On June the 9th Jaron turned 8 years old. We had been lucky enough to make it to the Bryn and Isaac's baptisms so we couldn't let Jaron down. On July 14th we flew out to Regan National once again. The kids thought they were going to be in Kansas but you know how the government is!!! It was a little scary this time because we arrived right at peak rush hour, Les and I knew what were getting into as far as the freeways. Thank goodness once again for our trustee GPS system!!! The kids kept calling us to find out where we were and if we were stuck in traffic.
Jer and Bec always think of neat and different things for us to do when we come to visit. I think the main reason for that is that Les and I provide such comic relief for them so they think, "okay what can we think of next to have them do??? Last time it was the Segways where me and my Segway did a pole dance (your might recall from my blog about that visit). This time it was Kayaking on the Potomac River. We went to Jack's Boat House. A really unique little place right in the heart of Washington D.C. The kids treated us to this little excursion. Jeramy and Rebecca went in separate Kayaks because they heard that it was easier to maneuver then being in the same one. But did they bother to tell us that, NO! Although Les said he didn't think I had the strength to paddle one by myself. Little did he know, since we have been working out for the last few months I can handle myself pretty darn good:-) Anyway we got our life jackets, and our Kayaks and after a shot demonstration we were off. But do you think Les and I could synchronize our strokes...you guest it, nada. We kept going out away from the group. They have guides all around you to make sure you don't go off on your own and Les and I kept heading out towards the guides, or...we would run into the other people in our group.
I'm sure the others were saying, "watch out for that senior citizen couple they don't know what in the heck their doing."
All and all when it was all said and done we got a little or a lot wet from the water running down our paddles and into the boat so when I got out I looked like I had peed my pants. But it was a lot of fun. Thanks Jer and Bec and you can thank us for all the laughter we provided the two of you.
As you can see from the pictures above Jaron was pretty excite to be baptised and he looked pretty dang sharp in his new suit. We had told Jeramy not to ask either of us to give a talk because we had so much going on before the baptism but Brynlee called and said, "Nana what is Papa going to talk on for Jaron's baptism?" I said he's not giving a talk. She said, "yes he is. Jaron called and asked him to." I said, "Les did Jaron ask you to speak at his baptism?" He said, "No." The next thing we know Jaron is calling and asking Papa to speak on baptism, so Brynlee spoke on the Holy Ghost and did a very good job I might add. Last time Papa spoke at Isaac's baptism he almost put the little kids to sleep because he gave a talk as if he were speaking in Sacrament meeting. I found him a talk geared to Jaron' age group and it went much better this time:-) We thought we only had one more baptism to travel for and that would be for Hayden's and that won't be for two more years, but I got an email from Rebecca last week saying the doctor told them they would have to change their email address around February 22nd from Cookfamily6. At first I didn't even get it Rebecca had to tell me to go back and read it again. THEIR EXPECTING!!! It's funny, or not, how the Lord just seems to be able to sneak one more in on you if your not prepared. I know it will be a great blessing for them after Rebecca gets over her morning sickness. The kids have been partying ever since they found out. Hayden said, "Yah!!! Now I'll have someone to boss around." Everyone but Hayden wants a sister. Nana and Papa are really excite. We thought we would only be having great grand babies from now on. Jeramy and Rebecca are great parents and I'm sure that's why they Lord is sending them another one of his little ones to raise. "And they shall rise up and call thy name blessed." As you get older you realise that your children are really the only things that matter in this life. And if you can give them a good start centered in our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ you are a success.
We caught a few of the sights around D.C. we had missed on our last visit. The last time we were there we did not see the Martin Luther King Memoria or the FDR Memorial. These were taken at night so they aren't the best but you get the drift. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed of a world with equality for all. Today, his dream lives on at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC. Now open to the public, the newest memorial on the National Mall is the first to honor a non-president and the first to honor a man of color. Wouldn't he be surprised today with President Obama! The centerpiece of the memorial is a 30-foot statue of Dr. King. His likeness is carved into the Stone of Hope, which emerges powerfully from two large boulders. The two boulders, which started as one, represent the Mountain of Despair. The boulders are split in half to give way to the Stone of Hope, which appears to have been thrust forward toward the horizon in a great monolithic struggle. All around the mountain of hope are the stirring worlds of Dr. King. It is incredible.
In 1997 the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial was added, it tells a story of the president and the country in a chronologial order, Since Roosevelt was elected to four terms of office his monument has been created as if in four rooms representing his "12" years as president. He brought the United States through the Great Depression and World War ll while paralyzed from the waist down affer suffering a bout of polio. It stands as a reminder of some of American's toughest times. What an admirable man he is. I wish I could have taken more pictures. What a great heritage America has!!!
Above are a few pictures from our visit to Old Fredricksburg. It's like stepping back in time. It was a lot of fun and as you can see it was another fun trip. You gotta hate those good-byes:-( Not.
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