Off to NYC!

My parents stopped at our house on their way to NYC and were actually there when we got back from DC. We stayed up late chatting and talking about each other's trips and their mission. The next morning, we did a couple haircuts and colors and decided to go out to lunch with everyone.

CUTE!

My parents bought everyone an "I heart NY" shirt. Jack LOVES to wear his! It's now one of his favorite shirts.

We are excited for them on this new adventure in their life. I think they are adjusting well to the city life and enjoying it so far. If you want to read more about their mission you can go HERE! :)

Indians!!

When we got back to Cleveland we decided to hit up the Indians game. This was Denise's first time to a professional baseball game. We thought it was going to get rained out but the storm passed over just before the game started. We left Anderson with a friend so he could get to bed on time and just took our crazy little boy Jack. He is such a nerd sometimes and these pictures show that perfectly. :)

What is with the face?? What a geek. :)

They played the Yankees and unfortunately didn't win but it's always fun to go.

Now these two were definitely the highlight of the game! As I"m sure you know, Lebron James left Cleveland to go to Miami. One who was once a hero, is now nothing but a disappointment. Cleveland has serious fans. They are dedicated. I mean, our pediatrician sent out an email on how to help your kids cope with Lebron leaving....really? What the? Anyways, his name is basically a swear word around these parts. People were selling shirts that say "LeBum" on it. It's pretty funny. Anyways, this guy and his girlfriend show up to the game and he is wearing a Miami jersey with LeBron's name on the back. People were booing them the whole time. At first the police were trying to protect them from the people, but once they decided they were making too much of a scene, they started to escort them out. Everyone starts flipping out and booing them and saying things that are not appropriate to write on my blog. Somebody threw something at the girl and she starts punching them. Obviously the police thought this had gone on long enough and quickly made them leave as people are throwing their drinks and anything they had in their hands at them. Wow. It was quite the entertainment! We saw them on our way out of the game and I had to snap a picture for memories sake. :)

Guess we won't be rooting for LeBron anymore...you'll get stuff thrown at you!

DC with the Heaton's

Justin's mom and dad came out to Cleveland for part of Justin's summer break. They decided they wanted to go to DC so Friday after Justin finished working on their teeth, we got in the car and made the drive. Of course, we are a little biased because going to DC means we get to see some of our favorite people, they Jensen's! We stayed at their house and had such a great time.

Saturday was our first day of touring around and we chose to start out at the monuments. Scott came with us and since it was 105 degrees and about 100% humidity, Denisse was more than happy to volunteer to keep all the kiddos at home. We saw the Lincoln, Washington, WWII, and Vietnam monuments.

We also hit up the Air and Space Museum, and the White House.

Denisse decided to brave the pool with the kiddos one of the days she watched them and they all had a blast together.

Braden loved to jump into the water and just swim around. Jack was a little worried about him and kept trying to rescue him and pull him up out of the water. :)

These three have such a great time together!

Thanks for watching them Denisse! Jack LOVES to be with you guys and it made our sight seeing much more enjoyable!! We owe you!

Saturday night, Denisse and I went to "get something for church" and came back with Ryan! He had been planning to secretly come out and meet us and we picked him up at the Metro station. Justin and Bob and Denise had no idea and were so surprised. We were so excited to have him come and be with us!

After church on Sunday, we went to the National Cathedral. It is such a beautiful building! It was one of my favorite things that we saw.

Denisse took these pictures. :)

The kids were looking at this picture and there conversation went something like this...

Braden: That's Jesus.

Brielle: He's resurrected!

Jack: He's not dead anymore.

It's funny to hear their thoughts.

My cousin Holly lives just minutes from the Jensen's. She was able to spend Sunday with us at the cathedral and the Arlington Cemetery. She also watched Anderson for me on Monday! I have such great family and friends!

Top of the Arlington Cemetery.

On Monday we hit up the National Archives, which was very cool. They have the Declaration of Independance, the Constitution, and Bill of Rights. It was amazing to see these original documents. We also saw the Holocaust museum, where I got lost from everyone for an hour. I thought I was the last one and that they were all in front of me but I was really the first. I had a slight panic attack when I couldn't find anyone and they don't let you go back in once you've finished looking. But to make a long story short, they were all still looking around the museum and they eventually came out an hour after I did. :) I was so relieved when Justin came out!!

After that we went over to the Library of Congress and the Capital building. There are so many fun things to see and do there.

Ryan had to fly out Tuesday morning and head back to Las Vegas. We are so glad he came!!

Anderson had a fever off and on all weekend and was not feeling well on Tuesday. So I chose to stay home with Denisse and the kids while Justin and his parents hit up a few more sites, including a tour of the capital building.

Here Bob and Justin are in line for food at the FDR monument. :)

We had a great trip and are so thankful to the Jensen's for letting us invade their house for a few days!!

Splash Park

We went to a splash park a while back with some friends. We had never been there before and I am so sad that I am just now discovering it in our last summer here!! It was a blast and the kids were loving it.

Jack and his friend Macie. Remember the little girl who let Jack where her princess panties and little shorts? Yes, this is the same Macie. :) They played so good together the whole time. Jack has so many good friends here, I love it.

Running through the sprinklers! You can see Sydney and Addie in the background, along with some good looking legs! No, they're not mine.

Jack did not stop running and playing the whole time. He had such a blast. It's nice to mix it up from the pool, especially since you don't have to be worried about anyone falling in the water and drowning. You can just relax and let them play. It was great.

Just cruisin' in the stroller!

Worn out and ready to go home. :)

Nashville, TN

For the 4th of July, we decided at the last minute to go see Justin's cousins in Nashville. Marianne (his Aunt), Katherine, Marabeth and Julianne all live there. We drove down on Thursday night and got there really late, but wanted to have a full day on Friday to play. Julianne's neighborhood has a pool that we took full advantage of. It was really hot the whole weekend, so it was nice to have a place to cool off and have fun.

Me, Katherine, Justin, Marabeth

Friday night, Marianne was nice enough to hang out at the house while our kiddos were sleeping so we could go out with Katherine, Marabeth and their hubbies. We ate sushi, had delicious dessert at the Melting Pot, and finished the night watching Katherine's husband, Tony, and his band play. They were so good and fun to watch!

Saturday was Julianne's concert. She had a little BBQ for her friends and family before to kick off the 4th of July festivities. It was SO HOT that day! 95 degrees with what felt like 100% humidity. We stayed cool going back and forth from her air conditioned bus. Jack LOVED Julianne's bus!! He still says in his prayers..."Thank you that we could go to Julianne's concert and go on her fancy bus and see fireworks." I love that he calls it a fancy bus.

Her concert was downtown Nashville, right on the water. You can see the stage behind Justin and Jack.

Tony, his son Logan, Katherine, and their baby, Ari.

For the concert, we sat right in the very front, right in front of the speakers. It was so loud and as soon as it started Jack starts freaking out and crying because it was so loud. This was Anderson's reaction....he was all smiles! He was moving up and down, dancing to the music and just smiling. Maybe he will be able to teach his brother how to be a little more brave. :) After Jack relaxed though, he started dancing with the other kids and having a good time.

After the concert, there was a big fireworks show. Jack was super excited for them and was talking about it ALL day. But when they started, he had a nervous look on his face but you could tell he was trying really hard to enjoy it. And once again, Anderson was screaming with a huge smile on his face and totally loving it. These two are already so different.

Sunday we went to church right next to the temple. I was excited when we realized after looking up which building to go to, that it was right next door! It's fun for us to see the different temples in places we have traveled.

After church, we hung out at Julianne's house, had a BBQ and did a few fireworks of our own. I think the smoke bombs and the sparklers were Jack's favorite because neither of them make any loud noises. :) I get a kick out of his tan line on his feet from his flip flops!

We got a little silly towards the end of the night. :)

Saying goodbye to Julianne as she heads for Rome....jealous!!

The next morning, we headed to Cracker Barrel with the whole crew for breakfast and to say our goodbyes.

After breakfast, we made a stop to see my cousin Alex and his wife Becca. They were married almost a year ago in the same temple we saw and were visiting her family for the holiday. I have never met Becca and Alex and I couldn't figure out the last time we had seen each other, so obviously it had been TOO long!! I'm pretty sure he's grown a few inches since I have seen him :)

It was so great to see all the family from Justin's side as well as my own. It was a last minute trip that was well worth it!