Fireworks!

I got the photos that Skyeler took on his school camera and I am finally getting around to posting some of them. (I think they are really cool).

Sky started to get creative after these ones, as he started to experiment with the different settings.

And fireworks behind the monument. At this point Skyeler left me and was pretending to be in combat and he would run, fall down, take a few pics, get back up, run fall down, take a few pics etc... He had fun and again it was an enjoyable experience.

What one is your favorite?

4th of July in Washington D.C.

I really do enjoy the 4th of July and after last year I told myself that next year will be a lot better. I can honestly say that it was. I never thought my next year 4th of July would be at the National Capitol in Washington D.C. and actually able to spend the whole day with my husband. I can and will honestly say that the best part of the day was being able to spend it with Skyeler. Yes, my 4th of July was a once in a lifetime but I was with Skyeler and after spending so much time apart this year it meant the world to me to be able to spend it with him.

Our day started with plans to get up around 9 and get things ready to head out. Well when we woke up around 8 or so and our room was quite warm. Needless to say that our power was out again. I was quite worried about having the power out again especially since we just got done spending 42-ish hours without it in high heat and humid temperatures.

When Sky and I go to D.C. we take the Metro Subway. That is interesting in itself and was even more interesting today. I will explain in a bit. We arrived at the Greenbelt station and headed into D.C. around noon. We got there probably around 12:40ish and started to see some of the museums that we didn't get to see last time. We walked so much and I was exhausted. But there is just so much to see and learn. We went to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Castle, and the Air and Flight museum. I can't remember the actual name of that one. We went to some of the gift stores and I actually found a Einstein bobble head just like in the Night of the Museum 2 movie. By 5:30 or so we decided to just head over to the Washington Monument to find a seat for the fireworks. It was a slightly miserable wait since we were outside and it was extremely humid and we had to wait a little over 3 hours since we were really not in the mood to walk around anymore.

But here are a few pictures.

The crowds around the Washington Monument. This was only a small portion of the area. Obviously there is a lot of space and so there was a ton of people.

The Washington Monument with the flags around the base.

Lincoln Memorial.

White House.

Slightly blurry but.... the Washington Monument at dusk. Just prior our firework show.

And here we go..... (they are not in order)

It was so cool to be here for the 4th of July celebration. I don't think I will forget watching fireworks by the Washington Monument. It was just so amazing seeing both at the same time and spending my time with Skyeler.... I wish everyone could have been there to share the experience because it was just so amazing.

I am still excited to be able to go see some other places as well. We have SOOOO many places that we want to go see. I just hope that there is enough time and the means to do it. Being here really does make you want to learn more about history. It is one thing learning it in school but another to really see the places.

Seriously Maryland, A severe thunderstorm!

Ok so Friday was an extremely HOT and humid day and around 9:30-10:00 we start to see some lightning going off almost constantly. Shortly after it picked up big time and by 10:40 was the start of our 44(ish) hours without power.

This is a pic that was taken by a friend in Virgina but it was almost the same as in Maryland. It was completely black and then lightning one right after the other. Then the wind picked up and it was quite intense. A friend of ours saw a chair from the pool area across the street from them fly. Many trees were knocked over and it really did remind me of the windstorm in Utah in December. Only worst.

According to an article it says that 3 million have been without power and 13 people have been killed. The storm did damage from Indiana to New Jersey and down to Virgina. Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, the District of Columbia and Virginia have been put in a state of emergency and people from Florida, Texas, and other state have or are coming to help with restoring the power. Luckily ours is back on but we have friends here on post that still don't have power. It is estimated that it will be another 2-5 days before everyone will have their power returned.

I have heard of people in the area that have had trees fall onto their homes and come through windows. There was a house across the street from the D.C. Temple that had a tree basically cut it in half. So many roads have been blocked by fallen trees and some trains have been stuck for 20 or so hours until they could get someone to remove the blockages. It really has been a scary-ish ordeal. I am glad that Skyeler and I have been safe through everything and the heat didn't make me go SUPER crazy. It was about to. I was getting quite moody and irritable as well as sick because of the heat. I am so use to the dry heat but the humidity adds a whole new level to things and it really does make it hard to breathe and it make the temperature feel even more hot. For example we got to 99- or 100 degrees but it would feel like 106+. Yes people do deal with temperatures like that daily in some of the lower areas of the U.S. but there is no humidity. I'm not saying that it is worst going through this than any other summer in UT. but I am not use to the humidity and it was quite stressful not being able to have a cool drink or eat anything because the stove would heat the kitchen and wouldn't be able to cool it down. (we have a gas stove so we were able to cook).

All it all it was an interesting experience and I hope it isn't anything that I have to repeat in the near future. But I am blessed to be able to have had Skyeler with me through everything instead of having him at the detachment. I do hope that everyone else will get their power back soon. I Know that I was about to go crazy and I am sure that other people probably are as well. I am glad that I was able to open up our home and help other people in the area.