Shall we play a game?

It's that time of year again - CLC's Youth Retreat, Worthy '08. This year surpassed any I've been to in the last 7 years. It simply gets better and better. The pictures here are from the afternoon games. They involved balls, frisbees, oatmeal, watermelon, water, sponges, bubble gum, pudding, duct tape, water balloons, and blindfolds. The rules would be far too complicated to explain even IF one could understand them. Needless to say, it was great messy fun.























































Can't wait until next year! Neal and Garrett, you did an outstanding job, but how will you top this one?!

Fedex Field

Christoph and I went to the Redskins preseason game at FedEx Field last weekend with a group of devout Skins fans; Dre, Justin, Jessica, David, and Cody.



Our tailgate party in Lot 1.



(Don't worry KG Kids - it's ginger ale.)

Thanks to a very generous friend, Christoph and I had 3 tickets right on the field in the 8th row so we took Cody to sit with us. This was his first time inside FedEx Field and he is a fanatic Redskins fan. Included with our tickets was entrance to the Redskins Tailgate Club with tons of free food, autograph signing, raffle drawings, etc. Cody watches as the band marches into the stadium.





Just taking it all in while watching warm-ups....







Finally the team is announced and the game begins.





We won! Redskins 17 Buffalo Bills 14. Yes, it was a great game, but as Christoph said the best part about the whole thing was watching Cody. Agreed. I think the best part for me was determining that in fact the keys were NOT locked in the van and the only thing we had to contend with was a dead battery. Fortunately for us there were about 60,000 other cars in the parking lot so we did get it jumped and were soon on our way.

Cody, thanks for making it such a fun time for everyone! (Despite how he looks here, he had a great time and made sure everyone else did, too.)

A week at the beach

We spent last week on a wonderful vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We stayed at this beautiful resort right on the water. This year we took a day trip 2 hours south to Charleston. We had a quick lunch at the famous Hyman's Seafood restaurant and had homemade ice cream in the general store downstairs. Then we took a carriage tour of the historic district and saw all those amazing houses and gardens.







Now Charleston is definitely a charming town, but it is HOT! And according to the locals it hadn't even gotten as hot as it was going to get yet. Honestly, we were melting. I think the humidity was about 117% which I guess is why the gardens are so lovely. It's one huge greenhouse down there. After walking from the Market we found a great fountain at the Waterfront Park which we couldn't resist.







Then it was back to the beach for the rest of the week.









Christoph and I were able to successfully pull off a surprise we'd been planning since January and had Garrett join us for the second half of the week. Needless to say, Elise was shocked when Garrett swam up behind her in the pool, popped out of the water, and said "Hi!" She almost fainted. Literally. It was great to have him with us.









Garrett brought along just a few hats....

Of course putt-putt golf is always part of our vacation at the beach.





At the end Elise and Garrett tied for first place, much to Elise's delight. Not that they're competitive or anything. (Ha!)

Eating steamed crabs is another tradition for us, but nobody in Myrtle Beach knows how to do real Maryland steamed blue crabs. Last year we found a Phillips down there so that has become a favorite place for us.





We spent the last two days of vacation at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. Since practically every single ride involves water, I didn't bring my camera to the park. Christoph, the girls, and Garrett tried valiantly to get me to go on Apollo's Chariot and Alpengeist with them but to no avail. (The Griffon was closed due to "Technical Difficulties." Yipes!) Even Evelyn went on Apollo's Chariot. Twice! I think I did pretty well on Big Bad Wolf and Loch Ness Monster. Maybe next year....

I miss it already.