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.

Finals Treat

Props to Eileen's Cookies in Lawrence for making this adorable giant sugar cookie!  For the 2nd year in a row, I have had one delivered to Taylor to help her and her friends survive finals week.

Birthday Celebration

Allison didn't want to plan a big party this year, but instead chose a fun night of dinner and miniature golf with her friends.  

 

 Matt and I took them to Guadalajara for a festive dinner...

sombrero and singing included!  Then we sent them off to Mulligan's for some mini golf.  Happy Birthday Allison!

Seventeen

17 today!  Hard to believe, but her smile remains contagious and she has so much to look forward to!

I continued the "door decorations" tradition and provided her with all 3 of the meals she requested throughout the day...McDonald's Sausage McGriddle/Hashbrowns for breakfast, Waba Grill teriyaki bowl for lunch at school and Shake Shack for dinner after practice.

She received lots of texts, calls, gifts and cards from family throughout the week.

 Her friends brought her treats at school and despite having an AP final, she had a good day!

Matt is out of town at a conference so it was just me singing Happy Birthday, but she smiled through it and blew out the candle on her Nothing Bundt Cakes bundtini!  

Happy 17th Allison!

PROM

Allison looked so pretty in red! A big thank you to Jenna for helping with hair and makeup!

The big group of friends couldn't make any concrete plans, so these three made their own plan and all looked stunning!

They met for pictures at Temecula Creek Inn along the golf course. 

 Their sweet friend Nate put on his stepdad's tux and took some pictures with them, even though he wasn't going to the dance.

Then the 3 girls drove down to dinner at Wood Ranch Grill in SD and then took and Uber to and from the dance at the Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park.  They loved the venue and thought it was really cool to stand on the balcony while planes landing in SD flew overhead.  They also loved the silent DJ and the churros!  So glad they had a great night!

You Can Call Him Lieutenant!

After taking the test in February and waiting months for the decisions to be announced, Matt got promoted to Lieutenant today!!  He received a call from the Sheriff asking if he would accept the position and of course he said yes! 

No one deserves this more than he does!  He is a natural-born leader, the hardest worker I know, cares  about everyone who he works for and who works for him and is a great role model for the department.  Congratulations Matt!

Officially a Coyote!!

'After months of consideration, Allison made the decision that she wants to continue her academic and athletic career at Kansas Wesleyan University!  

She is so excited to play soccer and work towards a degree in Criminal Justice and just felt like everything felt right to do that here.  

She set up an evening call with Coach Kat and Coach Heinrich on Thursday night and they were so thrilled!  I think Kat even screamed a little bit and made Allison feel so valued.  Matt and I listened in on speaker phone and loved sharing in the excitement.  Her hard work is paying off!

We took her out to a celebratory dinner at Lucille's and we could sense the relief she feels by finally having made the decision!  

KWU posted this on their Instagram and Facebook Easter Sunday and we will now wait for her to sign a letter of intent.  She will get to attend both academic and athletic signings at her high school since is getting scholarship money for both.  So proud of this kid!

Chi Omega Mom's Weekend

I had the best weekend with Taylor in Lawrence for the annual Mom's Weekend!  I picked her up after she finished studying on Thursday night and she picked this awesome Thai restaurant for dinner.

On Friday, I worked at McClain's in the morning while Taylor had class.  Then she gave me a tour of the Engineering buildings and I loved seeing how proud she is of all she does there!  Later that night we met her roommates and their moms at John Brown Underground before the dinner.

The drink menu has traditional drinks with their own personal spin!

Then we walked a few blocks down to the dinner venue.

We got there just in time to watch the fraternity boys serenade the moms.  Such a cute tradition!

The decorations were really pretty and we had a really good family style dinner.

We continued the night at The Bull with her friends/moms

and got a special treat when the KU Bar Band arrived and played for the crowd!

On Saturday, we went out to breakfast with the McLiney ladies at Milton's and then went for massages at Salon DiMarco on Mass St.  I knew it would be the perfect treat for Taylor mid semester and she really enjoyed!  Unfortunately, my masseuse talked the entire time, but it still felt nice.

We showered up and then stopped by the Chi Omega fountain...tulips in bloom all over campus!

We had dinner with Taylor's friends Megan and Chessa at Johnny's Tavern and watched the Final Four games.

We ended with a fun night at The Wheel with some of her sorority sisters.

Sunday morning we celebrated Hallie's birthday at Wake The Dead with her family and a few friends.

 We shared the best acai bowl and breakfast scramble!

We shopped along Mass. St a bit and went back to Chi O to pack up some of Taylor's winter clothes for me to bring home.  She had a study session for the afternoon so we said our goodbyes and I made my way to the airport.  

Only 6 weeks until she is home for summer!