Battlefields and Liberty Bells and Monuments, Oh My!

So, obviously I'm a bit behind in updating our blog. Things have just been super busy here with my classroom and my Masters program. Writing my thesis has been a daunting task, and it's consumed so much of my life (Anyone want to write it for me? I promise I'll pay well! :) ).

Although things have been pretty hectic for both Sam and I, we were able to go back East and visit my parents in the beginning of October. It was an awesome trip! The weather was beautiful, and the leaves were just starting to change. It was exactly what we needed!

So, the morning after we flew in (after only getting like 5 hours of sleep), we went with my parents to Gettysburg. Sam has been talking about going there ever since we visited Maryland at Christmas. So, I caved in and let Sam go. Haha! Here, Sam's showing his "manliness" by carrying a cannon. What a man!

I won't bore you with all the history, but a bunch of important things happened because of some war. Whatever. I was just excited about the views!

Ok, I'm only kidding. I know exactly what happened on this battlefield and I'm really grateful for the sacrifices that were made. It's crazy to think about Pickett's army and the thought of crossing this field. CRAZY!

Sam was enjoying every minute of Gettysburg. Mom and I enjoyed it, until about the 6th hour of driving around the battlefield. . . by then, we were a bit done! :)

The next day was pretty rainy, and so Sam and I decided to head into D.C. and go museuming. We went to the National Archives and saw the Magna Carta, the Declaration, and the Constitution. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pics inside the museum. Following, we went to the International Spy Museum. It was WAY awesome seeing the spy weapons and cars. That evening, we met up with my Dad and we saw Ford's Theater. It's pretty crazy to think about all the history in that building!

On Tuesday, Mom, Dad, Sam and I headed to Philadelphia. It was another rainy day, but it was beautiful in Philly. We first saw the Liberty Bell. Like the Mona Lisa. . . I thought it was going to be MUCH bigger. Oh well!

Next, we went to Independence Hall. They're doing some restoration on the outside of the building (your hard earned tax dollars at work people!), but the inside was pretty cool!

So we did the tour inside of Independence Hall. We had the most animated tour guide, and he made it a fun tour. As I stood in this building, I kept having horrors/flashbacks of "A More Perfect Union" (Dad's favorite movie). *shudder*

Rain soaked street in Philly. While we were there, my one request was to eat an authentic philly cheesesteak. There were plenty of street vendors, but there weren't any places to sit and eat it. With the rain, we decided to eat at a restuarant inside. I'll eat my authentic cheesesteak one day!

On Wednesday, Sam and I headed back into D.C. to see more sites. We first went to the Bureau of Engraving, where they print most of our money (they also have a site in Texas). Sam was LOVING that museum. They showed us how they print the money and the colors they use. It was pretty fascinating. Sam wanted to take home loads of souvenirs, but he was rejected! Haha!

(In this pic, Sam is looking at a case which holds $1million in $5 bills. I had to literally pry Sam off of this!)

Next, we went to the Holocaust Museum. I've visited that museum before, but I think it impacted me more this time because of all the WWII things we saw on our Paris trip.

Afterwards, Sam and I went to the Washington Monument to ride the elevator to the very top! Here's a pic looking up at the Monument.


The view from on top was amazing! It was pretty creepy to feel the whole monument swaying in the wind, but it was so worth it!


Some of the flags that surround the Washington Monument. I LOVE the dark clouds in this pic!

Following, Sam and I walked to the other end of the mall to visit the Lincoln Memorial. Here we are on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Good ol' Abe Lincoln!

Another good shot of the Washington Monument.

On Thursday, Sam and I headed to Arlington Cemetary. Here are some of the tombstones from Arlington.

We, of course, saw the changing of the guard. Perhaps it's because we went in the off season, but the changing of the guard took 30 minutes to do! They had 2 special wreaths that they put on the tomb, and so they had a special routine they had for each wreath. Sam thought it was a bit overdone, but I enjoyed it.

The view of D.C. from Arlington.

On our final day, Sam and I headed to Mount Vernon. We visited the 2 awesome visitors centers there (I'm not a huge visitor center fan, but these are WELL worth it!). And yes, we did see George Washington's dentures. . . and contrary to popular belief, he never had a pair of wooden dentures. The ones on display are actually made of hippo tusks.

One of the archways of Mount Vernon, looking out to the Potomac River. The location is just gorgeous and so it's a fun place to visit.

To finish off our day (and our trip), Sam and I took a nice, peaceful river cruise of the Potomac. It was so serene!

(Sam and I on our river cruise)

Well, we had an awesome trip! We were able to see lots of amazing sites (most of which I'd never seen before) and of course it's always good to see my parents. Now. . . if only I can get Sam a job back East! :).

Catching Up on Things

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted! And I usually post the most in the summer! Ever since I returned from Maryland, it's been nothing but busy! As soon as I got back, I got my classroom keys and began the process of setting up my classroom. I had to move classrooms this year, and it takes FOREVER to set up a new room. I finally got it all set up and we just finished our THIRD week of school. I can hardly believe it! :).

I know that it's not quite Fall yet, but I'm starting to get in the Fall spirit. Perhaps it's because I've already been in school for a bit. So, that's why our blog is now all Fally!

Sam and I are both really enjoying the fact that Sam graduated. He has so much more time now, and so we're getting lots of projects done around the house. This summer, we've gotten new floors, new toilets, and a new back door. It stresses me out to see how messy my house gets from these projects, but I know it'll look good in the end. I'll post some pics once my house gets all put back together again.

As for an adoption update, we're still in the waiting stage. We've been told that it'll take probably about a year until we get picked by a birth mom, so we're just keeping busy until then. Thanks to everyone for helping send the word out. It's meant a lot to us to see various posts that you've done and also those who have promoted our adoption blog! Thanks! :)

I guess that's it for us. Hopefully I'll be able to keep our blog more up to date! :)

Travel Troubles

I had the MOST stressful day at the airport yesterday. I checked in online the night before, only had a carry-on, so I went right through security, found some lunch, found my gate, and then realized that my flight had been delayed 2 hours, making me miss my connecting flight.

Of course NO employees were around, so I had to walk back downstairs and get booked on another flight. They had me booked on 4 different flights, thinking they could shuttle me to a nearby airport, but because the shuttle took so long to get to the airport, I was going to miss 2 of those flights.

Finally, the 4th flight was leaving a few hours later from the nearby airport, and it was a nonstop flight to Washington D.C., making me arrive at 1AM. The employees were all really nice and they were trying their hardest to get me to D.C. They even gave me a very nice travel voucher on my next flight, so I was pretty happy! :).

It was an INCREDIBLY stressful day, but the flight was pretty relaxing, and it has been good to see my parents. Hopefully my return flight will be less eventful! :)

Business Cards

I just received some business cards with our adoption info on it. If you'd like to have some of these cards, please email me (drama_queenie82@hotmail.com) your address and how many you'd like. You can pass these cards out to coworkers, family, neighbors, or just keep them with you, should you come across someone who might be interested in us. Thanks so much for helping us spread the word! It really means a lot to us!

Celebrate Good Times, Come on!

Yesterday was Sam's MBA graduation!! Woohoo!! It was awesome to think back to all our hard. It's been almost 3 years since began studying for the GMAT to get into the program, and then 2 1/2 year of classes. So, it was a great day for all of us! :)

Sam with his parents before the commencement.

Me and my cute hubbie. Doesn't he look so smart!? :)

Sam waiting for his professors to place his hood on him

The commencement was a bit long because they did both the MBA and Bachelors in Business at the same time. It was a nice ceremony though and we were able to see our friends Brooke and Chris there (Chris was graduating with his Bachelors). Fun times!

Cute Sam after the ceremony is over. I'm SOOO glad that this chapter of our lives is over, but I have a feeling that Sam's not going to stop there. He's been talking about getting more schooling after this. *sigh* Luckily, he's agreed to take a break this summer and then we'll discuss things this fall. What a motivated guy! I'm so proud of him and I'm so lucky to have him. :)

Family Fun

This past weekend, Sam and I headed to Bakersfield for my nephew Gaige's 10 birthday party (I can't believe he's 10. . . I feel so old!). We had a blast and it was good to see everyone!

Sam holding our nephew Luke. It looks so natural for Sam to be holding a baby. . .sigh. . . one day! :)

Em and I hanging out!

Me holding our niece Remi. Her hair was all cutsy with pigtails and bows, but she ripped those out of her hair. . . thus leaving crazy hair. She's still an adorable girl! :)

Hayden and Gaige riding their bikes in the street. Gaige just got a bike for his b'day, so he was eager to show it off to Uncle Sam.

Gaige and Hayden and their awesome bikes. I was surprised by how big they've gotten! How time flies! Well, we had a blast in Bakersfield. Now that Sam's done with school, we look forward to hanging out more with the fam!

Santa Barbara

For the weekend of our 5 year anniversary, Sam and I decided to head to Santa Barbara for a quick weekend get away. We had such an AWESOME time there (and I'm secretly hoping that one day we're successful enough to actually live there. . . *sigh*).

Here's a pic of our ADORABLE bed and breakfast that we stayed at. It was conveniently located a few blocks away from State Street, and so it was very centrally located to all the restaurants and cute shops!

We had our own private entrance into our room at the B&B. Look at the cute garden right outside our room!

One thing I really don't like about B&B's is awkwardly eating breakfast with total strangers. I'm sorry, but if I'm staying at a B&B, I'm trying to spend time with my hubbie, not random people. Well, this B&B found a way to solve that problem. . . they deliver your breakfast in a basket right to your room door. That way you can eat it in your room, or go down to the beach and eat it! I LOVE this concept! :)

Look at the yummy breakfast from inside of the basket! And it was warm too! Yummy!

That Saturday, Sam and I decided to head to the Santa Barbara Mission, since this was our first visit to Santa Barbara. Our tour guide was the cutest old lady who was filled with all sorts of cool info. It was amazingly fun!

This fountain use to be used as a community laundromat. I wish that my laundy room looked this pretty!

Being in the mission kind of change me. . . I became a monk! Hahah! It kinda suits me, huh?




I loved that they had a garden area inside the middle of the mission. So serene!


Sam enjoying the serenity. . . if only I can get him to smile in his pics! :)

After the mission, Sam and I decided to head to the beach. I think we picked the wrong weekend to go to SB because it was WINDY that whole weekend. We tried to get a cute pic of the two of us, but the wind kinda got in the way. Anyway, Sam and I are hanging out at the beach in this pic.

Hanging out at the beach.

More beach pics. After the beach, we went to the SB pier, walked along the pier (trying not to blow away), and we went to a cute little aquarium on the pier.

That evening, Sam and I made reservations for Opal. Prior to our SB visit, I had researched Opal online and discovered that it was a local favorite. Boy am I glad that we found that place. First of all, everyone was so friendly (we got wished a happy anniversary by like 5 employees. . . the manager even offered to take this pic of us outside of the restaurant- how kind!), and the food was AMAZING! I had the duck with a berry sauce and Sam had a cheese rizotto. Holy cow, it was YUMMY! We still talk about how amazing the food was!

For dessert, we ordered a berry creme brulee, and look at what they wrote. .. IN CHOCOLATE! It was SOO yummy! I'm DEFINITELY coming back to Opal on our next visit! :)

Sam's request for that evening was to watch the sunset on the beach. So we found this park that overlooked the ocean. It was SOOO peaceful and romantic!

I can't believe it's been 5 years! Wow! How time flies! :). On Sunday, we lounged around at the B&B, went to church, and then headed home. We hit lots of traffic, so we're glad that we left early. We had SOO much fun in Santa Barbara. . . if only I can get Sam a job there where his salary is over $500,000. Hahah! :)