Savannah

We had a wonderful visit with Grandpa over the Thanksgiving holiday. Here he is helping the boys build marshmallow shooters.


We had two days of a yummy Thanksgiving feast and ate lots of sweet potato pie. LOTS!
Then we spent the weekend in the beautiful city of Savannah. The historic houses and buildings are amazing. There is so much to see and do. I would definitely go back.


Oh yes, and we tried crawfish for the first time. They aren't bad, but I think this Northerner will stick to shrimp instead.

Good times in Milwaukee

We just returned from a trip to Milwaukee to see Sarah and Matt and their boys. The following words pretty much sum up our trip - basketball and Wii. Jacob and Erik did a week long basketball camp at Marquette University. They had a good time and came home exhausted every day.
When the middle boys were at camp, Sarah and I took Drew and Kyle to the zoo, the county fair, the nature center, shopping and out for coffee a couple times.
Any down time found the boys permanently glued to the Wii or playing their DS's.
Reading before bedtime. Quiet moments really are the best when four boys are in the house.

It was great to get a break from the heat and humidity of Georgia, but the mosquitoes were terrible. I forgot how bad they can be.

Berry picking

We went to Solebury Orchard on a beautiful hot, sunny day. The drive there was incredible- green, hilly countryside, cute colonial houses and farm houses and quaint towns and boroughs.

Jacob got hot (and crabby) after picking blueberries so we laid on the grass in the shade of a big tree and waited for everyone else to finish picking. I thought it was relaxing. Jake complained. So we headed over to the raspberry bushes and scoured the branches for any remaining berries that were left. They were very picked over, but we were determined.

Sophia

Philly!

The Liberty Bell
Independence Hall
Valley Forge

Enjoying the sand and surf

Sam's parents were gracious enough to have us at their house on the Jersey shore for a few days. We had beautiful weather for playing in the water and sand.

We did a little boogie boarding.

This was Kyle after he took a spill on the boogie board and was pulled under by a wave. He was a little shook up and had a scrape on his hip from the sand.
But here he is the next morning giving it another chance.

Washington DC

We stopped in Washington DC on our way to Pennsylvania and had a wonderful time seeing some of the sights. We will definitely plan another trip there in the future. There's so much to see. Mel was in heaven soaking in all the history and the boys appreciated the "big" monuments they recognized from TV or movies.

The White House (The boys were super excited to see the White House)
Arlington National Cemetary

"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier, known but to God."

It was very hot and humid the days we were here, especially the day we were at Arlington National Cemetery. Seeing the tomb of the unknown soldier is obviously a very somber experience. Watching the soldier guard the tomb in full uniform, the blazing sun beating down on him, in the heat and humidity was very humbling.
The Honor Guard creed sums up their honored duty and responsibility.

National Air and Space Museum

Back from our trip

We just got back today from a great trip up the east coast to Pennsylvania to visit Melinda, Sam, Stella and Sophie. We spent a lot of long hours in the car through nine states, but we saw amazingly beautiful countryside and mountains.
We stopped in Washington DC for a night and saw some of the sites there which was really neat to do with the kids.
We also spent a few days on the Jersey shore at Sam's parent's.
It was a great family trip. More pictures and stories to come.