What do you do to make a birthday special when you are married to a history buff? Why you visit historical sites, of course. For his birthday Ken and I spent the day together driving through the beautiful Skyline Drive and then on to Montecello, the historical home of Thomas Jefferson. We had a terrific day and enjoyed all our time spent together.

 
This was Jacob's first ever Parade...and boy did it snow! It was super cold and slippery to boot. Look for Jake in the santa hat with dalmation dog ears! It was so much fun to watch him have so much fun.

Jacob's Marching Order

Throughout this past fall Jacob has enjoyed Marching with the local high school's Marching band. He has really enjoyed being the quid-essential "Band Geek" and the friends he has made throughout this experience!

 

 
Bike the Sites!
I cannot say enough good things about this experience. If you ever plan on visiting the DC area and want to tour the sites and memorials this is the way to go! I had taken a mistep earlier in the week and suspected (and later confirmed) that I had broken my foot. I have walked the national mall a couple of times. It takes hours and my feet hurt for days after. With the Bike the Sites tour we were able to cover all of the memorials, saw some new places like the Einstein monument and had a great time doing it, all in one evening. Only baby Wyatt had a hard time and I think that was due to the heat. Even though Ken and I had seen most of the places we went we loved experiencing it again with our family. This one was a keeper!

 
What fabulous families!

 
Luray caverns and maze are just a short 90 minute drive from our house and located in the Shanandoa Valley. We started the day with a tour of the caverns where beautiful formations and fantastic views were around every corner. It was nice and cool underground and it was amazing to see firsthand the natural beauty of the world we live in. After the caverns we had a quick pic-nic lunch, then waited out a thunderstorm in the Classic Car museum. After the storm had passed we ventured into the maze. It was so fun to get lost, turned around and loop the same grounds over and over. Thanks to BJ's good sense we were all able to escape before heat stroke had settled in. This experience just affirmed that although we live in a crazy world where it is easy to loose your way, if you are with those you love and pool your resources the experience can be joyous and detours can be learning opportunities.