Washington DC Temple trip

Just recently we went up to DC for a temple trip. We stayed in a Hyatt Regency hotel (that we pricelined and only payed $50 for). It had an indoor heated pool and it was right on top of a metro station. How nice is that! Although it rained the entire time, we had a great time. Aaron and the kids swam while I went to the temple. Then the next morning the kids and I went to breakfast and walked the temple grounds while we waited for Aaron to come out. After, we took the metro and returned to the Natural history museum (the kids favorite) then ate at the Old Post office
I've always loved the DC temple, but this trip confirmed that it is my favorite. It is so beautiful and I'm sure it's even prettier in the spring and when the sun is shining. I'm glad we were able to make this trip because we will be moving out west soon.

Book #2 A Tale of Two Cities

This book took me forever to read! Even my husband was excited for me to finish. I read it back in 9th grade and remember liking it. Well, I did like it, but what I needed was my English teacher so I could really discuss what was going on. To be honest, I haven't read a classic novel in quite a while so I actually had to THINK about what I was reading!! (not quite the same as the Twilight series). I don't know if any of you have read this, but I do reccomend it if you are thinking of reading a good classic. I think the first half of the book was a little hard for me to get through and keep track of who was who. Oh, but once it got going I really enjoyed it.
I think my next book will take a little less brain power. I have to many other things to think about right now :)

Ryan's birthday and Ice skating

Ryan turned 6 last month and we celebrated together as a family. He really wanted to go to Chuckie Cheese's for his birthday, so we braved through a very busy chuckie cheese and had a good time. I made him a Lego cake because that is what he's obsessed with lately. I think it turned out ok, but on one of the pictures you can see that someone (nobody admits to it) took a nice chunk out of the side of the cake. Ryan got a lot of fun things, but especially loved the Razor scooter. I keep watching him ride and hoping that he doesn't come running in with a broken arm!!
The following weekend, we finally went ice skating for Samantha's birthday wish. Samantha did great until she had two big spills at the end and was ready to get off the ice. Ryan kept falling and falling and was all over the place! I found out later that he was trying to be like the speed skaters in the olympics! He didn't want to start at beginner; he wanted to be the best from the time he hit the ice! He came home with two huge blisters on his legs. He didn't complain once because he was so focused on being a speed skater. And we did take Carter out on the ice (briefly). He actually had ice skates on, but that didn't last long. All in all, we had a good time together and maybe next time we'll leave carter home and try roller skating :)