When we planned a big family trip to Lake Winnipesaukee with John's brothers a year in advance, we didn't know that I would be almost 9 months pregnant when it came time to go. So our summer family trip became a boys' trip while Sadie and I stayed home and got the house in order for Lucy's arrival. John and the boys had the best time, but who wouldn't at a place like this?
The boys loved to just paddle around in the boats and jump on the trampoline with cousins.
They spent most of their time in the water, but they also made some day trips to explore the surrounding areas. They took a chairlift ride...
And they spent a day on the coast in Portland, Maine...
They even got adventurous with the local cuisine...
John said the boys would just crash in bed at the end of every day...the true sign of a GOOD vacation.
In May, John had the opportunity to be sworn in with the Supreme Court in Washington DC - which basically means if he ever had a case go that far, he'd be able to argue in front of the Supreme Court! Thanks to our wonderful family who watched our kids, I was able to go with him and we enjoyed a whole weekend touring around and celebrating this incredible experience. Since I had never been before, we had to walk "the mall" and see as many monuments as we could. We decided to go at night when they were all lit up - so beautiful!
Washington Monument
World War II Monument
Lincoln Memorial
These were a few of my favorites. The Lincoln Memorial was especially impressive - much bigger than I realized. It was A LOT of walking for this pregnant mama's feet, but there was just too much to see so we had to keep going and going! Other highlights of our trip included visiting Old Town Alexandria...
On the trolley in Alexandria
Going to Eastern Market (a farmer's market and flea market) and waiting in the LONG line for some very delicious blueberry buckwheat pancakes...
Going to a few different museums (I was so surprised that most of them were FREE) like the National Gallery of Art and the Air and Space Museum. We seriously considered bringing back a couple of these Top Gun helmets for the boys, but we didn't have room in our luggage. Had to try one on in honor of my dad the pilot...
Every night was date night since we were sans kiddos, but Saturday night was especially fun. We had dinner at Nando's Peri Peri (a Mozambique place in Chinatown known for their yummy chicken rub - it was delish!)...
After dinner, my sweet husband let me stroll through some of my favorite stores like Zara, H&M, and Anthropologie. After another stop for some frozen yogurt, we headed to our final destination to see comedian, Brian Regan...haven't laughed that hard in a long time!
The last day of our trip was John's special day at the Supreme Court. They fed us a yummy breakfast in a very fancy waiting room. The Supreme Court Clerk, William Suter, came in to explain how the whole process would work...
They take things very seriously there and everything worked like clock work. I felt kind of like a school child who was going to get in trouble at any minute for doing something wrong, but luckily I didn't. The whole swearing in process took less than 20 minutes. We were surprised to have all 9 justices be present for it. They read some opinions on a few cases (very cool to listen to!) and then swore in each of the lawyers there.
Sadly, no pictures were allowed in the actual court room, but we were lucky enough to have a few of the justices stop in to chat and take some photos, including Chief Justice Roberts!
He was very charismatic and warm. You could just tell he was a cool guy...
Justice Alito stopped by too and had some very nice things to say about his experience with BYU alumni...
And finally, Justice Ginsburg came in to visit. I don't think I heard a word she said (she was so tiny and soft-spoken)...
Just had to get a picture of my bona fide hubby outside the Supreme Court - hopefully he makes it back there someday to argue a case!
Warning: Very long post ahead...just had to get it done!
The next day we went on a little hike up at Cascade Springs with John's brother, Mark, and his family. It's a quick hike, which is good since it was pretty warm up there on the mountain, but so worth it for beautiful views like this...
It's perfect for young kids...the cousins had a great time together.
These guys were my picture posing pros...
Sadie had it made in the shade...
But, of course, she had to get down and do a little exploring on her own too...
The other explorers managed to find a few fish swimming around...
We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at Mark and Candace's house - the kids played, the adults talked...it was great. We even got to help Emma celebrate her 3rd birthday that night (a fun little peek at what I'm in for as Sadie grows up - a whole lot of princess and pink!).
We met up with them again on Friday in Park City. John's mom (along with 6 more cousins...that's 12 total for this outing!) came too for some Alpine Slide fun. Granny Sylvia watched Sadie for us while we took the boys up the chairlift...
The ride up was fun, but it's way better coming down! John managed to catch me and Matt Mo crossing the finish line...
Later, we met up with my brother, Josh, and his family for dinner. They happened to be driving down from Wyoming for the weekend - lucky for us! We ordered a pizza and let the kids run wild at a nearby park...
Our kids are the same ages and they had lots of fun together. Sadie and cousin Zach are only 3 weeks apart...
It was fun catching up with them, we could've stayed all night chatting...especially the 2 lawyers discussing work (with a side of fishing/camping...yawn).
Our last day of fun before the LONG drive home was spent with cousins again...yay! This time, at Rock Canyon Park. There's a nice little river flowing through it from all the winter snow - perfect for the kids to go tubing down...
From what I was told, the water was FREEZING cold. It obviously didn't phase the big kids, but Sadie was not having it...
She still had a good time though...
She was happy to chase the dog and run away from her crazy brothers...
Later that night, we met up with some of John's high school friends and their families. Sadly, I completely forgot to take any pictures! It was a great end to our week in Utah though. Definitely a summer vacation to remember. We're already missing the mountains and the cooler weather, but nothing beats home, sweet, home!
