Our big trip!

Back in May we loaded up the car on a very rainy night (a rainy night that lasted for a day or two and flooded people's homes. I'm so thankful our home didn't suffer any damage!!) and set off to Tucson. I don't remember how long the drive was but I do remember lots of singing (the ABCs, specifically), several bathroom stops, and one poop emergency. Sometimes Caden will say he needs to poop just so we'll pull over and when we pull over he suddenly doesn't need to poop anymore. But this time he was freaking out and of course there weren't any rest stops nearby. So Caden left his mark on New Mexican soil...in the form of a giant turd. I laugh-cried as I made him a toilet seat with my arms. It was HILARIOUS. We finally made it to Tucson and spent the night there with my family. I love my family! The next morning we flew to Washington D.C. for Nathaniel's graduation from Liberty University. Before we left I cried and cried and punished myself for even thinking about leaving my babies. I had never spent more than a very few hours away from Isla. The longest I had been away from Caden was when Isla was born. It was so hard for me. And Isla was still breastfeeding. She was down to twice a day, along with tons of food and cups of milk and water. I knew that she would be fine because breastmilk wasn't her only source of nourishment but I underestimated how not fine I would be. Oh.my.goodness. I was NOT fine. On day two (of six) I was crying in pain. Somehow I had forgotten just how truly awful the drying up process was. Let my folly be lesson to every woman on planet Earth: do not EVER go cold turkey on breastfeeding. Do it gradually. I couldn't even move my arms on day three. It was a hellish experience but we went to Target and bought a Medela hand pump. That little pump was actually really, really good!! I was able to express milk and just dump it. When we got back my supply was still decent. Isla's actually still nursing before bedtime! 

So anyways, we flew off in a teeny tiny plane and left Caden and Isla with my very capable and loving family. We met up with Nathaniel's mom and his grandma in the airport and stayed that night in the DC area. The next morning we got up at the buttcrack of dawn and made our way to The White House. Several months ago Nathaniel wrote to our senator in Alaska and requested a White House tour (if you're wondering how to secure a tour, that's how you do it! Write your state senator). It was really cool. I was so excited and I seriously thought that there would be 20-50 people and that we were super privileged. No, there were 2,000 people who traveled though The White House that morning!! haha They didn't all go through at the same time. Even if I wasn't part of the elite, it was still cool :) no pictures were allowed but here's a picture of a map of the rooms we were able to go in.  

When we walked in tears sprang into my eyes. I'm not entirely sure why. Most likely it was the fact that I was standing within The White House, a building that symbolizes so much. 

So we were able to peek in the Library, Vermeil Room, and the China room. The China Room held china, obviously. Or not obviously. Maybe you, like me, envisioned a room decked out in Chinese decor. Or maybe that was just me...so yea, it held china, as in plates and stuff (no idea why I thought that The White Hiuse would have a room dedicated to China haha). I was unimpressed with most of the presidential china. It was really cool to see such old dish sets and think about the people who used them but most of the sets were seriously ugly. Sorry. 

We were able to walk through the East Room, which is the room where Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy lay after their assassinations. 

We then walked through the Green, Blue, and Red rooms. Again, seriously hideous. I feel bad saying that! But it's part of the White House history so it's ok I guess. (Although if I were First Lady I might pull a Jackie O. and redecorate the whole place. I guess it's a good thing Nathaniel has no presidential plans! haha) One of the Secret Service agents said that when the White House is open for visitors they roll up the carpets so they don't get destroyed and move around the furniture and when we all leave everything goes right back to normal. As if no one had ever been there! 

Lastly, we walked through The State Dining Room. The table and the flower arrangements were incredible. The Secret Service agent said that the flowers are replaced every other day. The flowers were so fragrant and just gorgeous. 

Waiting for our tour to start! 

Nathaniel, his mom, and his grandma :) 

We walked out the front entrance. It was awesome. No pictures are allowed until after you've walked through the columns.

Blair House!! It's right across the street from The White House. So I've been to Blair Castle in Scotland and now Blair House in Washington D.C.!

Again, Blair House.

After our jaunt at The White House we rented a car and drove three hours to Lynchburg, Virginia where Nathaniel's graduation would be. On the way there was stopped at Chick-fil-a and neither Nathaniel's mom, nor his grandma had ever had it before! They both seemed a little skeptical of chicken nuggets but after one bite they were hooked. Chick-fil-a just makes me happy. I love that tasty chicken. Nathaniel's grandma booked us rooms in a quaint bed and breakfast with a no-nonsense owner and her nerdy husband. They were very nice but she was very...blunt. Matter of fact. To the point. No extra frills about her. She was actually delightful in her own way. The B&B was called "The Carriage House Inn" and here's a link for anyone who wants to look: http://www.thecarriagehouseinnbandb.com/

Nathaniel and I stayed in the Emma Hurt Watts room while Ginger and Mama Kat (his mother and grandmother, respectively) stayed in the Mary Watts room. It was really nice! The couple who owned it really fixed it up and brought back to its former glory. But they forgot to put in tvs for the spoiled guests like me. Instead of watching tv we actually had to talk to each other. Can you imagine?! The horror. 

The B&B

The carriage house, after which the place was named.

We toured the Liberty University campus and I was super impressed. I've never attended LU but I definitely wouldn't mind my children attending!! I was very impressed. On Friday they had a military recognition night that we went to. Nathaniel got all snazzed up in his blues. The ceremony was really nice. I'm glad we went!

Receiving a coin. He's the guy saluting with his back to the camera.

The next day was the actual graduation. We got there at 7am, parked a bazillion miles away, and sat on bleachers watching the processional for TWO HOURS. That's how many graduates there were!!! It was incredible. The ceremony had several speakers, including Jerry Fawell and Jeb Bush, and it was very well done. Again, I was really impressed! After that ceremony we had another one to attend. It was for all the School of Business graduates. 

 

Almost all of those seats were filled! And thank God for those clouds. The sun broke through for a few minutes and we all started melting!

Do you see him?! He's right in the front:) 

This is the second ceremony. Look at how packed this place was!

Three very proud women and their graduate:) 

I'm going to stop there for now. I still have two days worth of pictures from the rest of our trip but I'll save them for my next post. I feel like this one is already quite lengthy! I'm very excited to talk about the DC portion of our trip (we went back to DC after his graduation)!!