Happy Birthday Uncle Clayton!

This year we celebrated Uncle Clayton's 30th birthday with a trip to Maryland.  We were all excited, but Levi had been talking about flying on a plane again for a while.  He would tell anyone who would listen that he was going on "bacation to Maryland."  Mat had to spend the first part of the week working, so Levi and I headed out with the rest of the family.

A view of our house from the beach

I was worried- we had just barely gotten the hang of the whole potty training thing, I was 29 weeks pregnant (and tired!), and Levi was having some very "two year old" moments- but we survived and had a great time.  Levi did great on the plane ride there.  Gran was impressed with Mommy's bag of tricks, and Levi enjoyed the new books, toys, and lots and lots of snacks.

We spent most of the day Monday in Annapolis at the Naval Academy.   I loved Annapolis.  It was so quaint, and it looked like it was straight out of a history book.  The academy was absolutely beautiful.  We saw lots of boats, enjoyed the beautiful buildings, toured the beautiful chapels, and even watched lunch formation which was impressive.

Tuesday we headed to the National Aquarium.  We had heard great things about it, and I thought Levi would love it.  His two favorite things from the day were the escalators and the large pictures of fish they had hanging throughout the building.  If you ask him about it now, he talks about all of the things he loved seeing- the sting rays, giant turtle, alligator, the little blue fish he chased- so I know he enjoyed it on some level.  :)  After the aquarium we ate lunch at Phillips (thanks to a recommendation from a friend) and all enjoyed it!  Poor Mat missed out (and he heard about it for the rest of the week...)

Wednesday we headed into Washington D.C.  This was one of the things I was most looking forward to, but it was a tough day.  It was hot...really hot...especially for the toddler and the pregnant lady!  We walked through the mall and saw lots of memorials and monuments.  While they were all impressive, I think my favorites were the WWII memorial and the Lincoln memorial.  Levi liked the Lincoln memorial as well and wanted me to read every word of the Gettysburg Address to him  (I paraphrased...)  On our way back to the car, Levi had a heat-induced melt down about a stick he had dropped.  He was so upset he made himself sick.  Mommy was stressed, Levi was S-C-R-E-A-M-I-N-G (and I was worried he might be on the verge of holding his breath until he passed out), and we were all unsure about just what to do and how to help him.  Gran and Grandad came to the rescue with a fruit popsicle, and once Levi had some cold sugar pumped into his little body he calmed down.

WWII Memorial

Lincoln Monument

Happy Levi (after his popsicle!)

After lunch we headed to Arlington National Cemetery.  It was still hot...and all uphill but absolutely beautiful and very moving.   We walked through the cemetery and up towards the Kennedys grave sites.  Along the way we saw several funeral processions and watched a 21 gun salute.  Levi impressed me throughout the trip, but particularly this afternoon.  While we stopped to watch, Levi sat (for the most part) and whispered quietly.  Our next stop was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for the changing of the guard, but after walking a little ways uphill towards the tomb, I decided Levi and I probably wouldn't make it.  I needed a cool spot to sit down, and I was pretty sure we had seen our moments of quiet reverence from Levi already.  Although I was disappointed to miss it, the cool air in the lobby and water were a welcome relief for both of us!

Mat flew in Wednesday night.  We were all glad to see him!  I was glad for him to finally have a few days off and glad to have his help.  :)  Thursday was a busy day, but I think most of us would agree that it was one of our favorite days!  One of the things Uncle Clayton really wanted to do was to spend some time out on a sailboat.  He arranged for us to go out with Captain Phil on his sailboat for the morning, and it was so much fun!  He took us around the harbor in Baltimore and had lots of interesting tid bits about sailboats and the city.  Levi had a good time except for the fact that he had constant hand holding from one of the 6 adults.  He was not a fan but he survived.  :)

After our morning on the water we had time for a quick nap and then we headed back to D.C. for a baseball game.  No Kelso Family Vacation is complete without a baseball game!  We had great seats, the Nationals won, and Levi did GREAT!  He stayed in his seat (well...our row of seats...) the entire time and enjoyed eating, playing with the chairs, and more eating.  It was a great night!

Friday morning was a relaxed morning (and one of my favorites).  Our house was right on the water.  We had a private beach as well as two kayaks and a canoe to use.  Levi loved playing in the sand and splashing in the water.  We took turns going out on the boats, and Levi even had has first trip out on a kayak.  When he and Mat came back in, Levi was helping paddle.  I asked him if he had fun, and he said, "Yes, but I'm a little disappointed because I got in trouble!"  Apparently Daddy was a little worried that Levi's desire to help might actually tip them over!

 Working hard on his sand castle

Saturday we spent the day in Delaware (with the rest of the eastern coast apparently!)  We spent a few hours exploring the area, and then headed to the beach.  It was packed!!!  I'm not sure I've ever been to a beach that was that crowded.  We didn't stay for very long, but Levi enjoyed digging a large hole in the sand with Daddy, making a sand castle and running from the waves.  He would venture out into the water, and then as soon as a wave would start to come in, he'd turn around and run yelling, "Get away!!  It's coming!!"

We had a wonderful week!  We are so thankful to be able to make such fun memories with our family.