Vacation 2010 ~ Part 2

OK, I know that I have been a very bad blogger recently! Sorry about that! Since returning from our vacation, I have been busy getting back into the swing of real life! I am working on getting my priorities straight on being a wife, mom, and teacher. My family means the world to me and I want to keep them my priority right after God.

This post has been in the making for about 2 weeks. It has been a bear to edit! Some days Blogger would not cooperate at all, and some days I just can't figure it out! There is one picture that is not centered and for the life of me I cannot make that happen! This will be the last post that has so many pictures.
(Update: My Dear Hubby who is a genius with computers, got all the pictures centered for me!)

After our week in Myrtle Beach, we went to Virginia to see my Mom and the rest of my extended family. We usually only get there once a year, so I like to get in all the time I can just visiting with my family.

One day we took a trip into Washington DC. Most of us rode the metro (subway), but my brother drove my Mom because she needs to use a wheelchair, so it was just easier.

My niece Corrie, (who just happens to be the sweetest person in the entire world!) is loved by everyone but especially by all of her cousins. My kids look forward to seeing her! She is a lot of fun and she tries to do things with us whenever she can!

I was 14 years old when Corrie was born, so she is more like the little sister that my parents would never give me!  It was her Mom that just died in August. It was less than a month later that we were visiting, and she was trying to  keep up entertained!  She is so thoughtful and gives of herself, more than anyone could ever know!

Anyway, Corrie planned out this day trip to DC. She is a great tour guide and knows how to get places!

Here is eight of my kids with Mike and my niece Corrie waiting for the train.



Sammy still waiting!

And then there is Josh texting while waiting!

Matthew, Rebekah, and Luke still waiting!

Anna and Micah with Corrie

Micah found a feather and wanted me to take his picture with it!

The train  is finally coming!

All Aboard!

Micah and Matthew on the train.

Sammy with Corrie and Victoria behind them.

Looking at the map after we arrive!

Our family with the  Capitol Building in the background.

We turned around the other direction and now the Washington Monument is in the background.

A Stop at the National Museum of American History

My family entering the building.

They had a wonderful exhibit of the Star Spangled Banner. This was the outside of the exhibit. We were not allowed to take pictures inside this particular exhibit.

They had a section that had things from Popular Entertainment. I believe the kids enjoyed this part the most. Here are a couple of pictures from that area.

Kermit the Frog



Fonzie's Jacket and Minnie Pearl's Hat

 

After we were done with the American History Musuem, we had a Picnic out on the Mall. We had a lttle visitor that just wouldn't go away!



One crazy squirrel!

He was not afraid of us at all, but we were a little wary of him!

Here is part of our group eating lunch.

Standing at the base of the Washington Monument looking up!

The Washington Monument



Anna and Rebekah standing by the Washington Monument.

Sammy



Corrie and Micah. My Mom's oldest and youngest grandchildren out of 23



Another view of the Washington Monument.


Anna with Corrie



Micah and Luke with my Mom.



World War II Memorial
    

Another view of the World War II Memorial.



Looking toward the World War II Memorial, The Reflecting Pool and the Lincoln Memorial.


As we were walking, I zoomed in so that I could get a picture of the White House

We had a great day in Washington DC. We did a lot of walking. Next time I hope to take the kids to the Air and Space Museum. I believe that they would really enjoy that!

 

Vacation 2010 ~ Part 1

Sorry it has taken me so long to get this post up. I actually started this post over a week ago, but as you can see, it has taken me a long time to get it finished. After returning home from vacation, it has been hard getting back into the swing of real life! Everyone has finally started school. Some actually started before vacation, but not everyone. Hopefully I can get used to this again very quickly!

Our vacation was wonderful! The first week we went to Myrtle Beach. My sister Debbie invited us to go along with her and part of her family. She has a time share that she shared with us, and it was amazing. We stayed in a 4 bedroom, 4 1/2 bath townhouse complete with a full kitchen and a nice size dining table. We also had access to 3 televisions hooked up to cable TV. That was a real treat for the kids, but I am so glad that we do not have cable TV at home! There is not a whole lot that I want to watch or want my kids to see, so it is a lot of money for a whole lot of channels that never get watched!

We had access to a very nice pool and a lazy river. You will see several pictures here of the lazy river as we enjoyed that quite a bit.  We were about a mile away from the Beach, so we had to drive to get there. I absolutely love the beach and could spend all day there. It is so peaceful and relaxing to me. Unfortunately most of the rest of my family were not that in love with the Beach.

My hubby is not big on the Beach and my kids have not been there very much, so they are just not in to it! Most of Debbie's family is not either, so I think someday Debbie and I will just have to go without the rest!

Most of the time we were in Myrtle Beach, the weather was picture perfect! Hurricane Earl was churning out in the Atlantic that week, so we were keeping a close eye on it. Fortunately it missed us and we did not have to evacuate! We had one day that it was overcast and the waves were a bit rough. All the other days the sky was a beautiful blue!

These first six pictures are of our first evening at the beach. We just went and walked on the beach and the kids collected shells. For some of the children, they were so young when we went to the beach last, that they do not remember it at all. Needless to say, they enjoyed it so much, especially Micah, who had a big smile on his face most of the time!

Anna collecting shells.

Luke and Rebekah

Rebekah

Micah walking along the Beach



Anna walking on the Beach



The Kiddie Pool at the Lazy River

Luke and Sammy and some of our gang at the Lazy River

The Lazy River at night

Micah having a Good Time!



See that smile!



Luke

Micah again!

Luke and Sammy at the Hot Tub

Matthew

Luke playing in the sand

The castle built by Luke and Tori

Luke and Tori enjoying time together!

Josh spent his day at the Beach reading a book sitting under an umbrella!

Jon and Rachel and Baby Bethany!

Luke loved playing in the sand!

  

Anna playing in the sand

Luke again

A little friend that followed us around for a while!



And of course Faith in the sand!

We had a great time and it was so good to get away! Thanks again to Debbie for taking us along with her. We appreciate it so much! I will be back to share about our second week of vacation soon!