Washington DC - Virginia Trip

I could not even begin to express how blessed and thankful

the kids and I were to be able to take this trip. We boarded

Frontier Airlines on Feb. 14th and flew to Washington DC.

After a long flight, we arrived at Reagan National Airport

at 10:00pm. Sis. Connie Wilson and Sis. Johnna

picked us up and drove us to our motel room. Thank you

Johnna for finding a fantastic room for us. It was so nice

to see these beautiful ladies... Especially since they knew

their way to the motel. The next morning, Colin, Jacob,

Philip, Paul and Cathy Horton and Heather arrived at our

motel. My heart still skips a beat when I see my wonderful

husband. After all of the greetings we jumped into our vans

and headed out for a whirlwind tour of DC. We were limited

on time so the Smithsonian was not on our agenda.

We found some parking places right down town, which

was amazing, especially since we had two vehicles and

they were right close to each other... After parking, we started

walking. The park was FULL of geese. Paul tells Tommy, "I'll

give you five dollars if you can catch one of those geese." Off

he ran!

He didn't catch one, but he had a nice run. On the way
back he said, "It's ok, I have money in my pocket." He's
so funny. So, we keep walking through the park. This is so
amazing! We are in the Nation's Capital... How cool is this?
It is a lot to take in... But no time to proccess.

Here we are, the Shuler family, minus Paul and Grace. :-(
Next time, hopefully we'll all be together...
ALL... Right Lyndi?

Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

This is SO amazing! If you've ever seen "Night at the Museum"

you feel like Lincoln could wake up at any moment. A must see!

TV or pictures do not even begin to give this sight

justice... So... WOW!

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking

out towards the Washington Monument. There is

a lot of construction going on behind the kids...

I tried to cover it up as best as I could. I'm sure

they are working very hard to get this finished

before the upcoming elections.

My honey and I.

It is hard to see, but the Capital Building

is in the distance... It's hard to take your

eyes off of these goofy kids, I know.

Again, Capital Building in distance.

Sitting in front of the White House.

Oh yeah! What's more American than having

a hotdog, right in front of the White House...

And ordering it from an Asian guy who speaks Spanish(?)

;o)

Some Fine Art...

More Art....

Paul and Cathy, waiting for us...

Onto Arlington National Cemetery...

I don't think I really realized how big this place was...

A solemn reminder of what war does... I am so

very grateful for the men and women who

have given their lives for this amazing country.

We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

and watched the changing of the guard.

We had a long day... Lots of walking... Lots

of sights... The kids were pooped!

We drove to Lynchburg, VA to stay the night

at the Horton's house. After a good night's rest,

we headed to TN for the Couple's Retreat.

It was a beautiful drive, even if the ground was

brown and the trees were leafless. I kept saying,

"I bet this is gorgeous in the summer".

The Lodge where the Retreat was held

was so nice. We had a nice room with a fireplace.

Of course we had to use it! As always, I was

cold most of the time.

Here is the Master Fire Starter.

We had a great Retreat! The fun, fellowship and

prayer time was just what I needed. The kids

were having a wonderful time in Marion, VA with

the Womack kids. Eric Hogan and Katlin Horton

were there for the Sunday service and they all

said it was fantasic one. It snowed most of the day

on Sunday so after service the kids had to go

and take advantage of the white stuff and built

a snow person and had snow ball fights.

Back at retreat... We were able to be with family....

And friends... And meet new friends...

Tommy enjoying the snow...

Megan and Sarah Womack.

Colin, me, Crystal and Shaun Womack in
front of an old Church near Marion, VA.

This is what it would look like if it were snowing.

The kids were curious to see the inside...

Cemetery beside the old church.

Colin, reading names and dates.

The Womack's sure can show you a good time...

Sight seeing... They take us to the Mental Hospital.

:o) HaHaHaHa!!! I think I'll make my reservations.

It is a cool and creepy looking building.

We then drove up to Hungry Mother Park.

We looked around the little museum they had

in the Ranger Station. In the Gift Shop we

found a Critter Net...

And it worked!

A Marion Snow Family along side of the road.

We had such a great time. We made new friends.

Thank you to the Womack Family for driving us

to your house and giving us a place to sleep.

(Even if Bro. Shaun did drive with one hand on the

wheel and talked on the phone while driving in snow)

Thank you to the Horton's for playing in DC

with us, taking us to Retreat and letting us stay

at their house. Thank you to the Sheets for doing

a great job directing their first Retreat.

It was an all around GREAT time.

It was hard to leave Colin, Jacob and Philip

again... But so thankful for the time we had together.