Our trip to Virginia!

Last week our family had the wonderful opportunity to visit my aunt and uncle in Virginia for a few days. It wasn't to the beach, but it was with family and it was away from home, so it was a vacation! The 12 hour drive wasn't so much fun, but I must say that my parent's investment in a minivan really paid off this week. Morganne was a trooper too, she never once cried or threw a fit the entire way there and back. We arrived on Friday evening and spent the evening catching up. Of course, the day before we were to leave Morganne woke up with a cold and on Friday she began running a fever. Again, she was a trooper and really was such a good baby all weekend despite feeling like crap. Here are a few photos at a rest stop on the way out.

On Saturday we took the morning pretty slow and easy and then visited one of the many wineries in the area that afternoon for some wine tasting. Becky and Ken are wine fans, and although I am definitely not a wine fan, the experience is fun. This was the same winery Becky and I went to last time I visited a couple years ago. It was fun, though not having drank much alcohol since being pregnant and nursing, I felt the effects of a glass of wine by the time we were done. Justin enjoyed teasing me about this. What can I say, I'm a light weight! I think I dumped out about as much wine as I tasted, and I'm sure my aunt and uncle cringed every time I did. :c)

Dad didn't drink, so he entertained Morganne the whole time. It was a very kid friendly place. Morganne is in her stroller in this picture. She loved the soda crackers we kept feeding her. They were there for the wine tasters but we kept sneeking her a few.

The weather was pretty nice, but mostly chilly in the mornings. My aunt and uncle have a beautiful deck off the back of their house that borders a pond. Bundled up, it was a nice place to sit and drink your morning coffee. I like this picture, Morganne and my mom have the same grin on their faces. Mo was so good. I really felt horrible that she was sick all weekend.

Resting with Grandad.

We ended up doing the "DC thing" since it was the Cherry blossom festival and they were in full bloom. Luckily, Sunday ended up being the best weather and warmed up nicely when in the sun. Morganne felt pretty good this day until evening, so we all had fun. LOTS of walking happened this day.

This picture is funny. The wind was blowing so hard off the water that it made Morganne's hair blow back. It makes it look like Justin's blowing her back. See the cherry blossoms...

Diaper changing pit stop...

Aunt Becky and Uncle Ken, boy I wish they lived closer!!!!

Taking a break from walking.

Sleeping beauty.

The WWII monument with the Washington monument in the background. The WWII monument was pretty neat to see.

The Vietnam memorial. I really can't wrap my head around war and all of it's effects. So many of the monuments are impressive, but impersonal. There is something about actually seeing the names of all the people who died that makes it more powerful.

A mid-air catch. Talk about picture timing. I think everytime Justin did this, it made Nana and Becky's hearts skip a beat. Morganne loved it though!

The white house. We saw the presidential helicopters come in and out a couple times. It's just a bit erie knowing how much security is around this place and how much of it you don't see. It's crazy how "right in the middle of town" this place is.

Morganne's first picture in front of the white house. With family out there, I've been there a few times.

This was however, my first time to visit Arlington cemetery. That is a neat place that I encourage everone to visit at least once. My great-grandfather and grandmother are burried there, so our family has a driving pass. That was a pretty neat honor. We stopped and saw the changing of the guard which was very humbling. These guys take this job incredibly seriously. My mom almost had the poo scared out of her by one of the guards announcing that he was coming through. Poor girl, we thought her eyes were going to pop out of her head. Though coming right behind her, I luckily did not meet the same booming voice to get out of the way. Oh a funny story to remember....

My great-grandfather and mother's grave.

Just a neat picture I took. It's absolutely amazing the number of graves and the engineering of the plot layouts. It's so incredible.

My great-grandfather and grandmother's grave with the cherry blossom blooming in the background.

Back at the house on Monday, Ken put Justin to work cleaning out the gutters on the back of the house. Ken has a fear of heights and after looking at this picture, with Justin standing on the roof, I can see why he wouldn't want to get up there either. Justin wasn't phased by it however and enjoyed the opportunity to help out.


Monday evening, while waiting on dinner, Justin had a chance to do a bit of fishing. Didn't catch anything, but enjoyed the experience. During the weekend my uncle blessed us all with fabulous cooking!! Justin and my mom got the crab legs they've been talking about ever since our trip with Becky and Ken to Corolla, NC, 8 years ago. My dad and I got ribs!!! Ken supposedly makes a mean cheese cake too, however, we ran out of time for him to make one for us. After talking about how good my brother in-law, Derek's, cheese cake is; we talked Ken into possibly having a cheesecake showdown. What do you think Derek??? Ken says game on.... :cP

We had a wonderful time visiting with family. It really makes you appreciate what family can be and how important spending time together is. On the way home, Morganne's fever finally broke and she began to feel better. Wednesday morning however, she then woke up with a rash so I took her into the doctor and she was diagnosed with a strep infection. Poor girl. We knew she felt like crap but didn't realize how sick she really was. She was such a trooper. So now, Justin and I are hoping we don't get it and she is on meds and feeling much better. Oh, life with kids. We had a great trip.