You Can Call Him LT!

 There is no one more deserving to get promoted to Lieutenant than this guy right here!  Today we got to celebrate this incredible accomplishment 

 and we are all so proud of him!

His work ethic, self-motivation and dedication to help others are just a few reasons he is deserving of this promotion and I know he is a true role model for these girls!

It was a nice ceremony, honoring so many Sheriff's Dept employees for years of service, life-saving awards and promotions.  When getting promoted to Lieutenant, the recipient gets to choose someone to join them on stage to pin on their badge and take a photo with the Sheriff.  Matt chose me to do the honor and the girls to join us on stage as well.  It was a cherished family moment and I hope we will get a nice picture from the department one of these days :)

We continued the celebration with a nice family lunch and can't wait to see what Matt accomplishes as a LT! It will start off in Personnel and surely make a difference!

Manchester City Cup

This was Allison's first weekend playing with her new head coach, Greg.

Unfortunately, she partially dislocated her shoulder halfway through the first game so spent the weekend icing and cheering on her team.

Manchester City just one the Premier League Championship so the girls posed with the trophy that was being very closely supervised!

She also got a picture with Shaun Wright-Phillips!

Washington DC Day #4

Heading home this afternoon, but the weather was too perfect to not spend the morning outside!  We rented bikes and covered a lot of ground downtown.  Why didn't we do this all week...lol!

Another pass by of the Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

MLK Jr. Memorial

Korean War Memorial

 and US Supreme Court.  The city was so crazy today with Trump speaking at The Capitol...sirens and police everywhere! Looking forward to coming back with the girls next time, but we had an amazing few days!

Came home to lots of Mother's Day treats since I wasn't home on Sunday...love our girls!

Washington DC Day #3

This morning we took the Metro to Arlington National Cemetery.  It was a lovely blue-skied day after a few cloudy ones...perfect for walking through this very special place.

 We visited JFK's gravesite,

The Challenger Memorial

 and spent quite a bit of time at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

 We watched the changing of the guard ceremony which is one of the most honorable and memorable things I have ever witnessed!

 We took the Metro back downtown and spent more time on the mall touring the WWII Memorial

 and Lincoln Memorial.

 Such a pretty view from it's steps!

 We looped back around to see the Three Servicemen and Vietnam War Memorial 

and walked along the path of the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence Memorial on the way back to our hotel.

Washington DC Day #2

 

Today we took a ride out to Cleveland Park to eat some BBQ at Matt's cousin Peter's restaurant Fat Pete's.  I forgot to get a picture of them together, but we enjoyed a nice lunch catching up and sharing stories from their childhood.

After lunch we walked several blocks to the Washington National Cathedral.  It was stunningly beautiful and so big!

Such gorgeous architecture,

both inside and out, 

as well as lovely gardens and cobblestone walkways all around!

Once back downtown we covered a lot of ground along the mall to see the White House

and Washington Monument before walking towards the law enforcement events closer to The Capitol.

Tonight's event was the candlelight vigil.  Fallen officers' families arrived by the bus load and were greeted by law enforcement officers from all over the world, there to pay their respects.

It was an overwhelming sense of sadness, pride, love, support, brotherhood and sense of community all mixed together.

It felt like a true honor to be there!

This adorable little girl passed around "thank you" cards to hundreds of officers thanking them for their service!

 Not only was every state represented, several countries were too.

We met these men from Israel and traded patches with officers from Austria, Canada and Mexico...as well as several US cities.

 After several guest speakers and personal stories, thousands rose candles in memory of the fallen.

 Quite a humbling experience!

Washington DC Day #1

Matt and I arrived in Washington DC late last night to celebrate National Police Week!

We found it fitting to start our day with a walk to the National Police Officer's Memorial.  It is a beautiful tribute to all of the fallen officers that have sacrificed for the nation's communities.

Across the street from the memorial is the new Law Enforcement Museum.  We were very impressed, although I feel like it should have been free to active or retired law enforcement! 

It was very interactive, well laid out and represented so many areas in law enforcement.

Then we did more walking down to the mall to visit the Natural History Museum.

So many fascinating exhibits and we could have spent days here!

We met up with other SD County Sheriff's employees for a private tour of The Capitol.

Park Police gave us a tour through the many hallways,

the Rotunda,

the old Senate floor

and out one of the many balconies that over looked the mall.  So many interesting stories along the way and a great history lesson!

We stopped for a few slices of pizza at Wiseguy Pizza and a walk through Chinatown on our way back to the hotel.