The next day...

The next day was Mount Vernon...no pictures yet of this. I would have to forget my camera in the bus on one of the biggest picture taking days!

We next headed out to Jamestown and Yorktown. There were a lot of cannons, guns, ships and such for two boys to really enjoy this place!.
glass making...


guns...


a cannon ball still stuck in a house where a general was believed to be hiding out.


and cannons everywhere.

Next Day

We hit the capital... here is a picture of the ceiling.

Then onto Arlington where we watched the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the unknown Soldier. It was so fascinating to see how much precision goes into the steps and movements they make. Here are some facts about the guards and the tombs.

There are three Relief's assigned to the Tomb Guard Platoon, each consisting of 9 enlisted soldiers (they use the same break-down as a Light Infantry Squad). The heights are equal on each Relief, with the tallest assigned to the 1st Relief.

1st Relief 6'2" to 6'4"

2nd Relief 6' to 6'2"

3rd Relief 5'11" to 6'

Day two in D.C.

We saw the Iwo Jima memorial next.


The National Cathedral was our next stop..

Ashley and Matthew came in for Spring Break so I've been a little distracted. Paul and Morgan were at the beach with friends and Tim was working.

We then headed over to the capital...which I can't find a picture for, this could be a potential problem when we put our scrapbook together for school.

We moved on to the Library of Congress...

Sunday morning in D.C.

Sunday morning we all got up early, had breakfast in the common dining area and then had a pastor, Benny Youngblood, who was on the trip with his son give our devotion. We headed out to the WWII Memorial.
We found the pillar with Alabama on it and then looked at "Freedom Wall".

Every star is equal to 1,000 deaths...there are 4,000 stars on the wall.

We then moved on to the Vietnam Memorial. It was really humbling to see the wall with all the names etched in it. We had several kids who's family member served in Vietnam and they were able to present a wreath to those who served and lost their lives.

We went to the Smithsonian where we had lunch and looked through the Air and Space museum where we visited different types of flight. We moved onto the Archives where we saw the Bill of Rights, The Declaration of Independence, and The Constitution. (no pictures could be taken). We went to the Holocaust museum and looked through the part that was added called Daniel's story. We went to see the Hope Diamond...


We then moved on to the Jefferson Memorial


and the Lincoln Memorial

D.C. or Bust

The computer that I am using at the Inn is so old (or I'm to tired to find it) that it doesn't have a thumb drive. I'll have to download pictures tomorrow.

Nolan and I got to the school at about 5:30 on Saturday morning. It had started to snow and was below freezing. We went over some rules, had roll call and then loaded the bus and pulled out a little after 6:00. The first part of the trip seemed to drag on forever...maybe it was because it took us about 5.5 to 6 hours to make a usual 3 hour trip to Tennessee. I did a lot of reading on my Grisham book and Nolan socalized with friends and played the PSP most of the time. I ended up taking two long naps druing the next part of the trip but still felt so tired. We stopped at a K&W cafateria somewhere in Virginia to eat dinner. This reminded me of the Morrison's that used to be in Alabama which all of the seniors would go to at 5:00 for dinner. The food was nothing great but being out of the buses was wonderful. We are on bus number 1 which turned out to be wonderful because you are always the first ones to the rest area and therefore are the first to use the restroom. When you have 300 people trying to go at one time....well, you get the picture.
This is what the tire of the bus looked like when we reached the rest area in Tennessee. Nolan, and every other boy, thought it was great.


We finally arrived at the hotel (ok..not really the ritz...not even close)

about 10:30 and once we recived our room key, got showered and settled, it was near 11:30. We are rooming with Ethan M and his mom. He and Nolan have known each other since they were 4 years old. Ashley and I are a lot alike so the issue of 4 people in a VERY small room hasn't been bad.

Tune in tomorrow for Day 1...

Washington D.C.

Well, it's that time in 5th grade for the annual Washington trip. Nolan and I leave this Saturday for a bus ride to Washington. I don't know about you but a bus ride with kids (no alcohol) and a bunch of people I don't really know, isn't exiciting me. I'll try to blog as we go along our journey but I'm not sure I'll have access to computers or have enough time.

Keep a watch out to see how I survive the week....

MOM

When our wee ones were little and beginning to talk...for them to say this word would be music to our ears. We get so excited when they start playing around with sounds and babbling ma ma da da. When you can tell that they have called you mama for the first time because they have associated that word with you and not any moving object that happens to pass by them is worth picking up the phone and calling da da about. When that sweet child is so excited to see you and comes running to you squelling mom, it melts your heart.

So what happens????

Why is it that a short time later when you hear mom it is no longer a melodious sound to your ears but usually being yelled because the sibling is antagonizing them in some way. How can it get to the point that you have heard MOM yelled so many times in one day that you look at your children and say "I've changed my name, it's no longer mom". (yes, I have done this) My two are now 12 and 9 and it seems like they can't start a sentence with me without saying MOM first. It is driving me CRAZY! We are the only two in the room and they don't usually have the habit of talking to themselves, so why do they feel it is necessary to say MOM every time they have a question or want to state a fact? thin about your conversations during the day with a co-worker or a friend. If you said their name when began each statement, question, or announcement; you would find yourself alone a lot more. I long for the days when it was an excited sound rather than a word now punctuated with huffs and grunts.