This post is all about our trip to D.C. Ashley had never been and my best friend lives near it, so we decided to make the 6 hour trip for a fun weekend. First, I must say how much I missed my friend, Mari Kjar (formerly Whiting). I've moved place to place almost my entire life, and though I've met many people and made lots of friends, I have made very FEW friends for life. Mari Kjar is one of those people. I really needed to have this time with her, so, I'm really grateful to God that we were given that opportunity.
This is the beginning of our tour around the city. Believe it or not, I AM in the picture. If you look closely, you can see my shadow. Ha!
The funny thing about this shot is that we parked here for 2 hours, but a few minutes too late. I didn't think we'd actually get caught, but when we made it back to the car, we JUST BARELY missed the ticket guy. Trapper was pretty irritated after that. haha I hate to laugh at that, but I can't help it.
Jackson is our big boy. It was SO cold, but he was determined to push that stroller around. It didn't last long though. He was just going too slow.
He enjoyed running around in the wide open spaces. Poor kid looked like the boy in "A Christmas Story" though with his jacket being so big. He wanted to run really fast, but the nature of gravity wouldn't allow it. After about the 10th time of falling down, I think he started to figure out that he needed to slow down and pick up his feet. haha
Our nation's capitol! Woot!
Our beloved Ashley! She wanted to show her everything there was to see, but with two kids, seeing half the sites is impossible. We saw as many as was possible, and then the next day, Ashley rode the train out by herself and saw some more.
I knew Jackson would love the Aero and Space Museum. He loves planes.
Every time he sees a plane outside, he yells "Pane!" And then when it's gone, he looks at me and says, "More!" As if I control the planes.
Braden... haha Poor Braden. He was wrapped up so much to keep from getting cold. He slept for a good bit thankgoodness.
Chinatown! We were on the lookout for a place to eat when we came across this. We ate at Five Guys Burger joint. It was really good, but even in a small non-sophisticated place, we can't seem to keep ourselves from being noticed. Jackson spilled water all over the table and floor and onto his pants and mine. So we had to switch tables. Then Ashley accidentally spilt her vinegar sauce on Trapper's crotch. lol Too funny.
We were all exhausted from touring the city and after this, Trapper and I were done with D.C. We wanted relaxation.
A family pic at the top of the Washington Monument. Jackson DID NOT want us touching him. He wanted to run around, free, on his own. As you can see, he was being a stinker.
After the Washington Monument, Trapper had to run down to the car to prevent us getting another ticket. He said he'd meet us over at the Lincoln Monument. We knew it was a bit of a walk, but we were not prepared for HOW LONG it would take us. It would not have been such a difficult task, but Jackson was with us and he was such a pitiful thing. He cried and whined, from the cold and from being tired, the entire way. We sang songs, we tried skipping and dancing and holding him and putting him on our shoulders to keep him happy, but he just wanted to go home.
This is probably the sweetest little picture of Ashley and Jackson that I have, except in reality, Jackson was having issues with her being so close to his face and was getting pretty upset with her. haha Ashley had so much patience with the boys, even when they were at their worst. She's an inspiration to me. Everytime the kids are crying and I'm tired and think I can't handle it anymore, I try to think about what Ashley would've done in the situation.
My sweet boy. I love him so much. I can't tell you how much I love hugging my little boys. It's one of the sweetest, most satisfying feelings you can get. I hope he'll always want to give me hugs even when he's a teenager.
We made it to Mr. Abe Lincoln! Finally! I knew Jackson would love all the stairs.
After a long day and being in the cold, who wouldn't want to curl up on the couch and go to sleep!!?? And at 6 o'clock in the evening?
For fun, we had a "white elephant" Christmas. It all started when us three girls (Ashley, Mari, and me) went to the grocery store. One funny inside joke about fruitcake turned into several gag gifts.
And the baking commences! Christmas get-togethers just aren't right unless you bake something. Mari made us brownies with pumpking flavored frosting, and Trapper crushed some candy cakes for us to top it with.
The fire was like the icing on the cake. It's been a long time since I've had a fire like this. It brought back many childhood memories of Columbia, MS.
For the boys, Santa "Prankster" Claus brought the boys a dog bone in honor of the progress they were making.
Mari's gift to me was a slim jim and an enquirer magazine.
Trapper's fruitcake is what started the whole joke. For our first Christmas together, we spent it in Mississippi with my family. One day we went to see my Granny who was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. I warned him that she'd probably tell him the same things over and over again. Well, she asked him if he'd ever had icebox fruitcake. He said he'd never had it before. He was willing to try anything and didn't want to disappoint her, so he tried her icebox fruitcake. He said it was pretty disgusting, but it wasn't until she told him that what was in it was basically raw materials that were packed together in one big pile. I just can imagine the look on his face. haha After that he said he quickly discarded the rest of his fruitcake in the garbage when she turned around. haha Minutes after this incident, she asked him if he'd had icebox fruitcake before--again. Now he could honestly say that he had. haha
Ashley gave Mari a candle with a Christ-child on the front. I have no idea why I didn't take a picture of Josh with his gift. Honest mistake. Trapper's gift to him was "Postobon," a latino soft drink.
My gift to Ashley was a soy chocolate protein shake. Turns out this stuff was good. That wasn't my intention, Ash, but I'm glad you were able to enjoy it!
A game of settlers late at night after the kiddies had gone to bed. Unfortunately, Braden woke up soon after we started and everyone except Trapper had to switch seats and play for someone else at one point or another in the game. It was kind of funny.
"Party til the sun comes up, y'all!" says Braden, the little night owl. 
And for a lack of time, I have decided to post only one picture from our trip to the Washington D.C. temple with Josh and Mari. We tried to make it to an endowment session, but we were a few minutes too late, so we volunteered to do some sealings. Good choice in the end 'cause we had a special experience with the sealer. After the sealings, we went into the celestial room and sat for awhile just enjoying the peace and quiet. It is beautiful there, and I wish I could visit more often just for that room.
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