Too busy to blog...

So clearly I'm not keeping up with the blog very well, but at least I'm getting the pictures on facebook and that tells a lot of the story. I think I ended last with Monopoly...and that seems like eons ago. The next day in Virginia was so lovely and relaxing. The guys went to play golf while Cheryl, Anna Kate and I went to lunch and shopped. We all met up for dinner then went home to get organized since we would be leaving early in the morning.

Cheryl served breakfast at 8:00am and we were out the door since we had a 10:30 tour time at Monticello in Charlottesville. We really enjoyed that and spent about two hours there. Then we were on the road again. It was about a three-hour drive to Washington DC so we got here about 3:30pm. Todd dropped us off at the hotel and then went to return our rental car while I got us checked in. I love our hotel. We are staying at the Mayflower which is a gorgeous historic hotel. FDR stayed here while he was waiting to move into the White House and there are lots of other neat facts about it. I picked this hotel because we are able to get a significant discount due to a Friends and Family rate through Marriott. We had requested connecting rooms but when I went to check in they said our rooms were not ready yet but she would look to see if she could find another place to put us. Well she did -- in a suite. We have two bedrooms, two living areas, three TVs. Amazing. So far we have had amazing accommodations and done it all fairly inexpensively. It will be a bit of a shock in New York when we are all in one room for the first time! Two queens and roll away with all of our luggage will be pretty tight.

The other thing that has been incredibly lucky so far that is about to change dramatically is the weather. The past 5 days have been in the 80s and have made touring actually quite refreshing. Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the upper 90s. Well, that's what we were expecting anyway so the cool weather was really a pleasant surprise. We were very thankful for it.

You can pretty much follow our trail through our pictures. After e got settled in we rested about an hour before we took a twilight tour of the major monuments and memorials. The next morning we had to get up early for a tour of the White House. After that we did the National Archives and then the Holocaust Museum. We came back to rest then went to dinner at Bucca Di Beppo's. Got home about midnight. The best thing was going to bed knowing we had no set wake-up time and we all agreed to sleep in. Which we did. Until about 11:00am. We had nothing on the agenda all day except fireworks so we got out exploring and ended up at the International Spy Museum. Todd and I would have stayed there much longer but the kids are (understandably) starting to tire of museums.

Tonight we watched the fireworks while sitting at the foot of the Washington Monument and looking toward the Lincoln Memorial. It was an amazing experience...just so sentimental and patriotic feeling. All of these things are even more meaningful to me after taking that American Government class at TU last fall. We were of course expecting a big finale but it was truly beyond anything you could anticipate. I will always treasure that experience and fondly remember it every 4th of July from now on.

Tomorrow is also a completely open day that we will plan out in the morning. Tuesday, our last full day here, will be pretty busy though. We are supposed to arrive by noon at Senator Inhoff's office and meet up with someone who will give us a tour of the Capitol. After that we have a tour of the Library of Congress then we have tickets to go up to the top of the Washington Monument. After that we will need to come home to pack since we will catch a train to New York on Wednesday morning which is also Josh's 15th birthday!

Earlier I told you some thoughts about traveling with teenagers -- here are some things I love about it: 1) They have learned about so much of these things in school so it has been fun to watch them put all the pieces together and have discussions about interesting things; 2) They have their own sense of humor and contribute their own perspective to things which creates a more multi-faceted experience than when they are younger; 3) When we are at home they all go their different directions so I truly value this time with them, no matter what we're doing.

Everything has gone as well as it possibly could, but that still doesn't mean it is just perfect all the time. The kids bicker sometimes, people get grouchy when they are hungry or tired, I worry if the kids are having fun, Anna Kate and Josh have told me they are homesick, and we all have good moods and bad moods and all different times. But think about your household over a two-week period of time and that's a all pretty normal whether you are traveling or not-- it's just a little more magnified when you're together 24 hours a day. Still, the overriding feeling is one of excitement and exhilaration as we experience this great adventure together.

Williamsbore

No, I didn't misspell my title. Let's just say we were a little underwhelmed at Williamsburg today. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Remember how yesterday I said we were in the car on our way to Virginia? Well, I do tend to be prone to carsickness, but that is usually just on curves and bumps and things like that. I have no trouble reading in the car on a highway. But somehow, soon after I finished the blog and was doing other stuff on the computer, I suddenly got very carsick. I had the computer on the left armrest of my seat so I was turned a bit sideways for a while, but I thought if I just stopped looking at the computer and closed my eyes I would feel better quickly. Um, no. We had to stop and I got sick -- and then a felt all better. That was about halfway through the 6-hour drive from Charleston to Virginia, which is also the longest leg of our traveling between cities.

The kids did very well in the car. I was a little worried because this is a much smaller van than ours (it is a Volkswagon something I have never heard of) and the kids are just so big. Not to mention 5 giant suitcases and 5 backpacks. It had worked fine for a couple of hours but I wasn't sure about six. In the middle we have a bench rather than captains chairs and in the back there is just room for one person because we have 2/3 of it full of luggage. Well, fortunately the boys ended up together on the bench seat because they get along so much better than Luke and Anna Kate. If you don't believe me, check this out.......In Virginia we are staying at Rudy and Cheryl's house. They are some of my parent's best friends and we feel really close to them as well. In fact, this was the stop Anna Kate was most excited about because she couldn't wait to hang out with them. They are the ones who had just come in town the day my mom got sick so I feel super bonded to them after living through that ordeal together. Here is their beautiful home:
When we arrived Cheryl had an amazing meal prepared for us and it was just heavenly to have some home-cooked food after eating at so many restaurants. We feel so comfy and cozy in their home. We have three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor. Last night the guys went to play tennis and then to see a movie. Anna Kate and I stayed up late visiting with Rudy and Cheryl. It was a very nice, low-key day.

So today we had plans to go to Williamsburg which was an hour drive from the house. I had done a lot of research and reading about it so I thought I knew what to expect, but my opinion is that they have a very good marketing director because it was not nearly as enchanting as it was in all the materials I looked at. And I LOVE historical things. Let me clarify though...I REALLY liked Williamsburg. A lot. For the first hour or two. But we got there at 11:00am and had tickets to an evening performance at 7:30pm. By 3:00 we were sitting in a very picturesque garden genuinely enjoying ourselves (actually Todd even took a nap) but wondering what we were going to do for the next 4 hours. We decided we would see if we could get our money back for the evening show and head on home. Fortunately they did refund our tickets so we left there about 5:30pm and were eating Mexican food with Rudy and Cheryl by 6:30pm. If I had it to do all over again, I would definitely still go back to Williamburg -- I just would have let everyone sleep in as long as they wanted to and leave the house about 2:00pm.

I got a little grouchy during the day just because being the trip planner I feel an enormous amount of pressure that everyone is having the time of their life. Imagine what it feels like to see this:
It is a little stressful to feel like you have chosen how to spend everyone's time and money and they might not be enjoying themselves. But then, I was blessed with a moment that made it all worthwhile...
Who really cares where you are or what you are doing if you are enjoying EACH OTHER.

One funny story is when we were trying to decide what to do to fill our time, Todd said we should drive over to Jamestown. I said, "Well, I think Jamestown is less than this so I vote no on that." What I meant was Jamestown had less to see than Williamsburg. A while later Todd again said that we should drive over to Jamestown to which Anna Kate replied, "But Dad, didn't mom say that Jamestown was worse than this?" We started laughing so hard. "No, honey. I said 'less' not 'worse.' " So funny.

Actually we really had a lovely time -- we just didn't need that much of it. Here are some photos of us enjoying ourselves:

We were being silly in this picture because Todd told us to put our heads together. For some reason I can't add anymore pictures so check them out on facebook.

Tonight after dinner I went to watch the boys play tennis while I wrote this blog and we just came home to find Anna Kate and Cheryl playing Monopoly. Tomorrow the guys are going to Rudy and Cheryl's Country Club to play golf and the girls are just going to hang out. Should be a nice, relaxing day.

The last time I wrote we were headed out to the park to play tennis, basketball and frisbee. It was such a cute park and it was a much needed time of physical activity for these boys. The park was very cute and had the most unusual playground. I had so many pictures of the first few days I thought it would be easier to just post them on facebook so you can look at them there. I uploaded them in several different sets so be sure you look at all of them. I may try to add some into the blog later.

After everyone was sufficiently worn out after playing at the park, we ate dinner at Jim 'n Nick's which was across pretty much across the street from out hotel. We walked home after dinner and settled in for the night.

The next day we had to get up "early" to be sure we could make it to our carriage ride on time at 11:oo. We had made a reservation for a private carriage ride with Myron who Scott and Kali have gotten know during their time there.

After the carriage ride we walked around that part of town and went up to a really cool rooftop restaurant above a hotel that Kali had shown us last summer.

It was up there as we were looking out over the water that Luke said, "We should go rent jet skis." The next thing I knew we were headed back to our condo to change into our bathing suits. As we approached our condo we saw a police car the way. We asked the policeman if we could drive down that street because our condo was there and say "No, not for at least an hour or so." It turns out they were working on a gas line and had evacuated the entire block. I wasn't completely surprised because Kali told me this had happened to them while we they were. So, what to do? Well, I guess you just go in your clothes!

We started driving toward the jet ski rental place and I was calling on the phone to make reservations. They said we could rent two jet skis since a each one rented needed a licensed driver. The only problem (if you don't count the fact that the boys were so bummed they couldn't rent their own jet ski) was that it was about 2:30 and they were booked until 4:30. So, what else do to but go to the beach! We had our frisbee in the car we found a boardwalk and headed to the water. It was a very wide beach which was good because is was breezy and this frisbee would go FOREVER! We tried to get as far away from people as we could but no matter where we went or how hard/soft we threw it, it keep landing on/around this guy and his little boy who were throwing a baseball together. I'm sure they were so happy when we left!

Finally we headed to the marina for our 4:30 reservation time. When we got there the guide was talking to Luke and asked him if he was going to drive the jet ski. "No," he said sadly, "because I'm not 16." The guy responded, "Well, you can drive one as long you have a parent on board with you." The boys both lit up and this created a new dilemma -- who was riding where. We had sort of figured it out by weight distribution since two would ride on one and three would ride on another, but with this new bit of knowledge it was a whole new ball game. I for one am not willing to put my life in the hands of a teenage boy driving a jet ski...plus we decided the girls would be seeking a much different level of adventure than three manly men. So, it was guys on one and girls on the other. My theory was proven correct when I saw Luke sitting on the jet ski all by himself and another jet ski dragging Josh and Todd through the water back to where Luke was. We drove over to see if they were OK and all they said is, "THAT was AWESOME!" Apparently Luke was driving and they jumped a monster wave and Josh and Todd went flying.

Don't get me wrong, Anna Kate and I went a little crazy, but we did stay ON the jet ski at least. The highlight for us was when we were surrounded by dolphins on every side. We turned off our engine and just watched them for a while. It was so peaceful and magical. Anna Kate drove most of the time and she was very proud of the fact that on the way back in she got it up to 40mph. We LOVED our time out on the jet skis. And when we got back we were sopping wet. At first I was feeling very thankful that I had worn a black tank top that day until I realized that I did have white shorts on. Hopefully the fact that they were denim with pockets with flaps on the back kept them from being TOO see-through. We tried to dry off a little but piled back into the car really wet and very salty and hoping our condo was accessible now. Thankfully it was, and thankfully it has a washer and dryer!

On the way back to the condo Luke and Anna Kate were sitting next to each on the bench seat and started bickering. "Luke STOP!" "What? You stop!" I tried to get them to cut it out but it went on and on. Finally Todd said, "Look, I don't care if you all want to bicker and bug each other -- I just don't want to hear it anymore! Do it in sign language if have to!" Well, Josh thought this was hilarious, but even funnier was when the next thing we heard from Luke and Anna Kate was "That's NOT how you say 'stop' in sign language!" "Yes it is!" Sheez. Annoying but funny at the same time. Fortunately Josh and Luke get along better than you would imagine two brothers a year and a half apart ever could. They virtually never fight and truly are best friends. I am so thankful...if only Luke and Anna Kate could figure out how to be like that!

After we got all showered up we walked across the street to Andolini's Pizza. Todd and I ate this pizza last summer and loved it. After dinner Anna Kate and I went home while the guys went out to play tennis again. Luke came home a very proud guy because he beat Josh for the first time. Great, great day.

Now we are in the car on our way to Virginia. We will eat dinner with Rudy and Cheryl and head to Williamsburg tomorrow.

So far, So good

I wanted to write sooner but I was trying to wait until Todd got something he said he needed to upload the pictures off the camera so I could add them in too. He is supposed to do that this afternoon, but I can give you a brief overview of things up to this point.

All our travels to Savannah went very smoothly. We had a good laugh at the airport because while we were going through screening they took Josh's backpack after it went through the machine thing and they told him they were going to have to run it through again. They opened it and took two things out to put them in a different bin to run through separately from the backpack. We got a kick out of the fact that the two things laying in the bin were his Bible and his poker chips.

We got our car at the Savannah airport, checked in at our hotel, and got out to start exploring the city. We ate dinner and then had a carriage ride around the historic district. I'll post some photos later. My general feeling about Savannah was that it is not as charming as Charleston and not as walkable either. My favorite part of the city was the way it was laid out with squares that look like courtyards every two blocks or so. The city was built with 24 squares and I think there are 22 still remaining. It operates like a traffic circle and all the (very old) houses/buildings around the square face inward creating a very cozy community and neighborly feeling. The squares are lush and shaded with huge oak trees dripping with Spanish moss which creates a visual panorama that is quite a novelty to see. These squares were my favorite parts of the city.

On Saturday afternoon we headed out of Savannah and drove east to Tybee Island. We climbed up 178 stairs to the top of Tybee Lighthouse (Luke ran all the way up so now I owe him a dollar) and we toured the lighthouse keepers house. At one point Tybee Lighthouse was the tallest structure in America. At the top of the lighthouse Anna Kate saw the beach and there was no turning back after that. Once we got back down we pulled bathing suits out of our suitcases and walked across the boardwalk to the ocean. As I was sitting in a beach chair watching the kids play in the waves and the sand, I was thinking how funny it was that we were here...when we woke up that morning I never would have guessed that that afternoon we would be sitting on a beach and playing in the ocean. And that is exactly how I hoped this vacation would be -- filled with spontaneity and surprises. I was very proud of myself because rather than worry about how we were going to cleaned up (in the public restroom -- yuck!) and if the car was going to get sandy (it did), I truly just enjoyed the magic of the moment and relished the fact that the kids had such a great time. We left straight from the beach at about 6:30pm, went to Quizno's to get the kids food to eat in the car, and hit the road headed for Charleston.

The drive to Charleston was a little less than 2 hours. We are staying in a condo that Scott and Kali have been living in for the past two weeks. They sold their house and had to be out on the 15th so they rented this condo right in the middle of the historic district to spend their last bit of time here. I had a hotel room reserved but we were all going to be in one room and here we have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, etc. It has a loft-type feel and is very big, and it works out to be cheaper per night than the hotel room. After we got settled in last night the kids just wanted to shower and watch a movie (since they had eaten Quizno's) but Todd and I had not eaten yet so we took the opportunity to go out on a date. We ate at one of our favorite restaurants here that serves Thai food which worked out perfectly since the kids would not have ever wanted to go there. Today we went for a late brunch then took the kids to see the 400-year-old Angel Oak Tree. I'll post pictures later. We drove by Scott and Kali's old house, we shopped up and down King street and we are now cooling off at the condo.

Here are few interesting things I'm learning about traveling with teenagers: 1) They are hungry. All. The. Time. Todd and I are only hungry about every third meal they eat. Food is by far going to be the most expensive part of this trip. 2) They are lazy. How did we get from begging our kids to let us sleep a little longer, to begging them to get up and get their shower so we can go do something. And walking in the heat is torturous for them. A little wimpy if you ask me. 3) The things they want to do are things they could do at home. Right now we are getting ready to go to a cute park we saw so we can play tennis (Luke brought all the gear), and Josh and Todd went to buy a football, basketball and frisbee. Part of me starts to be annoyed by the fact that they want to do that when we could do all those things in Tulsa, but then I remember what I really wanted from this trip more than anything else -- laughter, sillyness and family bonding time. Besides, even though we COULD do all those things in Tulsa, the real question is WOULD we be doing those things in Tulsa? And when you're on a 17-day trip, you can't really be touring every minute anyway. So, we're off to the park. Look for pictures soon.

Josh Gets the Party Started

Last night as we were packing I told the kids we needed to weigh each of their suitcases to make sure they didn't weight over 50 pounds. Everyone was coming in right around 40 pounds -- then Josh walked in.

He was literally lugging his suitcase over to the scale and it appeared he needed to exert an enormous amount of effort just to lift it onto the inch-high scale. When the number came up as 96 pounds, I said "Oh my gosh! What on earth do you have in here?!?" I tried to lift if to confirm what the scale said and I couldn't budge it at all! He said he had just packed a lot of clothes and things and asked what would happen if it was overweight. I told him it would cost extra and he was going to have to figure out what to unload out of there, but he said he needed it all.

Well, this banter went back and forth for several minutes until he finally said, "Maybe you should help me go through my bag and try to decide what to take out." So he unzipped his suitcase and flopped it open and there lay.................................... TWO 25 pound dumbells. "Josh! What on earth?!?" "What?" he said, with a sly little smile. "I have to work out while I'm gone." He then burst out into the heartiest laugh I have heard from him in a long time. And he laughed and laughed and laughed. He thought his practical joke was HILARIOUS. I thought it was funny too but I laughed harder at the fact the he was cracking himself up.

That was a perfect way to kick off our adventure...light-hearted fun and sillyness. Really more than any of the things we are planning to do or see, I want our trip to be full of laughter and family bonding time. So thank you Josh for setting the tone, and let's get this party started.

Trying again

Well, I learned two things from that trial run -- title the post and add the pictures last. I'm going to try again. By the way, could you tell who was in that last picture? It was Josh, Luke, Kate, Matt and Jack. Anna Kate has lived her entire life surrounded by boys at all times. I'll try to find another fun picture to practice with.
Now I'm going to try to add another photo after I type a little more. If any of you bloggers have any tips for me please let me know.
Why does it always add the picture at the top instead of where I want to put it? Well, that's a good start at least. I'll write soon!

OK, so I'm trying to make sure I know how to work this thing before we leave in the morning...I don't know how to add photos so I thought I would do a practice run with random pictures to see how it works. I have no idea what this picture of Todd was taken for but he is darn cute (and uncharacteristically serious looking) if I must say so myself. I'm going to try one more.