Sweet Amelie!

This past weekend we travelled down to Arlington, VA for Amelie's baptism. How sweet and smiley she is! Annalisse and Mema/Popo served as Amelie's sponsors, so it was really special. It was a fairly quick trip as we didn't get on the road until around 1pm on Saturday, after Cam took his final SAT (he's taken it twice, now, this is it - make or break time), and finally got settled in our hotel around 10pm. Who knew therewere three Hampton Inns in Alexandria?! We found ours on the third try - and it was a little tense by then as Mark was getting really cranky over the whole situation. Anyway, we got settled, got a good night's sleep, and headed out early to drive to McLean/Herndon for the baptism, which was performed at our old Pastor's new church.

After the baptism, we made our way back up route 7 for a little lunch at Dave and Mandy's, then took a trip to a German market on the Columbia Pike. Cam is on a mission to try to find Spezi, a soda from Germany that he enjoyed during his trip there. They didn't have Spezi, but they did have Mezzomix, which is apparently just as good. He picked up a case to sell for his soda selling business at school. Of course, being an import, he'll have to mark up the price to make a profit.

After the German market, we headed back to Dave and Mandy's and hung around for a while (and spend time with Jackson, who's getting so big!) before heading out to a Turkish restaurant for dinner. Once again, Cam is in search of another delicacy from Germany, doner, which is a common Turkish street food. We found it at Cafe Divan, and, since I was sitting next to him, I could hear an audible "mmmmm" when he was eating it. We were so happy to be joined by our dear friend Ken, who is my best gal Sue's husband, as he's working in DC for a couple of months. It was almost like being with Sue. Almost.

We headed back home early on Monday morning so we could get back in time to pick up Jasper at the kennel by 6pm. During his time at the "pet hotel," we had also paid for two days of Doggy Day Camp and a grooming. Well, did he ever get groomed. I'm not sure the groomer understood what I meant by "just trim his feathers a bit." He looks super cute and soft, but a little like a golden-yellow-lab mix. With all that hair gone you can also see his "plus

sized" qualities.

All in all, a great trip and a nice time with the family. It will be nice to have an excuse to visit the DC area now that more family is living there - it's an awesome (and awe inspiring) place!