It is March 19th today, and the high was around 75 degrees in Cleveland...wonderful :) One of my dreads of moving here was how we were going to handle and survive the nasty Ohio winter that everyone dreads. So I waited...and waited...and waited, and here we are in Spring! Yes, we had a couple of snow storms here and there, but Mother Nature has been kind to us this year. I know she will hit us hard next year...really hard :(
Along with the great weather, we have had some good times. We have really enjoyed our time in Cleveland so far, and are starting to think of it as home. Tim has an 11 week research block this summer, and there is a chance we could go do an internship in New Mexico. It would be awesome, but I have kind of have surprised myself of how much I want to stay in Cleveland :) Although if we went to New Mexico, we'd be closer to family!! We will probably know by the beginning of April, and we'll keep you posted.
I am still working my nanny job. Some days are better than others and some days I hope will never be repeated. I am really lucky to have the job...I need to keep telling that to myself on the bad days :) Tim and Max put up with me beautifully, more than I deserve!
Tim is working super hard with school, soccer intramurals, and most importantly primary pianist...haha! He has had that calling since we moved here, which ROCKS! We know it isn't going to last for much longer, which is fine, but it has been nice to have our Sundays a little more carefree than they have been in the past :)
Max's latest thing is climbing. Climbing everywhere! He also loves to read books. Until recently, he wouldn't sit with me when I would try to read to him, but he is getting better. I love to catch him sitting on the couch or in his room looking at a book all by himself :) He is kind of a stinker too. Sharing is not his forte right now, which isn't helping him in the friend department. Hopefully the older he gets, he'll understand that pushing kids, and taking away their toys isn't the best way to earn brownie points :) We love our little Max, he is growing to look like such a mini-Tim...I love it!
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| I made my first successful loaf of wheat bread. Let me clarify: I made my ONLY successful loaf of wheat bread... Since that epic loaf, I have failed every time. Talk about getting excited about something really quick, then just as fast hating and cursing it. Someday I will be able to whip up a batch of perfect bread...yes, in my dreams :) |
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This little man is now 19 months...
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Oh, and we went to Washington D.C.!!!!!
It was Tim's Spring Break last week, and we decided to do something crazy like wake up at 4:00am and drive 7 hours with a 19 month old. We loved it! I'm not the biggest fan of long car trips, so I wasn't to excited about getting to D.C. This one though had to be the best car trip I have ever been on! Starting early in the morning is rough, but the only way to go-especially since Max slept a lot of it, and we didn't have to turn the A.C. on until the last hour :) I reserved the Magicians Nephew book on cd from the library and we listened to that on the way which made the time FLY by! I was also blessed with the task of reading Dr. Ashworth his flashcards from various subjects he's studying in Med School. I won't mention that I slaughtered about 3/4 of the vocab, and the last 1/4 didn't even attempt to pronounce...! We got to D.C. around 12:30pm, checked into our hotel, bought metro passes, and booked it to see the sights. We had such a good time! 3 nights and 3 1/2 days allowed us to see a lot, but we could have spent 5 weeks there!
Max and Tim at the entrance of the Air and Space Museum. Max flipped with all the airplanes and rocket ships. He really didn't know what they were before the trip, but now he is obsessed to put it lightly :)
The shocked, tired, and hungry Max. He was a champ for the most of the trip. Poor little guy was put into the stroller way too many times. The first day we tried with no nap...needless to say, the second day we had no choice but to lay him down for a couple of hours. Way to go buddy, you were a great traveler :)
The Metro! Max LOVED the "Ooo ooo." We were super close to a Metro stop right by our hotel which made things great! Thanks for the tips Dallin :)
The White House. I wish we could have been close to it. About a week before we left, I was looking online how to reserve a tour, and sadly found out that we needed to reserve it 21 days in advance. I'm sure President Obama was let down to miss the chance of meeting his biggest fans...hahaha! It is a beautiful building with a gorgeous front yard, I loved it!
The Washington Monument was closed because of an earth quake that moved it a couple of feet. It was kind of a bummer to find that out, as well as the reflection pool being under construction. Oh well...Max sure was not upset to see all of the trucks at the construction sites. That was probably the highlight of his trip :)
This was a super cool water works in front of the Lincoln Memorial. So Pretty!
You can't see it, but the pillar on the left is Utah! The two best states!!!
Honest Abe and the Ashworths!
At the bottom of the Washington Monument. Oh, I forgot to mention how awesome the weather was!! It was sooo nice, we really lucked out!
The Capitol is HUGE! That was probably my favorite building we saw. It was kind of a let down to find out that the tour we scheduled didn't allow water bottles or food. The security guards wouldn't let us bring our back pack in, so we weren't able to go inside. I'm so glad we were able to see the outside from up close though, it is amazing.
Yes, it is huge!
Our second day there, we found a park right by our house and brought some pizza and some very tired tourists to check it out. Max could care less about being tired and LOVED the park. It was in a darling neighborhood, and was perfect for our evening.
Max taking a break from the stroller. It was always so nice to have all of D.C. able to hear our child having to get back into his stroller. It was not pretty. Ever.
Outside the National Archives. Sooo neat to see all the important documents from our Country's history. It was pretty crowded, but it mad it kind of exciting with all the people being in awe like we were!
I know I said the Capitol was my favorite building, but that was from the outside! The National Museum of American History was the highlight of my trip! I loved it! We spent our last morning there and were so impressed. I could have spent all day in there, but my aching legs from 3 days of walking everywhere were telling me differently :)
This was a display inside that showed Brian Boitano's ice skates from the Olympics. Tim's mom is an amazing ice skater. So good, that she skated with Brian Boitano (I'm not sure as his partner, but I know they at least knew each of other during their skating days)!
Tim saw a display from Watsenville, CA where he was born! He was very proud :)
"Ooooo ooooo!" Max loved the "traveling across America display!" It was really neat!
...And out for the count! We got in the car to go see the Arlington National Cemetery, and Max was out within seconds. Sweet little guy, he was such a trooper!
On our last day we got Cafe Rio (the only one back East...I think) and found this park. I don't even have to tell you what Max's highlight was. He didn't eat one thing, and thought this big green tractor was the best thing he'd ever seen. Seeing him running to the tractor and yelling, "Duhh, duhhh," was by far the best thing I've ever witnessed :)
Love this :)
Our last stop of D.C. was the Temple. The drive there was beautiful. It is at the top of a big hill, and seeing it from the drive below was awesome. We're so glad we got to see it! So pretty!
WE MADE IT! Yes, we tried the early bird car drive again, except this time we woke up at 3:00am and were gone by 4:00! Yes, we're insane, but what's new?!!? We loved the time we were able to spend together as a family and the break we got! So many fun times and memories...hopefully we can go and see another cool place soon! Although, I think I am a little traveled out for now...!
Canda you look like you're having so much fun! What a sweet family.. and an awesome vacation! Oh man I miss you! Glad to see you're doing well!
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