Getting Away in Gettysburg

We ran away from home on Saturday.

Do you ever do that?  Not to head out on a big planned vacation but just leave life behind for a day.  We used to run away to SLC.  We'd stay with the folks and go out to dinner and movies.  We'd walk in Red Butte Gardens, we'd shop (ok, mostly me), it felt good to leave it all behind for a day.

As I wrote in a post or two ago, it's been a tiring few weeks.  Things are looking up but we needed a minute.  So we went to Gettysburg.  Did we plan to go for days? No.  Pretty much it was Saturday morning and I said, "let's go somewhere."  What's within a 2 hour drive?  Well, Gettysburg.  Why not continue what will will heretofore call our "Lincoln July": first Ford's Theatre, the Lincoln Memorial and now Gettysburg. 

We stopped at the Container Store on the way (why yes, again that is twice last week.  Heb even offered to add a "container store" category to the budget.  I wholeheartedly agree.  Was he really serious because I'm on board.).

The first time I went to Gettysburg was at least 15 years ago and the entire place has been redone.  There were two things I remembered from my first visit: 1) A light up map that was used to describe the battles.  I have to admit, that I kind of missed it.  The whole place has been redone and there's a movie, a great museum and a huge painting.  And 2) the somber feeling.  There was so much lost on these fields, lives changed forever.  The effects of a battle forever change the feeling of a place.  I would compare the feeling to what I felt in the Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany.  No matter what they do, you will always be aware of the human suffering that occurred there.

This time, I heard the story with new ears.  I think I'm going to need to read a book about it because it is a fascinating moment in history.

Huge beautiful trees.

You can tell that Leo liked it too.

Where is your favorite place to run away to?

Leo blog

I write a little blog about Leo.  Because of the videos, I've made it private.  I'm pretty opinionated about blogs being open (and this one will most likely always be public) but when I have lots of details about my little guy, I don't really want to share with the whole world.

If you'd like an invite, leave a comment with your email address.  I won't publish your address. 

Out of Chaos

We are tired.  That pretty much sums up our July so far.

It's like something has been off ever since we came back from California and we just can't seem to get our energy back.  It doesn't help though that our sweet Leo has decided to stop sleeping through the night.

It has led to some changes around the house.  For the past year, every time I opened our pantry, I hated it.  It was chaos in there.  It was one of those places that you look at and want to change every time you look at it.

So, I tried an experiment.  I figured, if I can never find what I'm looking for in the pantry, why not move the food to the cabinets and the dishes to the pantry.  We have shallow cabinets that the dishes never really fit well in.  Let me just say what a disaster that was.  No one should have to walk across the room to put tupperware away. 


So, I talked Heb into letting me take a trip to the Container Store (heaven).  Now our pantry looks like this and it is so beautiful.  I can actually find what I'm looking for!!  I find myself smiling every time I look into that corner.

A Humble Church

You know those places that you always drive by but never stop.  The ones that every time you pass by you think, "that looks interesting" but never seem to take the time.  Well, I stopped at one of mine.

 

On the way to the cousins, there is an incredibly picturesque little church.  It's one of those churches with an old cemetery in the front that is just begging to be walked through.  So many times Heb and I have said, we need to get out there someday but just hadn't gotten around to it.  Seems like life is like that too much.  

Mom L at the Church

When my folks were in town, we dropped by.  It turns out that it served as a housing for wounded during the Civil War.  Clara Barton worked there and the idea for the Red Cross was developed in that building.  Shortly after it was built in 1856, the war was on and the pews were used for firewood.  General Grant made sure that the pews were replaced. 

In this modest little church, the Red Cross was developed.  In this humble place, a general remembered and personally replaced the pews. 

What a gem in the middle of a city.  I guess it goes to show that you never know what you will discover when you take the time to stop.  In all the crazy, I need to stop because it is those moments that I remember best.   

Where have you been meaning to stop?

Retro Homemaking

Last week, I was in charge of our Relief Society Activity.  The theme was Retro Homemaking.  We asked the sisters to don their aprons and their pearls and to come for an evening celebrating homemaking.  There was so much that went into the activity.  There were team challenges (folding a bed sheet, setting a table), discussion questions and presentations (how to make freezer jam, laundry tips and home schedules). 

I did the presentation on freezer jam and was shocked at how many people didn't know how easy it was.  Freezer jam is pretty much the easiest and best thing in the world.  I can't ever go back to store bought jam.   

I was happy that it all came together.  It was a group effort to make it all happen.  I've stolen a few pictures from Amber Meadows to show you what it was like because the one thing I forgot was my camera. 

 Best part of the evening was the homemade ice cream with the fresh strawberry jam.  So good!

It was a fun activity and there were positive responses from the sisters.  I must say though, I think I need a break now.

Bad Luck

The strangest things happen when my parents come to visit me.  Things that I have never seen happening before come to pass.

When I was an intern here years ago, my parents came to visit.  You can imagine that they were nervous about having their daughter living on her own in a big city.  My dad would always lecture me on being safe and I always said, "oh dad, it's fine.  I never see anything crazy here and always feel safe."  And then they come to visit...

We were riding the metro.  Something I rode several times a day and never saw anything weird.  In their one visit, we saw a gross looking bum skulking in the train car and a transvestite in full outlandish drag.  Two things that would absolutely not make them feel more comfortable about me being here all alone.

This time, the power went out and Heber contracted hand foot and mouth disease.  No, I'm not kidding.  These are two things that I've never seen happen to such an epically bad degree.

Friday night we were standing on our deck and watched a storm blow in.  There were flashes of lightning and crashes all over and then the lights went off.  My initial reaction to power going out is excitement.  I have to admit that it's a little bit of an adventure to find your way around in the dark.  But then it stayed off.  For days.  In 100 degree and humidity heat that can make any place feel stifling.  There is nothing fun or exciting with that.

The first day we escaped to the air conditioned halls of Ford's Theater.  When we returned home, the lights were on!  And then off they went again but not everywhere, just our building.  All the lights were on around us just taunting us with their air conditioning.  

It got progressively hotter in our house and Heb got rapidly sicker.  Gone were all plans of dates with just Heb and I (I was so looking forward to those).  The situation was looking bleak.  On Sunday we went to the movies.  It was all we could do to get out of the heat.  And escaped again into the city but poor Heb was to sick to join us. 

As a side, can I say that I love being married to an engineer.   Heber somehow figured out how to harness power from our car batteries to run a fan.  That man is a genius.

Anyway, the power finally came back on Monday afternoon.  I have never in my life been so happy to have electricity.  We survived and Heber did too.  He's getting better everyday.

We had such a nice visit with my parents.  They were such good sports about it all and it's so nice to have people around that just think you're wonderful all the time.  Sometimes I need that in my life.  Perhaps, though, we need to prepare better for the next time they visit.

A True Capitol Fourth

When living away from home, you have to make your own traditions.  You decorate like the mantle below.  You select the foods that are going to make the holiday special, etc.  For us, celebrating holidays always meant spending time with our immediate family.  Since we are so far away, it usually doesn't involve a family party but this year we were lucky enough to have my parents in for a visit.

Mom and Dad L. were in town the whole week before the fourth.  We had a wonderful visit, except for the freak power outage (something for it's own post) and Heb catching hand foot and mouth disease (awesome.  I mean really, could I ask for anything better).  Something they say is somewhat out of the ordinary and awful for an adult to catch.  It meant a lot of changing of plans and demanded lower key celebrating but we did our best.

We tried celebrating the day as a true Virginian, meaning that we avoid the crowds but still take advantage of the things to see.  There is a huge concert right in front of the steps of the Capitol building and adjacent to the mall on the fourth.  Instead of braving the crowds (last year there were 700,000 people. Not fun.), we attended the dress rehearsal the night before.  There were maybe 3,000 people and a great show.  It was definitely the way to see it. 

On the 4th, we went in to see the parade in D.C.  I know I said I wouldn't set foot in there on that day, I figured that my parents should have the full national experience, even if it meant a little heat and crowds.  It was not bad at all.  There were marching bands from all over the country and some great balloons.  I was surprised at how easy it was to get in and out.  Not at all the experience I was expecting.

 We enjoyed the big fireworks show from across the river in Lady Bird Park.  As close as you can get to the city, right on the banks of the Potomac River, but without the hoards of people. 

I think we have a whole new set of ways to celebrate the fourth.

Watching Fireworks

I watched my second set of fireworks tonight.  Not like the big, flashy D.C. show, but a small one from the comfort of my front porch.  It reminded me of sitting on the back lawn in Grantsville with homemade pineapple ice cream and watching my hometown show.  At the end, you could hear folks all across town clapping and cheering.

On the 4th we watched a huge fireworks show on the banks of the Potomac River.   Millions of people were watching in person and more tuned in on TV to the show.  The fireworks were the largest I've ever seen.  But instead of the show, I spent most of the time watching my Leo.  It's so different with him here.  I get to see the world through his eyes and I love it.

Look at those eyes.  Just watching.

Through the whole show, he sat on my lap with wide eyes.  Not once did he cry but just sat there watching and really paying attention.  I just thought of all the experiences there are to come and I was so thankful to be watching him.

Happy Fourth of July all!

Leo Today

Today Leo discovered clapping.  We have been laughing all day with him as we watched his two little hands come together. 

 

In the Night...

A few nights ago Leo woke up at 4:30 a.m.  I got up, changed his diaper and laid him back in his crib.

He was wide awake.   


I, in my sleepiness, went back to bed thinking he would calm down and fall back asleep.  Well, he did not and started crying because he wanted company.  Back I went through the darkness, a path I've worn well over the past 7 months.  I shushed him and put the pacifier back in but he was too wild.   He joyfully kicked his legs and he rolled all around so happy that there was someone there to play with him.  I knew he would cry if I went to bed again so I sat down in the chair to wait for him to calm down.


There was more kicking, more rolling and then it was quiet.  I opened my eyes, thinking I could finally return to bed.  Looking across the room, there were just two little eyes looking intently over the side of the crib (because he isn't tall enough to have any more showing.)


It was enough to make me burst out laughing, which led to him laughing.  I've just been thinking about those two little eyes and can't help myself laughing still.

It looked kind of like this.