Blue Ridge Mountains

This is the view from teh top of the hill where there is a big old plantation style hall named after Robert E. Lee (didn't he lose?) Anyway, check out those mountains!


Peace, dude. Rock on. There is a lot of tye-dye here, and Declan is getting into it for sure. This creek has been so fun for the kids. There are some spiders and today the girsl caught a salamander. We couldn't stay long, as we had to go off and make some cloth dolls. Today, with shimp gumbo for dinner, has been the day with everything Ella was looking forward to. Hee hee. Who can resist that face? I am having a ton of fun hanging with Declan while Ella bonds with her girlfriends.

Live and Learn

Declan loves the building room with all the things to build (what else?!?) weaponry with. This is Emily and Julia and Collin. He is wearing a belly dancing tassel on his head. Oh la la. This image is only topped by all the teen-aged boys dressed as transvestities for the Rocky Horror Picture Show on the first night.

Yep. Ella, as grown up as she is getting is not too old for dress-up!

Live and Learn has been a blast so far! We have been making crafts, hearing folks speak, playing with friends and catching up, and even singing in the Talent Show last night!

The Blue Ridge Mountains are absolutely beautiful!

Ella's DC song

Ella wrote this song today while I was in the shower. I am so glad to have it on reccord.

I love that girl!

Images of DC

We were alone in so many of these monuments. I was really moved here at the Lincoln memorial. As we remember how he freed the slaves, sometimes I forget that he held America together at a crucial crossroads. It is definitely emphasized here that he made America the whole that it is today.
This is the memorial to the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Those are the kiddos silouetteed in the sunlight.

R2d2~WHAT!?!?!?!? Declan was OUT OF HIS MIND!

There are so many incredible things to see here! We went everywhere. No time to write now, but I will post more later, yeah, like when I have time at Live and Learn - Ha! Ruby slippers!!! WOooooo HOOooooo!!! What could be cooler for Ella to see?!?!?

Reminded of Lila

I have been thinking a lot about Lila this trip. She was a Korean War vetern, and her brother lives in DC. Also, she told me, as she was dying, how this city gives you a good feeling about your country. In a way that is true, but it is also giving me a real sense that we are at war. These pictures show the new Korean War Memorial which was very moving, and the bomb sniffing dogs we saw outside the White House.

The dog was pooping, but I was afraid to take that picture!

Our hotel

Our hotel ROCKS. The kids think it is a dream life. The people here are all really nice, and they are taking very good care of us lol.

This is the view from our hotel window.

Tomorrow We are Off to DC!!

We are so excited! Tomorrow, the kids and I are heading off to Washington en route to the Live and Learn Unschooling conference. Are bags are packed, the kids are resting and tomorrow night we'll sleep down the street from the White House.

When we come back, we will be really into fall. I want to take a quick moment to record some of the cool things that we learned this summer.

*swimming underwater

*walking to Clarks Store without an adult

*blogging

*what goes into a dog show

*riding a bike

*body surfing

*skim boarding

*iPodding

*Lego Star Wars

*making guacamole

*following a map

*saving money

*how to hold sadness and joy in the same body

*how to build a float for a parade