Finishing the Blog

Although we safely arrived home from our vacation almost two weeks ago, I still wish to finish this blog for multiple reasons.

1. In a way, this blog is a digital journal of our trip to Washington D.C. and would not be complete without including the events of the last few days.

2. The original purpose of this blog was to fulfill an assignment from my dad to document and record the events of our trip. He also said it would be a great father's day present and since he could have easily purchased any item I could have given to him as a present, I chose this for an original and creative gift.

3. And last, to be frank, it's a Sunday morning and I'm looking for a way to be productive with my time without doing things I know I need to (like practice the piano for priesthood meeting in church).

Thus, even if takes hours or even days and no one ever views this blog again, I intend to complete it.

Palmyra, New York : The Sacred Grove

I realize I am a few days behind in our progress on the trip. However, my dad requested that I skip ahead to today's events and catch up on everything later in future posts.

Early this Sunday morning, each family member grudgingly packed into the van and made final goodbyes to our wonderful friends, the Knudsons. All returned to deep slumber in the car except for my dad, who was obviously the driver, and myself, who could not stop reading Dan Brown's latest book, The Lost Symbol. After several hours we reached Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Those awake (Dad and Myself) walked to the visitor center for a few minutes and enjoyed the massive collection of guns, ammunition, and uniforms of Civil War soldiers. A few more family members joined us as we walked just a few hundred feet into the actual location of the Gettysburg battle where we found numerous tombs and memorials celebrating the accomplishments and deaths of the regiments of troops who fought . We also had the opportunity to watch a live shooting demonstration by men dressed in typical Civil War attire. Back to the road! Our next destination was Palmyra, New York.  

Me with President Lincoln.

The 119th New York Division preforming a Civil War demonstration.

Me in front of the Gettysburg Visitor Center.

The original calendar of events said that we were doing to New York City today but both mom and dad decided going to the Sacred Grove and visiting other church history sights would be more appropriate activities for Sunday. As we entered the Sacred Grove visitor center we were greeted by a very friendly sister missionary who became our tour guide. She showed us the Smith family log cabin home and bore her testimony of the restoration of the gospel to the earth today. We made our way to the beginning of the path to the grove. My dad told each child to separate and make this a special experience.

The sister missionary and our family in front of the Smith family home. 

Family with the Palmyra Temple in the background. 

Family with the Palmyra Temple in the background. 

I followed his instructions and patiently waited till all were ahead of me before continuing into the quite forest. I offered a prayer that my testimony of Joseph Smith, the First Vision, and the Restoration of the gospel would be strengthened by entering and pondering in the Sacred Grove. As I began to walk along the path the true nature of my location hit hard. I was walking in a place where God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared, in the flesh, to Joseph Smith. I felt inspired by the Spirit to sing a song. All the way back I sang “I Am A Child of God”, “I Believe In Christ”, “I Lived in Heaven”, and “Joseph Smith's First Prayer.” I prayed once again to feel the Spirit.  

The Sacred Grove

As I keep walking down the path I found a leaf on the ground covered in dirt. I thought about how each one of us becomes dirty and accumulates “dirt” as we sin. I picked up the leaf and then noticed another leaf on a nearby bench face-down. As I turned it over I thought about how each one of us also has the opportunity to “turn over a new leaf” and change ourselves through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. After this moment I felt a strong outpouring of the Spirit. I left the Sacred Grove with a renewed commitment to follow Jesus and to fulfill basic things that I had been recently neglecting like scripture study and daily prayer.  

Since everyone had split up, everyone returned to the car at different times. Once everyone had used the restroom for one last time, it was back to the van. We drove to the temple but unfortunately wee could only circle the grounds because it was closed. Our final stop of the evening was the Hill Cumorah. Like previously, a senior missionary brother gave us a tour of the visitor center and bore his testimony of Jesus Christ. We hurriedly hiked up the hill because mom was very hungry and we needed to get back on the road. After a few pictures and rolling back down the hill, it was time to leave New York.  

The statue of Moroni on the top of the Hill Cumorah.

Flowers next to the statue.

Horse Lessons @ the Knudsons

The Webb family around Mikey, the lovable and gentle horse. 

A big thanks to Jill and Lexin Knudson for the horse riding lessons! After a long day in D.C. it was a great treat to come home to a barbecue and have the opportunity to ride horses. Just as a side note, all three of my very cute sisters have an extreme paranoia to animals of any shape, size, or kind. The Knudson's two poor dogs have been locked in the study for almost three days now because every time Grace, Natalie, or Olivia cathes sight of any animal, particularly dogs, screams of bloody murder quickly follow. Thankfully, the experience with the horses was much less dramatic and much more mellow. The girls warmed up to the medium-sized ponies fairly easily (I personally believe they opened up so much faster with the horses than with other animals because of those stupid "Pretty Pony" toys they love to play with). A beatiful sunset was just slipping behind the horizon as the first rider, Olivia, took to the reins.

Olivia obviously happy after the very first horse ride of her life. 

Next followed Natalie and Grace, who, under the calm and patient direction of Jill, rode around the riding arena twice. Each shrieked with joy after steeping down from the horse. Natalie whispered to my mom after her ride, "Mommy, can I have a pony for christmas?"

Natalie, also excited about her horse riding lesson but still a little tired from the long day.

Christopher and I also took our turns on Mikey, the trusty old pony who was so very kind to give all of us rides. After the riding, everyone gathered to the fire which Brother Knudson had made a few minutes earlier. Of course, no Webb family trip can be complete without roasting marshmallows and making s'mores so we did just that around a roaring fire, surrounded by family and friends in this beautiful eastern country. 

Day 1 of Washington D.C.

Wow, where do I start in our many wonderful adventures today? It almost feels surreal to be here at last after so many hours of planning and driving. Our day began with an early start and a long drive to the Metro. After much stress trying to get everyone AND the stroller on and off each train we finally arrived in the heart of the mall.

Christopher in front of the ticket-distributing machines in the Metro Station.

We first walked to the Washington Monument, the tallest building Washington D.C. We were getting used to the hot and humid weather so we just walked by the monument, talking pictures along the way. This was one of the few exhibits we didn't actually get tickets to. 

Because I took on the role as head photographer, this is one of the few pictures that I am actually in. 

We had the opportunity to view the monument surrounded by flags because of Memorial Day.

A great photo of the Washington Monument.

Next, we walked to the Korean War Memorial. Overall, it was a very sobering place; the expressions on the soldiers faces told how brutal and traumatic their lives were during and after the war. Engraved on the marble was a message: "Freedom Is Not Free" 

By this point in the day, the whole family was hot, thirsty, wet, and tired. We had only been in D.C. for an hour! Yet, thanks to the extremely busy, pre-planned agenda of sights to visit from Dad, we pushed past our struggles. After maneuvering through seemingly endless crowds of elementary school aged children, we arrived at the Lincoln Memorial. Much to the embarrassment of Christopher, my mom became quite emotional while reading the Emancipation Proclamation engraved on the left wall of the building.

Christopher and I posing with the giant, statue version of our 16^th President: Abraham Lincoln.

Continuing forward in our marvelous first day adventure in the capital, next was the Vietnam War Memorial.

A close up off the actual wall with the names of those who died during the Vietnam War.

I pretty proud of this patriotic flag photo I took.  

After seeing all the memorials and monument, we traveled by metro to the Smithsonian Museums. This is a picture of our family in front of the Natural History Museum. If you look closely, the two little girls are covering their faces trying to get away from the awful heat and humidity. 

Next we walked a short distance to my 2nd favorite museum: the Museum of American History. The best part of the museum was all the famous artifacts from American pop culture over the past century. 

For example, this is the original C3-P0 costume from the sixth Star Wars movie, Return of the Jedi. 

My mom's favorite part was Julia Child's kitchen. 

The girls posing with the classic ruby red slippers Dorothy wore in "The Wizard of Oz."

Lunch @ McDonalds. Natalie is definitely enjoying that ice cream cone. 

The End of Day 1 in Washington D.C.

A Day in Chicago (Part III) : The Lincoln Park Zoo

Everyone posing together outside the zoo.

The Lincoln Park Zoo is truly the most beautiful zoo I have ever been too.

It is definitly springtime. We saw numerous animal couples "getting it on..." during our trip to the zoo. Luckily, this turned out to be a wonderful learning experience for my younger sisters who have not had the "birds and the bees" lesson yet.

My younger "model" brother posing for the camera. Attention ladies, this hottie is available...

The lions enjoying a typical and boring day in their home. 

Of all the exhibits, everyone enjoyed the monkeys the most.

A Day in Chicago (Part II) : Wandering the City

As I wandered the famous streets of Chicago, the well-known giant of the mid-west, I was overwhelmingly struck with a feeling of diversity. Many cultures, races, traditions, and customs came together to create the wonderful place that Chicago is today. Resting upon the beautiful shoreline of Lake Michigan, this city holds a special place in my heart.

A Day in Chicago (Part I) : Lunch At Portillos

After a two hour drive the family arrived at Portillos, a local, famous restaurant in downtown Chicago. Of course the two families combined with ten children looked like a total freak show. We received numerous stares with all the screaming and yelling that was taking place. My mom pointed out a gay couple only to realized her mistake when every one of the kids stopped everything and simply stared at the two men. The food was exceptional.

The adults enjoying a delicious meal.

Natalie loved spending time with her new favorite cousin, Sidney.

Myself enjoying a huge sandwich stuffed with tasty beef.

Foot Injury

On Saturday night I was going out to the grab my yearbook for my cousins to see. It was in some plastic bins on the outside border of the garage. I wasn't wearing shoes and accidentally stepped on a plastic garbage sack. When I stepped down my foot meet some sort of glass bottle. I yanked my foot up in pain but still grabbed the yearbook before walking back inside. The pain really set in on the steps leading back up into the house. I sat down quickly feeling quite dizzy and then watched in horror as blood started rushing out of my foot. 

(The blood in this photo is legitimate)

At first I was too scared to say anything but as more and more blood poured out from my body I started calling the name of my Uncle, Brian. He came in and saw the mess. Uncle Brian quickly got my mom and started to examine the wound. As he washed away the majority of the blood he could see the outlines of the cuts. One on the outside edge and one in between the toes. He determined that no stitches would be necessary but I should be pretty careful. Over the next two days I got pretty spoiled. I sat in a wheel chair all through church and got first dibbs on almost everything we did. Luckily, I'm all better now.

Thanks for listening to my highly dramatized foot injury story. 

Saturday Activities

Aunt Julia's delicious breakfast of crapes, strawberries, and whipped cream.

A group photo at Uncle Brian's work, Pierce Biotech. 

Our family visited Freeport, where the famous debates between Lincoln and Douglas took place.

We ate lunch at Union Dairy, a small, local ice cream parlor with homemade hamburgers and chips. 

My cousin Allyson enjoying an ice cream sundae. 

After lunch we traveled in the van to Freeport park where I enjoyed playing on the kid playground equipment.  

My dad and Uncle Brian are best friends and don't leave each other's sight while they are together. 

We rented paddle boats and canoes to ride the river on. Everyone had a great time and got soaked!

Overall the Webb family had an awesome day in Roscoe Illinois with all our family and fun cousins!

Day 3 : Roscoe, Illinois

Around 7:00 P.M. the Webb family pulled into the driveway of Brian and Julia house. Everyone ran inside to try to get out of the drenching humidity which none of us are used to. Unfortunately, Allyson, our cousin, was still at work so we got back into the car so we could see her. We found her hard at work in the Pizza Parlor taking orders. After a brief greeting we headed back to the house and had a huge BBQ. Aunt Julia grilled hot dogs and chicken and made lots of other yummy treats like jello salad and potato salad. Following dinner, all the kids headed downstairs. The boys cousins, Andrew and Tyler, introduced my brother and I to the wonderful world of Nerf guns. We all spent the next two hours having a massive battle involving machines guns, pistols, crossbows, and shotguns. Christopher got totally smeared by me of course. We were going to watch Bride Wars but the wisdom of parents stopped us because it was just past midnight.

The next morning everyone slept in till around 10:00 except for McKenzie, who had to wake up two hours earlier for drivers ed. After another major Nerf battle downstairs and a shower for me, the family headed out for the first adventure. We first drove to Uncle Brian's work, which is a company who makes enzymes and proteins and other scientific stuff. Then we drove all the way to Freeport, which is the place where Lincoln and Douglas debated when they were running for president. We went out to lunch at a place called Union Dairy. Everyone inside was really ugly and there were tattoos everywhere. Both our family and Brian and Julia's family ordered classic burgers and malts. It was super delicious. After that we headed to a local park. I've decided it's really boring to have a blog with just words like this so now we will have some photos.