Labor Day weekend, one week late

As usual, I am finally posting about something that happened almost a week ago. It has been on my to-do list every day, but so has keeping Everett from putting all the toilet paper in our house in the toilet or up his nose; maintaining control over his sister-hitting; and keeping him from climbing up on the counter (again) and shoving the microwave off.

And yes, I was successful with that. But since I wasn't with my blog posting, here I am, finally getting around to it.

I had envisioned this to be some sort of sentimental yammering about how great it is to see the sights of DC with my family, and how much more meaningful it was because we are doing this partially because of my sister who is leaving on a mission on the 17th. Instead, I think I will just post some pictures of our trip to Arlington National Cemetery and the picnic we had on the way home. I figure that since you all know what the Washington Monument looks like and you also know what we look like, you don't need to see much more than that. Besides, this post is getting too long already.

Anywhere Everett is, just give him a stick and he'll be happy. I know what he is thinking just by looking at this picture: he knows he is not supposed to put things in his mouth...so he is looking at me and acting like he is going to put it in his mouth. Terrible Two's, here we come.

Everett has fun with his Aunts and Uncles. Apparently they're cooler than me? Because they do "the rock" with him?

Who looks more alike:

Maddy and Me?

Amanda and Me?

My Mom and Me?

(by the way, you can't tell but you can see the Potomac behind us in those first two pictures. We found a neat outcropping of rocks and had fun enjoying the view. I spent time imagining that it must have been someone's favorite spot to come before the Europeans even inhabited this area.)

Arlington National Cemetery

It's easier to take Nick places when he rides in the wheelchair. Mack pushed him the entire time in the hot sun and up hills and did not complain once.

Everett rode in his stroller about two thirds of the time, thanks to crackers and a sippy cup (my secret weapon). The rest of the time....well, as you can see, he had no fun whatsoever.

Uncle Mack is the only one who is privileged enough to have a name Everett can pronounce fully.

That probably has nothing to do with the fact that they have so much fun together. Not one bit.




And, though it was hot, it wasn't as bad as Saturday. If it were, we'd all look like this in all the pictures:

(hey, it was hot, it was a long day, and we made Maddy walk all of 50,000 miles just so we could see a few stone buildings. What did Amanda want to see the Washington Monument and all that other stuff for, anyway?)