A Visit to Maryland

There's no place like home, but Grandma and Grandpa's house is a really close second! This year I embraced the Sorenson Family "Girl's Trip" concept and we jetted off to MD, girls only. Poor Luke was loaded back at the office and we definitely missed him, but we sure had a great time.

Grandma Rosie led us on a tour of her favorite spots in downtown Frederick. The library, the art museum, the river walk, and the antique gallery kept us busy all day. (In the group picture above, everything on the wall behind us is painted - all the walls along the river walkway are painted like that.) In the evening Grandpa Dave pitched us some balls, and then we caught lightning bugs. Catching lightning bugs has always been one of my favorite summer memories and I think I was more excited than the girls for them to have a chance to do it.

A sunny day at the lake was a real treat. Complete with sandcastles on the beach, a picnic lunch, and lots of swimming, I thought it was perfect. We topped it off by stopping in at a candy store and picking out some more treats for after dinner. If only I had had my camera when the girls walked in and saw nothing but tables and tables of candy! Their awed expressions were priceless, and they wandered around and around gaping at everything,"like a kid in a candy store."

Swimming at the pool got rained out, but the fun at home didn't stop. My brothers and sister put on quite a soccer show in the front yard, and later the kids "rocked out the show" with the band in the basement. I got to visit with my best friend from Middle School, and my parents treated us all to a crab dinner - yum, yum! (The crab dinner was actually after we got home from the lake, but the picture ended up here).

Then it was time to wave good-bye to Grandma and Grandpa. Aunt Lynn graciously drove us to the Washington D.C. temple on our way to the airport. I really wanted to show the girls my favorite temple so I was glad we could fit that in. I was right in between Mary and Beth age-wise when I went there with my family to be sealed together. The girls were grumpy on the way there, but once inside the Visitor's Center they calmed right away. Mary was immediately drawn to the statue of the Christus and I felt a special witness of the Savior's love for her as we stood there together looking at Him. The copies of the Book of Mormon in different languages intrigued Beth, and Madeleine found the display of satellite images from space paired with scriptures about the creation fascinating.

From there it was on to the airport and off to Utah. The girls were really well behaved for the flight and Madeleine was especially helpful and sensitive to how tired I was. Going home to greet our dad and sleep in our own beds was the perfect conclusion to a great trip.