V.I.P.

Two very important people came to visit us last week. I wish I could save all the special moments we had with them in a little capsule and revisit those moments every once in a while. Scott's grandma and Aunt Penny came to spend a week with us. It was wonderful to have them here. The week prior to their coming, the kids, especially Brielle asked every single day, fifty million times a day, "are they coming yet?, are they in the plane?" Both, Brielle and Braden couldn't wait! They were beyond excited. It almost felt like they were waiting for Christmas to come! The day came and we couldn't have been happier to have them in our home for a week. We did some of the usual things that we do in D.C. when we have visitors. It was the little exchanges of kindness and love that I will remember though, toward me and Scott, but especially the way they both love my children. It's funny how it is those little things that make the most difference, like Aunt Penny fixing Braden's fishing pole countless times and Great-grandma Jensen reading a goodnight story to Brielle.

Such special moments.

We tried to keep busy, despite the bad weather we had most of the week they were here. It was such a bummer that it rained so much! But I think we made the best of it and they got to see some of my favorite places in D.C.

The first day we headed to the beautiful Library of Congress.

That building is amazing and I love what it represents.

Grandma got a little tired of walking around so she and the kids sat down in this really cute children's library that the Library of Congress has inside. Penny and I took part of a tour, and we learned some really cool facts about the Library. The tour guide told us there are about 700 miles worth of bookshelves, making it the largest library in the world! Isn't that amazing?

The following day we headed to the Archives Building to see the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The lines were crazy but it was worth it!

It was Scott's birthday that day and he got done early at the hospital. So we met up with him and he joined us. We took Grandma and Penny on a little tour of the National Cathedral. As always that building is just breath-taking!

We did part of a tour, until we all got tired. I do love the tours, the guides always have such interesting facts to share.

We headed to the top of the Cathedral to see the whole city. It was a little foggy.

We got home and we celebrated Scott's 30th birthday with some cupcakes. My cute husband caught up to me!:) We are both 30 now. We all had a little surprise for Scott.

I gathered '30 things we love about Scott' from Scott's closest friends and family (I didn't get everyone!) :(. The kids cut up circles and hearts and we wrote all the wonderful things everyone had to say about him...we ended up with more than 30! I LOVED hearing what people have to say about my husband. He really is a good man and I'm so lucky to have him!

"30 things we LOVE about Scott"

1. I love it when my dad plays candyland with me. You are my favorite Daddy. -Braden

2. Scott is dependable. -Aunt Penny

3. Scott is the most handsome of all the Jensen's! -Jana

4. Scott's sense of humor. -Jon & Daija, Jana

5. Scott is kind. -Grandma Jensen

6. We like that Scott admits when he's wrong. He's humble. -CJ & Lenell

7. I love that Scott is always so genuine. You can always tell that he means what he says... -Stacey

8. I love it when my Daddy plays barbies with me. -Brielle

9. I love Scott's ambition. -Dad, Penny

10. Scott is such a good dad! -Jana

11. I like the way Scott loves his family. -Dad

12. We love Scott's killer dance moves. -Jonathan & Daija

13. I love how much you work for our family. -Denisse

14. Scott is intelligent. -Grandma

15. I love it when my Daddy hugs me. -Brielle

16. I love you because you go to work. -Braden

17. I love how caring Scott is to everybody. -Dad

18. I love that Scott is even tempered and rarely seems to let things really get to him...-Justin

19. We love Scott's ability to speak his mind without reservation. -Jonathan & Daija

20. I love it when daddy plays superman and choo choo trains with me. -Braden

21. I love that Scott loves God and he is genuinely a good person. -Denisse

22. Scott is such a hard worker. -Jana

23. I love everything about Scott. -Nya

24. I love it when my daddy kisses my mommy. -Brielle

25. Scott is faithful. -Grandma

26. I love it when daddy tickles me. -Braden

27. I love when Scott tells me a joke and I laugh, and he laughs because he thinks his own joke is funny too!

-Denisse

28. I love it when my Daddy walks with me on the trail. -Brielle

29. You are my favorite Daddy in the whole wide world. -Braden

30. I love who you are! -Denisse

We love you sweetie! Happy 30th!

The cupcakes turned out yummy!

On Friday, Braden had a field trip, and since I'm one of the room moms for his classroom, I couldn't get out of it...so I left Grandma and Penny for a few hours to go chaperone the field trip to Home Depot. It was really fun and Braden was totally in his element. He absolutely LOVES working with tools. They made the cutest little wooded box and he pretty much made it all by himself! (with a little bit of my help!) :)

On Saturday, we decided to fight the weather (meaning the rain), the forecast said 50% chance of rain...It was an interesting visit to the city...it rained 3 different times. It would rain and then it was shiny and then it would rain and then it was shiny! It was nuts!

But we got to see the cherry blossoms and we saw most of the monuments. It is so much walking that we decided to get a wheelchair for grandma. It was nice to have Scott to push grandma's wheelchair.

The cheery blossoms were very white this year. I missed the little tint of pink from prior years. But nonetheless, they were beautiful.

I was glad that Scott was able to spend the whole day with his grandma!

Beautiful every year!

We had an adventurous day and we got to see most of all the monuments that we wanted to show Grandma and Penny.

The kids were DONE! Walking the mall, always leaves us all exhausted!:)

After a long day of walking, grandma treated us all to dinner! We met up with Ryan, Kara and their children, who drove from Cleveland to see Penny and Grandma.

We enjoyed a lot of good times together. When I asked Brielle, what her favorite part of Great-grandma being here was, she said, "when she read to me!".

Their last day, we headed to the Arlington Cemetery. We were so lucky to enjoy such a beautiful day! It was almost hot!!! I LOVED it! We took the tourmobile and it made it easier on everyone, we got to see the whole Cemetery.

Here I am, with child.

Goodness! It takes a lot of energy carrying that belly!

I almost couldn't keep up with Scott's 86 year-old grandma!!!:) ha ha!!!:)

Grandma is amazing!

We got to witness the change of guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier! I can't believe I've lived here almost 3 years and I hadn't seen it before! It was really neat!

Braden became very fond of Penny while she was here! He loved being around her! and I did too! We enjoyed many late-night conversations.

When I asked Braden what his favorite part of Aunt Penny's visit was, he said, "when she was tickling me!" He just enjoyed spending time with her.

The kids thought Penny was so cool because she could roll her tongue. I've never been able to roll mine, and Brielle and Braden have been so cute about it, they keep telling me:

"Mommy, you just need to practice!"

I'm afraid practice won't make a difference in this case! :)

Sadly, Grandma's and Penny's last night here, Scott was on call at the hospital until midnight! So, so sad!

We will treasure our moments with Grandma Jensen and Aunt Penny forever!

We love you both!