Washington DC

After a week in West Virginia we headed back to my Dad's house for a weekend of site seeing.  First stop was Hershey Park in Pennsylvania.  I have always wanted to go ever since my brothers had a basketball tournament years ago and got to go.  Its no secret I have a chocolate addiction.  I would have liked to have stayed much longer but at least we got to do the tour and I can check it off my bucket list!  We also stopped at Gettysburg on the way home.  They have done a completely new visitors center since I have been and it was awesome!  They have a pretty inspiring video and then a cyclorama that has a panoramic painting of Gettysburg that wraps  around you completely like you are at the battle scene.  It is shown with lights, sound effects, and narration.

When we arrived to Hershey I thought this was the old factory and maybe it was long ago but after I took the picture we were told it is a middle school! :)  It looks like Willy Wonka's factory to me. 

Gettysburg Visitors Center

I was most excited to take the girls to the Natural History Museum.  It is awesome.  I could take them back over and over if we lived there.  You can only see so much with a 5 and 2 year old but we did our best.  We ate at Lukes Lobster that Luke and Greta found.  Totally worth the 10 minute walk off the Smithsonian.  BEST lobster sandwich I have ever had.  I love the Smithsonian because it is where Daryl proposed.  He proposed down by the waterfront near the Jefferson memorial.  I wish he could of been on this vacation with us!  We definitely missed him.  We saw the National Monument and the White house too.  Evelyn kept asking "When are we going to go see the PRINCIPLES house!?"

It's huge!

Evelyn underneath the T-Rex

A giant ground sloth!  Yes a sloth.  Crazy.  Too big to live in trees.

Love these girls!

Luke's Lobster

Best lobster sandwich!

Putting their feet in the water with Uncle Luke at the art district

Evelyn put Eli to sleep.  She was very proud.

West Virginia

Our first stop of our trip to the East coast to see my Dad was to West Virginia.  We rented a mansion of a house and spent time swimming, hiking, horseback riding, cave exploring, mined for rocks, played a lot of pool, games, and ate a lot of food!  My highlight of course was meeting my adorable nephew Eli.  He is perfect, and I've missed him everyday since.

 

Jane was VERY excited about all the moving walkways in the airport.  She loves her exercise!;)

We got Grandpa Jones the book "How to babysit a Grandpa"  Every Grandpa needs this book! 
He is the best book reader.  I remember him reading to me when I was little.

Baby Eli collage!  Yes, we are obsessed with him.

 

Hiking to the waterfall 

 

Cute story.  My Dad hasn't seen my girls swim I don't think ever.  He took the girls down to the pool by himself for the first time while I went to my room to hurry and get my swimsuit on.  When I got down there Jane was swimming like the wild fish she is and my Dad couldn't stop laughing and smiling.  He said he put her water wings on and was about to get in the pool when he sees her do a giant leap off the side of the pool into the water!  He was very impressed with her aquatic skills.  And of course Evelyn too with swimming in the deep end now.

Walks with Grandpa

 

 Jane's hair got even curlier in the humidity

Jane says hi!

 I like to call this picture FERN-gully.  Ferns all over West Virgina.

I loved horseback riding with Evelyn.  She was such a natural.

Jane and her best friend Grandpa Jones

 Mining for rocks

Feeding the alpacas!  They look a little nervous!

 

The crew!

Water Park and Uncle Ian

Earlier this summer we went to the Moses Lake water park with family and friends.  Evelyn had so much fun this year because she could go down all the slides!!!  Yay for being tall!  I could watch her from the toddler playground and just enjoy the sunshine.  Her and her cousin Eliza got really brave and decided to go off the low diving board and when they came out one of them jokingly said we should go off the high dive now!  I couldn't believe it!  I was shocked!  Such a proud mommy moment since she had just started swimming in the deep end like the day before!  EEK!

walking the plank...

AND she did it!

Evelyn and Eliza--diving board buddies

Jane and Emma at the splash pad

My brother aka Uncle Ian came home for a visit.  He is a second grade teacher and needless to say great with kids.  My girls love him.  We barbecued with family.  My Aunt and cousin Julie came in to town too which was awesome catching up and spending time with them.  We even played a long game of duck duck goose!  Jane calls it duck duck MOOSE!

Me, Mom, Aunt Lisa, Cousin Julie

Jane's footprints next to her Dad's

duck duck MOOSE!