Monday, July 23, 2012

Quilt in the Capital

In 1996, my family headed down to Washington D.C. to view the AIDS Quilt on The Mall. This was the first time we were seeing the quilts we made for my Uncle Mitch. My Grandparents made a quilt along with my family. Getting the chance to see the whole quilt laid out on The Mall was an amazing scene. And lucky for us, we got the chance to see it once again!

Yesterday, Courtney, McKaila, Amber and I, along with our friends Daniel and Jen headed downtown to see the AIDS Quilt along with all the other sites in D.C. We weren't lucky enough to see Mitch's quilt in person, but they did have a digital patchwork on a touch screen. So, we were able to search for both of Mitch's quilts! It was pretty exciting to get to see them again.



 Here is a website with more information about the AIDS Quilt http://www.aidsquilt.org/





Along with showing the quilts, they had a concert. They had cheerleaders, drum chorus line, Wyclef Jean, and Rev. Al Sharpton. There were probably more appearances then that, but that is all we saw.


Wyclef Jean is in the white
Rev. Al Sharpton


Here are some random photos from our day in D.C.






President Obama in the helicopter heading to Andrews, then off to Aurora, Colorado

It was a great day walking through the city with family and friends, plus getting the chance to see the AIDS Quilt laid out on The Mall made the day that much better. 

Love you Uncle Mitch
RIP

Saturday, July 7, 2012

National Air and Space Museum

Of coarse, the week that Grandpa and Grandma Kuipers were here, it was record breaking temperatures. It was too hot to even be outside, other then to be in the pool. And even then, it was hot sitting there because the water was getting warmer by the minute. By the time we would get out of the water, it would feel like bath water.

So, we decided to travel to Virginia and go to the National Air and Space Museum, so we could see some history, but also be indoors. Like always, it's great seeing McKaila light up at the sight of all the airplanes. She had a blast looking at them all and running around!



Discovery




Kuipers Klan
Grandpa and Grandma Kuipers

Overall, it was a great day of seeing airplanes and staying cool! 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Independence Day

Happy 4th Of July!!!

We started off our adventures today with a trip to Gravelly Point Park. It's one of our favorite places to take McKaila, because she gets to sit there and watch all the airplanes fly right above our heads. I guess, we weren't thinking much of the holiday, but when we arrived at the park, there were lots of people setting up for the fireworks. People brought tents, coolers, and anything else to keep them cool. I couldn't have even imagined sitting there all day just to watch the fireworks. Keep in mind that today's heat index was well above 100. We didn't get the chance to observe many planes fly by because we were all so hot, but McKaila enjoyed it while it lasted!



Once we were all cooled off in the car, we headed back to Waldorf. And what better way to help you cool off on a hot summer day, ICE CREAM!! So, our next stop was to get some ice cream at Rita's. Oh so yummy and I think it hit the spot with everyone! 
Next stop home, where Grandpa set up McKaila's first t-ball set up. Grandpa was quick to take McKaila outside and show her the ropes. She was quick to learn to hit the ball off the stand, but she kept hitting the ball with the wrong side of the bat. Oh well, atleast she got the concept down. 





What is the 4th of July without fireworks? Well, we weren't really planning on seeing any this year, due to the weather. It was just too hot to be sitting outside waiting for the sun to set. So, we headed to see Courtney at work. But, lucky us, we got to see the fireworks any way. We got to go into the control tower on base and see all the fireworks in the D.C. area. It was such a great show seeing fireworks from Six Flags, The National Mall, The National Harbor, plus all the fireworks that the cities were doing. It's one moment I know I will never forget and can't wait to tell McKaila all about it when she's older, since she's too young to remember it now. Definitely a great end to a great holiday!! Hope everyone had a great holiday as well!! 

The sun setting on Andrews AFB 

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Pool Time With The Family


McKaila was full of laughter in the pool today. Mainly because she had Grandma and Grandpa Kuipers in the pool playing with her. She was trying to swim in between them and having a ball splashing them. I don't think I have ever heard her laugh as much as I heard her laugh today. When McKaila laughs a lot, she gets the hiccups and there was more then a hand full of times, where McKaila got the hiccups.


Today was such a hot day, that at one point we were all in the pool. Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, Mommy, and McKaila. McKaila really loved that. She would go up to all of us and splash us and start laughing. It was the cutest thing. We even took a time out to eat some lunch and McKaila wanted right back into the water. McKaila definitely loves the water, that is for sure!!!



Kisses from Grandma