Fun time at the lake

Developing right relationships is a crucial part of becoming a wise follower of Christ. Proverbs 13:4 says, "He that walks with the wise will grow wise." And Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:33, "Bad company corrupts good character." You eventually become like the people you spend the majority of your time with, so it is important to surround yourself with godly people who will lead you closer to the Lord. Someone once said, "Show me your friends, and I will show you your future." We are so blessed to have wonderful friends all over.

I love Carson's smile here. He is surrounded by beautiful girls.

~Nascar Race Date Night~

In the middle of all the work we have right now we made time to do a fun couples date night with our dear friends. The Murphy's came with us to Bristol Motor Speedway to watch the races. We left a few hours early from work Wednesday afternoon. My mom came up from FL just in time to pick the girls up from school and watch them for the night. So thankful for moms who drive 11 hours to babysit. It was a late night but so worth it.

We ventured outside to the stands to get a "feel" for the event. The noise was deafening and unbearable. We quickly retreated back to the box seats we had.

We "fit" right in with the Nascar crowd. :) Everyone was carrying coolers with beer and we had our designer handbags and heels. Way to not follow the crowd.

Some sports are better when you are not so close to the action and away from the noise. We all enjoyed a fun night together. Oh, I guess for all that care Kyle Busch won the race...again.

Washington DC Saturday August 7 2010 {Day four}

Our last day in DC was just as eventful as the last three. We had plans to visit Arlington National Cemetery, Capitol, Library of Congress and maybe see the White House from the other side. We had heard that you can get closer to the building from the front.

We called for our car and when it arrived I noticed a scratch on the bumper. I was just bummed. I tend to be a perfectionist and it just made me sick to see the scratch. I let Scott handle it with the valet guys and the outcome was not in our favor. They do not take responsibility for damage. I guess perfection is my enemy and I need to learn to like the damage for now. Bummer!

Nicole being silly while daddy talks to the valet guys.

We were finally on our way to activities after working things out. We drove our car over to Arlington Cemetery. Is was another somber place to visit.

Our next stop was the Capitol building. We were getting in line for lunch at the visitor center when there was an emergency lock down at the capitol. Everyone was evacuated from a section and was not let back in for a few hours. We skipped it and went on to the Library of Congress hungry :( We heard that the lock down was due to a bag left unattended.

We hoped that the tunnel to the Capitol would be open but no luck there either.

Our last stop was the White House again. This time the front of the building. We could see the location where they do the broadcasting of the nightly news. It makes things more real for the girls when they can see it on TV and say "I have been there".

The girls were being "spies" and looking in the windows of the White House.

Someone should tell the White House gardener that they have field mice in the bushes. If you look carefully we got a shot of three of them near the fence.

The day was coming to a close and our next stop was the hotel to pack and get ready to go home in the morning. Nicole was very "excited" to go.

We were so lucky to catch Obama giving a speech on the streets of Washington. Security did not mind that Kate got so close while he spoke to the crowds.

That was the end of our Washington DC adventure. Loved it all!!

One other note worthy moment happened the morning we left. With suitcases in tow we got on the elevator. The memorable moment happened when it was time to get off the elevator in the lobby. Nicole was the last one on so the first one off in the lobby but the doors closed before the rest of us could exit and Nicole was left in the lobby alone. The elevator took off and I had a small panic attack. Nicole is not a fan of being left alone anywhere. After a short ride up and back to the lobby the doors opened and Nicole had not moved. She was fine. I was glad to see her not upset.

Washington DC Friday August 6, 2010 {Day three}

After a good nights rest we were ready to take on the streets of DC again. We walked to the International Spy Museum. This was not a free museum but was very interesting. The girls had a better understanding about spies. They love to play in Whistle Stop and spy on people. Now they know that sometimes spies have such deep dark secrets they die to keep them safe. We learned about spy gear. The girls got some backwards glasses, handcuffs, a book on girls spies, disappearing ink and fun ideas to use in Whistle Stop.

Our next stop was the American History Museum. I think this was my favorite. Kate had the camera and these are a few of the things we saw.....

Uniform of George Washington. I just was impressed that people have saved things like this. It would have been so easy to have it been lost in time.

Dorothy's ruby red slippers.

The First Ladies inaugural ball gowns. I loved these.

Michelle Obamas gown and jewelry and shoes were on display.

A piece of the Berlin Wall.

The girls played while I went shopping at Macy's. Scott took them to the pool.

When I was done shopping. Scott got some reading in and the girls and I dinned at the hotel. We were a little silly. It was about 9 pm and we were getting dinner done. I love vacations.

Nicole did not get the smile memo here. We had a fun evening.

Washington DC Thursday August 5, 2010 {Day two}

Day two started early for Scott. He left in the morning about 6:30 am and stood in line for tickets to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. He also got our tickets to the Washington Monument that we did not get to use that night. The girls and I got ready in the morning and meet up with daddy. We had morning tickets to the printing and engraving. The girls were thinking they had so much money there they would not miss this case. :)

Your height in shredded money.

To me they are priceless.

We liked the new $100 dollar bill. We plan on starting to collect them. :)

Our next stop that we took pictures was the National Air and Space Museum. We did actually stop at the Holocust museum for a quick look around. They had an area for kids that told the story of a boy named Daniel.

This was the actual plane the Wright Brothers flew. It sure made me thankful for the progress we have made since then. They were true pioneers to dream of things like this.

This was Kate's pick to do. She really wanted to see the Declaration of Independence. We were not allowed to take pictures inside. We did purchase our own copy for her to study. I'm sure it will come in handy now that she is in Fifth grade. She came home today from school and said they have to learn it. Way to go Kate for thinking ahead.

Our next stop was the Natural History Museum. Katelyn took control of the camera and found many things to photograph. This was a favorite.

We did find something from Macon County North Carolina here. It was a small ruby.

Our second day ended with a rain showers and mommy getting a slight fever. It was a early night for the family to check in. We did however end up in a traffic jam or more like gridlock when we tried to go out of the city to do some shopping that night. It was not a good idea. We travelled a few blocks in about an hour and fifteen minutes. Had a close call with another car and made it back to the hotel safe. It was time to call it a night.