Busses everywhere for groups of people parked outside Arlington Cemetery.  First metro ride into town.  Crowds.  Barack Obama is everywhere!!

Washington D.C. inauguration

Many of you have been patient with me in getting to the story and pictures of the inauguration.  First let me say that we had an awesome time there and are so glad that we made the decision to go.  It was truly a momentous occasion, as evidenced by the attendance of 1-2 million people who joined us in welcoming (thankfully) our new Democratic president.  The entire time we spent in D.C. we felt an air of happiness, thankfulness, and joy.  There was not one incident where we saw anyone pushing or shoving, yelling, or otherwise being boisterous in a bad way.  It was quite the opposite, and with that many people, I think that is saying something.  Everyone who was there was ready for a change, you could feel it, and I must say that there were people of all ages and backgrounds together, helping each other out.

We arrived on Sunday night and immediately went to Arlington National Cemetery so that we could park more easily and then take the metro into D.C.  There was a concert starting at 2:30 that afternoon with over 15 performers, including Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, and we arrived at 4 pm, so thought we had tons of time.  As it turned out, after our metro ride in (which the kids just love) we were arriving at just the time the concert let out, around 4:30.  That was quite a bummer.  We were sure that it would last for several hours, not just 2.  So we missed that, and were hugely outnumbered by the waves of people coming toward us headed to metro stops.  We quickly did an about face and headed back to the cemetery.  It wasn't a total loss, though, as we did get to walk up and down some cool streets and see a lot of the buildings that the kids enjoy.  The National Guard and lots of police from other cities were on every street corner, trying to herd people onto the sidewalks (that was a losing battle with probably 1/2 a million people coming towards them) and let some cars through.  We did get back to Arlington Cemetery and then headed over to Wendy's apartment, which is a short 10 minute drive from there.  We were all happy to see her although she has only been gone for a few weeks.  Potter, Molly and Caleb always like trips because of 1) traveling in the car and 2) staying in hotels.  Wendy's apartment isn't a hotel, but she does live on the 10th floor of her building and we had to park in an underground garage and then take the elevator up.  She also has a balcony overlooking I-66 and you can see the metro above ground from there.  So all in all, they were happy with their accomodations.   The kids were dog tired, so we had dinner and then all went to bed.

Monday was Martin Luther King Day, and we decided that we'd try to hit a couple museums that day and just walk around D.C.  The metro ride in was much more crowded, and the other people on the metro were so concerned about our kids and keeping them from getting crushed that they would put their arms out and shout as others got on 'we got kids here, watch out!'  And it was like that everywhere, people just helping out.  And with three kids, we needed it, even though we had Wendy with us, there is a lot of stuff to take with kids and we had a stroller and a baby backpack too.  Security in the museums loved us!!  :)   First we walked around to where the observation station was for President Obama to watch the parade.  We could get fairly close to it and take some pictures.  Right about then it started to snow lightly and it was such a beautiful scene to be there with these crowds of happy people in sort of a picturesque place.  After that, we decided to get in touch with a couple students from BU.  BU has a program that sent 2 kids from Poly Sci to D.C. for 10 days to be a part of the inauguration, so we met up with those students, Dylan and Whitney, who Dave knows well, and hung out with them for most of the day at the museums.  We first went to the Museum of American History which has reopened just last fall.  The trains and transportation modes were a big hit with Caleb and Molly mostly liked standing inside this old fashioned elevator and pushing all the buttons.  Was hard to get her out of that.  We ended up eating a really late lunch there and then headed over to the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaurs, Hope Diamond, and the huge elephant in the main entry way.  Always cool to see that stuff.  By then, it was meltdown time, so we decided to head back to Arlington and relax that night.  Dylan and Whitney came over later for an inauguration party/dinner and we hung out, had some drinks and the kids played.  I must back up and say for a bit how much the kids just stuck like glue to Dylan and Whitney the entire day.....the rest of us could have disappeared and they wouldn't have noticed, so having them over to Wendy's apartment was huge for them!!

Inauguration day we knew we needed to get our act together early and head into town.  All bridges were closed to cars, and it is a little too far to walk from Arlington to D.C. so we once again had to brave the metro to get there.  It was PACKED PACKED PACKED and I can't emphasize that enough!!!  We did make it in, and found ourselves in front of a jumbo-tron right next to the Washington Monument.  We stayed there, in really cold and windy weather, for the entire ceremony.  It was amazing!!  Everyone around us happy and jubilant, when the pastor gave the opening prayer, you could hear 1 million plus people all saying the Lord's Prayer together, such a goose bumpy experience!!  Cheers, hails when Obama was sworn in and even bigger cheers when we all saw the Marine One helicopter taking the Bushes to AFB to get them on their way to Texas!!!  We had an arduous trip from there back to Wendy's, but packed up our stuff and drove home, arriving back in Endicott around 10:30 that night.  

I am bragging here, but hey, it's my blog and they are my kids!!!!  Our three children did such an amazing job.  There was no crying, whining, complaining in long lines, or when we didn't eat on time.  They were aware of the magnitude of what we were all experiencing and enjoyed it as much as we did.  I love that they are so excited to meet and see, as Molly calls him, Irack Obama.  I do think that she was slightly disturbed that we didn't get to actually meet him or Malia or Sasha.  We are going to write a letter to the First Family and invite them for a barbeque here this summer in Endicott.  Who knows, stranger things have happened, eh??  We'll let you know about that!!!!  Enjoy the pictures.  They are mostly in the order that we were there, but I'll put captions where it maybe isn't obvious what you are looking at.  

Finished bathroom!!!

Ok, here is the big unveiling.....the bathroom is finished!!!  Well, we still need the shower door and to finish the window treatment, but you'll get the idea.  We just love this bathroom, I feel like it is sort of spa-ish in terms of its looks and amenities.  I still cannot believe that this is in my house!!   It only makes us realize how icky the other bathrooms in the house are!!!  Enjoy.  

Cabinets, counters, sinks....yay!!!

Yesterday we got the cabinets and countertop with our double integrated sinks.  Very cool!  This totally transforms the bathroom.   It feels very sophisticated and elegant without being overly fancy.  Love it!!

More bathroom, not that exciting for anyone but us...

Here is my new floor.  Way better than the crappy blue and white 1 inch tiles that we had.  It looks sooooo good in person.  I guess some of you should get your rears in gear and come visit us so that you can see all this in person.  It is way better that way!!!!

latest wii addict

We now have Wii music and the kids all love it.  Caleb got his first turn last night and is a natural with the piano and the guitar.  Sorry for the orientation, but I took the video long ways and I can't rotate it.  I'm sure he'll spend many more happy hours composing original scores.

Snow fun

After a decent snow on Saturday and Saturday night, we were able to finally bust out the new Santa sled!!  Our side yard is excellent for sledding and Dave built up an embankment at the bottom that makes you continue on into the woods and under some bushes and trees.  Very fun!!  They also played in some sort of snow pit that Potter constructed and then they all wanted to sit in it.  This was getting to be late afternoon and very little sun.  It was cold and my face was frozen.  I should have taken more pictures than this, but I couldn't feel my fingers to use the camera!!  The weather is supposed to stay cold this week, so I imagine more sledding will follow in coming days.  

Birthday party at McDonalds

Molly went to her friend, Zoe's, birthday party yesterday at McDonalds.  Many of you may find this hard to believe, but it was the first time that any of our kids have set foot in a McDonalds.  We don't eat fast food, don't promote fast food, so this was a whole new experience for her.  And to make it extra special, it was a McDonald's with a play place, so all I could think about was all the germs.  Anyway, now that I am done with that, I'll say that it was quite a nice time, Molly enjoyed climbing in all of the tunnels and going on the bridge.  This was similar to some of the climbing stuff they have at Chuck E. Cheese, if you have ever been there.  I don't know why I don't mind CEC as much, but somehow it seems cleaner, nicer.  The kids got to have a Happy Meal and then cupcakes.  All in all, Molly really had a great time.  Then we got in the car and headed home in a snowstorm!!  As you can tell, Molly wanted to wear her finest to the party!!  

Post-plaster

Pre-plaster

We've got some walls!!

Today we have started to see some real cosmetic changes in our bathroom.  We had been waiting for a long time to get our new fan/heater/light fixture for the middle of the ceiling and that held things up for a few days.  Now that it has been installed, the sheet rock is going up and we have some walls and a ceiling!!  Stay tuned tomorrow for the plaster!!!

The wall where the sinks will be located.

The wall (that is now back) that separates the shower from the toilet.

The fixture that is finally here!!  

Most of the area where the toilet will go.

The division of the shower and toilet.  This wall is not as wide as it previously was.  We'll have a bit more room in the shower and also more room where the toilet goes.

I finally did it!!!

It has taken me a year and a half, but today, finally, I was able to go and have my hair cut.  Yay!!  I decided to donate my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.  They use the hair from 6 donations to make a wig for a woman with cancer.   There are many other organizations that will take hair donations, but they are typically 10+ inches, and I just didn't have it in me to wait that long.  I can thank my friend Lisa who turned me on to Pantene, for which you need 8 inches.  (You can go to www.pantene.com and check out their website.  There is a link to hair donation).   This donation is made more special by the fact that Dave's mom passed away this year from cancer and I only hope that I can help someone else's mother who is going through chemo, radiation, etc, get some self esteem back with a wig of real hair.   Thanks to all of my friends and family who have heard me gripe about this from time to time, but I have to say that when she was cutting that ponytail off, it was a teary moment for me.  

Beaver!

On our hike we walked along a ravine and noticed, oddly, that there was a beaver laying right on the edge of the retention pond next to his dam.  Usually, beavers will run before you ever see them.  We are worried that he is ill and isn't able to get around.  This puts him in prime position to be attacked by a predator.  We emailed the man who is the head of the caretaking of the preserve and let him know where we saw him.  Hopefully, the beaver can be helped.  

Birthday hike in the nature preserve

For Dave's birthday Monday, he wanted to take a hike in the nature preserve.   It was not too cold, just a bit windy.  There was a lot of slush and mud (which Caleb of course managed to fall into) so we didn't get to do the whole, long hike that we enjoy around the entire pond.    The sun was out and it was gorgeous though.    Dave did take a picture of just me (which is rare) and then Potter took a really nice shot of me and Dave together.  I didn't know that Dave and I did things together, as there is no evidence to the contrary.

Dave is forty (40)

A few shots of the old(er) man opening some presents.