woo hoo, going to washington!!!

Is it just me, or is it funny that both of my Army sons are in Washington? One in Washington state, and one in Washington D.C., although technically the base is in Virginia. Our hotel is actually in Pentagon City, which I did not know existed, until I started looking for hotels in that area. Sam says it is very close to base, and not to worry, he knows his way around down there, from all the running they have him do.

I don't even care what museums or attractions I get to see, I just want to see my son, Pvt. Samuel W. I am so stinkin' proud of that kid, I could scream. He is simply a special boy, and so very determined. It is an honor to be chosen to be in the Old Guard, and then he was chosen for Echo Company too. I hope to make it down there again a few times when he is all in uniform and doing whatever it is he will be doing:)

He gets to leave base this weekend for the first time, he gets a weekend pass. There will be seven of us in our hotel room, shh, so three lucky girls will get to sleep on the floor. Sam says he doesn't care if he sleeps on the floor, not a bit, he's just glad we are coming. The hotel we are staying at has a pool on the top floor, with a view of the Washington. Sam can't wait for us to see how the city looks all lit up at night.

I had to go shopping tonight to get some healthy snacks...almonds, cashews, beef jerky, plums, pears, yogurt...then some unhealthy snacks too, which I will keep my paws off of, like Hot and Spicy Cheese-Its, Fritos, M&M's....and diet Coke, water. I also got some food for the kids here at home, like ice cream, and popsicles for the little girls, they love them, summer and winter.

We are leaving at 7 a.m., so I had better get to bed. I vacuumed out the minivan this afternoon before the kids left in it for soccer practice. I packed clothes for Jonathan, and for me, and put them in there with some bedding. I had to give Suri another bath, she rolled in something yuck again. rrr. Then I served dinner to the little girls, and took them to DunkinDonuts for a pumpkin swirl coffee (they were thrilled, I surprised them by ordering them one -they thought I was only getting one for me...they only drank about a quarter of it...) We visited with Grandma for a while. She is feeling much better, thankfully. The little girls were so good there, but why wouldn't they be? They were watching cartoons.

On to Walmart...we did the self-checkout because the girls love it. It is very frustrating if you are in a hurry, but we weren't.

We stopped to get gas, at the bank, then home sweet home. They are camping out in Evelyn's room tonight, she is skipping school tomorrow to watch them, shh. Joseph is here, but he is busy with his art, and Evelyn really wanted to have some fun with them.

I know they will have fun here without me, but I hate to leave them behind. When one has sixteen children, one cannot be with all of them all of the time, especially when they grow up. I shall be happy to spend time with Abigail, that's for sure.

It is still amazing to me how I can love each and every one of them so much.

They don't realize how much time I spend thinking of them and praying for them.

The dogs got into the garbage when I was gone out tonight...rrr. It's a darned good thing they are so cute. Suri KNEW she had been bad, you can't tell me dogs can't feel remorse. She has it down pat, that I WAS BAD look. She rests her head on her paws and looks up at me, as I shake the chicken package at her and say, NO. And I know it was her, Duke simply doesn't have the motivation. He probably shares in the booty, but he doesn't initiate the badness.

Anyway. Never a dull moment. I had to scramble to find I.D. for the Suzanne, Sonja, and Jonathan. Kathryn has a passport and a driving permit. All need I.D. to enter the Army Base. Abigail sent me a text reminding me, and good thing I am a little bit organized, and keep all of that stuff in one place.

Now I just have to clean out my purse before I go to bed. It weighs like 20 pounds. If anyone needs it, I have it in my purse. If I take it out, we will be certain to need it. Band-Aids, ibuprofen and acetominophen, tummy tablets, anti-diarrhea tablets, a hairbrush, a baggy of wipes, pads/girl stuff (with so many girls, it is a must to be fully prepared, even though they are the ones who should be prepared, I have saved them many a time:), lip stuff, scissors, protein bars, gum, tic-tacs.... It would be easier to put it all in a backpack because we will be walking around so much, but that looks more suspicious. Some museums and places have policies about backpacks, but purses are more acceptable. Seriously, we get searched each time we enter the college basketball/football stadium we volunteer at, I just put the baggy of girl products on top, and make sure I go to a guy searcher, they don't move them to look underneath, not that I have anything to hide anyway, but hey, it's funny.

Anyway. I need to go to bed. I won't be blogging this weekend, probably, I am not bringing my laptop. In the D.C. area, all the hotels seem to charge for internet, so that won't be happening. We will spend the time talking together, not staring at screens....but I will take lots of pictures!