DC

Lewis decided to take a couple of days of his vacation and we decided to spend it in Washington, D.C.! It was a great weekend. We got there Friday evening (we left right after my allergist appointment) and had dinner with our old pals from Connecticut, the Morgans. The rest of the weekend and Monday were spent exploring. Museums, the archives, and monuments. We had a wonderful time and even ended it with some new running shoes from a nike outlet just in time for our big half marathon this weekend.

Me and Amy. She's super awesome.

Saturday we parked behind the air and space museum and walked across the mall to the archives. We were lucky there was no line, we walked right in as it opened.

Next stop was the Natural history museum. 

The trees were so beautiful, we came at just the right time.

Next stop was the American History museum. Aiden loved the First Lady dress room.

And the kids were excited to see Harry Potter's costume from one of the movies.

After lunch we went to the national gallery of art. Cate saw this picture on a brochure and was thrilled when we found it. She also loved looking at the people thought the pyramids!

We started Sunday morning with a walking your of the memorials. It was a great reminder to me that one person really can make a difference and that we all have an obligation to try and make the world a better place.

This is a random photo but I loved it. She pointed and he fed her. Can you say wrapped around her finger?

We ended up at the Lincoln memorial.

Then hit the air and space museum.

And ended at the capital which was closed. Bummer.

We drove up to Kensington to see the temple, visitor center, 

And the house I lived in from 1 to 6 grade. They painted it yellow and added an addition, but it was so fun to show the kids where I lived when I was their ages.

Monday morning started with a tour of the Capitol building. 

Then visited the hirshhorn museum which is a modern art museum. Not much was open and some of it was very dark so we just spent. Few minutes there.

Then headed to the part of the national gallery that is modern art. Aiden enjoyed this piece which shows the skin cord of a group of people. There was a chart to the side with the names of the people. It was cool.

That evening we visited the Morgans again. The kids got along swimmingly.

Tuesdays morning we went to the a Washington monument to get our park passports stamped and then walked by the White House. After that we headed out of town.

Allergy update

After the last post I went to the allergist. She recommended: at CT scan to determine if I had nasal polyps or cysts, allergy blood testing, and a steroid shot then 5 days of prefnisone (another steroid). She also prescribed me singular and a nasal spray steroid to use every day. 

I got to visit Lewis at work for the ct scan and he read it for me. I dont have nasal polyps or cysts, but I do have a deviated septum and a large spur. That was good news. A couple of days later my eyes were back to normal and I was enjoying the effects of the steroids on my runs. :) 
She wanted to see me in two weeks which was yesterday. I had more allergy testing done-- this time skin testing. Well, as we know I have several severe allergies. I have gone off sugar and dairy (for the most part)at Nana's recommendation, and am hoping that will help me to be less reactive. I saw a different allergist and she recommended I start immunotherapy which is also known as allergy shots. She said it is expensive and  a long term process, but I am willing to see if it helps. She also said that sometimes eczema is caused by foods that cross react when certain trees and grasses are pollinating.

Very interesting since my allergies have been presenting that way. So, in the fall I should be avoiding melons, cucumbers and zucchini,etc. I am hopeful that avoiding these foods will help my eyes to not swell. Wouldn't that be great?!?!? 

The highlighted allergens are the ones that really do it for me: 

My lovely eyes

So, this morning when I woke up my eyes were more swollen than ever. Which is super fun. Ugh. Luckily, I was able to get in to see an allergist today. I am praying they will agree to do testing today but I'm not counting on it because they most likely won't do it with my face in such bad shape. 

I'm guessing they will want to put me on steroids and see me in a couple of weeks. I know it makes them nervous to do allergy testing because I will have a bad reaction, but I would rather just go on steroids one time. This is getting ridiculous!

Long weekend get away

I am attempting to blog while vacuuming. I am having trouble getting the posts to actually publish, so hopefully this one will work. The kids didn't have school Monday for Colombus Day and Tuesday for parent teacher conferences, so we decided to hit the road. Jackie and Brian and their kids have just moved to the area so it was the perfect excuse to hit the road and make a visit to our old stomping grounds. We left Thursday after school and arrived at around 11 pm, the drive was about 9 hours.

Friday we met a bunch of friends for lunch at Little Donkey. It was delicious as usual. Then we had to make a stop at Steel city pops to try the new fall flavors! Pumpkin was the winner. We visited friends in the afternoon and aiden got to go to one of her old soccer team's games. They were so excited to see her and so surprised. She got to warm up with them and sit on the bench for the game.

Saturday morning I got up early to run long. I went with my friend Lisa who runs with a group. It was nice to have company on my long run and to have water stops along the way. I wish I could run with her more often but I am way slower than her. Later in the morning we met up with friends at Edgewood Elementary to play. Court brought Emi late and she came with pizza for everyone! It was great and everyone got nice and dirty. Jackie and Brian were able to go look at some houses while we played and then met us at home with yummy food from Saw's soul kitchen. I had what is probably my favorite thing ever: pork and greens. It is cheese grits topped with turnip greens then topped who BBQ pork and onion rings. Amazing.

We all enjoyed our time with little baby Caroline. She is the quietest, sweetest baby. Reminds me of cate.

Sunday we went to church at our old ward then got together with friends again for desserts that evening. It was so fun. I really love and miss my Birmingham friends.

Jackson enjoyed playing camp director as he and Abby lined up and ran down the hall over and over again. He would show her right where to stand, yell "g. I. Joe!" and race down the hall. It was so cute, they just laughed and laughed.

Monday was a holiday so j and b went to look at some more houses. I took the kids to get lunch food at Walmart and didn't get any advice or comments, many stares though!

Then we went to a park and played until lunch time at Hall kent. A was looking forward to lunch with her old pals and we almost didn't get to go. There are lots of new staff who do to know us and said she couldn't go on her own. Luckily, j and b got done early looking at houses and I went with a to lunch.

After school we took a to Caroline's house to play and stopped by the melby's on the way to say bye one more time.

While a was with her pal we went for a hike and ran the last of our energy out.we headed out early Tuesday morning in order to get home in time for parent teacher conferences. It only took us 8 1/2 hours to get home.

It was such a fun trip! We loved seeing our cousins and friends in one stop. I didn't think my kids would ever want to leave. And the didn't, but we had to go.

The only bad part about our trip was that my eyes got swollen again! And even my max dose antihistamines did nothing. Here they are Monday morning:

Tuesday morning:

And Thai morning (Wednesday):

I am going to the allergist here Friday to search once again for answers! Wish me luck!

Friday night camp out

 So, I keep avoiding the blog because I feel like I have way too much to catch up on. But tonight I decided I would just pick up here and post some photos from our overnight camp out this past weekend along the Williams River . Friday I picked up treats and foil dinner ingredients and searched diligently for an air mattress. We have one, but I knew 2 would fit in our new huge tent and I wanted to secure my spot on one because I had been dealing with some back pain. I wasn't successful and regretted it that night when I was sleeping on the ground between the air mattress and the therma rest. It was a long night. :) we checked the kids out of school at 12:30, loaded the car, and hit the road at 2. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get there but it was a beautiful drive.

West Virginia is so gorgeous. As soon as we arrived, the kids started hunting for these nut things while Lewis and I set up camp and started a fire. When it was going strong Lewis set out to fish and I got the foil dinners going.

Lewis got a fish and we enjoyed our dinner and s'mores before we hit the sack.

 Early the next morning we were up and  ready for oatmeal and hot chocolate. Our campsite was wonderful . On the river with a toilet and a fire ring/ picnic table, but no water. Luckily we brought enough for breakfast! We were packed up and out of there by 9:15. We drove up the road about ten more minutes to the Tea Creek Campground where we started our hike.

We had a great time hiking along the river and the kids and dog had a blast "crossing" the river.

Cate collected a rainbow along the way and we soon realized that this is not a well used trail!

It ended up being about 2 1/2 to 3 miles and a great time for all. After a picnic lunch we were on the road again. I love this photo of Brooks mid-sneeze!

But of course we had to take the long way home! It was a great weekend.