Nick and Jen Lloyd

Jonah has something he would like to say….

Also, be sure to look further down the page cuz I added some stuff in between that I had been procrastinating on. (Philadelphia and Labor Day)

Nick and I decided to go check out a protest in DC that my Mom and my Aunt Amy were thinking about coming to (but didn’t). It was a pretty big protest, they called it the 912 project. It was hard to tell what they were really protesting…mostly they were all conservatives and don’t like what Obama is up to. Nick put together a sweet little documentary on the protest using the new CANON (gasp!) that his company now has. He is pretty excited about this Canon because it takes full 1080p video but it looks like a photo camera…which means it’s much easier to schlep than a regular video camera!
We took the metro into DC to avoid all the crazy parking…it was Jonah’s first time on the metro!

A good husband will carry your purse when your arm gets too tired…no matter how silly he looks. Although in his new jacket he looks like a model…even though he can’t lift his arms. Love you hubster!

Jonah had his four month check up and shots on Tuesday. He weighed in at 16 lb 6 oz and 26.5 inches tall! He jumped from the 50th percentile for height to the 90th! That’s one big growth spurt!

Our labor day adventures included…Jonah’s first hike! In the Patapsco State Park…who knew you could feel like you were in the woods right outside of Baltimore?!

We also spent a day in Gettysburg (inspired by my sister!)


Nick always impresses me with his knowledge of history! Between him and the CD car tour I was able to better understand the battle of Gettysburg.

For some reason people like to rub Col. O’Rourke’s nose for luck…luck of the Irish I suppose.

Gettysburg is supposedly the most haunted place in the nation because of how many people died there…so we had to take a ghost tour!

As the Hunters made their way to New York to see Dustin’s brother Charlie, they stopped in Philadelphia. I’ve never been there so I decided to tag along. The first hour in the city we spent attempting to park and getting honked at A LOT…the streets are very narrow and the drivers are insane! So that was an adventure all by itself.

Once we had finally parked, our next goal was to find a good place to get a cheese steak. It was about 4pm. After filling our tummies with the local favorite, we decided to go see some historic stuff…but then we realized it was 4:45 and…

So we rushed to the Liberty Bell and were the last ones to be allowed in. Here I am in the last picture to be taken that day (thank you Nicole!) as the park rangers yelled at us to clear out.

Then we went for a stroll…we saw the outside of the Betsy Ross house.

Ben Franklin’s grave (a VERY accomplished man…there was a sign that said everything he did and I was impressed!) I couldn’t figure out why people would toss pennies on his grave when he is on the $100…but I looked it up and I guess it’s because the phrase “a penny saved is a penny earned” is attributed to him. But in the same article they had a funny new quote…”a penny tossed is a penny lost!”

We also strolled down “Elfreth’s Alley”…the nation’s oldest continuously occupied street.(Since 1702!) It was very cute.

Overall I like Philly…Nick and I will have to go back sometime!(Sometime from 10-5!)

Day 5 Nicole, Dustin and Mersadie headed for Gettysburg while Carson, Jonah and I stayed home and watched movies (due to the cold we’ve all been sharing…isn’t sharing nice?!)

Cousins…waiting for parents to get ready for church.

After church we headed for Arlington Cemetery where we saw the spot where they buried the Kennedy that just died and also witnessed the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Sunset on the Potomac…gorgeous.

My friend Abby told me when we first moved here that the best time to see the monuments is at night…we ended up at the lincoln monument as the sun was setting and I have to say that Abby was right…it was beautiful. Here is Nick and I on the steps of the Lincoln monument overlooking the reflecting pool…Nick managed to wake up for the day and join us!

To start off the day, Nick got up bright and early for us and got tickets to go to the top of the Washington Monument at 10 am.

The rest of us barely made it in time…between kids throwing up, road construction and parking…it was an adventure! But we made it…with a few seconds to spare. Sadly, the humidity that day fogged up the little windows at the top so we had to peer through the drips in condensation to catch a glimpse of the view.

Next on the agenda was the Air and Space Museum. (Except for Nick, next on his agenda was sleeping…the rest of the day, haha)

Stroller buddies!

Then the Museum of Natural History

And as we were leaving we happened to catch the funeral procession of the late Senator Kennedy that died.

Taking care of three kids…
Dustin and Nicole headed in to DC to see some of the stuff that would be too “boring” for the kids. So I stayed home with the kids. And boy were we busy…

Carson LOVED playing tug of war and fetch with Zoey

Cousins!

Sadie thought Jonah might like some goldfish

And my favorite part of the day was NAPTIME! Is that bad to say? Seriously though, naps are God’s gift to mothers!

Baltimore Aquarium!
My sister Nicole, her husband Dustin and kids Carson and Mersadie came to visit for a week! The first day they were here we headed to the aquarium…

Cute little Mersiade

Looking at frogs and snakes

Looking at birds and monkeys

Watching the dolphin show…Carson loved it!

This flip is half the show. It was a pretty short dolphin show, nothing like seaworld.