Washington and friends....

I decided to update my blog starting with the most recent activity and working my way back. This past weekend, on our way home from our vacation in the Outer Banks, we stayed several days with our good friends, Mikey and Jewel and their crew. Mikey and Matt go way back and have been best buds since they were fairly young. They have one of those friendships where they don't have to talk all the time, they are able to just pick up their relationship whenever they next see each other. Don't get me wrong, they do keep in touch, just not as much as women seem to. We were pleasantly surprised that they lived only 15 minutes from "the mall" and the historic places in Washington. We were able to squeeze in a visit and I was so impressed. This is standing at the Washington Monument and looking past the Reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial.
This is also taken standing at the Washington Monument and looking at the White House. I had no idea the president was able to look out his window and see the Washington Monument. Rylee was most impressed at seeing the White House. When she finally spotted it, she asked, "Can we go meet George Bush?" Isn't that great?
Here we are standing in front of the Reflecting Pool with the Washington Monument behind us.
I feel terrible that this is the only picture I got of the whole McRoberts family. As you can see, I was a little late snapping the picture.
Pretty, huh? I would say that overall I was very impressed with the beauty of these historic landmarks and how well they were taken care of.
This is the World War II Memorial. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even know it existed. It was beautiful with large columns for each state and many fountains. There were scenes of battles and soldiers depicted. Someone even left flowers in one spot and it made me pause and reflect on how much we take for granted. So many lost their lives, and it was a sobering, but much needed reminder of the cost of freedom.
This adorable girl is Eden. Eden is beautiful. She's plump and sweet. She is a bit more reserved than her sister, but can be a cuddle bug when she wants to be. Mikey and Jewels children are our God children and we are honored to have been given that role in their lives.
This is Jordan. She's a little spitfire! She's spunky and loaded with personality. She's cute, and she knows it. She's also very affectionate and will just crawl up on your lap and make herself comfortable...especially if you are a man!
This is Mikey. He's a great guy. He's probably the smartest guy I know as well. He has a double masters and has always graduated in the top of his class throughout college. He works for the Navy and is currently stationed at the Naval Annex, which is directly across from the Pentagon. I'm glad our government has him! Although I didn't get a picture of her by herself (why is it that us Mom's are rarely in pictures ourselves? Maybe we are too busy taking pictures of everyone else!), Jewel is Mikey's wife. She's great, and we love her. She's so good with the kids and went way out of her way making awesome meals (Mikey made a great breakfast as well...apple oatmeal pancakes with Grandpa Wegner's real maple syrup he boiled down himself!). I'm afraid I gained some weight this weekend. Jewel and I are able to pick each others brain about homeschooling, kids, cooking, blogging, church, adoption (they have already and we hope to), etc. Sorry I didn't have a picture, Jewel!
This is Noah. He's not so fond of having his picture taken...can you tell? His name is Noah Daniel, while our Noah is Noah David. It can be a bit confusing and complicated at times. This boy knows more about football than I could ever hope to know. How sorry is it that a 5 year old knows the game and I don't?
This is Chi, short for Malachi. He's Noah's younger brother and only 2 months older than our Noah. I guess he got pooped out playing and just curled up on his chair and fell asleep. Isn't that adorable?
Here is our cutie pie, or one of them, I should say. Little Gracyn is just growing up before my eyes. She's beautiful. I know I'm partial since I'm her mom, but seriously...admit it, she's gorgeous! She is such a good girl and so sweet.
I actually got a little teary eyed reading what was inscribed in stone above Lincoln.
I must say that my favorite place we visited this past weekend was the Lincoln Memorial. I have always admired Lincoln. This Memorial was just an amazing place to see. On either end of the inside area are some of his famous speeches, The Gettysburg address and one of his inaugural addresses. I liked that they had little signs as you approached the interior saying , "Quiet, Respect Please". It was fitting. We had a wonderful time with friends and touring the famous landmarks in Washington. I look forward to going back in the future and seeing even more of the city. The architecture was stunning everywhere we looked. Although we did not intend it, it was a wonderful learning experience for Rylee. What a great field trip!