Home---Briefly!

Just got back last night from a week in "Washin' D.C." as the locals call it (or at least some of them---I bet you can guess which ones). We went with Walter and Chris. We had a great time and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. If you all were aware of the "nuclear summit" that took place last week with 47 world leaders in town---well, we were smack dab in the middle of it. I've never seen so many police, secret service and military all in one spot. They closed off a 12 block area which included our hotel. We were on foot anyway, so that didn't matter, except getting to and from our hotel---we had to go 'round the long way too many times---as our poor feet could attest.

We did it ALL!!! My favorite was the personal guide we hired at Gettysburg. My favorite in D.C. was the Holocaust Museum. Just when you think you've heard it all---there was so much new I learned. I was disappointed in the Smithsonian. I guess I had that too built up in my mind. So much of it seemed completely irrelevant---especially to the thousands of school kids that were bored out of their minds. They walked around asking---"who's Fonzie?" "Who was Archie Bunker?" I did love the Carol Burnett exhibit with the drapery dress from Gone With the Wind with the drapery rod still attached. I still remember how hilarious that was---Starlet O'Hara. I also enjoyed Julia Child's kitchen and the dresses of the First Ladies---some of those early gals had really tiny feet and waists. I know people were smaller way back when, but it was really evident in this exhibit.

We also managed to geo-cache in 3 states---you know Butch's (and now Walter's) quest to find a cache in each of the 50 states. They found 21 in D.C., Virginia and Pennsylvania. Butch hit his 400th cache in just 15 months. You do the math---that's a lot of caches.

I've spent today unpacking, doing laundry, going through the mail, uploading my photos, and just re-grouping to leave again tomorrow. We have Morgan's Confirmation this afternoon, dinner after and then a stop at the grocery store. I'll bake brownies tonight and have all the other food and alcoholic beverages planned out for the week. I'll be leaving first thing in the morning for our 3rd annual "farm crop" with my friends. We'll scrapbook all week and come home Thursday afternoon. Then I'll do it all over again---laundry, unpack, grocery store---to leave on Friday for a golf weekend. Plus, we have Morgan's school play on Thursday night.

Then, after our golf weekend with friends on Sunday, we'll head straight to Portage, MI to surprise the Lapps family (surprise Sandy!---don't tell the kids---I'm requesting Greg's gourmet hamburgers for dinner. I expect that we should get there around 5 or so---once I MapQuest it, I can give you a better idea). We'll spend a couple days and get home on Wednesday. I'll have slept in my bed only 2 nights in 18 days!

And I still managed to slip in a blog update! I seem to be the most efficient when I don't have time to spare. I feel a little guilty being gone this week. But I had my trip planned long before Steph told us she had to be out-of-town all week on business. Butch can hold down the fort---he'll get a taste of all the driving I've done for the last 15 years. He's really good with the girls. I love it that they can call him for rides to the mall or to friend's houses. He'll do anything for any of "his" girls. Now we'll see if he can handle all the meals too.

I started this post before the Confirmation and am finishing it up after. We went to the club for dinner where we discussed Butch's schedule for the girls this week. Jordan is off school on Friday because of the prom. The conversation went like this:

Morgan: "Jordan, are you going?"

Jordan: "no, it's just for juniors and seniors."

Morgan: "Well, did anybody ask you?"

Jordan: "What the heck, Morgan, it's an "all girls school"!"

Morgan: just laughs....

Another note---Mindy has revived her blog. You can get there by clicking on the link at the right.

Have a good week and I'll "catch you up" from the Lapps' house!