Christmas Trip - Day 6

Today was a great first day in DC. Much was accomplished and we are pooped out! We had tickets to go into the Washington Monument, a must do if you come to DC. It was totally cool!

We visited the National Museum of American History. We saw the Gettysburg Address draft written by Abraham Lincoln himself. Laura Bush lent it to the museum for a few weeks. It is usually kept in Lincoln's bedroom in the White House. White House visitors do not have access to this room, so it is typically not on display. Today was it's last day on display. So glad we got to see it, but no pictures! They NMAH is also houses the Star Spangled Banner. This is the actual flag the inspired Francis Scott Key to write our National Anthem. It was flying during the attack in Baltimore in the midst of the War of 1812. When the battle was over, Key looked up to see our flag proudly waving. It was amazing! Definitely something you have to do when you visit DC. We also weren't able to take pictures there!

The American Museum of Natural History was awesome. Definitely something Caden enjoyed. On display were every animal or skull you could possibly dream of. He had a blast. Below are pictures of a Giant Great White jaws and a Giant Squid.

Christmas Trip - Day 5

Day four was a day for saying goodbye and traveling. We said goodbye to our friends, the Figeruoas. Fran and Liz have four kids, RJ, Eliott, Ian and Elizabeth. We stayed with them while we were in NJ. They are a terrific family and were wonderful hosts. Liz, you are a wonderful friend! I love you!

When we were in NYC, we didn't see the Statue of Liberty. I know, I know, how crazy can you be? When we left our friends, we headed about an hour out of the way to go see Lady Liberty. The kids were pretty unimpressed, but loved the view of NYC from Liberty National Park in Jersey City, NJ!

We then travel to Washington, DC. In the last five days, we have been in eight states. Joe had serious issues with the tolls. I think we ended the trip paying about $20 in tolls! *grin* I have been really worried about our hotel. I always worry not having been in that particular hotel. We are in Chinatown in a Red Roof Inn. It is the only hotel within a thirty mile radius that had consistant prices not going up to $200 for New Years Eve and Day. I started thinking it had to be cheap for a reason. I was pleasantly suprised. We had issues with parking our monstocity of a truck, but all is well! The hotel is great, clean and helpful staff.

Christmas Trip, Day 3

We had planned on going back into NYC with our friends, the Figerouas, on Sunday, December 28. The city was so jam packed the day before, the Dillards weren't up for the trip. We had hoped to skate Rockefeller Center, but the wait was about 3 days (maybe a little exaggerated, but not by much!) so we decided to hit an ice rink in New Jersey instead. It will be no suprise to anyone that Coy and Caden were naturals. Chase and I had a harder time and Joe was pretty good on blades as well. We stopped by the grocery on the way back to the Figerouas and enjoyed tons of great finger foods and appetizers!

Christmas Trip - Day 2

On December 27, we went into New York City. I had really underestimated how busy NYC would be almost a week before the New Year. Yikes! It was so crowded and very difficult to enjoy the city.

We rode the NJ Transit into the city and arrived in PennStation. It was a mad house. We got a "dirty dog" and hailed a cab. We went to the World Trade Center site. What a sobering feeling. So hard to believe that two of the tallest buildings in the world once stood there! We saw the "cross" that was found on the site. We walked all the way around the site.

We stopped by to see what was happening on Wall Street. There are some amazing buildings there.

We hailed a taxi and headed to Time Square. It was CRAZY! You could barely move. We weren't able to get into the M&M store, the Toys R Us or any other store we were interested in. It was just nuts. We decided then to head to 5th Street to see Tiffanys, FAO Schwartz, and the Apple Store. Tiffanys and FAO Schwartz were both closed! UGH!

While this sounds very discouraging, while on our trapes around the city, we saw a few of the coolest street performers. We heard drums. There was one guy playing drums and the other was playing 5 gallon BUCKETS! They were amazing. One guy was gold. His clothes, his skin, his shoes all gold. He was a "statue." He stood perfectly still. I showed him to Caden. He asked if he was real and could he touch him. I said, "Absolutely." He moved when Caden touched him. Caden about came out of his skin! We also saw the Naked Cowboy.

Meet Rudy . .err Cooper

This is the newest member of our family. His name was previously Rudy, but his new Dillard name is Cooper. Couldn't have an "R" in our kids names! *grin* He is a long haired dachshund. He is the sweetest. We aren't sure how old he is, but he isn't quite as old as Cajun. He is a sweetheart!

Christmas Trip 2008

Each year, Joe and I take the kids on vacation instead of buying a bunch of junk they'll forget about by Valentine's Day. This year, we are going to New Jersey to stay with a friend of mine. We will be going in to New York City on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, we are going in to Philly. On Tuesday, we are going to be traveling to Washington, D.C. We will be there until Saturday. We have tickets to go in to the Washington Monument, The Capitol Building and The White House. Today, December 26, is a travel day. We drove through Tennessee, Virginia (which is beautiful), West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and into New Jersey! *whew* It has been a day! Virginia was beautiful. We were just miles east of the Appalachian Mountains. They were unbelievable. The little towns on the side of the road were amazing! We were advised to drive through Hershey, Pennsylvania. What a cool little town! Here are a couple of pictures from today.

Not a Clue

I have no clue why when I changed my template it only changed part of it. Any ideas?

An Update

To my friend, Angie: I think you are the only person who reads my blog! Thank you, my dear friend. ;)

We traveled home for Thanksgiving. It was our first Thanksgiving with our families since 2005! It was a . . .crazy Thanksgiving. Traditionally, we spend Thanksgiving Day with Joe's large, extended family. We meet at a Lodge and have dinner together. Joe's aunt and uncle are our hosts. On Thursday morning, they recieved a call that Kris, Joe's aunt's father was unresponsive in the retirement home where he lived. He passed away sometime later that day. My parents had decided to join us at Joe's family gathering. My dad called to inform us that my mom and Estee Lauder had a little tussel this morning. My mom had gotten a gel cleaner in her eye. A quick trip to the ER to get it washed out proved to put her out for the weekend. She apparently burned her cornea or something. She is doing much better now.

We woke up the day after Thanksgiving to understand that Joe's great-uncle, his Grandma's only living sibling of 5 had passed away. He had long battled skin cancer and lost his battle quietly and peacefully. Ironically, he and Kris's dad were "buddies" now in Heaven together! How sweet is that! We stayed in Chattanooga until Uncle Charles' service on Tuesday.

He served our country in peace and war. When he was 15 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. He served four years, was a civilian for a short time and re-inlisted as a sailor. He survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was so scared, as the story goes, that he climbed a tree. In the middle of the tree was a hollow. He climbed in. There was a large snake inside the tree. He said he didn't know who was more afraid so he and the snake kept each other company until it was safe to leave the tree. He had a beautiful, full honors, military service and was laid to rest on a hill in Chattanooga's National Cemetery. They released four doves representing The Father, Son and Holy Spirit when they released the last bird, representing Uncle Charles, he flew high into the sky and joined the Father, Son and Holy Spirit on his flight. It was beautiful.

May you rest in enternal peace with our Father in Heaven, Uncle Charles.