The 4th of July

I was excited to be in Washington DC for the 4th of July; however, it was raining. We woke up to some really good donuts that Chris and his mom got for us. Then we decided to go to Mount Vernon (George Washington's Estate) because the church offers to let people park in their parking lot and in return they get free tickets, so we were able to go for free and thought it was a pretty patriotic thing to do! After Mount Vernon we ate some burgers (how American) and chicken nuggets (even more American) and did sparklers. If it wasn't raining I was planning on going into DC to watch the fireworks at the mall, but it wasn't worth fighting crowds, rain, and little boys for fireworks I could see on TV!

How could I miss taking a picture with George and George??  It is his partial name sake.  One of my great grandpas was George Washington McKinney, who was obviously named after the first president.  He had a brother named Napoleon Bonaparte.  I guess their parents liked strong leaders!

Hundreds of little flags in front of the mansion.

Hitching a ride on Papa Dude.

This guy was amazing on the flute.

Waiting on the fireworks.

They played music during the fireworks

Oma and Bentley

They had Colonial fireworks which were done during the day.  It was pretty neat.  Some looked like regular fireworks and others just looked like colored smoke.

Despite the look on his face, I think he was having a good time.

More fireworks

Colonials

Martha Washington; we couldn't find George.

The view from a side porch of the river.  On a sunny day it would have been really pretty.

The mansion house where he lived and died.  There is no kitchen in the main living area; it is off to the left right to keep the big house cooler.  The boys went with several others to look at the animals on the property while I went through the house with Emma and Zadi.  They told me that all the animals are of direct lineage to the animals that lived on property during George Washington's life.  I thought that was pretty cool.

Worn out after such a long day!

Radley really wasn't sure about the whole sparkler thing.

The boys wouldn't stay still long enough to get a cool shot with the camera.

God Bless the USA!!!

Bentley really wanted to touch the sparks.

Took this for Kenney

Light 'em up!!

Bentley and Oma saying Hi from the balcony.

One more from this cute happy boy!!

I don't usually see Radley's name on things so I thought this was pretty cool; it was on a license plate cover.

Papa Dude found a Bentley in the parking lot so naturally we HAD to take a picture of Bentley with a Bentley, and we had to stop for gas in Bentleyville Pennsylvania.

DC Day 2 (The Blessing)

On Sunday we went to church and hung around the house. It was a nice day with family with a good break to throw some pop-its Shandi got for everyone.

Papa Dude and Bentley (He was her favorite while we were there)

The church is on a beautiful lot.  This is the view of the Potomac River from the front of the church.  It was plenty of space for 3 crazy little boys to run!!

The whole crew that came for the blessing and stayed at Chris and Shandi's house!  She did great hosting us, thanks!

The Lively crew minus Kenney (He was greatly missed, especially by me).

The Originals (Somehow all the girls ended up wearing stripes; it was pretty funny)

Papa Dude and Oma with all their grand kids.

Georgie boy and his parents on his big day.

Thousands of pop-its for little boy entertainment.  It was fun and amazing how quickly we went through a box of 2000.  Poor Chris got a little ganged up on, but he took it well!!

Doesn't everyone need a headlamp to throw pop-its??

They started to get fancy and do spin moves to throw them!

Damon's moves were pretty cool!

Kyler after chruch

Damon in his high-waters (we put those pants away for Radley when we got home!)

Her face...

Their church had pillars; I love pillars and the cute boys posing next to them!!

Getting some fresh air and learning to stand alone.  She started to let go of things and stood alone for 4 seconds!!  I am not ready for that!

Hiding in the cave in Shandi's kitchen where headlamps are definitely necessary.

DC Day 1

After a few days in Missouri, we continued out trip to see the Barneys (my sister's family) and my other sister Sara who their nanny for the summer in Virginia (right outside DC) and to be there for George's baby blessing. My sisters and I took the boys into DC and attempted to show them some of the museums. It was a little rough with all of them because there were so many people and we only had one stroller.   I knew the walking would be an issue (we aren't used to walking very much in Texas because everything is so spread out), but we were going to try! After Radley's tantrum he fell asleep and things were much better!

Damon and Radley with the first cousin on my side, George.

George is about the same size as Radley!!  Not really, but he's a big boy!!

Waiting for the Metro.

Mom and the boys

3 girls and 3 boys.  My, how the next generation has shifted from girls to boys!!

Kyler enjoying the view.  We were able to see Regan National Airport, the Potomac River, and many other things as we headed to the National Mall.

Radley liked looking for the lights in the tunnel.

Damon loved hanging out with Sara.

Radley was obsessed with pigeons.  He wanted to touch them. 

Kyler at the Natural History Museum measuring up against an elephant leg bone.

The Elephant!

T-Rex (This was right before Radley had a major meltdown about the stroller which involved a 35 minute screaming fit and me walking through a super crowded museum with a flailing toddler that was hitting and kicking people! Great times!!)

This thing was pretty big.

Kyler in an airplane at the Air and Space Museum.

Damon in the plane.

Thankfully we talked Damon and Kyler out of waiting in lines to walk through the rockets and other planes.  There were so many people and so many lines!!

Damon standing by the Metro in the underground station.