Ryan's Birthday

This year daddy didn't get much of a Birthday. I think the girls and I enjoyed it more than he did. It just so happened to be the busiest week he has had during this training. He woke up that morning, we gave him his presents and sang 'Happy Birthday' to him and he was off to work not to come home until after we were all in bed. I think it was Saturday before he had time to have a slice of his ice cream cake.

We love Ryan so much. He is an amazing husband and daddy.

Kiera was the most excited about Ryan's Birthday. She was thrilled to go shopping and pick out all the great things for his "party"! She wrapped the presents and decorated the table with candy bars. She was also the most disappointed when the party lasted all but 10 minutes.

I decided it was time for a new tent after our last camping trip. Four people do not fit very well in a three man tent. But the deciding factor for me was that when we woke up sweating bullets all our friends were just fine. There is no ventilation in the tent unless you take the rain cover completely off and then, there is no privacy. So for Ryan's Birthday I upgraded 'him' to a 6 person tent!

Washington D.C.

In September we were blessed with the opportunity to vacation in Washington D.C. with Ryan's younger brother and his wife (aka Kyle and Jessica).

Once we arrived here in North Carolina, Ryan and I agreed that it was a must for us to travel up to Washington D.C. We couldn't be this close and not go. So we planned to meet Kyle and Jessica there over Labor Day weekend. It was only a seven hour drive and well worth it. I can't even explain how green it is on the East coast. After growing up in Utah and never understanding why they call it a desert, I am reminded why every time we travel back to this side of the country. Anyway the trip was absolutely AMAZING! It was one of the best vacations Ryan and I have ever been on together. I wasn't sure how the girls would do because of all the touring and just looking at things, however they pleasantly surprised us and seemed to love it just as much as we did.

1st Day
(the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery)

(Arlington House)

2nd Day

(Riding the tourmobile)

(Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum - We spent an entire day here)

( What a silly daddy!)

(Averi loved playing in the suitcase every chance she got)

3rd Day
(waiting for the metro train)

This was the same weekend that Hurricane Earl was coming through. The night it hit us in Jacksonville, I kept waking up to see what havoc it was causing, only to find a trickle of rain all through the night. We were truly blessed to have had it impact us so little. It actually brought wonderful weather to the D.C. area and it was beautiful the entire trip.

We truly could have spent a whole week there. Three days just wasn't enough time to go to all the places we wanted. It was a wonderful trip and we are so grateful we got to spend time with Kyle and Jessica!