Pledge of Allegiance

Philadelphia - Independence Hall

Today we visited Philadelphia, the home of Independence Hall. This is where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both signed. It was incredible to see the actual room that congress met, and to see George Washington’s chair with the engraving of the sun on it. It is the only original piece of furniture that is still around. We got to see all the rooms that congress would meet in and dine in. We then went to see the Liberty Bell. To think that was the actual bell that hung in 1776! It truly felt like we were walking through history!
You can’t go to Philadelphia without having a good Philly Cheese steak! We had heard about the famous “Genos” and decided that was the place to stop for lunch. It was simple but very delicious- you can’t miss it if you ever go to Philly.

Restoring Honor 2

To catch you all up-

On Friday we visited Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. It was very interesting to see his home and learn about where he drew from for the architectural style of the house. We couldn’t take any pictures inside the house, but it was very neat to see different tools he had used when he wrote. More specific, one that would make a copy of his writings, as he wrote! There were many other unique things about the house. The grounds were beautiful! He had a vegetable garden that was 1000 ft. long- that sure inspired me to make a big garden! Here are some pictures from his house and grounds.

Yesterday we visited Baltimore. We took a tour of Fort McHenry. In the War of 1812 it was there that Francis Scott Key saw the American flag flying and wrote our Star Spangled Banner. We unrolled out a duplicate of the original flag that was flown, which was 30’ x 42’. It was enormous! We actually saw the real one at the History Smithsonian. After visiting Fort McHenry we sat around the bay area, ate lunch, and took a tour of a ship that was used to free slaves in the Civil War, The USS Constellation. 

Baseball

Restoring Honor Rally...

Today was the day for the Restoring Honor Rally. Well, actually our day started last night. Hearing Glenn Beck talk on the radio about how people were already claiming their spots for the rally, we decided if we wanted to get good seats we had better go to D.C. the evening before. So we left the arrived at the Lincoln Memorial around 10:30pm. There were a couple hundred people already there, so we squeezed our way through and found an open area right next to the fence (about 70 yards back from the stage, which was actually a really great spot).


My dad, Jordan, Vic, Isaac and I got our camping chairs set up and we were set up for the night. Yes, we stayed up all night, made friends with the people around us and enjoyed talking! I know it sounds crazy, but it was actually really fun (apart from not getting that much sleep). We counted the hours going by and every hour the grass area gradually filled up with people more and more. By 6:00am it was pretty full.


We waited and waited until 10:00, then finally up on the big screens a video about restoring honor began playing. Six people sang the National Anthem. It was one of the best versions of the national anthem I have ever heard- it resounded throughout the entire national mall, and it made you proud to be an American!


Following the National Anthem, Glenn Beck was introduced. Roars and cheers came over the crowd. We then saluted all the men and women in the Armed Forces. A mother of a soldier who had died in 2005 spoke about her son. Then Sarah Palin spoke to honor men and women who serve our country. She introduced 3 specific men who had fought for our country and gone beyond the call of duty, when it seemed the worst of times. It was truly an honor to honor them.


Here are some pictures showing a little bit of what it was like, as well as a small part of the event on video. We will post more parts of the event tomorrow. (we videoed the entire rally)

About 2:00am

6:00am

check out the crowd!

To Glenn Beck's right is Daniel Lapin, David Barton and Sarah Palin

Another Adventurous day...with a surprise

To see pictures from yesterday please visit: Photo stream from yesterday!

I was having a problem uploading- so everything will be on the photo stream- you don't want to miss it!
ALSO- Please read the descriptions underneath the pictures to learn about what each thing is!

Thanks,
Victoria

Video from first day

OK- we finally made it around to creating a video with lots of pictures and video from our first day in DC- hope you enjoy!

Our Adventurous First Day in D.C.

Today was a long day. First we went on a tour of our Capitol. The rotunda was very, very large. All the artwork was amazing - original paintings of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more. The next room was the Hall of Statues. There stood 35 statues of famous men from 35 different states.

Next we went to the Library of Congress. The ceilings were decorated in beautiful paintings. We got to see one of the Gutenberg Bibles and also Thomas Jefferson's Library full of old, old books.  Next we went to the Botanical Gardens which were full of beautiful plants. (there are too many pictures to post!)

We ended the day at the Smithsonian of American History Museum. This took us hours to go through and still didn't see it all. It was full of history for everything from famous inventors and American wars  to Presidents and First Ladies. There was so many pictures that I'll just have to post a photo gallery and upload it so you can see them, but don't worry you will get to.

Here are just a few pictures from the days adventures. (altogether we probably took a couple thousand pictures)

The back of the Capitol Building

The Washington Monument.

A hall in the Library of Congress

A look at the front of the Capitol

Another view of the front

The rotunda ceiling

The hall of statues

DC Here we come!

Early this morning we departed Ohio for the big city. By about 3:00 we arrived in the DC area. Upon arriving we decided to start our journey by visiting the National Archives, the home of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It was incredible to see the documents that our founders wrote at the start of our country. Unfortunately we were not able to take pictures of them, but here are a few pictures we snapped on the National Mall.

The U.S. Capitol

The Washington Monument in the Distance

The National Archives

Horse Riding and more...

Today was a pretty moving day. In the morning we went with Uncle Dave & Aunt Jo to a hardware store. Upon returning, we brought home about 30 freshly picked tomatoes from my grandpa's garden. Aunt Jo taught us how to make fresh tomato sauce. It was delicious! I hope to plant many more tomatoes next year and can the sauce. She canned about 18 quarts today. After completing the sauce making, we went out to ride horses with our second cousin Chelsea. She owns 5 horses and keeps them here at her grandparents. It was so much fun to be able to ride them, and learn about horses. After riding the horses, we took a 3 mile walk with Chelsea to another cousins house... they live in a log cabin! It is amazing, with animals mounted on the walls that their dad hunted.

After dinner we returned to the farm and helped Chelsea clean out the barn, then drove the gator off and built a fire to burn the trash. It was a lot of fun looking at the fire that overlooked farm upon farm. Then we ended the night with brushing down her favorite horse, Lucky. All together it was a fun day with lots of action... I won't be surprised if we wake up sore.

Beginning our walk

a view on the walk

another view

inside the log cabin

The Log Cabin

Dinner at the Farm

Last night we got together at my great aunt and uncle's house. Every time we come to Ohio we always have dinner at their house at least one night. Uncle Dave lit up the smoker and we had hamburgers, fresh Ohio fruit, fresh corn and Aunt Jo's famous cookies. We had a great time talking to Uncle Dave about how he started his feed business in '78. Can you believe he bought 80 acres with a house on it for only $21,000? I always love talking to people who have started their own business and have been successful.

One thing we always have to do when we visit is take our famous ride on the John Deere gator. The boys played a game called "chicken" -where one of them drives as fast as it can go, and someone else tries to jump in the back as he swerves back and forth. All together we had an enjoyable time talking together. We are definitely blessed to be able to enjoy the people around us- and learn from others who have gone ahead of us- (believe me, I have been learning that a lot today- to hear from my sisters and brothers and serve them) Although I know sometimes I can be hard to talk to when I am a blubbering mess - I thank God for the blessings of people in my life- I am so lame; I cry for the littlest things, but I know I have a certain amount of tears, I just got to get them all out.

                                                                                                                  -Victoria-

Here are a few pictures of Uncle Dave's 140 acre feed farm, our barbecue and the gator rides!

Uncle Dave and Aunt Jo's house

Uncle Dave's feed mill farm

Mom and Vic look at the farm after a gator ride.

Uncle David and Aunt Joanna

Dinner on the patio

Fresh Food from the Family Farm

When visiting in Ohio, partaking of fresh fruit and various vegetables is a necessity.  Upon completion of roofing, we headed over to Uncle Dave & Aunt Jo's for a delicious dinner.  The sweet corn picked fresh was incredible.  The fresh corn was bathed in butter.  It was so fresh, so juicy, so delicious!  If ever visiting Ohio make sure to try the corn.  Also, the watermelon picked from the garden was crunchy, sweet, cool, and refreshing.  It was the best watermelon we had ever eaten.  The bountiful crop of tomatoes is overwhelming.  Other foods fresh include: cantaloupe, green peppers, apples, blackberries, cabbage, and peaches.