Annapolis - April 2008

A follow up on the Boston trip. Rich, Mike, and James flew from Salt Lake to the Baltimore Airport. Baltimore is less than 30 minutes from Ashkii's house in Annapolis. Daija, Jonathan, and I drove from Boston down to Annapolis. We both arrived there about the same time. Thanks to the Garmin GPS -- we arrived with no major wrong turns. Actually no wrong turns -- Jonathan actually listens and does what the GPS says to do. He doesn't argue with it.

Sunday: We attended church with Ashkii. We took up a whole bench. We decided that when we drove up in the Mangum they would think we were investigators. But when we pulled out our scriptures, our cover was over. Ashkii drove us over to the Naval Academy and we watched some sailboat races.


Monday: Air and Space Museum. We took all the kids to DC to the Smithsonians. We drove to a metro station and then rode the metro in. Ashkii went to work and Brooke stayed home until later in the afternoon when they hooked up with us for dinner. They gave Mike their car and he headed to Dulles to pick up Heidi Gilbert. We had a nice dinner where James said his fries were the best he'd ever tasted. There was a carousel on the "Mall" and the kids including a few big boys had a great time riding. Savannah got to ride it twice since after having lunch at McDonald's she reminded me that I told her she could ride it.

There is something magical about trying to balance on anything.



We attended a "Cosmic Collision" show at the Air and Space Planetarium. Savannah was frightened at the beginning because it seemed so real she thought she was moving through space. We snuggled and I assured her that the pictures were moving but we were pretty stationary. As you can see some were more stationary than others.



Lincoln Memorial/ Washington Monument
After dinner Rich, Vicki, Trevor and James went to the Lincoln Memorial. We rode in a taxi because by the end of the day we were all pretty tired. In fact James said he was ready to go home on Wednesday because his legs were very tired.

The sun was shining on the monument and while the boys were more interested in their airplane than the view was breathtaking, even though the cherry blossoms were all gone. James did comment that the Gettysberg Address on the wall of the Lincoln Memorial had "lots of words"




Tuesday: We had a wonderful tour of the Naval Academy. We watched the midshipmen assemble and march to lunch. Tuesday evening we went to Savannah's ballet class and Trevor's baseball game. We got to the game early so the the boys got to practice with Ashkii, Jonathan, and Richard before the game. It was so fun to have James in Annapolis with us. And yes he did beat me at Settlers, but don't let it go to his head -- I'm sure I could win if I tried. :):):)







We took the kite because the wind had been blowing earlier. Savannah had unlimited energy and ran up and down the practice field trying to get the kite to fly. Daija was trying to help her, but no matter how fast you run if there is no wind, it just bumps along the grass.


Wednesday: We helped Ashkii move some boxes and a couch downstairs. Rich mowed the lawn and I was able to prune stuff. I tried to get the shovel out -- but there were just other things to do before I could find a shoveling project. There are universal weeds that really don't care if they are in a humid climate or in the desert.

Ashkii and Brooke are great hosts. There was plenty to do, but also some time to rest. The meals were wonderful and Rich and I commented that it was nice that we didn't have to spend time going back and forth to a motel. The nights were a little late, but that happens at any Linton gathering.


Reflections on the Annapolis Trip: I am so thankful for my family. The "east coasters" have etched out their own family units. They will be a blessing for the wards and stakes of which they are part. I am thankful for a husband that provides the resources for me to be able to visit when I can. I am thankful for grandchildren that are obedient to their parents teachings. I am thankful for the spouses of my children. It was wonderful having Michael join us. He is a joy to have around and he was a wonderful help with the little boys, even though sometimes he and Rich are just grown up boys.