Cremers' visit

Here are some random pictures from their trip out to see us.  We watched the fireworks down at Navy Pier on the 4th of July, we hit the taste of chicago, planetarium, NCAA head quarters, Kings Island and Dave and Busters to name a few places.  "Little Chris" this title may only be according to weight now since he has passed me in height got the better of me in snooker, let me beat him in tennis, and watched whatever movie I popped in at night.  Venita was my favorite doubles partner, ok she was the only one who would play with me as Courtney wanted to be Little Chris's partner.  They were awful good sports about all the rain that we got while they were here and we really enjoyed seeing them.  Now it is Kim and I for a while and of course Lily who makes sure to get her attention daily through the kicking and moving around in Kim's stomach.

weekend reunion

  We had a great weekend, my brother Chad, his wife Stef, and his two daughters, Lauren and Danielle came over.  Joining them was my sister Jodi and her daughter Karli and last but not least my mom and step dad Ron.  The weekend started with food, and then swimming.

We moved inside for if Chad was telling the story forever as we opened gifts for Lily.  Truth be told Chad was just ready to dig into the cake and I must say it was very good cake.  We got some toys that made noise....thanks mom!  And some really cool stuff.  

Back outside for some tennis and swimming, I have to say I think Ron and I got the best of Chad and mom before we went in to clean up for dinner.

While we played tennis Kim took the girl shopping at the mall where many "bargains" were found.

Chad grilled up some great pork chops that Stef had wrapped in bacon.  My mom had brought some sweet corn which was excellent and there was plenty more food, no one went hungry and in fact I have been eating left overs all week long.

Next was out to the pool for a movie which proved to be more exciting then planned as a bat started dive bombing at people in chairs.  It really added to a memorable day.

Weekend updates with karaoke

The weekend already seems so long ago, we started off Saturday with a little work party at Mary and Brent's house.  It was a beautiful day and the food was good, there was a rumor that there would be karaoke but I figured a small little machine not a full on DJ and professional equipment.  Apparently Brent does like karaoke and so does his family as you will see in the video.  I agreed to do a song with DJ's daughter Emily, I hear she had fun but it could have been some mental anguish and trauma from my singing.  It is part her fault for picking Madonna but she was a good sport and stayed for the whole song.  Kim got up and did her thing, and if you listen closely she might be singing backup in another song while she was recording.

The weekend ended with a pre-fathers day celebration where Kim took me out to eat.

First Video

Chris' first time feeling Lily kick

Last night while laying down at the hotel watching a movie, Lily was doing some kung foo fighting inside Kim's tummy as normal and Chris got to feel her kick for the very first time. Actually got to feel her kick about 5 or 6 times. It was so cool! I'm sure there will be plenty more opportunities to come.

Washington DC Part 2

What a great city. Friday we started our day at the Smithosian Castle, then headed to the Museum of American History (complete with Dorothy's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz). Next we went to the Museum of Natural History and viewed all the ancient dinosaur and other creatures bones before heading off to the Museum of American Indian for a fantastic native american lunch. For those of you who haven't been to DC, all the Smithosian museums are completely free and they would still be worth it even if you had to pay normal museum admission prices. Friday afternoon we headed back to the hotel for a workout then hit the McCormick & Schmicks for a seafood dinner.

Saturday was another great day. More walking than a person should do in one day, but it was well worth it. We started our day at Arlington National Cemetery. Got to see Kennedy's grave, the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, and even spotted a gravesite for an "Albee". After Arlington we made our way back into DC on the metro to see the Museum of Portrait and American Art. The hall of presidents and the folk art displays were both incredibly interesting. From there we made it down to Pennsylvania & Constitutition Avenues going by the National Archives, the Capitol building, then on the back side of the Capitol to the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, and House and Senate office buildings. We spent some time inside the Library of Congress which was very beautiful and interesting. From there, we took the long walk from the Smithosian Castle, down past the Treasury departments engraving and printing office, to the Jefferson Memorial, around to the Roosevelt Memorial and finally back up to the Smithosian again. That pretty much took up until 6pm. We arrived back at the hotel with some pretty tired feet that allowed us only to get a couple blocks away from the hotel for dinner.

Sunday we are planning to hit the Iwo Jima memorial (actually the Marines memorial) then we are off to Georgetown to check out all the old homes before flying back to Indianapolis. What a great time.

Albee Gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery

(not sure who this Albee is, but maybe I'll try to look it up) New artwork of Obama in the National Portrait Gallery

Picture of Chris in front on Capitol building

Inside the Library of Congress

View of the Jefferson Memorial

Washington DC

We spent about 6 hours in Indianapolis Tuesday night after our Oregon trip before getting up and flying off to Washington DC the following morning so Kim could attend a conference for UPS (go brown). Our first time flying into Reagan National airport, just a quick cab ride from the hotel in downtown DC. Wednesday evening we were able to get out on a sightseeing walk. Got to see Watergate, the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the WWII Memorial & the White House before getting soaked in a torrential down pour. (I do mean torrential). After returning to the hotel and changing clothes, we ate a fantastic dinner at some famous Italian restaurant.

On Thursday, congress was actually in session until 3pm. Apparently Senators only work in DC 3 days per week before returning to their congressional districts. The normal DC work day doesn't start until 9am. Its a rough life. Kim had the chance to participate in a discussion with Tom Daschle (former US Senator and Majority Leader of the Democratic Party) about health care reform. Kim also got the chance for a private tour of the Newseum (a new museum in DC devoted to "news"). It was a fantastic museum if you get the chance. Thursday evening we got in a workout, had a nice dinner, and enjoyed hanging out together. Looking forward to a big day of Smithsonian museum visits on Friday.

The White House (right before the torrential downpour)

View of the Lincoln Memorial in the distance taken from the WWII Memorial in the front (reflecting pool in the middle between the two)

Washington Monument with reflecting pool in the fore ground