Fine Tuning

I got my piano tuned today. Couldn't tell you the last time it's been done. It's been mine for 14 years and I don't remember it ever being done when I was a kid (although my mom swears it was and I totally believe her.) The difference is amazing. Maybe it's enough to make my kids want to practice again.

It kind of got me thinking. I have been struggling with a few things lately; nothing major in any one else's world, but things that are making me wonder. Anyway, as I have been studying and pondering and praying, I have come to the conclusion that I am a little out of tune. Oh, you can make out what it's supposed to sound like, but I don't know that I've really been hearing what I'm supposed to hear.

So once again, I find myself needing to step back and just listen. If you haven't noticed, I am a little bit of a control freak and I try to plan and anticipate everything that may happen. No surprise that Allie's mental, eh? Anyway, last night I was reminded to "be still" and to "trust" and for the first time in quite some time, I feel a sense of peace.

I need to take the time to listen to my girls; to be more attentive to their needs and wants. I need to teach them and help them while they are still willing to let me. I want them to grow up to be confident young women and to have a sense of purpose that guides them from within, instead of from without.

I need to make the daily small adjustments that prevent the big adjustments that will be necessary if I don't keep up as I go. I am also reminded that "by small and simple means are great things come to pass."

I am grateful for all I have been blessed with and for the desire to be better. I am glad that I have people in my life to remind me to listen and adjust. I am grateful that there is someone who knows more than me and gently pulls and prods my string so that I can make beautiful music.

Enough of things figurative, back to the literal. Just FYI, if you make a big adjustment like I did, you need to have your piano tuned every six months.

One Thousand Words

Well, you have heard all about our vacation. At least most of the details. What follows is a pictorial accounting of "the rest of the story." These are the funny photos that I took, but didn't make it into any of the previous posts. Enjoy!

Miss Aspen; rockin' her shades on the Metro.

Mr. Will, chillin' out at the White House Visitor's Center.

Seriously, he loved any chance to get out of the stroller and roll around a bit.

Grandpa Pierce and Jack; I just love these pictures from behind. You see the two of them walking together, clearly wrapped up in their own little world.

This is what is referred to as the "Baby Fight." For some strange reason, all the men in Matt's family thinks it is hilarious to make them go after each other.

Funny juice we saw at Whole Foods. Yay for Uncle Matt!

After a couple of days walking around in the heat, Aunt Holli decided it was more comfortable to be 7 months pregnant in a wheel chair.

Here are three of my favorite kids.

I love this! Allie is reading Jack a book about Abraham Lincoln that Matt just bought for him.

Erin is loving her new shades she got from the street

vendor and she loves to mug for the camera.

"Brothers gotta hug."

Jack wasn't so sure about walking all over; they rode together quite a bit.

Erin, holding the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg on her shoulders.

Erin and Allie thought the tour was so cool. Because their tour guide was the head of the Adams County Historical Society, and because Dwight Eisenhower lived in Gettysburg after he left the White House, they got to hold an actual copy of his will. They were impressed!

Here is Miss Allie getting Lizzie and Jack ready for the day.

What a great helper.... and this will be great to show prom dates years from now.

Erin & Allie posing in front of the President's Box at Ford's Theater.

Erin & Allie at the US Mint.

Will and Luke.... oh the fun these boys will have.

Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum

This was such a wacky thing that I thought it deserved it's own blog post. First and foremost, you have to know that my Erin collects elephants. Coincidentally, all of them are named Ellie. So imagine our delight when we encountered a billboard on the way to Gettysburg advertising this road-side gem. Over 10,000 different elephants. Oh, and did I mention that they also sell old-fashioned candy and fudge. Yeah, they do. I won't go into the part of the ad that mentions Mr. Ed's famous nuts. Needless to say, my mom and I couldn't stop giggling and the kids thought we were bonkers.

There were ton's of elephants hidden in the trees.

Mr. Ed had a great garden with lots of elephants and other animals.

Here they are, in the midst of the elephant shrine. The kids were disappointed that Will was the only one who didn't exceed the weight limit for the replica of Dumbo.

As soon as we opened the door to the car, Jack and Lizzie were off for this elephant ride. Unfortunately, I didn't have any spare change, so they just had to pretend it was moving.

This elephant has a moving head, eyes that open and shut and it talks.

It is the first welcome you receive to Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum.

Everybody had a good time and we all got some yummy treats. Best of all, it gave Erin a goal to work towards with her collection.

Four Score and Seven Years Ago

I have previously posted that Gettysburg, PA is one of my all-time favorite places on the planet. I love the town. To be in the presence of buildings and landscapes that have seen what they have seen is truly humbling. I love the rolling green hills and the mist in the morning. I love being able to walk around the town and people watch. Believe you me, there are lots of interesting types that make the trek to this small town in the summertime. For example, when Allie was three weeks old we went during the first week in July (which is when the battle took place in 1863.) In our hotel, we had Civil War re-enactors, Harley Davidson biker types (thanks to a bike rally going through town) and more Elvis impersonators than I've ever seen outside of Las Vegas.

I think what I like most about Gettysburg is the memories I have of time spent there as a family. First and foremost, the time I've spent with my Dad. He loves the Civil War, and although this has become something he shares more with my brothers than with me, I love to see him get excited when he talks about the war. He is giddy! I love the places we visit nearly every time we go; Ernie's Texas Hot Wiener Lunch, Friendly's and lately, the Gettysburg Wal-Mart. I love the Battlefield; Seminary Ridge, the Virginia Monument, Devil's Den, the Slaughter Pen, Little Round Top, Culp's Hill, the Peach Orchard and the High Water Mark. I have loved taking my husband and my children there; and my kids love it there. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that being where something so significant and horrific happened can make my modern problems seem insignificant.

This year's trip to Gettysburg was a blast! It was the last leg of our trip and one of the best parts overall. My parents rented a house in Adams County and we stayed there with them and my brothers and their families. My sister-in-law Shanna's parents came along too, and it was nice to have an extra set of grandparents hanging around with us. I wish I had taken pictures of the house, but by that point in time, the camera was only coming out on special occasions. Suffice it to say, it was awesome. We're going back next year, so I'll take some pictures then.

One of the highlights of the trip this year was the fact that our friends, Heather and Ryan McEwan have recently relocated to Maryland courtesy of the US Army, so they brought their kids up and joined us. My dad made arrangements for an awesome, exclusive tour and so Matt took our girls and Ryan took his two oldest boys and they went and saw, and experienced everything that is and was Gettysburg. I'm going to try and get Matt to do a guest post about their tour so that you can hear more about that, but until then, I'm sure you'll wait with baited breath. Heather and I hung out with the littles. We headed to the Outlet Malls and had lunch. Jack ran away (actually hid in the clothes rack at Old Navy) and nearly scared me to death. That is saying something, because it is pretty hard to do anymore.

While we were there, my mom and I drove down to an antique mall in Emmitsburg, MD. The roads were under construction and the detours took us down roads where I was sure that I was starting to hear banjo music, but we arrived safe and sound and relatively unscathed. It's a good thing that I had an airplane ride to pack for, because I could have bought a lot of stuff at that antique mall.

All the kids in a rock crevice at Devil's Den. Totally the best spot for climbing.

Ryan and Zach at Devil's Den.

The best of friends; Heather and I on the bluff at Devil's Den.

The McEwan boys at Devil's Den.

Raith, Zach and Erin. The Three Amigos.

Don't these kids look like they're having the best time?

The cannon shot minus Allie (the photographer) and Will & Luke who were napping.

The McEwan Family: Ryan, Heather, Raith, Zach, Madi & Luke at Devils Den.

July 2, 2011

The Pierce Family: Matt, Rebekah, Erin, Allie, Jack & Will at Devil's Den.

July 2, 2011

There's Nothing Wrong With Ohio.....

Sing along, "except the snow and the rain." What? Not a Bowling For Soup fan? This song has become one of my kids favorites since my brother Greg and his family moved to Ohio in 2009. We have been so fortunate to be able to visit them and spend vacations with them since they moved and this trip was no exception.

After we left the Pierce family in Washington, DC, we headed toward Ohio, by way of Pittsburgh for the next leg of the trip. Matt had to spend some time working in Akron, so my brother and his wife Sarah agreed to meet us and take our three oldest back to Columbus with them while Matt worked. If this sounds familiar, you may have read about this particular experience a few posts back in "A Tale of Two Sissys". Anyway, once we hooked up with Greg and Sarah, the fun started, in earnest.

We went to the Montgomery Inn for ribs. All I can say is "Wow, and when do we go back?" So yummy and so fun, despite all of the dirty looks we got from patrons when we walked in with six kids.

We went swimming at the Westerville Aquatic Center. Waterslides, pools, splash pads, diving boards, lazy river.... so much fun.

We ate dinner with the missionaries and learned first-hand what you would have to do to get sent home from the Columbus, Ohio mission.

We went to church with Greg and Sarah. Although this wasn't in the original plan, I'm so glad we went. It was a good touchpoint for our kids to be able to understand that the Gospel is the same wherever you go, and that the Church is true. It was also a good thing to incur a little Divine guidance on a three-week family vacation. The lessons were wonderful and I left wanting to be better.

We had a trip to Panera Bread which will go down in history as the worst experience I have ever had dining out with MY kids. Soooo much fun. Not!

We went to the mall and saw Cars 2. That, my friends, was a blast. I love anything by Pixar. The girls had a fun time with the camera, as well.

I saw some of the Harry Potter and X-Men films for the first time. I know, I know... I do live under a rock and the kids had a blast with their cousins.

The end of this week found us, along with sweet Lizzie on our way from Ohio to a house in the hills of Western Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg.

See what happens when you give a kid a camera? EVERYTHING is documented!

I should mention that the Pittsburgh part of this journey also included lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and a Pirates/Orioles game. At the game they were honoring the 1971 World Series team, and handed out commemorative beer steins. Given my lack of beer stein use, I left them at my brothers for him to sell on eBay. Any takers yet, Greg? Waiting for the $$$$.

It's Monumental

One of my favorite things about Washington, DC is that it stands as a testament to all things American. You cannot visit this city without feeling a deep sense of patriotism and pride. There are so many things to see that cause me to reflect on how fortunate I am to live in this great nation and how grateful I am for all those who have done so much to bless my life.

Here are the highlights.....

Arlington National Cemetary. Always a sobering place. This is truly hallowed ground and it is so nice to see it revered as such.

Here is the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is an

amazing thing to watch and proof that even the "ugliest of Americans" among us

can turn off their cell phones and not act like total asses. Now if we could just

get it to translate to every other social situation.

Not the greatest picture of the headstones at Arlington, but it's the best one I

had to represent how precisely they're laid out. It's amazing to look at this and realize

how many Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Eternal Flame at the Kennedy Graves.

The next big thing that we saw was the White House. Now, we didn't actually go in the White House, because I am not up for a two-hour wait in line, security checks, anal cavity checks, etc... to see some old dishes and a bunch of chairs I can't sit in. We went to the Visitor's Center (which incidentally is like two blocks away, thank you terrorists) and learned about the history of the house and it's famous inhabitants. Then we took a walk and got as close to it as we could.

Allie wants to make sure that everyone knows that she took this photo. Not too bad, eh?

Here are three of my most favorite people in the whole world. Again, Allie took this picture.

Now, I took this photo. I think Michelle Obama rocks! Yay for the White House Garden.

One funny story about the White House. As we were looking through the fence, talking about things, I see this Secret Service Agent running towards us from across the street, shouting "Get that kid." I turned around, and lo and behold, it was my Jack half-way up the fence and clearly on his way to hopping the fence. Needless to say, Jack was removed from the fence quickly and we were on our way back to the tour bus.

Next stop that day was the Jefferson Memorial. It can be so hard to get to this one because it is not easily accessible by car anymore (again, thank you terrorists) and it isn't close to any kind of public transportation stops. Fortunately for us, though, we made the last tour bus of the day and were able to check things out. One sidenote, this memorial seems to be under constant renovation. They might as well consider the scaffolding part of the display. Here are a few pictures of the Jefferson Memorial.

Erin & TJ himself

Great view of the monument from the front.

Like, I said, we made it to the Jefferson Memorial on the last tour bus of the day. So our next stops were walked to. It was a nice day, with decent weather as we walked along the Tidal Basin toward the FDR Memorial. Truly one of my favorites. It's great... the architecture, the story it tells and the lessons you can learn.

I can't begin to tell you how nervous this boy makes his grandmother. On this trip, there were too many times that I heard, "Jack, get down" to count. In all honesty, I don't worry about him that much any more. Mostly because I can nearly always guarantee that there is someone else there to do it, and because he really is very agile and nimble for a little guy.

Here is the whole group minus Dave & Holli

somewhere between Roosevelt's second and third terms.

After FDR, we walked past the site of the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial being built and scheduled to open in August. We headed toward the Vietnam Memorial and the Lincoln Monument.

Here are my kids in front of good ol' Honest Abe.

Quite the beautiful picture of the monument at night,

especially when you consider it was taken with a cell phone.

Now because I was too busy watching the wee ones chase fireflies, I didn't get any pictures of the Vietnam Memorial this time, nor the Korean War Memorial, but these are spectacular.... especially at night.

The last two monuments that we visited were the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial. The obelisk that is the Washington Monument is an icon. While you can go up inside of it, I hate crowds and lines, so I am perfectly content to look from a distance.

The last memorial we saw this time was the World War II Memorial. I think this is the one that gets me the most. I say that because I have done a lot of studying about World War II, and my Grandpa Homer fought in the Pacific Theatre during the war. Curiously enough, we visited on Father's Day, and this is the first time I have been back there since my Grandpa died in early 2010.

I have said many times that I completely underestimated my Grandpa's influence on my life. Growing up next door to him, I was very close with my Grandma and him and spent a great deal of time with them. Even into my married years and my years as a young mother, I really enjoyed talking with him. I have come to realize since he passed away, that I am who I am due in large part to his influence. There are so many character traits and lessons that he gave me and I am very grateful for who he was.

There was definitely a special spirit about the memorial that day, and I am and will forever be grateful to him and others like him who sacrificed so much for our country. I love you Grandpa!

I also have to say that it's no coincidence that Jack is in all of these pictures. My grandpa loved Jack, his first great-grandson and his little namesake. I am so grateful that they got to meet on earth.