Jackson's 7th and DC

We knew we were taking a risk having an April birthday party at the park, in the PNW, but I didn't want to have it at our house because we were inviting his whole class, and it's awkward as the principal...Well, the weather didn't quite cooperate.  It did stop raining hard for a little while, but the ground was so wet and saturated that the kids were getting really wet and muddy.  It wasn't terrible, in that the kids still had a great time, overall! You can see from the jackets that it wasn't a spring day...Honest, they wouldn't have minded at all except that they kept falling, one by one and coming up covered in mud. 

 Luckily, there was a covered area for the cake and food part....

 It started pouring really hard right after cake and everyone took off very quickly.  We were supposed to end at 3:00pm, but by 2:40, everyone had left and we'd cleaned up and were on our way home! Oh well...can't blame people for leaving early when they had to go home and shower and clean up before they could go anywhere else!  Even Mike ended up muddy!

 Puddles everywhere!

We got home about 3:00pm and cleaned up all the wet and muddy items. Then, I had to switch gears as quickly as possible to finish getting ready for DC.  I flew out Saturday night, flying overnight to arrive in DC on Sunday morning.  I went with 5 other principals to a conference on Equity!

We crammed in as much sight seeing as possible on Sunday and in the evenings.  With our limited time, we power-walked through various Smithsonian museums, spending only 30 to 45 minutes in each.  We saw such diverse things as the hall of mammals and the Hope Diamond in the Natural History museum, the Batmobile and outfits from First Ladies through history in the American History museum, and early aircrafts and space suits in the Air and Space Museum!

We did a great moonlight tour of the monuments after the conference one day. It was really a good way to see a lot in a short time.

My favorite monument, and the one I hadn't seen before was the WWII monument, which really made me think about my grandpa. 

I had to take a picture of the Utah pillar in his honor. His service is not forgotten.

We also popped in one evening for a quick visit to Arlington, just before it closed. Another solemn location that made me think about all the family that's passed on, and my grandfather's service in the military!

And, of course we had to see the tomb of the unknown soldier and JFK and Jackie O with the Eternal Flame.

And, of course, you can't go to DC without taking a tour of the Capitol building!  I even saw the statue of Sarah of Winnemucca in the visitor's center!

In addition, there was a lot of night life! It's hard for me to keep up with my fellow principals, who are night owls and far more extroverted than I am! I had fun and it was really great getting to know them all better, but I came home very tired!

We got home very late on Wednesday, and it was back to work on Thursday...no rest for the weary.

Spring Break Disney Style

We arrived in Orange County CA on Monday, where we had a great lunch with Jeff and Fran at Taco Mesa.  It was so good to see them (I failed to get a single picture!) and Mike also enjoyed visiting a restaurant he used to go to back in his college days.  We checked into the hotel early, let Jack check out the pool and waterslides, and then had dinner at Goofy's kitchen. Jackson got to meet lots of fun Disney characters, and they brought him a special cupcake to celebrate his birthday!

On Tuesday, we headed into Disneyland, just the three of us.  Jackson's favorite ride continues to be the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but he also tried many of the other rides, including Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain...One of the attractions he really enjoyed as well was exploring Tom Sawyer's island. He did not like the Matterhorn or Indiana Jones rides, which he pronounced to be creepy.

That evening, we had dinner in Disneyland, where they brought Jackson another birthday cupcake, as he was still wearing his badge, and then we let Jackson stay up late to see the Fantastic show!

On Wednesday, we headed into California Adventure, for a couple of early rides and then met up with the family. Jackson liked Guardians of the Galaxy, but mom and dad thought it was horrible and wouldn't go on it a second time.  The drops made my stomach churn!

We all liked Cars Land and Radiator Springs Racers a lot!  Even grandma and papa rode this one!

 We met up with the family around 9am and had fun doing the rides together!

We also got some great pictures taken in the park!

Wednesday evening, we had a big family dinner at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen, and Jackson got a third birthday treat! He took the button off after that because he was tired of all the attention, but it was really nice how everyone noticed his birthday button and wished him happy birthday!

On Thursday, we headed back into Disneyland for one more day of rides and fun!

 We had a really great visit! Everyone's feet were very tired by the end!  Friday, we checked out of the hotel, had lunch with Grandma, and then headed to the airport to go home!