Luray Caverns- Stalactites and Stalagmites

I have been to lots of places that are beautiful- lakes, sunsets, waterfalls.  There are also places that are so beautiful that you can't help but feel the Spirit, that make you feel good inside, peaceful, awe, love- the redwoods, being out on the water in Sitka, the red sunset in Maryland.  However, the "Dream Lake" is beautiful, so beautiful, but also magical, mystical, incredible.  I stood there and just couldn't stop saying how amazing it was.  It reflects the stalagtites and looks like a magical tiny city.  The feeling was so strong!  However, before we had even left the caverns, I couldn't really feel it anymore.  I remember knowing that I felt it that strongly, but I couldn't quite capture the feeling again.  It reminded me of the Spirit.  Sometimes we have one of those magical moments and the Spirit is so strong, but once life starts up again, it is easy to lose that peaceful feeling.  So I just have to trust that knowledge and live so that I can feel it again someday. 

The kids loved it so much too.  They wanted to go back today already.  They liked it as much as Great Wolf Lodge.  It's impressive that the Lord's handiwork can, in kid's minds, compare with an indoor waterpark hotel.

Flash Forward to teenage boys

I'm listening to Seth and his three friends wrestling in his room with Bon Jovi's "Shot through the heart, and you're to blame, you give love a bad name" blaring in the background.  "Pulling on ears-- not allowed!  Shirts off--- allowed!  Throwing off the bed-- not allowed!"  I knocked and went in a little bit ago and they were all lipsynching with thir pretend mikes.  Funny!

What a Great Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas!  That warm, feel good, like in the movies Christmas.  It was just perfect. We started decorating right after Thanksgiving and got right into the season.  Mom was here for a couple of weeks before. She got to be here for the three day putting up lights disaster (and still ending up with dead spots on the strings).  

Dad (Roger) came on Christmas Eve with the Luz, Heidi and the missionaries. We ate corn chowder and honeybaked ham, of course. And then dressed up for the Nativity story (Yes, that is the elder on his first day of his mission as the "Angel" in Ryan's purple fairy wings), decorated the "meanings of Christmas" Christmas Eve tree, and listened to Adam read us the 'Littlest Angel'. After exchanging gifts, Adam, Dad and I spent quite a bit of time "getting ready" for Christmas morning.




On Saturday, Mom and Dad came to play with the kids while Dad took Adam and I to see "Young Frankenstein" at the Kennedy Center and then to the Melting Pot for dinner. We came home to kids and grandparents playing hide and seek with night vision goggles, and cooking in the Easy Bake oven.



Monday, we went ice skating in Annapolis with Melissa, Bill, Zoe and Jacob, our next door neighbors from Astoria.



Wednesday, Mom and Dad came back for New Year's Eve. We all went to Benihana's for Seth and Ryan's first time. They loved it! They got the kid-style chopsticks and loved the onion volcano and the brand new inverse-volcano boiling water hot tub. After, we all went to the DC temple to see the amazing lights, the life size camel at the Nativity, the decorated Christmas trees, the international creche display and the Christmas light countdown. As we arrived home, the brothers had another crazy light display going on and the kids got to drive their rolling robot. Then we celebrated our New Year's Eve at 10 o'clock with a countdown and fireworks in the front yard.



The kids missed Grandma reading to them in bed each night and Grandpa's great hiding spots, but they played with some friends to get them over their sadness and we were all ready to move on to the New Year!

We forgot our Anniversary again!

While we were at Andrew's, Dad, Andrew and I were discussing our "wedding story" and all of a sudden, we realized that today was our anniversary.  On the way home, I mentioned to Adam and as usual we laughed that we had forgotten it again.  But, he said that we didn't need to make this day special because "Life is a celebration of our love!"  Yeah, that't right, he said it.  That goes right up there with "Eteranl Teammates"!  However, he is making us brownies as my present!  And I would say that ends a pretty good anniversary-  Wow, 12 years!

Mom and Dad

I took a video of the whole house on my trip home so I wouldn't forget what  it looked like when Mom and Daddy ever moved.  So when I finished I made them pose for a picture, too.  They are on the swing Daddy bought for Mom after the wagon finally died.  Also, in the other pic, notice the gigantic pumpkins from their garden in the lower corner.

Family Sunday Dinner

Andrew invited us all over for dinner at his great row house.  It was awesome and so was dinner.  I was raving about the tomato sauce on the way home and Adam said that it was probably Dad's sausage recipe- he remembered it from growing up.  I'll have to ask Andrew about it.  Anyway, it was fun to have a family sunday dinner with Andrew, Aaron, Liz, Lincoln and Mom and Dad.  It doesn't happen that often, except now that we've moved to DC, at least there's more potential.  We exchanged presents and took a family picture right after Ryan slipped on her tights going up the stairs.  A few tears and hugs from Daddy and she was ready to give a big smile in Grandma's arms.

New Moon trip

I flew to Vegas and Shanna drove up from LA to meet Lacee and Shanelle to see New Moon.  Misty couldn't make it, but not to fear, her and I went when she came down for Thanksgiving.  Anyway, back to our trip.  We lined up with all the other teenage girls (oh, that's right, we're not 14) to see it at midnight.  We had our crazy eyelashes and our camera.  Before we got to the theater, we went to dinner and saw a big group of women with black and red "Edward" shirts.  From their perfect bobbed, stacked, highlighted trendy hair, I knew they were LDS.  My sisters couldn't keep me from asking them and sure enough, I called it, they were all Mormon- he he he!  What if they hadn't been, you ask?  Well, I've done more embarrasing things than that- just ask my sisters! (Because I'm not a girl!)

The next morning Lacee and I went to the temple and then we all met for lunch and got our toes done.  I flew out that night to Mom and Dad's.  They picked me up and we went to Benihana's.  On Saturday, we drove out to the apple groves and saw some great homes, walked through some fun stores, and had yummy cider.  On the way home, we went to see "The Blind Side" (which was great, even thought I cried the entire beginning and end).  As we walked out, Daddy asked what time "2012" was playing.  It was the wrong time, so we drove to the other AMC on the way home and saw it there.  We Preciado's love to go to dinner and a movie(s).  I flew home the next day.  It was a great trip.  I loved seeing my family just on my own.  I forget how much things have changed with kids.  Everything we do is different and as much as I love it, it was fun doing adult things and not worrying about anybody else- at least for a couple of days!

World Travelers

We had a snow day at the Merrill house. After roasting hot dogs and smores over the fire-place, the kids spent the rest of the evening carrying Sockeye (our kitty) around in his kennel (a cardboard box with holes that Adam cut out for windows). They returned home a few times for forgotten items for their travels and then returned to Africa (Ryan's room), Antarctica (living room) and, it took a moment for them to decide, the tropical jungle- Mexico.  I love when they go on trips (see camping, last year in Sitka).

As for the snow day, DC had a big storm starting last night until this evening.  It didn't blow much, just snowed and snowed.  We probably got about 18 inches, maybe more.  The whole world has shut down.  We canceled the ward Christmas party that we had just finished decorating yesterday (150 people, tables, chairs, centerpieces, everything down to the silverware- I'm the Activites Chairman) and turned down the opportunity to reschedule for the day after Christmas.  I really wanted people to see how pretty it looked, but not that bad. 

Yesterday, we stopped at Home Depot and all there was a big sign "NO MORE SHOVELS" and a whole line of people carrying nothing but bags of salt.  I laughed out loud right in the store and a man turned and said "Are you laughing at me?"  I told him no, but that we had just moved from Alaska and a storm coming with twelve inches of snow didn't seem to be that big a deal.  He retorted, "It's going to be eighteen inches."  I smiled and tried not to laugh out loud again, like eighteen inches was going to stop everything.  Standing in line, I started to think maybe I forgot what snow was like, maybe we wouldn't be able to get anywhere.  The checker said, "I grew up in Illinois and no, this isn't any big deal.  They just don't know what to do with it here."  So I walked to the car, told it all to Adam and he laughed out loud too.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with Misty, Dave and the girls at Dad's house.  Before we went, we visited the Natural History museum, but mostly the kids just played.  Seth, Ryan and Dayton played tagged and typical silly kids games.  They did alot of "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" with their toes in a circle.  Just like Ryan tagged along to play with Hadley (who was older), Dayton tagged along to play with Ryan and Ryan "taught" her to play with them.  They were all so cute together.  Paisley was a little young, so she mostly just wandered around on her own.  While playing, Misty made Shanna's pretzel jello (which Shanelle just told me that Shanna doesn't remember ever making, but that have great memories of that being her specialty at family dinners) and homemade rolls that survived despite having to "remember" the yeast at the end.  I, however, was not quite as successful with the yams.  Hurrying to get them in the oven so I could run water over the arm I just burned, I didn't take off the lid.  When we checked on them, the marhsmallows were so puffed up they were lifting the lid and obviously not browning.  Deciding to just remove the top layer that were glued to the lid, we placed them on the table browned to a perfect spiderweb of marshmallow deliciousness.  Luckily, Misty added enough sugar and butter that they really were tasty despite the weblike-mallows...  to be cont.

Adam and K.C.'s Week of Fun

Did anyone get that Joey from "Friends" reference?  Adam had the week off between semesters and so we had some fun.  We went on a bike ride to one of George Washington's gardens, but the coolest part was the grass bench.  Yes!  A bench made out of dirt with grass on top.  It was awesome!  I rode with him on some of his runs (he's training for the triathlon next year).  We went to the temple and saw Brother and Sister Cole from Dad's ward.  We visited the Masonic temple (it was amazing) and ate at Bilbo Baggins (it was named after the books not the movies or else Adam would not have eaten there).   He got to come for helping day at school.  The kids were so happy to have him there.  School is starting again, so we'll finally have some clean clothes again.  I just don't get enough work done when we are working so hard on playing.

My First Capital Rally

I went to the capital steps to stand against the Health Care Reform Bill.  It was really awe-inspiring.  I was shocked at the number of people, but I was also impressed with how kind and polite everyone was.  It was great standing up for something I believe in and joining with others in a cause.

Williamsburg

Training in the "Awkward Squad"-- once he can load and fire his musket four times in a minute, he'll graduate out.

the courtroom

Seth LOVED playing hoops.

Ryan liked hoops too, but she loved making her very first throw over the post.  Daddy never did make one.

The kids delivering letters to the printer.

watering the garden with the Master Gardener

on the bus, resting our feet

Revolutionary City

General Lafayette

on the way to the Palace maze

waiting for our last bus ride of the night

I almost didn't put this picture in because my camera on my belt makes me look like I have a huge roll, so I am clearly stating "It is not a roll, it is a camera!"

We went to Colonial Williamsburg over Veteran's Day weekend.  We had a fabulous time.  It was so much fun.  We went down to the hotel Sunday night.  We brought microwave meals with us so we didn't have to eat out, but our hotel didn't have a microwave, so we had to use the hotel next door.  The kids, of course, did lots of jumping across the beds.  The next day we dressed the kids up in colonial garb and they got letters that sent them on errands (Ryan was helping a friend with a sick sister and Seth was training for the militia).  She learned etiquette and Seth trained with his musket.  They both learned their courtesies (a curtsy for Ryan with a "Goodday, ma'am/sir" and a bow for Seth with his leg turned out to show off his calf and a flourish of his hat) and did them to anyone else in costume.  The interpreters were very impressed!  They helped out in the garden and picked up letters at the post office and delivered them to the printmaker.  We also saw the wigmaker, the silversmith, the castle maze, the horses and buggy... the list goes on.  But all in all, we had a great time!  Before we left, we stopped at Yankee Candle which was huge.  The kids dipped candles, danced in the bubble snow, looked at the Christmas houses and Adam bought everyone chocolate caramel corn.  I love being with my family!