Seneca Lake, NY 2014

We had our annual trip with Matt's side of the family to the lake house.

We had a great time relaxing the rest of the week at the lake after our busy weekend in DC.

Madelyn's favorites were the swings, feeding the ducklings, wading in the water 

and throwing rocks in the water.

We arrived!

Feeding the ducklings.

Swinging.

Lake house.

Lake life.

Marshmallows.

Bonfire night.

Rock skipping.

A must.

The Glen.

Hiking the Glen.

Annual family photo at the Glen.

Matt visiting his Grandma and telling

Madelyn all about her.

The swings.

Couldn't get away from them.

Beautiful day.

Getting ready to go for a swim with my girl.

We even went for a swim.

And it was freezing!!

We played and read books on the front porch when we needed to escape

the heat or cold depending on the day.

We fed the ducklings on a daily basis.

Just us

Us with Matt's Grandma

The whole gang.

(minus Nancy taking the picture)

with Auntie Meghan

(her BFF for the week)

It was always where's Meghan, what's Meghan doing,

no, Meghan will read it/play/do it.

with Gigi and Pop-pop

She was spoiled rotten with so much time with them.

She kept telling me to go away which luckily I didn't take offense to

because I am with her 24/7.

with her Great Grandma

M kept saying 'that's MY grandma'

It was so sweet.

with her Great Aunt Nancy

We had great weather.  Most days a little rain rolled through,

but we were able to sit outside and enjoy the sun for the most part.

Our last day was freezing...

such a change from the previous day I thought it was too hot 

and I was going to die if I didn't get in the water.

We headed up to Buffalo, NY to have a mini family reunion with the Calak side of the family.

Madelyn was able to meet a lot of new family members

and I was able to see many that I hadn't seen since our wedding.

We had a great time and then headed on home.

Thanks to Nana and Papa who watched the dog and took care of Madelyn

the day we got home so Matt and I could rest and unpack.

Washington DC 2014

What a beautiful trip! 

Washington DC is definitely one of my favorite cities. 

We were able to do just about everything on our list... 

just about everything...

don't mistake that for everything.  

Madelyn was such a trooper.  

I think her favorite was just being outdoors so much and the children's reading room at the Library of Congress. 

I'm not sure if I had a favorite.  

I loved experiencing it all.

Our 10 hour drive to DC.

Really wasn't a bad drive.

M was an excellent car rider.

We are almost there!

After checking into the JW Marriott which was an excellent location

for a hotel in DC we walked around DC.

First stop was National Archives.

We also dropped by the National Mall Carousel.

So glad I made Matt ride it.

This one went pretty fast and I definitely would have been sick!

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Beautiful place to run and play!

Checking out the views from the Washington Monument.

The White House

This girls first subway ride.

'the train' she called it.

And she loved it.

Day 2.

A visit to the Library of Congress

This is M chilling in the children's area.

We could have spent the day here.

She loved it.

They also do a really great storytime.

The Capital

Helping to cool her daddy off in front of the Capital.

Snack Break!

Such a great little lady for this trip!

Driving an airplane at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Arlington National Cemetery

We were able to witness the switching of the guards 

at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as the cemetery was closing.

This was a really neat experience.

Lincoln Monument

View from the Lincoln Monument

I definitely want to go back to DC when Madelyn is older and learning about

some of these things in school.  We had a great mini trip and now we are off to Seneca Lake

to finish the rest of our vacation!

Her.

M, you are so terribly cute sometimes I don't know what to do with you.

You say wapst instead of wasp.

If you pee pee in your panties you say your 

___ (whatever themed underwear you are wearing at the time) is sad.

flowers are sad, doggies are sad, stripes are sad...whatever undies they may be.

You ran from me for the first time the other day when you didn't want to do something

I wanted you to do.  If I moved this way, you moved that way.  If I moved that way, you moved this way.

I had to turn away from you because I was laughing out of frustration and hilariousness.

The sad thing is you knew I was laughing so you thought it was hilarious too.

You throw things when you are mad or frustrated.

You say you are grumpy like the puppet when you need a nap

(referring to the puppet from The Polar Express)

You say you need to blow your horn instead of blow your nose.

You say brebrunda instead of umbrella.

Smamich for sandwich. 

You used to say grips for grapes, but you figured that one out and say it correctly now.

You say opapus for octopus.

When your feet fall asleep from sitting in one position too long
you say your feet are freezing.

Happy 4th of July!

Madelyn was not a big fan of fireworks, but loved the company!

She would watch as we plugged her ears.

(me, her daddy, nana or papa)

She would cuddle and nuzzle her head in my neck and say 

'wet's go home'

or 'I want to go home'.

We stuck it out, but did not watch any other fireworks for the holiday weekend.

We did make it to the Marietta 4th of July Parade though.

We stayed for a bit...got too hot and left early.

We helped nana and papa get home from the fireworks because papa's motorcycle
had a flat tire and I ended up with Bronchitis,
so needless to say I think the 4th of July doesn't like us much.

Happy 4th!