Day out in D.C.

Well, we visited both sides of the family over Halloween weekend.  The perks of having family within 3 hours!

We spent a day in D.C. with Scott and Dagmara, and of course it was the day it snowed all over the East coast.  So, of course it was rainy/snowy in D.C.  Walking from the metro stop to the Capitol was miserable.  I managed not to throw a massive tantrum since Dagmara was so calm and composed as we walked through the chilly streets of D.C.

Here's a description of our day via photos:

U.S. Capitol tour.

Waiting for our tour to start.

You know, I totally don't remember the names of any of these rooms.  They all seemed to have statues and were quite aesthetically pleasing.  I was digging Abe Lincoln's statue.

Capital dome with two different camera settings.

Another lovely room with statues.  Please take note of the kid hanging out in the fire place, left corner. My only question is, where are his parents?

Another pretty ceiling and dome.

Getting ready to walk through the tunnel to the Library of Congress.

Creeper Scott in the background.

Dagmara and Scott consoling each other.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe because Dagmara always turns away from me when I try to take her picture?!

The beautiful columns and ceilings of the Library of Congress.  You actually can't take any photos of the library.  

Aw, the nation's capitol.

After a quick lunch at Quizno's we toured the National Air and Space Museum.  Behind Clark is the Spirit of St. Louis.

This is the plane that Amelia Earhart flew before her tragic disappearance over the Pacific ocean.  I think this is the plane she flew to England from Newfoundland??

Clark found an owner's manual for a space shuttle.  How novel.  Clark has actually owned a Haynes owners' manual for every car he's owned.

The next morning Clark and Scott completed an extremely long and grueling game of chess. I may or may not have encouraged Clark to make a few unfortunate moves.  I'm no strategizer.  Seriously though, this game took 1.5 hours. 

It was a beautiful day out, so Clark and I finally took some photos for this year's Christmas card.  Thanks Dagmara and Scott for your cooperation in helping us capture our "Classy Christmas" picnic.  If y'all are lucky, you'll see more of where this here came from as Christmas nears.  

We look forward to seeing more of D.C. on a less wet/dreary day.  Thank you Scott and Dagmara for your hospitality and for the amazing pumpkin pie and goulash.  Dagmara, your culinary skills never cease to amaze me.

Clark's birthday!

We celebrated Clark's twenty-some odd birthday yesterday!  We're in denial about aging, nevertheless, twenty-some odd sounds much nicer than the truth!  I had to spend most of the day in class, but I think I made it up to Clark by taking him out to eat at Baby Blues BBQ here in University City.  It was pretty awesome.  Oh, how I wish I could eat mac n' cheese everyday with every meal.  Clark ordered a rib platter, I ordered a smoked chicken platter.  We both won.

After dinner we drove out to Target so I could buy Clark one of his highly anticipated gifts: a scale (Yes, a scale. Clark has been a running fool lately and his clothes are not fitting.  So naturally he's curious about his current weight).  I'm really not a bad wife, I just didn't have time to run all over town and buy him gifts.  In addition, it's harder than you'd think to sneak out of the house for anything but school when your husband is at home everyday, questioning your every move.  

Here's a couple of photos of Clark with his spoils.  The scale ended up being a dud.  According to this scale, Clark weighs 240 lbs and I weigh 170.  We'll be returning this scale for an electronic one shortly. This old school scale is NOT good for our self esteem!

Notice the Penn hat.  Gotta have my man represent my institution of higher education somehow. I made sure to buy him the style he liked.  The one gift I was sneaky about this year.

And nothing says I love you like a 7 quart crock pot.  

I love you Clark!  So much so that I bought you a crock pot.  For your birthday. 

Clark = A WINNER!!!

I think it's now safe to broadcast that Clark has finally found a job!  Yesssssssssss!  Scott and Dagmara were nice enough to cross it off the top of Clark's To Do list a couple of weeks ago when he initially got the call.  

Clark = A WINNER!!!  Great touch, Dagmara ;)

I'll miss having Clark around as a house husband.  He's a great cook and has been keeping our clothing/linens laundered regularly.  But some sort of cash flow will be mighty nice.  He's worked so hard to find employment here in Philly, and I'm really proud of him for all of his efforts.  I won't start a rant but do not for a second believe that nursing is a recession proof job.  MSNBC, CNN and all the other news shows are full of s**t and I really don't know where they get their information. Anywho,  Clark starts in November.  Guess he better get writing that NY bestseller soon!  And he better clean the office, too.  

Dead to Me

We saw Dead to Me at this venue last night.  ROCKIN' show.  Taking crisp photos at concerts requires mad skills, so I didn't even bother to try.  Not enough room in this venue, even though we were right up front.  

Already looking forward to next spring/summer when they tour again.  Chicken, you so flexible you nearly do the splits on stage!

Guess you gotta see their show to know what I'm talking about.  And yes, the bass player/singer uses the sobriquet Chicken.  He may have used illicit intravenous drugs in the past... 

Minus the Bear

Last weekend my friend Stephanie invited us to go see Minus the Bear, a Seattle based band.  She's got connections (i.e. used to date a band member when she lived in Seattle, still keeps in touch) and was able to get us back stage passes. It was pretty awesome, and the show was super energetic.  My only regret is that we didn't take any photos back stage.  An opportunity like this probably won't happen again!

We really need to start bringing our DSLR to shows.  The point and shoot just ain't cutting it.

We are looking forward to going to see Dead to Me, a SF based band, this Saturday.  I love that so many bands we like are touring this fall as we haven't been to any shows since before we left for Australia!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBHg2ORzZi8
I've added a link to one of their more popular songs.  I think people are probably familiar with this song...

Ellison + Tobler FUN

My Broseph and his wife Dagmara came to visit us earlier in the week.  It was a blast and I think we talked our apartment down so low that they were pleasantly surprised by its *mansion-like qualities.  Such as high ceilings.  

*We don't live in anything that remotely resembles a mansion.  Maybe I'll post a photo or two in the yonder future. When I actually take a photo of the place.

Back to the Ellison and Tobler FUN.  We had ourselves some.  And then some more, all within the confines of Philadelphia County.  And we were truly blessed with wonderful weather.  Always a plus when walking about a big city. 

We started the days 'o fun walking down Elfreth's Alley, a preserved street from the 1700's.  Way cool, and I think people still live in the houses as we saw a couple of cats in the windows.  Meow.  I miss Gretchen.

We then ventured to Christ Church, which was initially established in 1695.  The original structure was too small, however, and in early-mid 1700's the main body of the church was reconstructed into the building that still stands today.  

From Christ Church we walked past the first post office through this passageway.  Wow, Ben Franklin walked through here, too! This passageway actually led to where his house once stood.

We got to watch how a printing press operates.  It might not have been a printing press from the 1700's but it was still intriguing to watch. I guess Clark got bored and distracted.

We also got to view the original floor of Ben Franklin's home.  From this quote, he sounds like a condescending jerk. 

Clark looks so happy and carefree, like a little boy.  He's so cute. I'm sure you can probably guess that Franklin Court was where B. Franklin's house was located, as well as the post office and printing press.

Independence Hall with lovely scaffolding.  

The crowds to see the Liberty Bell were pretty massive.  I guess we did venture out on Columbus Day, but still.  

At the Reading Terminal Market Scott and Dagmara enjoyed a Dinic's roast pork sandwich.  Clark convinced them they had to try one.  I opted for a fresh pretzel.  

Clark just can't get enough of these roast pork sandwiches.  Do you see that excitement!? Pure happiness and excitement in his face!

The Dept. of Treasury was closed, but we plan on going back at some point. 

Throwing a mini tantrum.  It was bound to happen at some point during the day.

View of the city from the Art Museum parking lot.  Straight ahead is City Hall.

Luckily, the tour buses left shortly after we arrived.

Dagmara and I just being....girls.

The Rocky statue was mega popular.  Even with prepubescent kids that probably have never even seen the movies.

We did run up the steps, by the way.  Channeling our inner Rocky.  

So cute! I'm so lucky to have such a great brother and sister in law!

Clark felt left out of the preceding picture.

Clark didn't lift his arms in triumph, but he's still a champion to me.  (Did I really just type that!?)

Dang it.  We didn't actually see the Seaweed Girl.  Next time.  Gotta get me a picture with this statue!

Well, we actually found ourselves back at the market again the following day.  And look at these chocolates!  

The sticky note reads: Mike Tyson special ears that are ok to bite.

Fresh pretzels are pretty fantastic, just so you know.  Unlike the ones you can get at the mall, which taste like rubber.

At City Hall, the Occupy Philly protest was in action.  The dude in black sitting down had a sign that read Hungry for answers not food.  But I guarantee by 8 pm he was heading through the door of McDonald's that was just across the street.  Nice try dude, you don't fool me.  And nice iPhone, too.  I wish I could afford one.

Oh look, and a protester can afford a fixed gear bike?!

Back to Love Park. Weren't we just here? Yep. Another picture? Why not!

Got a little saucy with the Sorry! piece.

Working the camera.  Thanks for egging us on, Scott.

Since we don't yet have a sofa (we're terrible hosts, I know!) Clark and Scott played a few games of chess on the floor.

And Dagmara kindly washed some dishes for us.  

Thank you guys so much for visiting!  We had a great time and are so excited to get together again!  Maybe next time you come we'll have a sofa and a tv so we don't have to cram chairs around our computer to watch Modern Family!