Time For A New Post

I haven't been blogging much because I lost wireless access in the apartment. This means I have to share computer time with the kids!

Anyway, we spent this past weekend in New York - I'll put up a proper post tomorrow - but here is a picture to keep you (mom) happy!

Long Beach, New York

Evening Stroll

As if going to Mount Vernon wasn't enough, I had the great idea to go back out in the evening to see the Lincoln Memorial and The Vietnam War Memorial. There really isn't a convenient train stop, so we took the closest one and had a nice walk. It happens to be by Arlington National Cemetery, so we saw the Seabee's statue. (Spencer didn't want to be in the photo)

After we crossed a bridge going over the Potomac River, we could see we were getting closer to our desired location. This is the back of the Lincoln Memorial.

This was mom's last night with us, so I thought we should take advantage of the sights. Plus, I knew that she would like to go to our next stop.

Gianna with my Uncle David.

After we walked around the Vietnam War Memorial, we went to the snack shack and enjoyed the light coming from the Lincoln Memorial. Since mom has seen it several times, and it was late, we decided to skip it and grab a cab home. We had a great visit with mom and are so glad she came!

Mount Vernon

Today we visited George Washington's home. Mount Vernon. I don't know what it is with me, but I always pick the HOTTEST days to do things things! (When we left, the temp according to the van was 105'!!)
Here are the kids with George, Martha and their children.
Here we are in front of the Washington's home. The sun was too bright, so Gemma and Spencer covered their eyes - classy, don't you think?
We weren't able to take photos in the house. After touring the house, we went into the yard and enjoyed the view of the Potomac River.
Gianna thought we could walk to the water - I quickly informed her we couldn't.

The tombs of George and Martha Washington.
After the tour and enjoying our time outdoors, we ate at the food court and then took another photo in front of Mount Vernon - this time the sun wasn't an issue!
The kids with a statue of Washington. Notice Gianna - she is wearing a hat similar to the one Washington wore. The only difference is, she thinks it's a pirate hat! I didn't want to argue!
Now we're ready to drive home. Fortunately the a/c cooled the car down quickly and we were back in our apartment in 30 minutes. You'd think after a 5 hour day we'd be done...but we decided to venture out into the city in the evening! More on that later!

National Zoo

On Sunday we went to the National Zoo. It was a hot day and we managed to stay for 6 hours! We had a wonderful time, despite several of Gianna's meltdowns. We saw many animals, walked A LOT and spent a small fortune on food. Here are some photos from the day - I'll let them tell the story.

Ace of Cakes

For those that watch Ace of Cakes - they'll appreciate this!

Baltimore

Today we went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. It was only a 35 minute drive with no traffic - perfect!

Here are the girls waiting for David and Spencer to return with tickets for the dolphin show!

The first thing the kids saw when we walked in the door was this tank of trout. They thought this was pretty neat - but they hadn't seen anything yet!
In the jaw of a shark! The jaw is a reproduction, but the teeth are real.

Gemma and Gianna played by the bubbles.
Here is the family in the rain forest exhibit.
This is us just before the dolphin show. I think this was the high-light for all of us.

After the aquarium, we had lunch and then walked over to tour a submarine and an old Navy ship from the civil war era. The aquarium is on the waterfront - complete with shopping area, restaurants and several ships to tour - we chose two. While we did the tour, mom shopped at Barnes and Noble (she needed to rest her legs!).
This sub sank the last enemy warships at the end of World War II. Walking through this sub gave me a greater respect for men of that era.
David taking control of the "comm."
After exploring the sub, we then boarded the USS Constellation. This is the only vessel still afloat that saw active service during the American Civil War.

Gianna at the helm.

Spencer checking out the sleeping arrangements!

The family on deck!

And this was Gianna about 2 minutes after we returned to the car. She spent the day either walking, on David's shoulders or being carried by one of us. It was a long day - but a lot of fun!