A Weekend With the Ashbys...

My little bro. (although he's taller than me) and his cute wife came to visit us this last weekend. Next to my sister in law (Michelle), they are our most frequent visitors
(hint, hint, family...).

Ammon and Liz arrived on Thursday night. Our girls were so excited and talked about it all week. They practically smothered them and just couldn't get enough. I mean, who wouldn't love a fun loving uncle (who doesn't have kids yet, so has the energy to indulge) and a cute aunt (who takes time to do puzzles and hold hands etc.).




So Friday morning, we sent the older girls to school and my friend Nicole took my little Ashtyn with her and we left to Mount Vernon to explore George Washington. It was fun. The weather was beautiful and Raegan did awesome. We have been before, but this time without kids, we got much more out of it. We even got a great picture of George Washington's teeth (and no, they aren't made of wood).





After exploring for a while, we ate at the cafe on the grounds and then had an awesome ice cream cone. Which I have to insist, will be a tradition for next time we go! It had a green apple twist inside it and oh was it good! Can't wait for next time.

Raegan also got a taste of her first ice cream... there is no turning back now!

The ride home was long! We were caught between two accidents. One on I495 and one on I95. Thank goodness for my friends Laurrel and Nicole who took my kids for me for two hours past when I expected to be home!!! Argh! Anyway, it all worked out okay and next time I will have to account for traffic jams.

That night we watched movies and chatted. Oh how much I miss having family around!

Saturday we still had great weather so we decided to be a little more adventurous and
go to Philadelphia. It was a good decision. The ride wasn't too bad with some great DVD's, book for me, and Ipod for Brian. We arrived there at 1:00, but still had plenty of time to see everything we wanted and even had a picnic in the car.

We waited in a long line to see the Liberty Bell which was pretty interesting, but my favorite part was Independence Hall where the founding fathers met often to discuss affairs. We missed the chance to get tickets to get in, but luckily we got there fifteen minutes before they had a free admission for the day.. so we got to see it anyway!




All our feet where Abraham Lincoln stood...




Well, the girls were tired, but we pushed them a little more and tried to go to the Mint (which was closed) so we headed back as to not get home too late. On the way back to our car, we saw Benjamin Franklin's grave and got some questions from Shaylee as to why people threw coins on it. None of us so called adults knew what to say. I guess it will always be a mystery... hmm...



We got home around nine, put the kids to bed and stayed it to talk again. We were all pretty exhausted, but how can you pass up a good chat?

Sunday it rained all day. We went to church, took naps, played games and played more games and ate cookies...

Monday was their last day with us. Bri had to go to work and we didn't have much time before their flight so we went shopping for books and Maryland shirts. It was another rainy day, but Ammon found his book and Liz resorted to finding her Maryland shirt at the airport. We said our goodbyes and I dropped them off around 3:30.

We already miss them... come back soon Ammon and Liz!!

Comments

Tracy said…
What a fun time! That ice cream sounds so yummy. The only time we've been up to Phili & Mt. Vernon was when we had family in town too.
Thanks for having my girls today. I am totally unpacked and have the summer clothes in drawers and winter clothes packed away. You're a sweetheart!
April 24, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Christie said…
Your post made me miss family. It is interesting how different it is hanging out with family. :-) And how wonderful to have some young fresh blood. (thats what we call people w/o child exhaustion.)
April 24, 2008 at 8:27 PM
Joni said…
Maybe it's because Franklin had that saying "a penny saved is a penny earned"? What fun to have adults visit and to keep the kid ratio the same. That sounds like such a fun weekend.

Yes, while I am very excited to live in Hawaii, I am SO BUMMED that my grand plan of moving next door to you will not be happening. At least for a few more years, so you're not allowed to move away, ya hear?! Then it will all work out:) At least we'll get to see you all in July, and I hope I'll get to be in Maryland for a bit in December. I'm really glad Jeff got to see the guys. I was so curious about it that I stayed up till 3 in the morning so that I could call Jeff. Thanks for giving up Brian at bedtime -- that is huge!
April 25, 2008 at 1:59 AM
Kellie said…
I love Mount Vernon. I'm glad you had such a fun time.
April 25, 2008 at 4:54 AM
jenny-penny said…
Straight from http://www.ushistory.org/FRANKLIN/philadelphia/grave.htm

"Pennies dot his tombstone, as a local tradition claims that such a practice will bring the penny-tosser luck."

I too have enjoyed having family in town. I am so glad you were able to have such fun.
April 25, 2008 at 8:41 AM
Julia said…
Great minds think alike again!! I just barely posted that my brother just came to visit us too! Eh, voila, I check your blog! I think he even came the same day yours did. Another vicarious play date. Sounds like you had so much fun!
April 25, 2008 at 10:54 AM
COOLWHIP said…
Oh, i want to take that hint.... i would love to come back east. BUT, with 5 kids, under 8, that may be a next to impossible task. we have been talking about driving to see you guys, maybe next year. UNLESS.... you guys are living here! We can hope right?
April 26, 2008 at 11:38 AM
Jann said…
It looks like you had a fabulous time with family. They could not have picked a better time to come. The weather has been beautiful.
April 26, 2008 at 2:17 PM
Spilter said…
What a great time with family. Glad you had fun.
April 27, 2008 at 4:55 PM
Jenni said…
That sounds like such a fun family visit!! That's so interesting about pennies on Benjamin Franklin's grave - I never heard about that before! Glad you guys got to do so many neat things with your family!
April 28, 2008 at 12:10 PM
Scarlett said…
I have never been to Mt. Vernon but makes me want to take my kids there this summer. Since that's my new summer goal, I may just have to find this ice-cream w/a kick! Good times!
April 28, 2008 at 4:03 PM
Deb said…
what a nice visit! we love philadelphia too. i really liked independence hall as well. next time, try the masonic hall. very interesting...
April 30, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Meg said…
Hey, I've got one of those "little" brothers that's taller than me too :) Sounds like you guys had a great time. We didn't get to see nearly so much when we were in Philadelphia, guess we'll have to go again sometime. I liked the pictures too- Washington's teeth- awesome! And I feel like I really learned something about Franklin's grave and the pennies.
April 30, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Nat said…
Fun fun fun to have them come and visit. Sounds like you guys had a great time.
May 1, 2008 at 1:33 PM
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