Day Trippin'

When we had three toddlers (at once), we used to drive.  A lot.  The kids liked driving and were well behaved.  Regularly, we'd take Sunday drives and discover new places; old mining towns, new lakes and canyons.  It was quiet and fun and a way to create some spontaneous adventure in our mostly home-bound lives.

  

After the moonlight bike ride Sam and I rode a couple weeks ago, we decided we wanted to see what that part of the island looked like in daylight.  The half-way point of the bike ride stopped at the Fielding Garr ranch.  At the time, we had no idea there was a barn just down the path (let alone a whole ranch) with food and drink.  We just turned around and rode back to the finish.  We were a little bummed when we reached the end of the ride, famished and too-late the wiser about where the goodies actually were.

It had been a while since we had taken "a drive" as a family and this seemed like a good fit.  It was a fun trip.  We saw buffalo, rope beds, old books, lots of birds, cool old tools and other artifacts - old bunk houses with cold storage rooms underneath and I'm sure I'm forgetting something... oh yes - Antelope. 

[Sitting on the front porch of the oldest standing anglo-structure in Utah]

Ada's Motto:
 Try...

 Try...

... and Try again!

Yeehaw!













It went even better than we had planned.

I Took 216 Bad Pictures...

I've been fooling around a lot with settings.  But it is all completely experimental, I have no idea what the settings will do half the time.

Ah well.  I'm glad I took pictures.  I need to start documenting a little better, the goings on in my life.  Plus,  it turned out to be quite a lovely impromptu vacation.  One I want to remember.

Sam said on a Tuesday, "Let's go camping this weekend."

Every tent wishes they had an owner like Sam.  Meticulously cared for, our tent.

We didn't fully commit until Friday afternoon.  And even then we didn't have any kind of a plan.  We decided, last minute, on going to Cherry Hill Campground.  It's close and fun, there's a water park, mini golf and batting cages.

We had a blast.  I really needed the time with just my little family.




We played Yahtzee:

What he's saying here -verbatim:  "Hey Hun, can we be done with the picture-taking?"

We swam until we were bloodshot and shriveled:

 We participated in breath-holding competitions:

We found some great places to eat (yummy comfort food) in Kaysville, Utah:

[photo taken from the internets.  I was too busy snarfing my food to take any pictures]

I read this book, taking breaks to share my opinions with Sam regarding Ms. Chua's parenting methods:

[There will likely be a soapbox blog about this one]

At night we listened to heavy summer rain pounding onto our cozy tent.  We listened to some serious thunder and were entertained (some terrified) by the continuous flashes of lightning.  About an hour into it, Sam realized that he left his most favorite (and fancy) hat out on the picnic table in the storm.  But when he went out to save it, he found that his hat can take serious storms.  I was impressed.  It still looked new!

 We climbed trees:

And did robot dances:

 

We bought enough camping chairs to seat the whole family (not just the authoritarians duo):

Some of us did push ups as punishment for fighting:

And for some reason, Eddie kept doing this:

  It was a most fun, unplanned two days.







I really loved it.

So did this guy:

D.C. - October 2010

With Eddie, my mom (Lynne) and dad (Tim)

This was an amazing trip, and made possible by my very generous parents.  I loved the city, the museums and seeing it all with my family (especially Eddie).

He never complained.  Not one time.  We were on our feet all day long every single day.

What a wonderful experience.  Eddie is already talking about going back. 

Below are some of the many, many photos I took (of only a few places that we visited): 

Eddie's first plane ride

I am a big fan of the public transportation here.

My sister and her family drove from West Virginia to meet us for the day.  It was a blast.

Outside the Reagan Building.

Outside Reagan Bldg.

Inside Reagan Bldg.  I wish I was a better photographer.  I loved the architecture and wanted to constantly be taking photos...

Chumming with the D.C. folks at the American History Museum

Having fun while walking and exploring the city.  This was some sort of Navy Memorial

The ceiling inside the Native American History Museum

Arlington.  What a place, beautiful, somber, reverent, heavy.  It left a big impression on both Eddie and me.

Walking along the Mirror Pool

It is difficult to capture how big this monument is because you aren't allowed to get very close.

Native American History Building.  A gorgeous structure. 

Flying toy airplanes along the National Mall

IMAX at the National Air and Space Museum

Not a great photo of the ceiling at the National Art Museum.  I only had 30 minutes to spend here (shucks!),  but I saw some lovely things and discovered some new favorite paintings.

Grandpa (Tim), Myself and Eddie walking from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial.

I loved the Lincoln Memorial.