Who needs sleep?

I am so flippin' sleepy. It was an awesome weekend, packed with activities and family togetherness. We even found time to plan the next OFO visit, which is now only a few months away. We have decided to gather in Delaware for Thanksgiving, and celebrate Christmas on that Saturday. I better start my shopping now!

On Friday evening, once all OFO's had arrived, we went down to Old Town to my favorite restaurant, Austin Grill. It did not disappoint and all the OFO's loved it, as we usually are crazy about Mexican food. We returned to the "hotel" and had a surprise birthday party for my aunt, complete with cake, presents, and hats. It was a big surprise considering her birthday is not until the end of August. The night shower crew took their turns, and we turned in for the night. Here is a graphic (aka blurry) representation of what my living room looked like with bodies lined up in any and all available floor space.



Saturday was the day we knew would be crazy because of all the places we had on our agenda to visit. Our first stop was The National Archives, where we saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The rotunda which houses these documents is dark and cold, with heavy security. As my cousin and I were leaned over the case, attempting to read the constitution, the security guard yelled, "no leaning or touching the glass!" My cousin leaned over and whispered, "It's called windex people."


click to enlarge

From there we went on to lunch and up to the top of the Old Post Office tower. This enabled us to view the city from an aerial perspective without the headache of going to the top of the Washington Monument. We walked on to George's house and although the back looks a bit crooked, these pictures are so post card worthy.





We went on to the Smithsonian museum of American History where we saw everything from Jackie O's dress to the ruby slippers to the history of the birth control pill. I had never been to the museum before, and was quite excited to get the opportunity to go. By this time, it was late afternoon and we decided to metro home to the hotel to eat dinner and rest up before embarking on a nighttime tour of the monuments. We did so, then drove back into the city to see Lincoln, Vietnam, Korean, World War II, FDR, and Jefferson. Quite a hefty task and we made it to all of them but Jefferson. We saw him from afar numerous times throughout the weekend, and I believe this was sufficient for my people.













Needless to say, we slept in on Sunday morning. This ended up being my favorite day. We woke up, ate breakfast, took showers, and went to the mall. By the time we arrived, it was already well into the lunch hour, so we got a big table at California Pizza Kitchen. This is where the planning for the Thanksgiving/Christmas gathering took place. We shopped for a few hours before we were forced to say goodbye to my sister and brother-in-law. The remainder of the family all joined me at Church that evening. They enjoyed it, and my mom kept talking about how there were so many good-looking young men in attendance. On the way home, we stopped at the grocery to pick up some supplies for our nutritious dinner of sandwiches, chips, queso, break-and-bakes, and ice cream.

The rest of the vaca will be documented later.