Hill Aerospace Museum

Seth loves trucks, planes, trains pretty much any sort of vehicle.  Jake thought it would be really fun to go to the Hill Aerospace with the family.  It was a fun morning.  We went with Jake's family and met some wonderful friends there.  The Fredins moved away from Maryland two years ago.  I have missed having them around so it was great seeing them again.

Tade and Luke.  It was so fun watching them pick up where they left off.  It was like we saw them last week.

Andelyne loved little Hyrum.

The museum had an awesome children's center.  The kids spend over an hour playing in there.

There were simulators for the kids to try out.

There was also a table full of science projects.  Luke and Tade were conducting electricity through each other to lite a light bulb.

This is the amazing Fredin family who we miss so much.  At least when we come out they only live 5 minutes from from Jake's sister.

From Sea to Shining Sea

Jake really wanted to spend the Fourth of July in Utah so we planned our trip accordingly.  We didn't quite drive from sea to shining sea to get here for the fourth, but it sure felt like it.  For July 4th we went to the fireworks in Clearfield and then went back to Jake's sister's house for sparklers and other fireworks.  We were excited for this second part because fireworks are illegal in Maryland.  We can't do sparklers or anything else.

 About two seconds after we put on Andelyne's first fourth of July outfit she began spilling stuff on it.  I figured this would happen so I can prepared.  Here is outfit #2 for the second half of the day.

Waiting at the Clearfield fireworks.

We came prepared with plenty of sugar.  Andelyne was a fan of the oranges.

The girls.  Madison and Mikayla were so happy to finally have another girl.

It was a good firework show, but I still think nothing beats DC.  Seeing the fireworks exploding with the silhouette of the Washington Monument and the Capital is just can't be beat. 

Afterwards we had to fit a couple sparklers in before bedtime. This picture make it look like Andelyne is totally freaking out, but I don't thing she was.

Tade on the other hand was totally freaking out.  He held this sparkler at arms length for about two seconds then got rid of it.

Finally thanks to Trina's suggestion and pinterest we had a solution.  Use a plastic cup over your hand and poke the end of the sparkler through the cup.  It made a holder and made a whole new Tade. The clothes are different in some of these pictures because after the fireworks we just did a few sparklers because it was getting late.  The next night with did a little more.

Seth we fearless.  He couldn't light them fast enough.

After fireworks the second night we attempted s'mores.

Something about doing them on the grill just didn't allow for them to get golden.  They just don't look right with out my perfect golden coloring.

Road Trip!

I have never driven cross country before.  For some reason I always got out of moving cars back and forth for college or driving during a move.  It was finally my turn and I got to do it with three young kids.  What was I thinking!?!?!  Actually the trip went rather well.  Each kids only had one really melt down.  I was very impressed.  We have more melt downs than they just sitting at home each day.

Day 1 went from Gaithersburg to Chicago.  My brother lives in Oak Park just on the out skirts of the city so we stayed with him the first night.

Day 2 was from Chicago to Cheyenne, WY.  This was our long day.  We decided to push it on day two and drove 15 hours.  We were so glad we did this because it made the final day so much easier.

Not so happy to be stuck in a car for the second day.

She's not much of a car sleeper, she takes after me for that, but we did get a few moments for quiet time.

 We saw lots of windmills as we drove.

Thank goodness for DVDs.

Getting a little bored.

Finally at the hot.  We were all so tired and thankful to be out of the car.

Day 3 went from Cheyenne to Layton, UT.  It was only a 6 hour day and that was more than long enough.  We were all so tired of being in the car.  Plus it was a pretty ugly drive, no offense to my WY friends.  Wyoming was not so attractive.  That combined with the smoke in the air from the fired make for a less than picturesque drive. 

Smiling faces know this was the last day in the car.

This was the only time they all slept at the same time.

More windmills.

Only an hour away.  Can you fell the excitement.  Any hour is like nothing after 3 days of driving.

We were also happy to leave Wyoming and see some color and mountains.

Wrapping Up June

I am playing some serious catch up because I have so much to post from this vacation we're on.  Here are the final pictures to wrap up June.

Seth and his buddy Dillon cooling off on one of those terribly hot days.

My cousin Dan and his wife Jenny invited us over to swim on their roof 20 stories up.  The kids loved it.

Making strawberry freezer jam.  We helped grandma make some this year.  A lot of this batch will make the move with is to Fredericksburg.

Tade got his first awards two weeks after entering cub scouts.  He got his bobcat and three belt loops for soccer, hiking, and fishing.