West Virginia and Washington DC

We loaded up our swagger wagon and headed out on another Webster cross country adventure a few weeks ago. We were armed with lots of diapers, DVD's, books, snacks, juice boxes, and Tylenol. Lots and lots of Tylenol.

We spent the night in Tennessee and then made it to West Virginia the next day. The kids actually do great in hotels and Lainey had no problems sleeping in her pack and play. Good thing because she was about to spend the next 10 nights in one.

We made it eventually to see Rob's parents. Rob's Dad has been living in an Alzheimer's care facility for the past year and Rob has been to see him a few times, but it was my first time to see him there. It was hard. But it was good to see him nonetheless and to introduce him to Lainey. The kids did not seem too bothered by his condition, but it did upset Will that Granddaddy's hands were shaking a  lot. But it was wonderful to see him and hear his unchanged voice despite the extremely difficult circumstances.

And then we drove on to Rob's stepmother's house. We love Marsha and were so happy to spend some time with her. Her birthday is on July 5th so she and Will celebrated together with some cupcakes.

Mamaw and Lainey

After a day in West Virginia we hopped back in the trusty mini van and headed East to Washington DC. I spent most of my youth in the 'burbs of DC and I love getting back there whenever I can to reminisce and discover all of the new things going on. Rob's sister and her family live in Alexandria so we went to their house (which I love!!!!) and spent a day hanging out in DC.

 We spent our first night there in Old Town Alexandria. My friends and I would go there often in high

 school and hang out at the torpedo factory and then when I would come home from breaks in college some of my friends would be playing music in jazz clubs along King Street. I love anytime I get to go back and hang out there.

My family with Aunt Laura and our cousins Madeline and Max. Love these peeps!

 You never know what history you are going to bump into and you are just walking down the street. The lighting was obviously not great, but this is the church where George Washington's funeral was held.

 Hey, look! An Alabama flag flying. You can't escape us. We're everywhere. Roll Tide!!

The next day we went into the district to show our kids some of the monuments and museums. We have been to DC several times since they were born, but this was the first time we thought they were old enough to enjoy doing touristy things.

 Will really wanted to go to the Natural History museum to see the dinosaurs. So we did.

Bennett loved the bug exhibits. She is so not my child.

We met up with some great friends of ours from Montgomery who now live in the DC area. So fun spending the day with Carmen and Lizzie. I had Lizzie in my drama classes when she was 7 and now she is in high school. Sigh...

We had lunch out on the Mall. I know this is a bad shot, but I love how you can see that we were just eating with the Smithsonian castle behind us. Again, I have more memories than I can say of hanging out there and on the Mall as a teenager.

Washington monument. Obviously.

And then we went over to my favorite Smithsonian- American History.

 Bennett is convinced that she is going to be the first female president. She just might be.

 George Washington's chair.

 Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz.

 Elpheba's costume from Wicked.

 The original Kermit the frog.

 Harry Potter's robe.

And we finally made it to the White House. It looks like Lainey is just looking down here, but she is fast asleep. I mean dead to the world asleep. Poor girl.

After a long and hot day in DC, we packed up again, said good-bye to our friends and headed an hour and a half south to Colonial Beach, Virginia to meet up with the rest of the Websters for our annual vacay. Whew! And the adventures continue......