Home at Last!

Yes, we are finally home. Well at least the girls. We survived the blazing heat on the East coast and are ever so greatful to be back Utah.

As you can see the idea of me blogging my trip did not work out as planned. We were soooo busy during the day that by the time we got back to the hotel, the only energy I had left was used to bathe the girls and myself and flop into bed.

So just to update you on what happened since the last post. We next went to Gettysburg and what a fascinating place. The musuem there is enormous. You could spend a couple of days going through it. The movie and the Cyclorama was awesome! The girls really enjoyed that. We did the battlefield tour with the help of a CD dad purchased and our car. The battlefield is huge and it took about 3 hours to do the tour. As we stood in the blazing heat at the base of Little Round Top in what is know as the Devil's Den, Mom and I came to realize what it must have felt like on that day in July, with full uniforms on and the heat beating down on those men as they fought one of the heaviest battles during the Civil War. We looked at our watches and it was 3:00 which was exactly the time that the battle actually occured. Great appreciate for those men and the sacrafice they gave on that day so that we could have the freedoms we do.

Next we went on to D.C. As you probably have heard, D.C. has experienced one of the hottest summers on record and it just so happened that 3 of those record breaking days were while we were there. I have never been so wet in my life from just sweat! It was unreal. The first day there we walked the Mall, took a tour of the capital, walked to Union Station, saw the Lincoln Mermorial and finished off with a trip to Arlington. By the time we got to Arlington we were so physically exhausted. The heat index that day had been 115°. Mom and I went into the restroom at Arlington, looked in the mirror and had to laugh! We looked awful, but so did everyone else. We splashed water on our faces and continued on.

While at Arlington, we had the opportunity to see the Exchanging of the Guard as well as a wreath ceremony. One of the Boy Scout Troops from our counsel was asked to participate in the ceremony and so all of our boys were there to enjoy. Extremely fascinating and oh so sacred!

At this point in time our trip takes a little detour. Don had some bug bites on his leg that had been progressively getting worse and by the time we all got to Arlington, his breathing was very shallow and he was coughing alot. I decided that the hospital was a needed option. I was so fearful that the pnemonia he had last year at this time was starting over again and the bites had made his foot swell up to about 4 times it's normal size. So we hopped on the Metro and headed for George Washington University Hospital. We spent the next 6 hours getting our diagnosis and some medication. Good news was that his lungs were clear and they gave him antibiotics for the bug bites. He was also told he had to take it easy the next day. So at 12:30 in the morning we jumped back on the Metro and headed toward our hotels. Dad picked us up at the Metro station and we took Don back to his hotel and me and dad continued on too ours.

The next day we didn't go anywhere. The girls went over with their dad and swam while mom, dad and I did laudry for 38 scouts in an unairconditioned laudrymat for three and half hours. Again, we had to laugh. We looked like we had jumped in a pool again! Dad says that we have done our "Good Turn Daily."

In the evening we decided to go down to the Iwo Jimo Memorial. We arrived just as sun was beginning to set and on how awesome the memorial looked. Again, such a reverent place. We continued on the Pentagon where we were able to see the memorial there honoring the victims of 911. Beautiful! Dad then took us up to the Washington D.C. temple. By this time it is really dark and the temple is gorgeous. It sits like a pedestal on the hill.

I will post more about the trip tomorrow. Just want to let everyone know that the men are doing great. Darek is home sick and struggles with getting out of the campsite. The heat has really taken it's toll on him. Parker is having the time of his life! He hasn't done much in regards to merit badges, but he has become an avid Patch Trader. He is so his dad - loves to barter! He has collected some AWESOME patch sets. Can't wait to see what else he comes home with.

Don is doing better. The breathing is good, but last night he told me the foot is still swollen. He's a trooper! The heat has decreased. He said that yesterday had been really comfortable. We'll keep praying for the cool weather to hold out.