The heavens opened...

...and blessed DC with more fun...

...and more beauty.

(Two solid snow days in one winter in DC? Delightful!)

Mr. X

Tennyson du bois

Building

Burning

Pacific Northwest - Panoramic Redux

Last August/September, while we were on our AMAZING trip to see the natural wonders of Washington State, I tried a couple panorama photography techniques I had read about. The scenes were enormous, and I lack a wide-angle lens, so I decided to try my hand at the photo stitching method. It took me a while to figure out the photo stitching software, and then it took me a while to figure out how to reduce the file size so I could upload them, but at last I've caught up with the 1980s (technologically) and have a few photos to share. They're a bit washed out, due to the glaring mid-day sun, but hopefully you can get the idea of just how grand and beautiful it was. It will help to click on the picture.

Cascade Pass

Hidden Lake

Sahale Arm

Skyline Divide

It's a...

(Thanks for voting, but this isn't a democracy.)

"The face of a child can say it all,

especially the mouth part of the face." -- Jack Handy

True. So here are a few recent Tennysonisms we thought you might enjoy.

• While saying grace: "I'm thankful for my chest. And daddy's chest. And mommy's chest."


• After daddy shut the door to leave for work: "Jeremy's a good man."


• When we told him mommy had a baby in her tummy: "A real live baby?"


• At various points throughout our trip to SC and GA: "Whoa! Where are we?"


• When mommy scratched her belly at her midwife's office: "Mommy! Don't scratch the baby!"


• Every time he's spotted an American flag since visiting Fort McHenry with his Springer cousins: "Look! It's Old Glory!"


• Loudly singing "Rudolph" at the crowded Safeway checkout lines: "Even the Holy Spirit, used to laugh and call him names!"
  

Happy New Year - 2010 (Southern Edition)

We must be getting old, because we don't do very well in the cold any more. The day after Christmas, the blizzard remnants started wearing on us, and we decided to take road trip south. So we threw a bunch of stuff in the car and started driving. The plan: keep going south on I95 until we could comfortably drive with our windows down. That point was sunny Savannah, Georgia.

We LOVED the historic district of Savannah. The most unique feature of the city, which makes it such a beautiful place, is that the city is designed around twenty-something "squares," or as Tennyson called them, "parks!"

Live Oak Tree covered with Spanish Moss

Exploring

And then there are all the amazing churches that, as far as American churches go, are older than dirt.

Tennyson's favorite parts were the carriage ride through town, the playgrounds,...

...and the boats.

Suzy and I liked exploring and relaxing.

We spent the last couple days in Charleston, South Carolina, which also boasts a healthy supply of history, churches, and horse-drawn carriages.

And no visit to the South is complete without forking over half your savings to visit one of the historic plantations, like Magnolia Plantation.

As for resolutions: our two resolutions for 2009 were to use our passports more and to eat more Mexican food. Jeremy fulfilled the first, and our performance on the second was stellar. For 2010, we resolve to dance more.