Weird Animals

 This week has been a busy one- VBS week.  Our VBS theme was "Weird Animals".  Each night the kids learned that no matter what, Jesus loves them.  We also raised money throughout the week to help provide clean water for children in India.  I lead the "games" station for the third year in a row.  That's always a fun station.  The kids learned a lot and had lots of fun.  At the end of the week, Olivia asked if we could have VBS all summer long.  I don't know if the adult volunteers could handle an all summer VBS, but I guess that her asking is a sign of true success.

Meeting Addie

On the last day that we were in Delaware, Gary and Katie came to visit- bringing with them our niece Miss Addison Grace.  Yes, she really is as cute as she looks.  Needless to say, this little princess was not lacking for attention.










It may not look like it, but she was really glad to meet her cool Aunt Lealane (and I was happy to get that sweet baby sugar).

Of course, we were also happy to see Gary and Katie.  















 Here's Nana with all of her grandkids.

And here are most of the Sanders men.

Manassas

 Since we were already on the other side of D.C. (at the air/space museum), we decided to visit Manassas (Bull Run) Battlefield. We started at the Visitor's Center where we watched a presentation of the first battle on a light up map.  Brian and I thought it was cool- the kids not so much.  Fortunately for them it only lasted six minutes.  We then hiked a portion of the Henry Hill Loop Trail, which was the scene of much of the action during First Manassas.



There were a lot of markers along the trail that told us about what happened at each site.  There were also a lot of cannons, which the kids liked.

Henry House

"There Stands Jackson Like A Stone Wall"

It was at Henry Hill that Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname, so naturally there was a large statue dedicated to him.

 I never realized how big the battlefield was.  It was impossible to see everything in the time that we had.  We did want to visit some area from the Second Manasses, so after leaving the Henry Hill area, we went to Stone Bridge and hiked the Stone Bridge Loop.

This trail was awesome because of the variety of the landscape.  It started off by going over the bridge, followed by a boardwalk over a swampy area, then a climb up a hill, then a hike through the grassy battlefield area, followed by a trail through a forest, and ending with a path alongside Bull Run (river). We all really enjoyed the park.  I wish we would have had more time to spend there.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

Since we had gone into the heart of D.C. for the past two years, we decided to try something a little different this time.  Having heard great things about the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center- which is the annex to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, we decided to check it out.  We are so glad that we did- what a neat place!

 The annex is located out by Dulles airport.  Once we arrived, we ate at the McDonald's inside the museum (overpriced) and then headed straight for the tower- which offers visitors a view of the runways at Dulles.  The kids had a good time watching for airplanes that were taking off and landing.

 Also located in the tower was the air traffic controller exhibit.  This was my #1 favorite thing about the museum.  There was a screen that showed real-time air traffic at Dulles and then there were speakers that let you hear the air traffic controllers giving instructions to the pilots.  I was amazed by how many planes were in the area at once.  I definitely understand how stressful the controller's job is- you really have to stay on your toes.

 After visiting the tower, we headed out into the museum itself.  I say "museum"- it's really an enormous hanger with many, many planes in it.  There are some planes that are stationed on the ground while others are suspended from the ceiling.  There are also three levels of walkways so that visitors can view the planes from various angles.

One (free) interactive exhibit lets visitors sit in the cockpit of a Cessna and get a brief lesson on how to control the plane.  The museum employee showed the kids how to control the roll, pitch, and yaw of the plane, and then they were able to practice.  It was cool because you could see the outside parts of the plane move as the kids worked the levers inside.

 One thing that we were all excited to see was the Space Shuttle Discovery.  This was the first time that any of us had seen an actual space shuttle- so we took lots of pictures.

And here is the picture with a side view.

Another must-see was the Enola Gay, the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb.

 This Pepsi stunt plane was not exactly a must-see, but the kids insisted that I take a picture of it "for Gigi".

I must say that I was really impressed with the Air and Space Museum annex.  It was interesting and a good way to spend an afternoon.

O Say Can You See?

While we were in Baltimore, we decided to take the water taxi over to Fort McHenry.   When the British attacked Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812, this fort successfully defended the city.  The bombardment of the fort is what inspired Francis Scott Key to pen "The Star-Spangled Banner".  

 The kids liked traveling by water taxi.  I liked it too because it was a good way to see different parts of the harbor.

 Before entering the fort, we popped inside the visitor's center where we found a lot of information regarding the War of 1812, the attack on Baltimore Harbor, and the composing of the National Anthem.

 Here is the family shot in front of one of the ramparts- just to prove that Brian and I were actually there.

 The kids loved exploring the fort.

 They especially liked the old jail room.

 There was a beautiful view of the harbor from the fort.  As I get older, I find that things that I used to think were lame are now cool.  I have become especially fond of visiting sites of historical significance and trying to imagine what people in the past would have seen. I can just imagine a soldier looking out over the harbor from this point and seeing this view (minus the modern ships).

 Here we have the inner courtyard of the fort.

 As we walked around the fort, I kept thinking about the words of The National Anthem.  It was neat to actually see things that I have been singing about for years.

Oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Historic Ships in Baltimore

We made several day trips from Dover while we were there last week.  Baltimore is really close to Dover, so we decided to head there first.  We arrived to the Inner Harbor area around lunch and grabbed a bite a Five Guys.  After that, we decided to get tickets for the Historic Ships in Baltimore.  There are four historic ships and one lighthouse that are available to be toured, and there are different ticket options.  We decided to go for the "two ship" package.  I told the kids that they could pick the second ship, but that I was picking the first- and it was going to be the USS Constellation.  The Constellation was the last sail-only warship built by the U.S. Navy and is the last existing intact naval vessel from the American Civil War. Being on this ship is definitely a trip into the past.   

 We were able to tour four decks of the ship.  We enjoyed the views from the top.  The sails were down, but we could imagine what it would look like with sails raised.  Later in the afternoon, a canon was fired from the top deck, and that was cool to hear.

We found more canons on the second deck.  The kids enjoyed checking these out.

The hammocks on one of the lower decks were a kid favorite.  Owen didn't want to get out.

The second ship (chosen by the kids) was the submarine USS Torsk.  They chose this one because in had a shark painted on the front.  The USS Torsk is a World War II era submarine.  It's claim to fame is that it was the last U.S. Navy ship to torpedo and sink an enemy vessel during  WWII.

I am always amazed by how compact everything is on a submarine.  It makes me have a new respect for those who serve on one.