Washington Monument - the view from above

Whenever I'm planning out fun place to explore around the DC, I ask Aaron if he wants to come along or if Eli and I should make it a date. He has already seen a lot of stuff so most of the time he says to go without him. When I told him about the Washington Monument reopening for tours, he immediately said he definitely wanted to go! I reserved tickets online and we made it a date. 

The view from above! (Can you image seeing the cherry blossoms when they're in bloom?!)

Hello Jefferson Memorial, 

and Capitol,

and White House!

I loved this quote. I love Washington.

We loved walking around the city at night and enjoyed dinner at the Shake Shack!

Thanks Washington Monument for being so beautiful! 

Staycation

Last week was my favorite week all summer! Aaron didn't have school to worry about during the week and he had Thursday and Friday off. We loved our 4 day weekend together! 

The fun began last Tuesday when we went to a National's Game! Eli enjoyed the metro ride to the stadium more than the actual game. :)

We had fun cheering on the Nationals and the Rockies in this huge stadium. 

Eli even got a certificate for attending his first game. You can tell he was thrilled!! 

Thursday we spent the day at Solomon's Island with friends. Eli played his first video game; we played miniature golf (I WON!), splashed around in the pool and enjoyed some time at the beach.

Friday morning we had breakfast with our church friends and then after Eli's nap, we headed to the Volk's house for dinner and fireworks. Aaron turned into a kid again!

Eli loved the poppers and fireworks grandpa purchased. 

Happy Birthday, America! We love living in such a blessed country. I teared up when, "I'm Proud To Be An American, " came on Pandora. I am proud to live here and I try not to think about it too much, but so many times I wonder about what our family life will be like next year. Will Aaron be deployed somewhere next July? It's possible. Hundreds of families survive deployments. I don't know if I'm strong enough. 

Anyway, we ended our 4th with glow sticks! 

Saturday we went to National Harbor to cheer on Argentina with lots of Argentina fans! It was a blast and of course, even more fun because they WON!

We ended our fun weekend with Eli riding on the carousel for the first time! 

Hope you had a great celebration week too!

Wrapping up June!

Last week Eli and I took a quick morning trip to the city to see Iwo Jima. I've see pictures of the memorial before, but when I saw it in person, I was amazed at how huge it is and the peaceful feeling we felt there. 

We also headed over to Arlington National Cemetery to see the tomb of the unknown soldier. It wasn't until we walked all the way up the hill that I remembered I HAVE seen. the changing of the guards 10 years ago when I lived out here during my internship! 

A family from church gave Eli this darling backpack that he loves to wear around the house. I love seeing babies act like big kids. For a second I thought about him looking out the window waiting for the bus to pick him up for school and I started tearing up. It's hit me recently as he walks around everywhere and likes to act independent that he's growing up so much already!! 

I was so homesick for Kansas last Wednesday so when Aaron said he needed to make a quick trip to Lowe's, I asked if we could go with him to see the John Deere tractors! It helped. 

When we received a 50% off coupon for Hello Fresh, I couldn't resist trying it out for a week. We loved it --- talk about convenience!!! The meals were delivered to our door with all the fresh ingredients and I whipped dinner together in no time. It really was great, but not great enough for me to keep our subscription. I can't justify spending $60 on 3 meals when I typically spend $100 on groceries for a full week!! :/

Sunday we said farewell to our friends. They're headed to NY and we're excited for them, but we'll miss them dearly!

They really have taught us so much as they've opened up about their struggle with infertility. Because they've been open about this trial in their life right now, we've been praying for them and have tried to share encouraging words with them. So many times it's easier to keep things to ourselves, but I've seen miracles time and again as people pull together to help one another. Thanks, Gambles for making Maryland a better place in the short 8 months you lived her! Eli adores you! 

Happy July! Happy birthday to my sweet mother! Oh how we love her!