Washington DC Day 3

Tom and Brittanie checked out of their beautiful hotel and went to the World War II memorial and the Thomas Jefferson memorial. Brittanie loves Civil War history and World War II history and her favorite two people in history are Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jefferson. So she was in her element today. That's Brittanie in front of the statue of Thomas Jefferson.

After leaving DC, they drove to Gettysburg, PA and checked into the Robert E. Lee Hotel. They will do some sightseeing in Gettysburg tomorrow.

There aren't as many pictures today as compared to the first two days. But if you want to see them, Click here.

Washington DC Day 2

Tom and Brittanie had another exhausting yet fun day in DC. I talked to Tom first and he was so tired that he was ready to go to bed after only talking about 20 minutes. So I talked to Brittanie and we haven't talked since she left on Saturday, which was miserable for me. So she was hyper and talking up a storm. I asked her if she wasn't tired. Nope! Ahhh to be young again! She told me a story about them going to Ford Theater (where Lincoln was shot) and there was an actor walking around acting like Lincoln. Well she standing there staring at the balcony where Lincoln was shot and soaking it all thinking how he was shot right there when suddenly the actor walked up to her and said "Good day Ma'am." She said it was so creepy. She just wanted to tell him "You're supposed to be dead. Go away!" Well they left Ford Theater at 4:50pm and it closes at 5. They went across the street to the gift shop and 10 minutes later, Lincoln was standing next to her at the gift shop. She was totally freaked out by that guy. He didn't do anything wrong and wasn't following her. It was just a coincidence but it freaked her out.

They went to Arlington Cemetery, to Robert E. Lee's house (which Brittanie absolutely loved), did the trolley tour and then went on the moonlight monument trolley tour, which left at 6pm.....when there is no moon out. Brittanie was mad because it was a moonlight MONUMENT tour and they didn't go to the monuments.

Tom told me that the camera battery died because they forgot to charge it the night before. So they bought a disposable camera. So these aren't all of the pictures they took. Because he was so tired, I didn't get the commentary of each picture. So I'm only going to post my favorites and you guys can go to the picture page on his site and see the rest.Changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

I believe this was taken at the Iwo Jima Memorial. Brittanie was loving all this military history. She said Arlington was a very somber experience because you are looking out on the graves of thousands of people who gave their life for their country. She said "In the presence of heroes."
I don't know what this building is but it had Tom in the picture, so I included it.

Brittanie really enjoyed the Women in Combat Memorial for obvious reasons. They are having the time of their lives. They are checking out of their 4 star hotel this morning (Tuesday) and going to be in DC most of the day and then it is on to Gettysburg, PA. They are staying in the Robert E. Lee Hotel. He is one of Brittanie's heroes....a West Point graduate too!

To check out the other picutres....there are 68 total....from day 2, just go to Tom's picture gallery. Click here.

Washington DC Day 1

Tom told me the beds in their hotel are fancy $3000 beds! They had brochures about it in their room. They are called "Heavenly beds." They requested a room with two queen beds but with Hotwire, you get what you get. So they got a king bed only. So Tom called downstairs for a roll away bed. He is such a sound sleeper that he volunteered to sleep on it. Well when it came up, it was a roll away bed with a "Heavenly mattress." He said it was more comfortable than our bed at home. We hate our bed so I can see the next thing we start saving up for will be a "Heavenly bed." Tom and Brittanie had a good day in DC. Unfortunately, got a late start (big shock for us Sightlers huh? hehehe) and ended up not doing the trolley today. They decided to walk around on their own and do the trolley tomorrow. They are exhausted because they walked about five miles today. When they got back to the hotel to relax and send me pictures, Brittanie fell asleep on the bed. When he and I were about to hang up, Brittanie woke up and they were going out to eat.

But here are the some of the pictures from Day 1 in DC.

Inside the Smithsonian:

Archie Bunker's Chair from "All in the Family."
The first computer, ENIAC

The first John Deere plowGeorge Washington's uniformJerry Seinfeld's "puffy shirt" from one of the episodes of Seinfeld. The red sweater at the bottom of the picture belonged to Mr. Rogers. (Tom has a better picture of his on his site. The link is at the bottom of this blog entry.)Dorothy's Ruby Slippers and the Scarecrow costume from The Wizard of Oz. Here is the original movie poster from the Wizard of Oz. (Brittanie and I are big fans of The Wizard of Oz. I used to watch it every year with my mom and as Brittanie grew up, she and I watched it together. We now own the DVD.)Here are the manacles that Levar Burton wore when he played Kunta Kinte in the movie "Roots."Orville and Wilbur Wright's first plane.Tom facing the Washington MonumentBrittanie took this picture. I thought it was a cool perspective. She has a flare for photography.Brittanie against the Washington Monument.The flags around the Washington Monument.
She is in her element around all those flags. Brittanie is the most patriotic 16-year-old I have ever seen.

The Ford Theater (where President Lincoln was shot.)This is the actual balcony that Lincoln was sitting in when he was shot.

The buildings:

Just ignore the stupid hippie protesting signs behind her. That's the back of the White House.Here is the front lawn of the White House.This is the Dwight D. Eisenhower building....the predecessor to the Pentagon.Brittanie in front of the Capitol Building.Tom scratching his head facing the Lincoln Memorial.Here is a better view of the Lincoln Memorial.

Tom and Brittanie had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Here are some pictures of them there. Tom said their waiter was a bit scary....looked like a big thug, and didn't smile. But the food was good.The "thug" waiter took this picture. hehehe

There is Tom in a big gift shop.

They did have some rain this afternoon but they bought some umbrellas and tried to find a short cut back to the hotel. Even though they were worn out, they had a great day and are looking forward to riding the Met and taking their trolley tour tomorrow. There are about 20 more pictures that I didn't put on my blog. I picked out the best ones and put them on here but if you want to see them all, check out Tom's picture gallery. They aren't edited and in fact if you want to see the details of any picture, click on the thumbnail and it will show you bigger picture and if you click the bigger picture, it will show you the full sized HUGE picture so you can see details. They are using my old Canon G3 camera. Tom didn't want to take my Rebel because it is so big. But the G3 is a Canon and still takes pretty good pictures! Click here to see Tom's photo gallery for Day 1.

The Clampetts go to Maui...errr DC!

Jeff Foxworthy mentioned in one of his stand up acts that he took his family (from Georgia) to Hawaii and it was like the Clampetts go to Maui. Well Tom and Brittanie are now in DC and have checked into their hotel and Brittanie sounds like a Clampett. They said the hotel is beautiful but it was weird having someone else carry your luggage to your room. I was talking to Tom on the phone while Brittanie was inspecting the room. I heard "DUDE! The wash cloths are thicker than mine at home!" "DUDE! Look at that TV!" It is a 42" HD Plasma screen TV. I asked if there were robes in the room like in Home Alone....ok I admit it, I'm a Clampett too. Tom didn't know so Brittanie went to look and I heard "DUDE! They do have robes like in Home Alone!" It was pretty funny!

They hit lots of traffic and ended up parked for 30 minutes on the interstate near Darlington, SC, which was the worst, but also hit traffic in Virginia. But all in all, it was a good trip. They got a great view of the Pentagon and the Washington Monument as they were coming into the city.

They are going out exploring and grabbing a bite to eat tonight. They won't be out late because Tom wants to get an early start on their trolley tour around the city tomorrow morning.

I'll keep everyone updated as I get updates from them....hopefully with pictures too!

And they're off!

Tom and Brittanie left this morning to go on their "history vacation." The original plan months ago was to do another roller coaster trip. But then Brittanie came to me in April and told me she would prefer to see places that were important to the history of our country and do the roller coaster trip next summer after she graduates. (Definitely got that from her dad because I HATE history.) She was afraid to tell Tom because she was afraid he would be mad. Tom doesn't take change well at all. But I knew he would like the idea because he loves to learn and he likes history as well. I was right. He and Brittanie have been planning this trip for weeks and today was the day they leave to go to on that trip.

Tom rented a car via Hotwire.com. It was a midsize but they don't tell you what it is until you pick it up. Well I dropped Tom off at the airport to pick up the car and then waited for him at the Bank of America around the corner from the airport. When he pulled up in his rental car, I couldn't help but laugh. The last time they went on a trip, he ended up with a killer red Mustang. This time he got a light blue 2007 Toyota Matrix......definitely a chick car.

I couldn't stop laughing. Tom took it in stride and said at least he will get good gas mileage. I would have loved to take a picture of him by that car but I know he wouldn't have done it. hehehe

The first stop on the trip is Washington DC. They are spending 3 days and 3 nights there. Tom was able to get a great deal on a 4-star hotel on Hotwire.com. It is a beautiful hotel called the Westin. Tom wanted Brittanie to experience a 4-star hotel for the first time. She is excited. After DC, they are going to Gettysburg, PA, then to Philadelphia, PA, then on to New York City....although they are staying in New Jersey.

They are supposed to be sending me pictures each night so I can kinda follow them along on their trip.

Absolutely terrible

Katie is running through the house as I'm typing this trying to find a little magnet toy that looks like the remote control from a Wii that she got from a Happy Meal at McDonalds. She was running and going "awwwww this is terrible!" and I asked her what is wrong. She said "I can't find my magnet remote thing. This is absolutely terrible!" She just tickles me with the grown up way she says things.

Weekend update

We had a pretty good weekend in the Sightler house. John had started a new job last week and wanted to celebrate his first paycheck by treating his grandparents (and Brittanie) to a meal out in Lexington Friday night. Tom worked late Friday night so Katie and I had the house to ourselves.

Saturday, Tom got up and changed the brakes on Brittanie's car. He wasn't sure the rotor needed to be changed, plus you have to order that, so he just changed the brakes and told Brittanie to let him know if it squeaks or anything abnormal happens. Next he needed to change the oil. By the time he decided to do that, Brittanie had gotten up and John had come over. John LOVES all mechanic work so he was itching to change the oil. Well just like my dad made me learn basic stuff like changing a tire, changing oil, checking and refilling fluids, etc., Tom wants Brittanie to learn the same thing. So they jacked up her car and she crawled under there with John and she had to get out quick....claustrophobia and fear that her car would fall on her. They got the oil changed in her car and Tom was going to change the oil in his truck but John asked if he could do it. Brittanie felt better about being under his truck because it is higher off the ground and didn't need jacking up. She helped John change the oil and he rewarded her by rubbing her face with his greasy hand. She wouldn't let me take a picture of her like that, but it was funny!

Sunday, Brittanie and John went to his house after church so he could change out of his church clothes. When they got back to our house, Brittanie came running in the house and asked Tom to come look at her car. The rotor that Tom considered changing was smoking. So he ordered one from the internet and is having it overnighted so he can change it Tuesday.

We have had to re-evaluate Katie's eating lately because she wants to graze all day in front of the TV. Luckily the shows she watches are very educational. But her eating constantly was concerning. So we have made a rule that there will be no eating in the playroom and when she does eat....snack or a meal....the TV has to be off and she can't get up until she finishes it. Well now she is only eating when she is really hungry....no more grazing. But we have always had a problem getting her to drink milk. She just doesn't care for it and no amount of begging will get her to drink it. Well Kellogg's has accomplished something we couldn't. They have come up with cereal straws. She saw it on TV one day and wanted to try it. So Tom bought her some last night. She came home and drank a big glass of milk! They are getting a bad rap with liberal jerks who think it is their business to tell parents what to feed their kids. But being the parent of a child that will not drink milk, this product is a wonderful find! We bought the Kellogg's Cocoa-Krispies straw and Katie loved it!

I got up at 4:30 this morning to type and nearly had a heart attack as I saw a shadow in the kitchen. And just like one of the stupid women in horror movies, I walked towards the kitchen, instead of turning around and going back and waking up Tom. I'm glad I didn't wake up Tom....it was Brittanie. Evidently she wasn't sleepy so she stayed up all night cleaning her room and had just come downstairs to clean the kitchen. I was glad she was cleaning but I need her well rested because she is supposed to watch Katie for me while I type during the day. She had two HUGE bags of stuff that she is throwing out and from cleaning out everything, she found a total of $70 throughout her room! I hadn't been up there in awhile but for someone to lose that much money in 400 square feet, it must have been a mess!

The way she says things!

Katie came to me this morning and said "When I get older, I want an aminal (yep...not animal...aminal) that is soft. Like your fish....not soft. A turtle....not soft. A hamster....soft."

Those were her exact words and she was shaking her head with each one. I swear that kid is so grown up for her age! She's going to be our uber genius. I just hope she uses her genius for good one day! lol

She asked Tom what a "spectacle tiger" was. Tom said, "I don't know." She said, "You know everything! How can you not know that?" That's when Tom figured out she was pronouncing it wrong and meant "speckled tiger." He showed her a picture of a speckled tiger on the internet.

Right after that we were watching "The Best of The Soup 2007 Part 2" and they showed a clip of Sanjaya from American Idol doing a hula dance. Katie said "Ugh! He's gay!" She's something else! She is just like us....has an opinion on everything.

She's been accepted!

Brittanie got her acceptance letter from Carson-Newman today. She was thrilled and though I am very proud of her, I'm also sad. A year from now my oldest baby girl is going to be going through Freshman Orientation and then getting ready to start college.

We are definitely getting old....well not me...just Tom. hehehe

Take that child to Hollywood

Katie is the biggest drama queen and she has learned that if she says certain things that we feel bad for her and go easy on her. Like telling her for the 100th time that she is NOT allowed to have food in her play room. The next thing you know, she is running through the living room on the way to her bedroom crying "Ohhhh I wish I wasn't so bad! I wish I could just be good!" I have to admit it does tug on your heart strings to hear your child say stuff like that. But I'm sooooooooooo sick of the crying. (By the way, giving her something to cry about is working great. She doesn't cry near as much anymore.) Well just a minute ago, I told her, again for the 100th time, to sit down and her butt better not leave that chair until she is finished eating because if she gets up again, I'm grabbing the hairbrush and it won't be to brush her hair! She started that drama queen crap "Ohhhh I'm so bad. WHY CAN'T I JUST BE A GOOD GIRL!" I told her to shut up and dry it up. Interestingly enough, she stopped abruptly. That's when I noticed that there was not one tear falling!

She knows exactly what to say and how to say it to get what she wants. She told Tom that she loved me because I was "sweet, soft, and warm like my bed" and I give the best hugs. I'm home with her all day so she is smart enough to butter me up so I won't be too hard on her. She is something else!

It is hard to get her out of the house these days. Here are the reasons she gives:

1. She doesn't want to be hot. She doesn't want to even step outside for an instant because it is too hot outside.

2. She doesn't want to brush her hair. I told her she is getting her hair brushed daily whether she goes anywhere or not so this is a stupid reason. But her hair is so long and tangles so easily and my girls are extremely tender headed like their daddy. If you pull Tom or Brittanie's hair, they will both punch you. It won't be long before Katie will be the same way.

3. My favorite is "I don't know if I can be good." That's the excuse she gave for not wanting to go to church last night. She went and she was very good.

Katie is just a ball of personality. It is amazing how two people can have the same parents but yet be so different. One of the biggest differences between Katie and Brittanie is Katie is so sneaky and mischievous. Brittanie was always so obedient. This morning we caught Katie watching "Diego" on Nickelodeon. I don't allow "Dora" or "Diego" or any other Spanish speaking crap in my home. I think this country is kissing the hind ends of illegal aliens far too much by making us learn their language and I'm not going to be a party to that. If my girls want to learn a foreign language, they can learn French. I'm Cajun French so that is their heritage and I'm all for it. (By the way, my parents spoke French only until they were 6 years old...but they learned English. They didn't expect everyone else in the US to learn French to be able to communicate with them.) Anyway, she was watching "Diego" and I told her to turn that crap off. She told me that there was nothing on. So I told her to turn the TV off because we were about to leave anyway. The next thing I know, she closed the door and was watching "Diego." When we opened the door, she jumped up and turned the TV off. Brittanie would never have done that. Brittanie would go to my mom's house and when something she wasn't allowed to watch would come on, she would tell my mom to change the channel because she wasn't allowed to watch that. Katie will try to get away with stuff in a heartbeat. I dread her teen years!

Let's hope that Katie is a better driver than Brittanie. Guess who just hit the mailbox last night and didn't stop when she hit it....just kept going so the mailbox scraped all the way down the side of my van....from front driver's door to the back fender! To say we were mad would be an understatement. I think we should give her Tom's truck to drive and drop the full coverage on it and let Tom drive the Honda. That way if she beats the crap out of the truck at least it is old. I LOVE my van so I was livid! But Tom's reaction was worse than mine. I just don't know what to do. She is a horrible driver! But we live in Egypt land where we are 20 minutes from everything so she has to drive.

My little ham

Tom is taking Katie on a daddy/daughter date to the aquarium in Charleston today. Katie got ready while Tom was doing some work from home before leaving. She got excited and wanted to hurry him up and climbed up on his chair and started hamming it up so I had to get the camera out. Tom threatened to throw my camera away if I took another picture of him.....so I took one more....the last one. He doesn't scare me. hehehe