Virginia/DC 2012

Hi everyone,
It has been awhile since a post and I have been meaning to do one, but keep postponing it!  So, since school ended in June we have been on the go.  Brendan went up to Campbell for a week for training and Harper and I joined him midweek.  It was nice to explore downtown Campbell and of course catch up with some friends.  One afternoon Julia, Laura and her son Jackson and Harper and I met for lunch.  Even though we don't get to see each other very often, it always feels like it's been no time at all!  We were also able to hang out for dinner with Chris and Brendan.  That Fri we headed up to pick Brendan's mom up at the train station in Oakland and headed into SF for dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant.  I called up my cousin Naomi and she was able to join us so that worked out well.  The next day Donna, Brendan, Harper and I headed to DC/Virginia on Harper's first plane ride, which went pretty smoothly, thanks Grandma Donna for being an extra pair of entertaining hands! 

Tapas in SF

Ready for take-off

Messing around with daddy

Ooooohhhh-wow

We arrived at Matt and Anita's house and had a great time just hanging out and relaxing (though chasing after a 14 month old in a 3 story house that is not baby proofed is not super relaxing if you know what I mean!) Brendan's dad, other brother and sister in law and daughter also made the trip out with us.  We spent lots of time cooking, eating, swimming, watching movies, playing charades, going in to town (both Culpeper and Warrenton, which both have cute little downtowns). Eireann and Anneliese were sooo cute with Harper, those girls sure love him. They were such little helpers with bottles, bathtime and changing diapers, wish they lived closer:) Brendan, Harper and I were able to take a short overnight trip to DC. We did lots of walking and were able to see many things in a short amount of time including the White House (even the President since we were stopped by secret service for his motorcade), the Mall, the Mounument, The Vietnam and WWII Memorials, Lincoln Memorial, Law Officers Memorial, and Georgetown. 

Eireann the family barista

Downtown Warrenton

1st train ride-Culpeper-DC

President Obama's Motorcade

Sunset at the Monument

Lincoln Memorial

Law Officers' Memorial

Daddy and Harper

Cheese-enjoying tapas at Jaleo

Back in Virginia we were met with a crazy storm that had sheets of water pouring off the roof, thunder that little shook the windows, fallen trees and lots of power outages (luckily not where we were). One of the last days we drove to Monticello for a tour and the estate is amazing with a view of Charlottetsville and the University of Virgina. All in all it was nice to be able to visit family and see more of the East Coast.

Fallen Tree-victim of the storm

Monticello



Last but not least the ride home was not too bad and Harper was definitely pooped out on the flight!