Carson's Scout Campout

Carson went on his first Scout overnight campout last weekend. His scout leader emailed these pictures today. They went to an area about 20 minutes south of us called Pohick Bay. They slept in tent on Friday night and then hiked on Saturday. Copperhead in the stream!

The Franklin Institute and Valley Forge

The Franklin Institute is a children's hands-on museum in Philadelphia. This is an exhibit that tells you (based on your weight) how much blood you have in your body. The Visitor's Center at Valley Forge. Learning about electricity Human Heart exhibit Visitor's Center at

Independence Hall

Independence Hall; there was a long line of people waiting to tour inside, and we didn't have time so we just looked around outside. There was also a long line to see the Liberty Bell, but there is a window to see it from outside. Looking at the

Philadelphia Temple

We attended the Philadelphia open house last weekend. We walked through the temple  and saw all the ordinance rooms. The temple is in the style of the old colonial times, with light fixtures that look like candles, and lots of attention to details. It is one of the most beautiful

Great Waves

We ventured out to a water park a few days ago, they had a really fun wave pool and waterslides, a dry play structure, and kiddie pools.

Bunnies and Tucker's birthday

We found a bunny family right near our front porch this last week. First, we only saw one baby, then 2, then 3 and then 4. They would nestle into the shrubbery in front of our porch. A fun birthday card Tucker received from the Jackson family The Jackson kids

Creek

Look closely, there are lots of frogs eggs in the water Interesting fungus growing This is at the creek by our house, lots of tadpoles right now This is a huge dead beetle Savannah found on the ground while we were waiting for Carson's bus at the highschool.

Maker Faire

We went to the National Maker Faire in DC last Saturday. a life-size R2D2 rolling around, pretty neat lots of booths sponsored by robotics and tech companies. This one is a RadioShack tent where the kids learned about soldering. They each got a kit and an employee helped them to

Carson's 11th birthday

Because his birthday is on a Wednesday, Carson had his birthday party on a Saturday before, so he could have a friend Ethan come over. We had pizza and made rubix cube cupcakes. Opening presents; Carson had been waiting for a long time for this moment! He got lots of

School Pictures

Tucker, 2nd grade Carson, 5th grade Savannah, Kindergarten

Washington DC Temple and Visitor's Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

We went to the Washington DC Temple today. They have a nice visitor's center that has a cut-away model of the temple. Christus statue Temple exhibit about temples throughout time, this one being the Old Testament tabernacle. King Solomon's Temple Kirtland Temple, in Ohio, built in

Kids on a train

Comments Anonymous (May 23, 2016): Fun!!!!

Walking around Washington DC

We had no specific plan for the day, after going to the temple, we tried to find a train station and came upon Arlington National Cemetery, then made a turn and saw the Iwo Jima Memorial statue! It's so big and very dramatic to see. So we pulled

Fairfax Courthouse

this is the old Fairfax courthouse, near George Mason University, about 10 minutes from our house. This was one of the sites of the first conflicts in the Civil War. This monument is in front of the courthouse, for John Quincy Marr, who was the first confederate soldier to be

We moved to Fairfax, Virginia

Keith got a new job at an investment firm (in Washington DC called Rock Creek Group), back in March. He moved here about a month ago and the kids and I were going to wait out the school year and then move up here, but we got tired of waiting

Mom and daughter

Savannah went to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese for two of her friends, and this is us using up the tokens.

Immigration Day

Carson's school has 'Immigration Day' every year for the 5th graders. Every student must dress as an immigrant from whatever country their heritage comes from. Carson went as 'Joao Morais' from the Azores, and he brought Panettone as his food, since it would be

Last-Minute Visit to Nashville

we went straight to the Parthenon replica, it was built in the late 1800s for a World's Fair type thing and then was renovated in the 20s inside, they built this huge 40-foot statue of Athena, in 2002 the Frist art museum. We did not go inside, as

Lots and Lots of Yard Work

The kids and I bagged up 13 large yard bags of pine needles and leaves this weekend.  The scary thing: there will be at least another dozen or two more in the next couple of months. The mower does an amazing job and vacuuming up the pine needles.

carson

Mt Bethel Elementary Fun Run

The boys wanted to participate in the Mount Bethel Elementary Fun Run.  We're not the most athletic family, but they did pretty well on the one mile run. After the race, I asked the kids if they'd like to stay and look at the booths and

Halloween

Trick or treating Getting ready to go to the trunk or treat at the church building We carved pumpkins the Monday before Halloween, but they got moldy and collapsed 4 days later! Savannah in her Wee School class fall party

Savannah's 5th Birthday Party

We started out the party with pizza, then played Pin the tail on the mermaid Jon Paget and the Mowris family came over to celebrate with Savannah The kids couldn't wait to hit the pinata! the Costco cake was delicious Savannah is so glad to get Elsa slippers

Covered Bridge

This covered bridge is about 20 minutes north of Warm Springs; built around 1840 I think I look terrible in these two pictures, but I show them anyways (blah) cause the kids look so cute and we all look cool as a group in front of the bridge Black Rat

Warm Springs, GA

We saw a movie called 'Warm Springs' on Prime a few months ago and it made us want to visit Warm Springs, GA, since it is about an hour and a half drive from Atlanta. It is a cute little town with a lot of history. The movie

School Pictures

Carson, 5th Tucker, 2nd