We are the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything!

So it's that time of year again :) Brother Monson, gluten for punishment that he is, invited the sisters to come out to his house for sailing. We have fantastic time. We went crabbing and caught about 25 or so...we're amazing it's true :)



Our Catch -





Part of our catch in my sink at home...my roommate Melissa decided that she wanted to cook some of the crab...to say the least our house smelt funny for a while there after.



Now for those of you who don't know how you go crabbing, I'll tell ya. I'm sure there are many ways to do this, however we used the ol' chicken neck method. Brother Monson provided us we several chicken neck's and we tied string around them, making it long enough that they would touch the river floor with a little extra and then we waited...... When the string went tight, we slowly, ever so slowly pulled it up and grabbed the net to catch the crab once it neared the surface. The first few times we didn't get the net under the crab in time, but eventually we got it down to an art.







Cutting the string




Stringing the chicken necks
As you can see Jess is the brave one :)





In addition to catching crabs, we sailed, swam and paddle boated, play badminton, read and got sun burnt...





And Freda got to climb a mast to remove the beginnings of a birds nest from the top.



It was a wonderful day :)

Memorial Day 2008

Mel and I are still as dorky as ever and made the trek into DC for the Memorial Day festivities, earlier this year since we knew what to expect, for the Memorial Day Concert. We went early, first get a good seat and second to save spaces for our friends who would be following us later, however they apparently don't allow people in after a certain time and Reed, Brian, Bronwyn, Emma and company didn't make it in time. Begging didn't help either. Believe me I tried. But despite our disappointment of separation from our group, Mel and I had a great time.

We brought reading materials to keep us occupied


Sunset just before the concert started.

Some great night shots Mel took after the concert. I was talking to my sister Becky.

Monday - Memorial Day. We decided to go all out this year, like I said we knew what to expect and we got ourselves out early and head to Arlington Cemetery for the wreath laying ceremony. It was beautiful. The day was perfect.

Slade and Freda joined us.



President Bush spoke at the ceremony. I know there are a lot of people who don't like Bush, but even if I don't agree with everything he's done as president I still have a lot of respect for him for the office that he holds.

It was fun to watch all the Secret Service men get set up around the cemetery and the snipers climbing on top of the buildings. Slade asked on of the snipers what he had in a bag and he said...weapons. Duh! Slade was hopping for something a little more specific then that.



Memorial Day Parade


Memorial Day BBQ - After a full day of Memorial Day activities Mel and I hosted a BBQ. It had a great turnout and we had a blast!

I have to say. I love Memorial Day.

Labor Day 2007 - Fort Marcy

I was looking through my pictures and found these. I had forgotten about this trip.

As you may recall from a previous post, Melanie and I like water and love to sit and watch the water. (some of our water shots)

What you see below

What you see above

Also I promised that I would take Mel to Fort Marcy and here we are.

Mel likes cannons.

The day we DID NOT go to the Air Show

Once upon a time there were two young girls who moved to Northern Virginia, just a few miles outside of DC. It so happened that Andrews Air Force Base was also just a few miles outside of DC. Their first year there they saw signs, just a little late, advertising an air show at the Air Force base. They made a promise that the following year they WOULD go to the air show.

The year passed quickly, the air show lost in memories...until one day while riding the metro the girls spotted a sign...and what did that sign say? AIR SHOW! Yes! Their promise was remembered and plans were made. However unbeknownst to the girls if you want to go to the air show you sure as heck better get there EARLY! Really early...as in early bird catches the worm early...or in 'military' terms, Oh-dark-hundred...and what does the 'oh' stand for? OH my goodness it's EARLY!

Well needless to say they didn't get there that early. Still living in their delusional world they left about 12 pm-ish and as ecologically conscientious members of society they took the metro...an hour and half later they arrived at end of the Green line only to be told that the LAST bus to the air base left in 30 minutes and the wait in the line was about 90 minutes...hmmm you do the math...

There were tears...well not really, but there might have been in the privacy of their own rooms later that night.

Therefore, finding themselves in downtown DC with time on their hands...they wandered, because that's what they do best.

Seeing that they had lived in the DC metro area for well over a year there weren't many places they hadn't seen before, but don't worry they found their way to a new place...The Constitution Gardens and what fun they had...these pictures are evidence.


They sat on a wall to eat lunch...yummy






The Constitution Island - From a distance
It has the signatures of all the signers of the Constitution craved in stone.





This is Melanie's step ancestor.

Despite not going to the Air Show it was still a great day!

Time's aflyin'

So my baby sister turned 21 today. (The one in the dipper)

It's kind of odd. I left home when she was 12. Sure, I would go home during the summer and such, but I never really lived with her after I went off to college and she never really grew up to me. In my mind she was always 12 or so, until 2 Christmases ago I went home and she had a boyfriend...that's when I realized she wasn't 12 any more. (this is her getting ready to go on a date with said boyfriend) I mean, I knew logically that she wasn't 12, but I always viewed her as my baby sister. So here's to you Sarah, forever and always my baby sister.

Happy Birthday! You're now Legal.

I love you and I'm so proud of you!

The Simple Pleasures of Life

I've mentioned my friend Melanie quite frequently in these posts...part because we spend a lot of time together and also because we have a lot in common and one of our commonalities is our love of water.

This is Mel....just in case you guys haven't figured that out yet :)



I love listening to water fall or run and to watch the way the light refracts through and reflects off the water.



Mel and I have spent many a happy hour watching water and one of the best places is the World War II Memorial.

See...I'm happy!

I won't bore you with all the hundreds of pictures we've taken of water, but here's some of our favorites from the World War II Memorial...

It's the Simple Pleasures of Life that can make your day.