Lincoln Relay For Life

We attended Lincoln's Relay For Life last night. Thankfully, the weather cooperated.

Opening ceremony included a check presentation of $10,000 from Wal-Mart to Tracy Harnly's team. She raised over $45,000. Her story is an amazing one. She is the mother of 2 young boys. She was diagnosed with cancer 4 years ago - at the age of 30. It started in her breast, moved to her liver and has recently spread to her spine and ribs. Her passion to raise money for research is contagious. She is, again, undergoing chemotherapy and currently taking a drug that is keeping the cancer at bay. The drug is a result of a researcher funded by the American Cancer Society.

We stayed to watch the Miss Relay contest which included male cross-dressers (some of them in high heels!) who walked the track with their purses open to help raise additional monies. The highest dollar collector was "crowned" Miss Relay.

The luminary ceremony was very moving, as usual. Many of our family and friends were remembered/honored with decorated luminaria. They included: Neal & Maude Burmood, Delma Paul, Stanley Foster, Donna Lefler, Sally Petsinger and Joyce Piepenberg.

Welcome Hadley Ann Jenniges!

Derrick, Ann and Addeson welcomed Hadley Ann Jenniges into the world shortly before 9:00am. She was 7 lbs., 7 ozs. and has her big sister's eyes. We look forward to meeting her soon! Per the new daddy, both mommy and baby are doing well.

More D.C.

July 5, 2008 - PART III - We began our third day in Washington, D.C. with a trip to an All-American favorite, McDonalds, before heading to the Metro to get to Union Station.

A quick tour of Union Station and we were off to meet our Trolly for our citywide tour. Our Old Town Trolly Tour took us by the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court, Library of Congress and Smithsonian Museums before we got off at the Jefferson Memorial.

We enjojed great views and dodged a few raindrops but saw the Jefferson Memorial before walking to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. A really neat place with waterfalls and his famous sayings displayed.

From there, we hopped back on the Trolly which dropped us off at the Lincoln Memorial. There, we saw the wonderful tribute to President Lincoln and Lisa and I agreed, it was the best of all the memorials. While in the area, we also saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Back on the Trolly for another leg of the tour and we rode to the heart of downtown where we found the Hard Rock Cafe and had a great lunch. After the brief stop, we were back on the road and went just down the street to see the outside of Ford's Theatre (closed for renovation...bummer) but we were able to get in the house where Lincoln died right across the street.

Back on the Trolly again, we then explored the northern route of the city where we were able to see the National Cathedral, Georgetown and Embassy Row. We got off the Trolly at Layfayette Park, just across the street from the White House. We were able to see a wonderful view of George and Laura's place and got some good pictures.

We then made our way back to the hotel to freshen up before meeting Lisa's friend, Lisa Doyle and her husband Kelly for dinner at Baily's near our hotel. What a wonderful visit and wonderful surprise to see friends while we're on vacation so far from home. We had a nice visit and will have to go back east to see them again soon.

That marked the end of another busy day. Just one more full day left so be sure to check back soon for the fourth and final part of our Washington, D.C. trip series.

Anniversary Arrangement

Flamingos and Flowers

Happy 2nd Anniversary to us! Ahhh, another year of wedded bliss. Hard to believe all the changes in the past year...sold a home, bought a home, quit our jobs, accepted positions with new employers, moved from Colorado to Nebraska...closer to our families! My husband surprised me with a unique, beautiful arrangement of flowers today. So unique that I can't possibly do them justice by attempting to describe them in words. The camera is going with me to work tomorrow and I'll have a picture to post on the blogspot by the end of the day. We celebrated our anniversary with an evening out at one of our favorite Lincoln restaurants - Fireworks. Mike even agreed to share his dessert with me...he must be in love!

Other updates...
Last night, upon completion of loading the dishwasher to the brim, I attempted to turn it on. But alas, I heard the groan of the motor as though it was unable to successfully pump in water. So, back to the days of the pioneers, I unloaded every last item and washed and dryed them by hand. My mom has always said she never needed a dishloader (appliance, that is) because she has my dad (dish washer - two words - as in manual labor). I wonder if my dad would be willing to come spend a week or so with us?!?

We woke up this morning to an interesting discovery in our front yard. We had been "flocked" by an American Cancer Society - Relay for Life team. Our yard contained a bright display of pink flamingos. A small donation and 4 hours later, the culprits came to pick up these lovely birds and migrated them to the yard of our choosing! Our parents are lucky they do not live in city limits or they would have been next!!!

Wrapping up our summer landscaping project

The retaining walls were finished the end of June, so it was time to get them filled. We picked out a nice assortment of shrubs and planted them this afternoon. The retaining wall in the back yard has turned into Mike's garden - he planted watermelon, pumpkins and beans. It has turned into quite a treat for a wild rabbit in our neighborhood.

Independence Day in Washington, D.C.

PART II - July 4, 2008 - We began our first full day in Washington, D.C. with a hearty breakfast at our hotel's breakfast buffet. Followed by a short Metro ride downtown, we went straight to the National Mall, where all the action would take place that day. Everyone entering the Mall had to pass through security that day. We must have been searched six times.

We immediately ran into a group of Marines marching to start our Fourth of July off on a festive note.

With nearly two hours to pass before the parade began, we started sightseeing at the Museum of Natural History. There, we saw dinosaurs, elephants and other animals, early plant and animal life, as well as the Hope Diamond.

From there, we decided to stake out a good spot to watch the July 4th parade and ended up at 12th and Constitution, right in the middle of the route. The parade was filled with bands, balloons and military personnel...Lisa LOVED it (and I liked it a lot too). We visited with a couple from Kentucky and took in more than an hour of the parade before we decided we needed to start making our way to our tour at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

As one of our most anticipated stops on our vacation, the Holocaust Museum did not disappoint. We spent nearly three hours in the building and learned more about the Holocaust than we could have possibly asked for. If you're a history buff at all, we highly recommend this stop.

From there, we decided to pass on waiting in a long line at the National Archives and, instead grabbed hot dogs and a pretzel from a local vendor. We ate them at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden dodging rain the entire time.

We then headed to the National Air & Space Museum. We weren't the only ones with this idea as the place was PACKED! We spent less than an hour walking through the museum before deciding to give our feet a break and wait out the rain by going to two IMAX shows, one on fighter pilots and the other, a 3D movie on the sun.

When leaving the building, we quickly noticed that we were the only people who did not have an umbrella. We didn't realize that a 30 percent chance of rain meant a torrential downpour. We walked for a few blocks before hiding under a tree (already drenched, I might add). When the coast seemed clear and the rain appeared to be done, we tried to get to the Lincoln Memorial to watch the evening's fireworks, only to find the path had been blocked off. We decided to watch the display from just east of the Washington Monument, which proved to be a good spot.

The fireworks were spectacular but we quickly realized that we were going to have to compete with 500,000 people to get to a train to get back to the hotel (thanks to Casey for that tip) so we packed up early and headed towards the Metro station only to find that we weren't the only ones with that idea. We waited for an hour before we even got to the escalator to go down to the station.

Finally, we arrived back at the ol' Marriott across the river in Virginia and I decided I was hungry and couldn't wait till' morning so we set out to find food. After a LONG wait at our hotel, we finally ate and ended our fun (and exhausting) day in Washington, D.C.

Check back for July 5th highlights soon and enjoy the video of the 4th!

Back From Washington, D.C.

Well, we're back from our trip to Washington, D.C. and we had a fantastic time! Lisa has already called it her favorite vacation. We were on the go constantly and the time absolutely FLEW by. I can't believe we were actually gone for four and a half days.

Anyway, we want to share our entire trip but we did so much, that we need to break it up a little. Below, is the blog and video of Part I. We hope you enjoy:

PART I - Thursday, July 3, 2008 After a 3 a.m. wake up call in Nebraska to catch our early flight out of Lincoln and a short layover in Chicago, we arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport just before noon. We were greeted by our driver, Tracy, at baggage claim with a sign that read "Lefler". We felt pretty important.

It took a 45 minute drive to reach the Marriott Crystal City where we quickly checked in and went looking for lunch. We went just a block away to Baily's Pub and Grille, a neat little sports bar in Crystal City.

After lunch, we took the Metro (the subway system in Washington, D.C.) to Arlington National Cemetary. There, we saw the gravesite of John F. Kennedy, the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, Arlington House and the gravesites of many U.S. servicemen and women. We even saw a gravesite service being held that day and were surprised to find out that 25-30 people are still being buried at Arlington each day. Arlington offers what may be the best views of Washington so be sure to check them out in our video.

After returning to our hotel that night, we went to Crystal Drive to eat out at Ted's Montana Grill. Their burgers were really good. After the long day, we were both ready to turn in and refresh ourselves for the upcoming Fourth of July in Washington, D.C.

Below is PART I of our video series that captures the first day of our trip...enjoy!!! More videos will be coming shortly and be sure to keep checking for our next video showing July 4th in D.C. -ML-