On Saturday we went to the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. with my brother Josh and his family. We watched the Imax movie about the sun, and my high school friend Sonia met us there. It was a fun but soggy day - Hurricane Hannah was going through. I haven't seen that much rain since we moved to California. In fact I think they had as much rain in that one day as we get in a whole year here.
Dave's family got together Sunday afternoon at his parents' house in WV, and we managed to get all the cousins to hold still long enough for a picture.
Eight out of the nine siblings were there. Oldest to youngest from left to right: Alicia, Kevin, Dave, Christine, Thomas, Mary, Patrick and Elizabeth.
We went out to lunch with his sister Kat on Monday.
Then we went to Wilson's Wild Animal Park in Winchester, VA.
The boys had fun feeding animals, except when Tyler's whole arm got in the zebra's mouth. Luckily he got it out before it bit down.
Then we drove back to Josh's house on the way to the airport and the kids got to play together again. My cousin Mary came over too.
Asher is sure a happy guy. I love his smile - he looks just like Elizabeth.
We were also able to stop by my high school friend Bridget's house. It was another rainy day, but it stopped raining long enough for the boys to play in her beautiful backyard with her little boy.
So now we're back home and recovering. Dallin started preschool today, Brennan's getting over his cold he picked up on the trip, and I'm finally caught up on sleep and laundry. As fun as it is to go away, it's always nice to get back home.
The kids talked us into taking them to the circus on Saturday. They brought home BOGO coupons from school (buy one get one), which made it reasonably priced. We figured - how often do you get the chance to go to the circus? It turned out to be a LOT of fun. There were a few animals as we entered, and they even had camel and elephant rides. But at $6/each, we decided just to watch. Dallin was especially impressed by the elephant poo. He'll be talking about that for awhile, I'm sure.
I especially liked the acrobats. I love to watch talented people perform. It made me want to go to the Cirque Du Soleil in Vegas.
We got snow cones at intermission. The show was 2 hours long!
But my favorite part was the elephants. They were SO cute! I was amazed at how easily and quickly they moved, unlike the ones at the zoo that just stand there and eat.
And is it just my imagination, or are they smiling? They really seemed to be enjoying themselves out there, despite what the animal rights protesters at the entrance claim.
I just love them. They're so dang cute.
Despite the length, the kids were completely captivated by the entire show. It was definitely a hit.
My aunt Marilyn and my mom are hilarious together. I don't know what's so funny half the time, but they sure crack each other up. We always know when mom's on the phone with her sister - she'll laugh so hard she can't even talk. We're all sad to see Marilyn move away. She works at the airport and just got transferred back to Salt Lake City. But I'm sure her family is happy to have her closer.
I spent most of the time reading on the porch, enjoying the sea breeze and watching the kids playing in the water.
There was a place nearby for Dave's dad to get his dialysis three times a week while they were there.
The water was super warm. They were in it constantly. Spencer's favorite thing to do in the water was catch jellyfish with his hands. Amazingly he didn't mind getting stung.
Dave's brother Thomas and his family were there all week. Andrew just turned 12. 
Luke turned 6 years old while we were there.
Allison's 2 1/2 and cute as a button with her curly little pigtails.
The water was very calm the first day, and Dave and the boys went fishing. They caught a few small fish. 
There was a lovely screened in porch facing the bay with awesome views out all three sides. We ate most our meals here.
The second day we got Maryland Blue Crabs (which Dave misses in California) and the kids got to help transfer the live crabs to the pot.
Thomas cooked them perfectly - smothered in Old Bay seasoning, of course. 
Dave's sister Mary and her husband drove down from D.C. - they're expecting a baby boy in December.
The boys caught on real quick how to get the meat out. 
With all the windows open we heard the waves crashing against the rocks every night. I woke up early the third morning and caught the sunrise. Weird to see the sun rising over the water instead of setting, like it does in CA. 
By the end of the three days the cousins were inseparable. 
Before we left we took one last walk along the beach. We walked for a really long time before we got to another house. Talk about a private beach.
Along the hike we found a horseshoe crab shell, lots of sea glass and shells, and various blue crab parts.
