I find it difficult to write about what a nice month this has been for our family, when so many are suffering after the bombings at the Boston marathon and the explosion in Texas. I remember the first post I did following the horrible tragedy in Newtown and wanting so badly to write something about what had happened, but I couldn't find the words. I still can't find the words. We all deal with tragedy in different ways. I was very depressed after Newtown, and it took a lot of talking with close family and friends to get through it. I felt selfish for being so down when I was not the one who had lost a child. I couldn't even look at Clara without getting emotional for several weeks after the shooting. I'm sure you have all had different reactions to the recent horrible events, and I hope that you have been able to find comfort and healing. While we must go on with our lives, we will keep the victims of tragedy and their families in our thoughts and in our prayers.
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| Pray for Peace |
This post will cover our recent Spring Break vacation, and I will do a separate post about Clara's birthday.
Joey, Clara and I took a week long Spring Break trip to Alexandria, VA this month. We broke the trip up into two days of driving both on the way there and on the way back. Clara did a great job traveling with us and was able to entertain herself pretty well during the long hours in the car. She also stuck to her sleep and nap schedule the entire trip, so she was rested and happy. We stayed with my Aunt Gay and Uncle Harry in their beautiful home and got to spend some really nice time with them and with my cousin Adam. Clara met Adam for the first time and is crazy about him. We visited the National Cathedral, the National Harbor and Children's Museum and toured old town Alexandria. We also visited my dear friend Megan and her family since they also live in Alexandria. On the way back we spent the night in New Jersey and visited the Adventure Aquarium in Camden. Clara loved it. Thank you Gay and Harry for treating us so well. We had a great time!
Here are the photos from our trip:
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| Getting ready for bed in the hotel |
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| Fun at the mall carnival! |
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| Daddy didn't feel well after this one. |
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| Hanging out with cousin Adam! |
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| The National Children's Museum |
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| Fun with chalk |
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| Shopping for groceries |
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| Big Bird! |
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| Clara and Mommy |
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| Children's Museum |
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| Anything strange about this picture??? |
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| Peep store at the National Harbor |
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| Walking on the Pier at the National Harbor |
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| Joey, Clara and Gay (GG) |
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| The National Cathedral |
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| Attending Evensong at the National Cathedral |
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| Fun at Megan's house |
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| The Birthday Girls! All three have April birthdays. |
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| Good times with Megan and family |
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| Daddy and Clara in old town Alexandria |
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| The Adventure Aquarium |
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| Clara's new friend |
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| Not so sure about this guy |
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| In the shark tank |
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| Surfing at the Aquarium! |
Check out the blog post all about Clara's birthday below this one! She turned two years old on April 20th!
Wishing you all beautiful Spring weather, especially in MN where friends and family have been enjoying April snow storms!
Take care,
Joey, Erin and Clara