Happy Thanksgiving!

Today Lil Adam had his first school presentation! I was able to go and enjoy the songs and smile on my son's face. He was truly very proud and so was I :)

Lil Adam before the performance began.

The students sang the alphabet and each letter in Thanksgiving was defined by words such as harvest, autumn, grandmas, and giving.

Each class ended the performance with a class cheer. Adam's was using a fork like motion and saying "Bring it On"!

Lil Adam has really had a hard day. He fell on the way to school this morning and scratched his nose and chin. After school I was delivering turkeys and his mouth became stuck in the van window. That was scary...Last but not least tonight he fell off the swing in the back yard and hurt his had. With all of his mishaps today I think the thing we are most grateful for is his Performance!!! Way to go Adam :)

Our National Archives

The day that we visited the National Archives their was a protest going on. We had to enter a different door as to not be bothered by the event. Their were signs hanging from the building with messages of investigating Pres. Bush for war crimes. I thought it was very interesting that we live in such a free country that you can even protest and hang signs on our building of National Archives.

This is a picture of Zeus!

The line to see the special documents including the Declaration of Independence was pretty long. People were really taking their time and reading the documents. They had documents from the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment. Adam and I were surprised that one of the documents was even signed in blood.

The Declaration of Independence is actually four pages. This is the first page with the memorable We the People at the top.

After the kids was the Declaration of Independence they earned a ride on the Carosel that is located in the middle of the National Mall. Weeeee!

Our National Monuments

Washington D.C. is in the Inaugural full swing! This is a picture of the Capital steps with the stage being built for the Inauguration on January 20th. The people that live in and around Washington are really gearing up for this event in our history.

Little Adam had a few things he needed to see while he was in Washington. The biggest was of course the Washington Monument. His dad got tickets and we were up up and away!

This is the view of the White House from the top of the Washington Monument.

What a great experience! Lil Adam had such a great time, he wanted to do it again...he didn't understand that you would need more tickets. I think it will be on the list for our next visit to D.C.!

This is a picture of the kids in front of the water feature at the Fine Art Museum. If you are planning a trip to D.C. this museum has the best gelato in town :)

Natural History Museum

Doesn't this giraffe look real! This was a part of the mammals exhibit at the museum. Addison's favorite animal is the giraffe. We were happy to see one at the museum. The zoo doesn't have giraffes.

Addison also liked looking at the coral reef. I really enjoyed how each thing that was displayed in the museum was labeled with where it was from. There were a lot of dinosaurs and other things from Kansas...
Adam of course loved the dinosaurs. He is growling at the dinosaurs in this picture.

This is a display outside the Natural History Museum. Addison wasn't in the mood to stand still for the photo!!

Mr. T-REX

Ahoy Mates!

U.S. Navel Museum

Smile Addison!!!

Alex loved getting to walk around and touch things at the museum! He was more than happy to touch everything he would reach!!

"Would you please stop taking our pictures so that we can keep running around and having fun please"!

This picture was taken while Addison was jumping in the air on the ship!!

Snow

Snow doesn't come to Arizona very often! Our little ones sure enjoyed getting to play in the snow during our visit to Ohio.

The kids are standing on a bridge looking at the rushing water of the creek meeting the river.

Addison loves her accessories! She loved getting to have a hat, gloves and coat! That made getting dressed each day much more exciting! Her common question was where is my hat and gloves?

Last Christmas Alex was in the snow, but he really didn't get to roll around in the stuff! He had a great time with Grandma while the rest of the family went on the tour.

Alex would fall a lot, but his coat was a great protection to him. The jacket kept him warm and safe from the hard falls he encountered :)

Kirtland Ohio

As we left our family to head back to Maryland we made a stop in Kirtland. They received 3 inches of snow the night before which created a great way to experience the historical site.This was Adam's first trip to Kirtland. I think he enjoyed the many opportunities to use his camera!
The Whitney Store house is a special place for me. I loved getting to be in the rooms with my husband and children. I am always amazed when life truly comes full circle.

This is the first time I have ever been to Kirtland when it wasn't summer. I loved getting to experience the beauty of the snow and cold. It gave me a better feel of what the pioneers experienced all those years ago.

We weren't able to go inside the Kirtland Temple this trip. Their winter hours have them closed on Monday's and Tuesday's. However, Adam and I were able to be on the grounds and still experience the craftsmanship of the building.

Ohio Memories

Aunt Donna took our family to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Lund's cemetery. As we drove to the cemetery I explained to the kids where we were going and who Great Grandma and Grandpa were. As we were getting out of the car lil Adam asked if they were dead. I told them that they were and the kids were very good about taking pictures and saying hello. Our bonus to visiting the cemetery was Aunt Donna finding Ohio Buckeye's for show-and-tell.
Uncle Paul took Lil Adam on a tractor ride after the hay ride. Adam was really excited and jumped right in. Uncle Paul said he didn't talk much, but as you can see by his smile he had a wonderful time. Thanks Uncle Paul!!
Our time in Ohio was wonderful. We enjoyed meeting our cousins and getting reacquainted with one another. Thank you for everything Ohio Crew!! What great memories we have and stories to tell :)

Freezing Fall Hay Ride

During our trip to Maryland was headed over to Ohio to visit family there. They were nice enough to indulge the city folk! Uncle Paul took us on a hay ride in the freezing cold. He was riding the in the warm tractor and we were bundled up on the wagon becoming really close to our family! We ended up heading home due to the sleet that started falling!! I wish I had a picture of Joel's feet...he was in sandals!
We stopped along the trail two times so the kids could explore the area. Alex had to stay with us on the trailer the first stop, but as you can see the second stop he got down and loved it!

Everyone was cold, but we couldn't help having a great time with one another!

Addison is awake here, but by the time the ride was over she had fallen asleep.

Aunt Donna took the kids out on the golf cart looking for deer, wild turkeys and buckeyes!! Everyone was very frozen, but they had a great time :)

Fall...Is that a season?

As the plane was landing in Maryland we told lil Adam to look out the window to see the trees. They were very colorful. He quickly told me that those weren't trees! He was so excited to find out that in reality they were trees and their leaves were colorful and fun to play in.Arizona tends to skip the fall season. We took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the falling leaves and pretty color!

Lions, Tigers & Panda's

Smithsonian National Zoo

We had a great time at the zoo! The weather was great and the kids were able to see animals that are not a part of our zoo in Phoenix. The zoo is built on a hill and if you start at the top you walk down...it is like walking a 16 story building back to the top. Lucky for us Uncle Jared made the trip and brought the car to us :) Thanks Uncle Jared
The National Zoo has a few dinosaurs throughout the zoo! This T-Rex head was by the lions and tigers. Adam and Addison had fun getting in the dino's head!!

This is a picture of Adam with a sloth!