OK, I'm back!

We're back from vacation and had a wonderful time! Although I'm still trying to get back into a regular routine and get caught up on the mountains of laundry, mail, and yard work, and am working hard to get the pool back to a sparkly blue color, the time away was definitely worth it. Chris had business meetings in Washington D.C. a couple of weeks ago, and then the kids and I drove out to meet him when he was finished. We spent a few days with his sister Cheryl and her family in Maryland before heading south to Virginia and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I normally don't enjoy the fact that Chris has to travel so much for work (unless I get to go with him of course!), but he does collect lots of Marriott points which we redeemed for an entire week of hotel stays. Plus, we still have lots of points left over! It made for a very inexpensive vacation, which was great since we're in the middle of an adoption! Anyway, here are some photos from our trip:

The kids at Cheryl's apartment in Maryland

Ellicott City, Maryland - a cute little town full of vintage shops

Our kids got to spend quality time with their cousins, London.......

.......and Gracie. Isn't she adorable?

We enjoyed ice cream at Baltimore Harbor......

......and the kids loved the underwater tunnel across the Chesapeake Bay.

We got great shots of wildlife at the Virginia Zoo......

.....and at Yorktown Battlefield. This deer let us get really close before it ambled away.

This is the Emancipation Oak, where slaves learned of their freedom as the Emancipation Proclamation was read to them from underneath the sprawling branches.

This is one of my favorites. Adrian enjoyed Fort Monroe, which is where the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, was imprisoned. Afterward, Adrian kept himself occupied in the van by writing notes to Chris and me.

At Cape Hatteras National Seashore....

On Roanoke Island, where we watched the outdoor drama, "The Lost Colony."

We also visited the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, and got to see the spot where the first flight took place.

This photo shows the landing spots of the first three flights. The starting point is the big rock in the background.

Historic Jamestowne

Malia holding hands with Pocahontas

We went on board the USS Wisconsin, a battleship that was first used in WWII. It made me feel really old when I caught myself telling the kids that the battleship was used recently in Operation Desert Storm. Chris looked at me funny and said, "Recently? Try twenty years ago!" OK, just because it was in my lifetime doesn't make it recent!

Of course I had to take this cool photo of Africa at the Naval Museum......

.....at a park where we had a picnic one day.....

New River Gorge in West Virginia on the way home.....

And back home to Ohio!

We all had a great time, and although we visited lots of places, it was very relaxing, too. If you enjoy history and water, Virginia's the place to go, as it has TONS of both!