February Family Visit

ok i know its been a while but we have had non stop company and i got behind (on everything) and am just getting a chance to breathe and catch up so i will try to post all the company and fun we have had in the next couple of weeks. first lets start with the visit from the sisters. what a great time we had. we started off with a little tour of annapolis and some margaritas!

dave n deuce strolln the streets of annapolis

carrie and richard checking out some bell (obviously) on the campus of st. john (a very small private university)

deuce and aunt kelly hanging out at the hotel bar waiting to go to dinner. if you haven't noticed yet (you will) there is a theme to our weekend.

we spent the next two very cold days in dc. we stopped at all the major monuments and walked very fast in between them.

this is deuce at the capital.....can't u tell?

the sisters at the washington monument.

so deuce stayed covered up the whole time but from monument to monument we would peek in on him and this is at the lincoln when we thought he was sleeping and we pulled back the "bundle me" to find him bright eyed and bushy tailed.

this would be everyone taking a rest after we finally made it to the jefferson monument. it was a very deceiving walk. that sucker looked sooo close but once we started the path and the wind from the water kicked in and if i remember correctly it started to snow a little bit it seemed like the longest walk ever. and i say seemed like because as you'll find out in a blog to come that when i walked it with tam tam n james in much warmer weather it wasn't bad at all.

from here we headed to the holocaust museum which if u haven't been is a very moving experience.

this would be us leaving the museum cafe (bc kelly had to have something to eat! hee hee! that prego thing gets u every time). this is when the snow really started to come down and we frantically searched for the closest metro station and i think i felt like the worst mother ever for having my child out in this mess, but as you'll notice in blogs to come he survived just fine!

the next day we went to arlington and got to see a full honors burial. which i realize seems kinda weird to watch a funeral but its just one of those things you have to be there for. we also made it to the air and space museum which turned out pretty cool.

the body bearers walking behind the caisson

overlooking arlington

deuce peeking out after we were safe inside the museum

aunt carrie helping deuce bundle up and prepare to brave the cold one more time. he clearly found the whole thing very amusing.

friday was richards birthday so we decided to celebrate it by eating and drinking all day. carrie, richard, kelly n kevin started off with some huge breakfast at the hotel which i didn't know so i was busy making coffee cake muffins at the house but once they got here the previous breakfast or the fact that we were going to eat lunch in a few didn't really slow them down. but at that point we decided it was richards birthday so y not eat all day (and lets not forget the drinking). so for lunch we went to a local restaurant known for its crab cakes and dove right in and of course had a few drinks. after that we returned home and played some card and domino games while we waited for dave to get off so we could go eat and drink some more. oh, and yes we drank while we played and waited (and i think richard may have had another muffin). so then came the "mexican cafe", famous for their margaritas. krista, robie n caroline joined us for the fun.

so here is the whole gang. lots of people....small space!

the rakes family. too bad the little guys was completely entertained by caroline and not the camera.

these types of pictures always seem to come about when theres drinking involved!

the chances

the hermans

and here is the birthday boy all hopped up on margaritas and birthday fun! the hat the restaurant provided was a nice touch.

and here are just a few fun photos of the little guy from february

like son like father. yes dave decided to go bald (less maintenance)

deuce having a little bath time fun

well thats all for the february visit...stay tuned for more of them!

luv mel, dave, deuce n bronco!