The Carters come to D.C.!!! Then Charlottesville!!!

Well, the day that we had been waiting for finally arrived. Nate was finally on vacation. Not counting the week he took off for Claire's birth, this was the first week off that Nate had had in almost a year. And boy did he need a break. What he got was a week full of activities that wore him out. The activities started in Washington D.C. when we met Hillory's family for some food, sights, and good ol' family fun. We stayed overnight with them on Aug 3 and then met my family and all headed down to Charlottesville. That post is to come.

Nothing says excitement like the first ride on the Subway. Luckily Claire was now 2 months old and ready to fight off the germs that lurk below the streets of Washington. The Carter's all just loved little Claire as evidenced by their excited faces.

Never fear, Grandpa is here! Here to protect Claire from the bad guys on the subway. To our relief, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, along with Master Splinter, were also patrolling the subways that weekend. Unfortunately they would not stop for a photo.
Claire was bored of the subway by now and just wanted to sleep. But the Carter clan has D.C. energy to spare. And they love the Nation's Capital. They wore Claire out.
Aunt Shelly goes big, and then she goes home (turns out that those two terms are not mutually exclusive). We would like to congratulate Shelly on her first plane ride. What a place to go and to see her great niece. The highlight of the trip in her exact word, "The ghost tour was really spooky!! But the cab ride home was downright scary."

What can you say, Claire loves la Nona. Here she lets out a boisterous cheer.

After hearing that the Mutant Turtles were in town, Claire just had to get to the Museum of fine art to see the works of Michaelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Rafael (There were actually a few of their works there). She loved it. In fact she has requested that we find a preschool where they teach Italian and offer A.P. Art History. We told her we would think about it.
Claire loves the Cheesecake Factory!
Hill loves it even more. Check out the size of that burger. This thing was awesome!! Steak, onions, mushrooms, cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes all on a quarter pound of american beef. If you will examine Hills neck very closely, you will see an artery bulging. That is her Carotid Artery begging her not to take another bite. Hill disregarded the advice and made everyone at the dinner table proud.

Jake and Alyson are all smiles after a fabulous meal (to be discussed in a future post).

Claire loves her aunts and Grandma (and she is pretty fond of her momma)!

One last picture before the Carter's leave town. It was so much fun to have them come visit and stay for a few days (Please read the next blog post for more details regarding their visit).We hope they come again soon.