Trip to D.C.

We covered a lot of ground in our three days in Washington D.C. I knew there was so much to see but I actually thought the sites and monuments were closer to each other. I also thought the Metro would get us closer to those sites that were farther away. I was wrong on both of those thoughts! It didn't help that it was very humid with temps in the upper 90s. We, however, did learn about our founding fathers and other leaders of our great country. We also discovered a lot about the many lives lost fighting for our freedom. Overall the trip was a nice mix of history and of fun (not that the history isn't fun).

It's a Jungle Out There.

We really enjoy watching and photographing wildlife. We have four birdfeeders that we fill daily and because of it we see hummingbirds, mourning doves, chickadees, swallows, yellow finch, house finch, red-bellied woodpecker, blue jays, cardinals, and many others. We also plant herbs and flowers that bees, butterflies, and caterpillars enjoy. As a result, we've recently witnessed part of the black swallowtail caterpillar's life cycle. Also, we have a preserved area in our backyard with many trees, shrubs, and other plants, along with a marshy area right in the center of it. We see squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits come out of the preserved area daily. We also have seen frogs, turtles, and the latest discovery today was the praying mantis. I've only posted Jordan's photos of the praying mantis here, but during the past few months we've photographed most of all of the other critters mentioned here and those are posted on our Project 365 blog.

Virginia Beach.

Before we moved to Richmond, we promised the girls we'd take them to the beach anytime they wanted to go. They never asked, but were very excited once the trip was scheduled. They spent every minute they could in the water or playing in the sand. Of course, there were a few historical sites in the area that I knew we had to see before we left. One of them, the lighthouse at Cape Henry first used in 1792. Madison was a little apprehensive about climbing the 86 spiral steps straight up to the top and couldn't wait to get back down to the ground.

Our next stop was a mere 300 yards from the lighthouse. April 26, 1607, three small ships of the Virginia Company Expedition (they had set sail from England December 1606), lead by Captain Christopher Newport, made landfall at Cape Henry. They named this place for Henry, Prince of Wales, oldest son of King James I. After erecting a cross (fashioned from English oak) at this site on April 29th, these first settlers were ready to push deeper into Virginia to seek a site suitable for settlement. After two weeks of searching both sides of the James River, they established a permanent settlement at Jamestown on May 13, 1607.

Even thought the three days we were here at the beach were mostly rainy, we still had loads of fun.

My baby is 11 years old today.

Maddie today opening gifts from Jordan.
And wearing her birthday crown after a long day of celebration.

Maddie at age 1 enjoying a package of Dunkaroos.
Maddie gets so excited for her birthday. A month ago she started planning what she wanted to do on this day. Her ideas changed several times since then, but she is still very predictable. She LOVES fast food so she chose to eat lunch at McDonalds (cheeseburger only ketchup, fries and Coke) and dinner at Arby's (chicken strips, curly fries, and Pepsi). She also went to the arcade to play $20 in tokens. There she was able to cash in her tickets that she's been collecting for several months to get a traffic signal light. She really wanted a pink purse with a rhinestone peace symbol on it and a Littlekinz Webkinz Hippo. Jordan planned a fun scavenger hunt for her, too. She said it was her best birthday ever.