FIELD TRIP FRIDAY

These are pictures of a field trip we took to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It has been a draft in my posts so I decided to go ahead and publish it. Enjoy:)

ANOTHER FIELD TRIP

On Friday we jumped on the Metro and rode over to Union Station. We toured the National Postal Museum. Union Station is a big mall with a Metro Station and Amtrak Station. The food court is huge with some really cool places to eat. The chicken salad at Vittorio's Gelato Bar was so delicious. We ended up eating lunch at Potbelly Sandwich Works but we made notes of places we would like to try.

Abby, Shelby, and Mike driving a big rig to deliver the mail.

Mail railroad car that carried mail until the 1970's

Weary from riding the stage coach for 20 days with a crying baby:)

It is neat to think about all the mail that has been picked up or mailed form this Post Office. It made me a little nostalgic to think of the people that received good or bad news from within these walls over the years.
We really enjoy our Field Trip Fridays. There is so much to do in our area. Riding the Metro makes it so convenient.

FIELD TRIP SURPRISE

*Warning: Lots of pictures:)

They have a cafe that we would have eaten at but we had already eaten at Pal's. We have made a note and will probably eat there next time. Of course they serve beans which I love:)

Shelby and Abby trying to get the secret recipe.

We made a wrong turn when we were heading to Ober Gaitlinburg which lead us to this little gem. It was such a nice Visitors Center for the Bush's factory. The movie we watched showed us how they make their baked beans. We learned a lot about the process and how they cook the beans and make the sauce. Here us a little tidbit: the piece of bacon in the can IS real bacon. It's not the "fakin' bacon" we have mistakenly called it all these years. Also, they cook the beans and the sauce in the can so that they have more flavor.

This is the sack that the beans come in. There's a lot of beans in that bag

These girls love their Daddy so very much.

I love these faces!!!!

Sidenote: The coat that we had to buy at Walmart is being worn in the picture above by the person who left their coat at home. I'll not name names but I will tell you that the coat has polka dots and a sweet little girl inside.

OKLAHOMA'S STATE WILDFLOWER IS INDIAN BLANKET

We had a great trip to Oklahoma! My girls were thrilled with the suite we had. They thought the decor was fabulous and the bathroom was "the coolest ever". I think Abby said awesome a hundred times and Shelby couldn't get over the round pillows on the bed. She called them "bumpers" because they looked like the bumpers at a bowling alley.

Mike, Shelby, and Abby taking a break and lounging on the couch in our room.

We drove on Route 66. We ate at Pops where they have over 500 kinds of soda to choose from. The picture above is only the bottles above our table.
The Round Barn is a cool barn that they have restored. We met Mr. Sam, the man keeping this cool attraction open. It was 200 degrees outside and he was wearing a flannel shirt, jeans, big belt buckle, and a cowboy hat. He had to be in his late 70's, early 80's and he was a character. I loved hearing him talk and I wish I could have stuck around all day but it was hot.

010110-010210

This was right before midnight when everyone was rushing to get outside.

New Year's Eve we went over to our friends Marvin and Sonia's house. This is our 3rd annual NYE party over at their house. Last year and the year before were great but they just keep getting better and better.

Everyone was outside making some noise.
(These two pics were the only ones I got before my camera battery died)

We got there about 7pm on NYE and we didn't leave until last night around 9:30.

We played Apples to Apples a bazillion times and it was soooo much fun. I have to say it is now my favorite game.

We all went straight to bed last night when we got home. We were exhausted from partying.

Today we got up late and breakfast~it's Pancake Saturday, of course:)

It is really, really cold here so other than a trip to the grocery store for some necessities (read~toilet paper:) We have been hunkered down at home cleaning, eating, and watching movies.

Trevor has been in Gatlinburg for the last three days with a friend's church youth group and he is having a great time. He comes back tomorrow.

This year I have decided that this will be more like my journal. Feel free to read or not:) I just want to have a record of our lives and this blog serves that purpose.

GIVING THANKS PART 10

I have not been keeping up with these posts like I wanted to.

Between our normal busyness we have had a bout with a stomach virus. Nice.

We started the One Vision missions conference today and it has been great so far. We had a banquet tonight and we served around 150 people. It was a three course meal and it went off without a hitch.

There were missionaries that spoke at the banquet and we had a wonderful turn out. The only thing we ran out of was tea and Trev made a Kroger run and bought 15 gallons:~)

Mike and I helped in the nursery this morning so we didn't get to hear the speaker. I am sure it was good.

Yesterday the girls helped serve food at a luncheon for the Merry Hearts, our senior adult group. After that they practiced the Christmas play. While they were there Mike and spent some time together. We went and looked at artificial Christmas trees and then we went to REI. It is one of Mike's favorite stores. Then we grabbed lunch at Five Guys. Their burgers are awesome.

Friday the girls had a birthday party to go to so we went to Opry Mills. The party was at Build-a-Bear Workshop and they had a blast. I got to chat with the other mothers for 2 hours. Mike went with us and did some window shopping. After the party we did some actual shopping. Shelby needed shoes and so did I.

Well, I guess I gave you the weekend synopsis backward.

Today I am thankful for:

• missionaries
• babies in the nursery.
• the ability to serve.
• iron that sharpens iron.
• cold weather.
  

TRICKIN' & TREATIN'

Abby posin' at Project Pumpkin

Abby, Shelby, and Mike (the soda jerk)

Shelby and Abby at Trunk-n-Treat at church Sunday night.

We had a blast tonight at Project Pumpkin. The college kids do a real good job every year setting up games and lots of fun stuff for kids to do.

Trevor missed it this year because he had to work and oh, by the way, he DROVE himself to work today. He just called to let me know that he is on his way home. It is exciting to seeing his metamorphosis into manhood.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. It is late and I am tired from this pleasant day.

Have a humdinger of a weekend. We're going to try our best to achieve one:~)

OPA!!!!!!!

We went to the Greek festival today after church. We ate lunch there and it was soooo good!!!

We decided to bring our dessert home because Mike needed to go to bed. He had been up for over 24 hours. I honestly do not know how he does it!!!

We had Baklava (of course!!), flogeres, kataiffi, and saragli. They were all delicious! The bread is Tsoureki~Easter sweet bread.

They had olive oil soap for sale that was $1 a bar. I will use them in gift baskets (and keep at least one for myself). The ingredients are simple: olive oil, citric acid, aqua. It says on the the package "Pure Traditional Soap". I am intrigued and can't wait to try it.

Abby drew me this picture on the white board and she titled it, "God's Love".
Sweet!!!!

A CAMPIN' WE WILL GO!!!

God's Artwork

This week we decided to take a spontaneous camping trip to Indiana. We haven't been camping since Disney last year so we were ready to drag out the tent. You just can't beat 8 dollars a night!!!! This was a bridge we went over and it was real cool. This picture doesn't do it justice.
That is Mike standing by the lake with his cane!!!!! How awesome is that!!!!!!

Abby having fun playing in the sand.

Shelby is so funny!!

Abby and Shelby

Trevor packing up his sleeping bag.

Shelby trying to get in just one more page of her joke book before having to get out of her sleeping bag:~)She is her mother's daughter!!

Abby eating her poptart in her pjs and hat.


Mike and our campfire. It was actually chilly in the mornings and the weather was gorgeous. It was a good little getaway.