Capitol

 When Justin and I got confirmation that Lea would be coming to live with us this year from Germany, we immediately started looking at our vacation time so we could plan some fun trips.  Wouldn't it be cool to take her to our nation's capitol?  We set about making plans to go to Washington DC over Thanksgiving break.  After a few days in DC we'd head to Williamsburg and then further south to Fayetteville, NC where we spend Thanksgiving with Justin's sister and family.

We were all nervous and sad about the trip with William tested positive for the flu just a few days before we were supposed to leave.  Would only half of us get to go? Would we need to cancel all together?  The morning we were supposed to leave William was fever free!  So we decided to all pile in the van and head north.  On the way up Silas got sick.  Two days later Vera got sick.  Two days after that Lea got sick.  SOOOooooo.... perhaps it wasn't he best traveling conditions.  Thanks to tamiflu and God's grace the symptoms only lasted about 1 1/2 days for each kid! Keeping sick kids isolated in hotels and guest rooms was no fun, but somehow we managed and really had a wonderful time.  It was wonderful to stay with my dear Aunt Sharon (well, the healthy ones stayed with her), and see my cousin Leigh. 

We enjoyed all the monuments in DC along with many of the Smithsonian museums.  Lea was especially excited to go since she is a big fan of the show "Bones," which is set in DC.  It's a good thing we didn't stumble upon any of the crazy crime scenes the show depicts! 

 I visited the Vietnam Memorial with my family when I was a very little girl.  I remember my Dad pointing out names of some of the men he knew.  I was very thankful for the opportunity to go back to this memorial and remember all the lives that were lost in this horrific war, and to remember my Dad's service to our country.

 We took a long hike from the memorials to walk by the White House.  Silas and William really enjoyed seeing the President's living quarters... through their closed, sleepy eyelids.  They were working on repairing the fence around the residence since it had recently been jumped, and security had been slack.

 After a few days in Washington DC we heading down to Williamsburg.  We enjoyed being put in the stocks (except Silas, he wasn't a fan), and the wreaths were just breath-taking.  They were beautifully designed with fruits and vegetables, and each was personalized to match the store on which it hung.  The post office wreath had quills, the weaving room had spindles of yarn, the restaurant had beer mugs and oyster shells, etc.

 This beautiful wreath decorated a home and was made of okra, mock orange, and pineapple.

 Can you guess what building this wreath was on?  The carpenter's shop :). 

Justin's favorite part of Williamsburg was this amazing mulberry tree.  He even found pictures online of drawings that had been of it done 60+ years ago.

We ended in Fayetteville, NC to spend thanksgiving with Justin's sisters and parents.  The kids LOVED spending time with their 5 young cousins.  Poor Lea got the flu for her Thanksgiving in the USA, but thankfully felt well enough to come out and play towards the end of the trip.