We just spent a week with the Clawson clan in D.C. We had a really fun time hanging out with family and getting reacquainted with long lost cousins. All of Grandma Olive's kids were there with quite a few grandkids. It was a full house! Our home-base was Gary and Judy's
amazing spread on Lake Anna. They have an old 1870s house (with 1920s additions) on a nice farm. They had completely redone the house and it was just gorgeous. It makes for a 2 hour commute into DC, but just might be worth it.
Here are some highlights from the trip . . .
Lake Day + Barbeque!Lake Anna was created for a adjoining nuclear power plant, which uses the water for cooling purposes. The discharged water is piping hot, so the private side of the lake, where we were was SO nice and toasty. The best lake for swimming on earth! We swam, wakeboarded and kayaked about for a whole day.
Here is Grandma Olive on a jet ski. Could your 80 year old grandma do this?
Emmie boating with Grandpa Randy
Brenden trying to tip Carianne and Rusty over
The 'que.
Julianne via Rachael's super cool shades
Gregg and Rachael + Nieces
Days in DC on the Mall
Randy and Emmie with President Lincoln
The crew tired and sitting
On the night of the 3rd we had great seats (on the grass) for the dress rehearsal of "
A Capital Fourth." Here we are with Gregg and Rachael waiting for the dress rehearsal to start.
This just might have been the highlight of the week for Julianne and the low light of the week for Brenden. If you look really close you can see Barry Manilow in a white jacket. He even sang Copacabana. Even Brenden admits that was pretty rockin'! The best part was when Manilow accidentaly yelled out "Happy New Year!!!" and then had to correct himself, "I mean . . . Happy 4th of July!" Aretha Franklin, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Muppets and others also performed.
Jeff really wanted to go to his favorite burrito place,
California Tortilla. We rode the metro to Chinatown to find it. Thumbs up from all. Here are the California burrito fans and those that chose the burrito.
Turns out there was a
Potbelly Sandwich shop right next door. This just happens to be our brother-in-law Rusty's favorite. Here's the group that ate sandwiches.
For the 4th we went back to DC and braved the traffic and crowds. It was well worth it! Here is
Brenden waiting for the Fireworks to start. The mall was packed.
Historical SitesWe also went to Monticello. Here is Julianne on a foggy, misty, and surprisingly chilly day at Monticello. We were a bit cold actually. We're not sure how we lucked out, but the weather was great the whole trip! Nothing hotter than mid-80s.
On Monday, it was a hotter at Mount Vernon. We liked it better than Monticello and had fun with Emmie and the rest of the family there.
In the end, we learned a valuable lesson. Babies + Historical Sites/Museums = trouble.
