Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Laundry, Tourist Attractions, Tents, and Pop Rocks

I've neglected the blog because of this:
laundry


Of course, if that were completely true, the pile of laundry wouldn't be there; all of the items would be neatly folded and put away. But certainly between roadtrips, camp-outs, outside play, and sports camp, the washing machine has been running almost non-stop.

We had a big roadtrip last week, an unplanned one, but one that was a whole lot of fun. Simel had some issues with his visa to take care of and a friend in DC who could help him, so last Wednesday we made the 5 1/2 hour trip down to our nation's capital.
capitol


Wednesday night I dropped Simel off at this friend's house, and we met back up on Thursday. We had a wonderful time seeing the sites, but the best part of all for me was that some friends from Atlanta happened to be in the area on the same day, so we got to see the sites together.
White House1


Vietnam Wall 2


Lincoln Memorial 2


Lincoln


There was one shot I was SO excited to capture...yes, the one that EVERYONE captures. But, alas, it was definitely not meant to be:
Reflecting Pool 1


I did get a little bit of the monument in the reflecting pool. Of course it was a mud puddle that captured the reflection, but anyway...
Reflecting Pool 2


Washington Monument


Washington Monument with sunshine


Washington Monument kids


girls in front of American History


Remember that 5 1/2 hour drive down to DC? Well, it took us 9 1/2 hours to get home! I can't stress enough how nice it was to be home. Since we've gotten home, the kids have enjoyed a night camping in our backyard, and they have also been participating in sports camp at church.

We also had an outing of sorts yesterday. I saw Fizziwigs Candy Factory pinpointed on a map of Connecticut and thought it sounded like a fun place to visit. I assumed it was going to be a bit like Dylan's Candy Bar in NYC. Not really. We could have just gone down to the local drugstore for the same sugared assortment, but the experience gave me a good picture anyway:
15 Fuzziwigs

A note to Simel's mom: No, I did not buy that giant lollipop for him; it just served as a great prop for the photo.

AND...the experience also afforded me an opportunity to give Simel a new experience: Pop Rocks. A must-do for any visitor to America! The jury's still out on whether or not he enjoyed the fizzy candy.
14 Pop Rocks


So the pile of laundry grows higher...it's been busy around here, that's for sure. Someday I will see the bottom of that mountain of clothing!

5 comments:

Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans said...

Wow--it looks like you had a gorgeous (albeit really, really hot looking) day in D.C.! Beautiful shots. Hope you are caught up with laundry now. As though that ever truly happens...

You know our clothes line experiment? It's going very well, but had a minor set-back today when I was trying to get the (dried) laundry off the line because it looked like it was going to rain any minute. I was rushing because I needed to head out the door, and Jason offered to finish for me so I could leave. Only he somehow thought I was putting the laundry *out* on the line...So, yeah, everything was soaked when we got home tonight from church. It'll be dry in the a.m. And I'll try to convince myself that it's all clean.

Or maybe not...

Amy @ Cheeky Cocoa Beans said...

I got really sidetracked talking about (ahem) me. I wanted to add that I *LOVE* Simel's expression in the last photo! You can actually tell he has Pop Rocks in his mouth. ;)

dclouser said...

Love seeing all the pics and hearing about your adventures! How is Simel's English-learning coming along? It seems like he had a good foundation, so hopefully he's chatting away by now. The pop rocks photo is priceless!

Joel & Elin Bubna said...

I've been waiting for you to write again :) I wish I could have done your laundry for you. I actually enjoy doing laundry, getting every stain out and folding it miticulously, as though it was ironed. Maybe when we visit you next summer, I can do your laundry for you!

mountain mama said...

fun, fun!

mt. laundry...not so fun.