What a silly little goose! We just love our little Joseph!

This morning, we're off on a hike to Cascades Waterfall! The trees and water are just gorgeous in the soft morning light, and thankfully the trail is a little less treacherous today than it was last Jan when we arrived to find everything covered in ice.









After arriving at the waterfall, we took a little break, watching this funny group of butterflies clustered together on the ground and giving Joseph a chance to climb around on the various boulders and logs. What a beautiful place to spend the morning!

Here's a fun shot of my mom and me shopping for maternity clothes tonight! Tim and I just told our parents yesterday morning that I'm expecting again! It's so exciting that our little family will be growing again. Tonight is also my parents' last night here and I'm already starting to miss them! What a blessing it has been to have been able to spend so much time together!

Here's a cute shot of the latest development in stair-climbing technique around our place. Joseph is now bring toys up and down with him, even big ones like this bulldozer!



Joseph spent a good deal of time outside with Grandma Susan this morning, running around the car, running up and down steps, running away from Grandma, etc! You can tell how hard our little hot pepper has been working by just looking at that red, red face. I'm so glad he has this chance to spend so much time with Grandma!

Grandma and Grandpa Gedlaman saw this neat, chunky, construction puzzle at the store today and couldn't resist seeing if Joseph could put it together! Sure enough, he took to it like a fish to water. Those big pieces are really easy for him to manipulate in those little hands!

I guess it's true that grandmas and grandpas just can't resist a little spoiling of one kind or another! Here's Grandpa feeding Joseph some leftover meringue from the banana cream pie my mom is busy making, and note the other new toy from Grandma and Grandpa on the table. It's a wooden tool box set with working screws, bolts, and tools, and although it's a little advanced for him right now, that just means there's plenty of growing room. I can't wait to see what he'll build with it!

After all that time on the road, we're really just enjoying being able to relax at home together this afternoon. Grandpa Lloyd was taking a little nap here on the couch, when he woke suddenly to find Joseph insistently trying to get on his lap with a book in hand! They've been reading together for quite a while now. What a fun thing to do with Grandpa!

Tonight after Joseph's bedtime, Mom pulled out the ball and jacks set she bought during the colonial portion of our trip. Apparently, it's closest she's found to what she used as a child, so she just had to snatch it up! Mom was a great jacks player in her youth, and she obviously still hasn't lost it. Tim really doesn't stand a chance!

Well, I suppose he might stand some chance if the ball keeps getting stuck like this behind Mom's glasses between bounces! In any case, it sure is fun to watch them play!

This morning we left DC headed back to Blacksburg. We figured that a trip around VA wouldn't be complete without visiting at least one Civil War battle site, so here we are at Manassas National Battlefield Park, the site of two major battles fought in 1861 and 1862. This is the site where Confederate General Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname when someone said "Look, men, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer!" It is certainly a bright and sunny day, and little Joseph is getting quite red in the face from running around outside! Good thing he'll have the long drive home to rest up!

This morning has gone much more smoothly so far than yesterday, thank goodness! We made it to the line for Capitol tickets early enough, and have about an hour and a half to wait now until our scheduled tour time. We're not really sure what to do with ourselves until then, since nothing really opens for another half hour. Right now we're looking around at the gorgeous plants and flowers in the gardens outside the United States Botanical Gardens!

After doing all the looking we could outside the botanical gardens, I had this grand idea of going see the Declaration of Independence and Constitution at the National Archives building as soon as it opened. We headed off, and along the way passed these beautiful, huge hibiscus blossoms, bigger than any we saw in Hawaii! When we arrived at the National Archives, it became clear that, grand though it may have been, my idea certainly wasn't unique. In fact, there was a pretty long line outside the entrance, and since only a few people are allowed in to see those historic documents at a time, we just won't have time to do it before our tour. Oh well, we'll just have to save it for another time!

Here we are just outside the entrance to the Capitol! We're allowed to take the stroller in this time, so hopefully it'll be smooth sailing for everyone.



Once inside, we came straight to the Rotunda, the biggest and most impressive feature of the building. Just look at those beautiful paintings! There are at least half a dozen other big tour groups in here at the same time with us, which I think is nice, actually, because it allows Tim to zip around the room with Joseph talking away without anyone really noticing!



After leaving the Rotunda, we came into the room where Congress originally met. Apparently, the acoustics in here are terrible, making it impossible to hear people in certain areas, and impossible to keep a secret in others! Now the room is full of statues of important people from all 50 states. We couldn't resist snapping a shot next to Brigham Young!

This afternoon, we decided to take a break from the hustle and bustle and pay a visit to the temple. My parents have always felt a special connection to the Washington DC Temple because they contributed a significant chunk of money toward its construction while they were living in Rockford, IL. They've always lived too far away from it to go, though, so it's exciting to be with them for their first visit here today! Of course, they're probably just as excited to have some time to spend with Joseph while Tim and I are inside!





We had just enough time after our trip to the temple to visit to Arlington National Cemetery before it closed. Mom and Dad really wanted to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, and Tim and I wanted to find a grave site for my cousin Charly. It's time to head back to our hotel now, but what an eventful day it's been!

Here we are this morning in front of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington DC! We're waiting in line for free BEP tour tickets, assuming we got here early enough to get some before they run out. Of all the things we want to see here in DC, the BEP and the Capitol are the only places that require tickets, and since the BEP ticket office opens first, we decided this was the place to start!



Joseph loves the hustle and bustle of big cities, especially all the traffic! He spent quite a while just sitting in his stroller watching the cars zoom by, but now he's ready to get moving and these steps are the perfect place to stretch those legs. Joseph and Tim are having so much fun up there, in fact, that this other little boy just couldn't resist coming over to play, too!



While the line continues to inch along, Joseph has discovered the drinking fountain! Its button is a bit hard to push, requiring both hands and lots of concentration, but the resulting spurt of water is well worth the effort!

We got our BEP tickets and are now on our way to the Capitol to get in line there. We did get some bad news, though: no backpacks allowed in either place, and no lockers available for storage, so we're not sure what we're going to do with the diaper bag. It's possible Tim could take it back to the hotel, but he'd be cutting things pretty close for the BEP tour. Mom and I briefly discussed the possibility of stuffing it under a bush, but decided that might not be such a good idea when we saw the military policeman with large gun in hand on the lookout nearby!



Whew! What a morning it's turned out to be! Long story short: Capitol tour would've overlapped BEP tour, so ditched Capitol for today. Tim ran to take diaper bag back to hotel, got lost briefly, discovered metro runs less often later in morning, and called to say he would likely miss BEP tour. Headed back to BEP and realized tour tickets were safely stowed in the diaper bag! Tried calling Tim, not realizing I was actually dialing Blacksburg number. Meanwhile, Tim is finally at hotel dropping off diaper bag. Mom decided to explain our plight to BEP tour coordinator, using her nice, gray-haired lady wearing pigtails vibe. It works, which a miracle considering another fellow gets turned away minutes later. We enjoy tour, but are happy to tell Tim later that he really didn't miss much after all. The clincher, though, is that the diaper bag would've been allowed after all. The posted rules were put up after 9/11 and just haven't been taken down yet! Oh well, I suppose in DC you've got to expect some bureaucracy now and again. On our way to find someplace to eat, we happened to pass the White House and couldn't pass up the chance to take these shots!



There are monuments literally everywhere in DC. Here's a neat one we found along the way!

Soon after lunch it started pouring! We pulled out our umbrellas, ducked under a tree, and fed Joseph his lunch while we tried to figure out what to do. Although we were grateful to have our umbrellas with us, our lower legs were still pretty wet, and we didn't want to go into an air-conditioned building and end up chilled. Instead, we hopped on a Tourmobile sightseeing bus and are going wherever it's headed until the rain stops! Our tour guide is a bit weird, continually reminding us to forget about the rain and eat a hot dog because we're on vacation, but at least we're staying dry!

Now that the rain's stopped, it's time to start exploring again! Here we are approaching the Jefferson Memorial...

and the view here is great!





Being here means a whole lot more after visiting Jefferson's home at Monticello. It's an impressive monument! It's amazing how much bigger everything here in DC seems to me in person. The buildings, parks, statues, and distances between locations look smaller and closer together on the map!



Here we are at our last official stop, the Lincoln Memorial! It's a place I've always wanted to visit, and not surprisingly, this place is packed with people. This is the least crowded shot we could get!

Here's another lovely shot taken from inside the memorial just before heading back to the bus!

Our route from the Tourmobile stop to the metro took us right past the World War II Memorial, and although we had almost forgotten about it, it's definitely worth seeing! I particularly love the carvings showing the various aspects of life during WWII, on both the Pacific and Atlantic fronts and back at home. It's been a fun and very full day!