Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I’ve probably been putting off posting because I want to do a big post and I keep not having time at the time of day I have the mental energy for it. (This is also why my one missionary nephew hasn’t gotten a ‘Tolkien Truth’ in a while.) Here’s the bare bones rundown of our trip, then, in hopes that it will make it possible for me to get on with blog life:

9/20/22: All the day-before packing plus tending my great nephew while his parents went to a long-awaited concert. Also the setting of my phone alarm for a most uncivilized hour.
9/21/22: Said alarm goes off at 4-ish am, whereupon we ready ourselves and my nephew takes us to the airport. Our flight, which went pretty well (surprisingly, the littles were fans). Deciding on food in Chicago surprisingly difficult, but we survived and my brother-in-law picked us up from the airport. Dinner and enjoyment of their yard before bed.
9/22/22: Time change plus early flight equaled all of us sleeping in to some degree. A quiet morning. My sister-in-law and I run to Walmart. At 1-ish she and I and my big girls check her oldest boy out of school early and we go to the Washington D.C. Temple. Panda is consumed upon our return.
9/23/22: Our D.C. day. My bro-in-law is a chauffeur rock star. We see Iwo Jima, Arlington and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Lincoln monument, the reflecting pool at the mall, the Vietnam Wall, the island memorial to the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the WWII memorial before lunch. I get Panera Bread with the girls for lunch while the boys hit Jimmy Johns. Afterwards, the men take my oldest to the National Gallery and I take the other three to the Postal Museum. There is some grumpiness by then but we manage. We take the metro to meet up and head home.
9/24/22: The National Zoo with both families, since it’s a Saturday. My kids are much happier after getting pretzels and ice cream and my youngest has a beautiful moment with a sea lion. Hot dogs for dinner, which my youngest eventually threw up. It was a one and done and no one else had an issue, but she slept in our room the rest of the trip.
9/25/22: Sunday. We enjoyed their ward, games, pasta, and dessert.
9/26/22: Luray Caverns, which were incredibly cool. Also a one room ‘toys of yesteryear’ exhibit and a big showroom type exhibit of carriages and cars and such. Lovely Shenandoah Valley scenery, and another day with cousins because they were out of school for a teacher work day (or something).
9/27/22: Brunch with bro- and sis-in-law to say thank you for being incredible hosts. We grab doughnuts on the way home for after dinner. The kids hang with their aunt and play/do homework and enjoy cousin time once the cousins get home from school; my hubby and I go to the Battlefield Memorial in Manasseh.
9/28/22: The flight home, which at least left at noon-ish. We survive and Britt’s hubby picks us up at the airport.

It really was an amazing trip, folks. Perhaps there will be more later? At any rate, you also get a quick book review so I don’t get too far behind. I finished Faith Erin Hicks’ Ride On the other night, which was my first contender for a Christmas graphic novel for my GN-obsessed 13-year-old this year. Content-wise it’s perfectly eligible–horse loving girl has friend struggles and finds a better fit for herself all around at her new stable–but it feels a bit short, somehow. It could easily have been fleshed out for another 50-75 pages, at least in my opinion. The story’s all there, though, and horse fans, Trekkies, boys with older brothers, and middle grade girls making friend adjustments should all enjoy this one.