{I could get use to this}

We decided to go and see the changing colors this year up trappers loop and then down Ogden Canyon. I am in LOVE with Autumn. I refuse to call it Fall because it is to pretty and magical of a time to just be called fall. I know one of my more dorky conversations. We stopped at a lookout by Pineview. I had brought an outfit for Ellie to wear but she simply did not want to change out of her princess dress. I was a little discouraged by this. We set off on a trail that headed right down to the lake. It was then that I decided that Ellie was much smarter than I. The pics I got of her are priceless.  Emma and JJ were pretty cute too.  Elsie was asleep so she missed out on the photo shoot. 

Have I mentioned I LOVE PINEVIEW!

Seriously, how sweet is this.

and this...

Handsome as well.

This has to be my favorite picture of the day.  Yes, I set out with Autumn and orange, red, and yellow in mind but walked away with this priceless picture of my sweet princess. 

Now don't worry, I did eventual get pictures of Boo. Just not really where we thought. Here is one in her carseat just waking up.

One of her throwing a fit because I didn't take the picture in the right spot.  (Who knew there was a right spot)

Pretty

Emma trying to show Boo where to pose and looking rather cute doing it.

Tear streaked and snot nosed...cute as can be.

Papa making everything better.  We had to stop by my parents to pick up JJ's rough draft of his report.

So dang pretty.

And of course it was Uncle Daybed to make her happy.  These two just lub each other. 

Beautiful Autumn nights with the smell of candy corns in the air, mmmm, I love Autumn. 

Just a taste of our Family Pictures

Has anyone seen my lipstick?

Emma and her friends were playing with some of my "halloween, special day" make up and Ellie stole away for a while. When she returned she was smiling from ear to ear. When I asked her if she knew where my lipstick was she said "No!" Hmmmm, I am totally wondering who took it.

The backwards dress just adds to the cuteness of this child.

Washington DC Day 6

I can't even begin to tell you how sad I was to have to leave. It was our last day and I wasn't ready to go home at all. Jeron and I had so much fun together, and Ryan, Maren, and Lulu were awesome to spend time with. I guess it is true, "all good things must come to an end." Thank goodness we had the whole day before our flight. We decided that Jeron should see Mt Vernon since he had see all the other presidential homes. I had been there before and I must say it is my favorite one. I loved Monticello but there is something about Mt Vernon that makes me want to move in.

When you first go in there is a visitors center.  Here is where you meet General Washington, Martha, and her two kids. 

How about the view.

Just some random shots that I took, because I love it here.

Jeron outside the tomb of Martha and George Washington

Lulu and Maren looking so cute.

Jeron wanted me to get a pic of the school from Remember the Titans.

After Mt Vernon you will never guess where we went for lunch.  Yep, POTBELLY"S again.  Poor Jeron is going to have major withdrawals.  After lunch we went and said goodbye to Ryan one last time and then headed to the LDS Temple.  I had wanted to go inside but we simply ran out of time.  I was just glad Jeron got to see it.  It really is a beautiful temple. We did go in for just a minute to see if we could see our friends parents who are serving there.  They were busy doing work though so we didn't want to bug them. 

Jeron loved the temple so I am glad we went.  After we had some time to kill so Maren drove us around DC and then we went to the "Airplane Park" or at least that is what Maren calls it.  It is cool how you can see the planes take off and they are just right above you. 

Jeron and I were being dorks so we took pictures of us holding the Washington Monument. 

Our final pic of Miss Lucy K.  Oh, I am going to miss her face:(

After Maren dropped us off I got a little teary eyed. I miss my sister so much when we are apart. I know we would just be together way to much so that is why we have to live apart. It was hard to say goodbye but I was kind of starting to miss the kids. I knew Ellie needed me home and so it was a good thing. Little did Jeron and I know that our adventure was not over. Our flight from DC left about 10 minutes late. I thought we were going to be pressed for time to make our connecting flight. My thought was off a little. We were so far away from our gate that we RAN the entire way, except the train part and missed our flight. Jeron and I got an all expense paid trip to the Quality Inn in Atlanta Georgia. We can now say we have been to Georgia. We left the airport. Isn't that the rule. We felt so bad for the kids but they were in good hands. David was determined to be the favorite so he basically had a party with my kids every night. They loved it. Ellie and Elsie fortunately fell asleep before the fiasco so they were okay. They were actually able to come and pick us up in the morning. I think they liked that. I can't believe our big trip is over. We are just itching to take another trip. Smitty and Ashlee your next! Bwahhahahah

Washington DC Day 5

Monday was an interesting day. Jeron, Maren, Lulu, and I headed to Arlington. It was cool to see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. Then we saw JFK's grave, one with Elsie's name on it, and one with Mead on it. The grounds are beautiful and you definitely feel a sense of reverence there.

Maren and Lulu sharing a moment together.

There are so many graves.

I had seen this before but this was Jeron's first time. 

Robert E. Lee's house, JFK's grave, The Mead tombstone, and one that says Elsie.

I am going to have to do a post on the Holocaust Museum all by itself.  It is a place I should have gone to but wish I never did.  It was heart breaking and left me feeling sad, confused, and devastated.  We spent 3 hours in there.  Jeron thought I wanted to read everything and I thought he did so we really got our heads full of all this information.  Turns out both of us would have liked to just bolt.  It really is so hard to take. 

After that we headed out for lunch.  Maren picked us up and I was in a real funk.  I am glad that she took us here.  It was a different side to DC.  It was cool to see the China Town stuff, the Wizards Arena, and another location of Potbelly's.  I also got to see where my sissy use to work. 

This is by far the most embarrassing picture of me on the whole trip.  WOW!

After lunch we headed to the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court.

This is my illegal picture.  You were not suppose to take pictures but I didn't see the sign.  Isn't it beautiful.  This is inside the Library of Congress. 

After our Downtown tour we picked up Ryan and headed over to Iwo Jima.  This is by far one of my most favorite statues ever.  There is something about it that makes me feel very patriotic.  I could get choked up just looking at it and I am totally serious.  Jeron loved this one.  In fact most of the pictures are his. 

After that we headed to Georgetown.  It is an awesome town.  I have this weird project i wanted to do with cool looking doors so Maren knew this was the place.  She also knew that there are really YUMMY cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcakes.  I had Vanilla Birthday and Milt Chocolate.  They were yummy.  My sis and bro in law know how to roll, they have dessert first!  Then we went to dinner at a Pizza Place (can't remember the name).  It was really LOUD!  There was this table of about 5 ladies that were so obnoxious.   Ryan had a little Olive Oil trouble and GARLIC trouble.  I just leave it at that;)

That is one of the doors.  LOVE IT!  The name of the district, not necessarily my fav building it just had the name.  My hot hubby and the street.  Such a cool place.  CRAZY busy as well.

My hottie and me. 

Few, that was a long day! Maren and Lucy were AWESOME to put up with us, especially on this particular day. Maren spent a lot of time without us, or in the car without us. Thanks sis.