Spring Break 2008

No bikini beaches for us or drinks with umbrellas. That would be just a drive down the road :) This year we spent our Spring Break in Virginia. We headed up on Thursday after work and arrived Friday evening. Not too bad of a drive. We took I-10 and I-95. They had some construction on I-10 that detoured us to where we chose to stop for the night. We arrived Friday and relaxed for the evening before beginning all our fun for the week.

Saturday the girls went to get manicures and pedicures. aurora was a wee bit terrified during the pedicure. Her legs didn't quite reach the water from her seat. She sat so still and would just hold her hands just right as to not mess up her nails.

Sunday was a boat ride down the Potomac. We went for their Sunday brunch. It was incredibly chilly, so we didn't do much looking out from the top rails, but we did enjoy the view through the windows. We could see the Air Force Memorial, the Jefferson monument, the Washington monument and several others sights along the way. The cherry blossoms looked incredible from the water, so that was to be another stop during our week.

Monday took us shopping at Potomac Mills and IKEA. IKEA is seriously a day of shopping all by itself. Wish there was one closer to us here, but I would be willing to drive to Atlanta :) We had some of their yummy swedish meatballs with the lingonberry jelly and mashed potatoes and gravy. Good food for a good price. After that we did some shopping and picked up a few items, curtains/curtain rod, cushions for our kitchen chairs, and a couple of various items. James was reluctant, but I put in some Christmas ornaments that were marked down to $.99 for a container of 30. They are silver, so if we get a black Christmas tree we can have a Raider tree...Great idea, right?!

Tuesday we won the lottery and spent all our money buying an estate in VA along with a Mercedes E class which I will be driving. APRIL FOOLS !! But seriously, James pinned on Major, so that is still very exciting.

Later that evening, we had the opportunity to visit with Karen and Jeff. It was so good to see them. It had been two years for me, but James had seen them on his TDY's in Alaska. We were up late just talking and it was great to hear about what's going on. Jenna peeked her head out during one point and she is too cute. Next time we will plan a day visit so the kids can have a chance to play.

Wednesday took us into DC to go to the Pentagon City Mall. This was Logan's choice. It has been on his "to do list". We wandered through a few stores and got in our escalator rides. That night was the highlight of the trip (besides seeing Karen). Some people take cruises or other vacations after their spouse has been deployed, James took me to an NBA game. We had floor seats by the goal at the Wizards game. We sat on the second row with only one row in front of us. The majority of the time there wasn't anyone is those seats, so I thought we had the best seats in the house. The Wizard players were off to our left on their bench. They all looked good :) It was a fun game, but a bummer ending as they lost by one point when the Bucks scored with 1.1 seconds remaining. The Wizards had led pretty much the whole game. I'll add pics later from the game. They are on another camera. Not to worry the Wizards with still be in the playoffs. They are ranked 5 at the moment. After the game we headed out to see DC at night. We stopped at the White House to take pics, but otherwise stayed in the car looking at the city. It was a wee bit chilly.

Note: My wonderful Hornets are in the playoffs and currently #1 in the Western Conference. The Western conference is much more competitive than the Eastern, just so you know. Also, the Hornets fan in OKC know how to root for their team. They were much more enthusiastic than the Wizards fans. Now I know why teams would say that was the hardest Areana to play in because of the noise. GO HORNETS!!!

Thursday was a big day for Logan. He loves trains and we took the commuter train into DC to Union Station. We walked up to the capital where the kids got to go behind the barriers and took a picture with the officer. He called them over to give them junior officer badges (stickers) and when we asked if he could take a pictures with the kids, he had the kids come up on the steps to get a better pic (he let them behind the barriers!). What a nice guy :) We headed down to ride the Metro and Logan was amazed at the loooong escalator at Roslyn. We took the Metro to a few other stops before heading back to Union Station to catch the train home. We (Aurora and I) were exhausted and napped on the way back. Our attempt to fit in with the other commuters. Aurora fell asleep standing up with her head on the chair bent over. She startled herself, fell over, and was upset because she still had her shoes on while she was sleeping. We left her shoes on, but gave her a more comfortable place to sleep in my lap.

Friday was our last day. We spent the day just enjoying the company. That evening as I was packing up the car I did have an exciting moment. I hurt myself and did not have to have an ER visit! Classic hurt me story. I was yanking on the middle seat belt in the back and forgot that it was a lap belt and so was only attached at one end. I whacked myself in the eye with the buckle! It hurt!! I held my eye as it waters then grab a tissue -- thoughts in my head "How dumb is this!!". I look at the tissue and see a spot of blood, then I feel faint. I go and check it out in the passenger side mirror. Yep, there is a tiny cut and a smidgen of blood. I totally feel faint and bend over the seat to catch my breath and not end up passed out on the driveway. I stay out in the car to finish what I started and get myself together, so as to not feel quite as stupid when I go and explain what happened. I have a bit of bruise that looks like eyeliner and the white of my eye is red. It is getting better now, but I have been reluctant to wear my contacts till my eye is back to normal.

Saturday we headed home and drove through the down pouring rain. I had told James that I would like to be home on Saturday to have one day to recooperate from traveling and vacation. We had originally planned to leave Friday to achieve this goal. James still kept this in mind as he drove the full way (about 16 hours). I was not much help since my eye hurt and I was just tired. I tried to do my part by talking to him, rubbing his neck, switching out CD's, getting his drink or food, pumping gas, and lamely offering to take my turn at the wheel. Not the same as taking a turn driving, but he knew I was tired and don't like to drive in the rain if I don't have to.

Sunday we relaxed around the house, put the suitcases, I worked on some homework, and cleaned up a bit for the work week. It was a really lazy day.

Now I am back to work and finishing up the semester. Two more weeks till this semester is done. I get a short break before the summer session starts. I have two classes left before I graduate. One in the summer and one this fall. I will be receiving my Masters 9 1/2 years after graduating with my Bachelors. (Good for Me!)