated Congress so much at the time. I learned so much on that one tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable in all things DC. After our tour we went into Chinatown and ate at "Matchbox". They had really good pizza and what I call a mozzarella sandwich. Very good. We then took a well deserved break for the afternoon and then went out to a nice restaurant called "Fogo de Chao". It's a place that if you don't like meat, that you probably wouldn't enjoy. I am not a vegetarian but I am not a great meat eater either. So it was OK. They had a really good salad bar though. After dinner we just walked the streets for a bit. Looking at the different buildings and just talking. It was nice.

On day three we had another full day lined up. We went to the National Museum of American History. I would say the highlight of this stop was seeing the actual flag that inspired the nation's anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". No one is allowed to take pictures of it, but it was amazing to just look at. So awesome to get to view that great piece of American history. After visiting there we took the LONG walk across The Mall to the Capitol building. Where we got to take a guided tour. That was amazing as well. To look around and stand in spots that you know our forefathers had once stood in, was.. well just wonderful. The Rotunda was breathtaking. It was an unforgettable experience for sure. I highly recommend anyone to get tickets for the tour. Well worth the $1.00 we each paid to take it. Also, I might add here, we didn't get to go into the Washington Monument because we didn't realize tickets were so hard to come back. So, if you plan to go at some point go ahead and get tickets online. I believe they are like $1.50 online. Free if you get there early in the morning first. So after the Capitol we went to the "National Museum of Natural History". We spent well over 3 hours in here. We saw an IMAX movie (roughly 40 minutes, although Kent nor I was very impressed) and just explored the 3 floors. A lot to see there for sure. Animals of all kinds, space stuff, different ages stuff, etc. We saw Abraham Lincoln's top hat, the Hope Diamond, money throughout the nation's history, the First Ladies' dresses, etc. A lot to see. After the museum we were exhausted. So we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and get some dinner. We ate at "Meiwah" which is a Chinese restaurant. It was probably the best Chinese I have ever eaten. Really good. In fact, after writing that and thinking about it I have a huge craving for more sweet and sour chicken. With our stomachs full we headed back to the room to rest and get a good night's sleep.

Another step

My computer desk/area is a mess. I mostly blame this on my husband. Because most of the junk laying all over is his. And I don't know what I can throw away and what I can't. But some of the blame falls on me. Some of this junk is mine as well. Still.. most of it is his.

Moving on...

There has been a vanilla envelope sitting on the desk for over 5 months now. It is filled with every sympathy card, note, newspaper clipping, etc. from my momma's passing. I have left it there, because I wasn't really ready to put it away. I don't really know why, I just wasn't. But today, I looked at it and told myself it was time to put it away in my memories box. So, I opened it up and read a few of the cards and letters. I broke down. And I am tearing up even as I type this. I had forgotten that I put an empty envelope in there. Couldn't remember why I had done that until I flipped it over and realized it was one of the last cards my momma sent me. I saved the envelope because it had my momma's handwriting on it. I held it close and cried. I wanted my momma back and not just her handwriting. I want my momma back and not just her handwriting.

I thought that surely after 5+ months of her being gone, that I would have come to grips with her passing. And mostly, I have. But there are moments, days that it just hits me hard. Takes my breath away. Makes me ask why. I have come to realize that the hole in my life that she left is just the way it is going to be. There is no undoing it, it isn't a dream and I am not going to wake up to my old life. This is it.

I have noticed that when I am really missing her, that I usually will dream about her. And I did that last night. I don't really remember the dream, but I just know she was in it. I'll take whatever I can get.

After putting all the cards and letters back into the envelope I went and put it all in my memories box. I had another good little cry and that was that. Another attempt to move forward. Taking it one step, one day at a time.

Washington D.C. : The Beginning

I don't know how many of these entries there will end up being. I am going to just type and add pictures until I am tired I suppose. So here we go---

We got up before the birds Monday morning to get to the airport. It was my first time flying, so of course I got no sleep the night before. And yet I sprung out of bed and was ready to go. At the airport Kent had to get totally frisked. I was pretty amused by the fact. It was because Kent wears an insulin pump and they had to make sure he was telling the truth about it. The flight itself was enjoyable. I was a nerd and looked out the window the whole time. Got a couple of great pictures as well. Once we landed, we had a layover of about 2 hours. Which was better than some of the people I was eavesdropping in on. Our final flight into DC was good. Read a little bit, looked out the window, ate some peanuts, the usual.. At the airport we found our way into the Metro and hoped for the best. We did get lost once we got back on the street and all I could think was, "I told Kent to get a taxi..". We finally did find our way to our hotel. Our hotel was nice, except for the construction going on next door. Thankfully, they didn't bother us much since we weren't usually there during their working hours. We unloaded our stuff and went in search for a place to eat. We ended up choosing, "The Front Page". They had one of the best cheeseburgers I have ever had. Kent got a steak and said it was really good as well. I would highly recommend it to anyone going to DC and are in need of casual place to eat. We had planned a tour for the evening and were wasting time before that, so we headed to Union Station. While there we shopped a little bit and went across the street to the Postal Museum. Kent's grandfather used to be a postman, so we went to check it out and take some pictures for him. Before entering we had to be screened and of course the metal detector went off because of Kent's pump. Kent showed the guy his pump, while trying to explain to him what it was. The security guy wanted him to take it off and Kent told him he couldn't. The guard wanted to know why, so Kent lifted his shirt to show that it was attached to his body. It was kind of annoying, but I understood the reasoning.. still irritated me a bit that people just sometimes don't listen. Anyway, once we got past that blunder the rest of the visit went well. We then headed back over to Union Station to take our night tour of DC. We got to visit several places (Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima memorial) and learn many new facts about DC. It was a definitely a tour to remember. Our first day in DC was full and we were tired. Great sleep was had by all!

*HUGE SIGH*

Blogger has been a pain in my rear for the past couple of days. Will not let me load pictures currently, for whatever reason. I have several entries typed up about my trip to DC. I went to slide.com to just do a slide show and that was going fine until I deleted the slide show accidentally.. soooo with that, I am calling it a night. I will try again when I have some free time.

Last "twenty something" birthday

My husband is 29 today. His last "twenty something" birthday. It doesn't seem real. Because we've known each other since we were 4 and 6. Have we really been a part of each other lives (to some extent) for 23 years now? Amazing. I remember what I got him for his birthday the first year we were "dating". A Tommy Hilfiger shirt. He probably doesn't remember, but I believe it was too big for him, but he wore it anyway. So sweet and funny!

Happy Birthday, my wonderful, handsome husband. I hope you enjoy your last birthday of your twenties.. I have two more.. thankyouverymuch. You deserve the very best!!! That's why I am your wife! Here's to many more birthdays together!!!

Got inked..

Not me! Obviously... my arm is no where near that big (thankfully!) or hairy... BUT that IS my husband's arm. And well.. it's his first tattoo. The long... LONG... L-O-N-G awaited tattoo. I have been hearing about this tattoo (or rather a form of this tattoo) for many, many, many, many (is that too many many's?) moons now. Since.. like.. when we first started dating. Anywho.. he got the tattoo while myself and the kids were away over the July 4th weekend. I knew of the tattoo.. or at least the main idea, design of the tattoo, but had no clue whatsoever that he was actually getting it. I figured, like it had been for the last 13 years.. that it was just talk. But he was serious. And when he sent me the picture, I had a mini panic attack. I still haven't gotten completely used to it. Every time he walks by I have to take a second look and make sure I am really seeing what I think I am seeing. And it feels... rubbery. I guess that's because the tat (is that what the cool people call them???) isn't completely set or something.. I haven't a clue. But nonetheless, it's there.. and at least it's not just some random design that he got just to be getting and just to say he has a tattoo. So for those who may not completely understand the whole thing here is the breakdown of what his tattoo "stands" for. The "O" in the middle stands for our last name and then the kids' names are self explanatory. I asked him what happens if we have more children (which would be rare considering Kent had a vasectomy). He said he would just start making a list down his arm. ;) So there.. it's out for all the world to know. Maybe now my panic attacks will stop.