Quigley Vacation - Gettysburg

On our last day in the DC area, we headed a little farther north to Gettysburg. It was beautiful! We climbed the zillion steps to the top of the lookout tower.





Then visited a memorial that looks like a castle. And you get to climb it too!







It was such a fun trip! Thanks again to the Quigleys for coming out and sharing your vacation with us!

Oh, and one last fun picture. Gotta get it in here...

We love you, Steven Colbert!

Quigley Vacation - Iwo Jima

If you've ever met Ben's dad, you know he's a Marine and proud of it. So a major part of our DC trip was seeing the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team perform at the Iwo Jima Memorial, just outside Arlington National Cemetery.

The Commandant's Own (aka Marine Drum & Bugle Corps) performed. AMAZING!

And the Silent Drill Team. They use no commands while throwing their rifles (with attached bayonets!) through the air and flipping them around within inches of each other. Yikes!

See the bugler on the monument? I've heard Taps a hundred times, but this performance was the best ever.

If you've never seen the Silent Drill Team, you've got to google it and watch a video. Your jaw will drop. Its amazing!

Quigley Vacation - Quantico & DC.

We were so excited to have Ben's parents come visit last week! They came August 7-16 and we spent a few of those days sightseeing in the DC area. We started at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.



Then we saw the monuments at the National Mall in DC. It was hot but beautiful. We started at the capital.





Ben and I have been to DC several times since January, but this was the first time that the area right in front of the capital was open to visitors. It was so pretty!






We dropped by the National Archives and saw the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence. Then we walked down to the WWII memorial and the Lincoln Monument.









Last stop at the Mall, the White House. Mama Quigley was so excited to see the Obamas' vegetable garden! :)

So much fun!

A super beachy weekend.

I spent both Friday and Saturday at the beach this weekend. It was a beach-a-palooza! And even though it was a really fun time (thanks again Jenn!), I didn't get any pictures from Friday. I learned my lesson and brought my camera along Saturday. Here's a pic of me and the girls at Onslow Beach. Me, Erin, Anna, and Kati.



The boys dug a giant hole. Ben was in heaven. Wish I would have thought to get a picture of him standing in it. It was seriously like four feet deep.

Oh, and on our way home, we stopped for dinner at a Japanese restaurant that specializes in food from Okinawa. We had some super tasty yakisoba. Mmm...

Ft Fisher Beach.

Last weekend we headed out to Ft Fisher Beach. We camped Friday night and spent most of Saturday at the beach. Lillie picked up body surfing. This wasn't her best wave, but still pretty fun!

Fantastic time! We love the beach!

How to bury your dog in the sand...

Step One: Dig a hole and let the dog lay down. Roll her over and rub her belly.


Step Two: Start to cover her up with the warm sand. Keep rubbing her belly and telling her what a good dog she is.

Step Three: Finish covering her and maybe even make a sand pillow for her to relax her head on.

Optional Step Four: Make her into a muscle man or mermaid. Dog needs to be relaxed and tired to allow this step. Ours wasn't so much this time.

And there you go! You've successfully buried your dog in the sand, a happy experience for both dog and owner. :)

Happy Ben.

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Onslow Beach Fun!

On Friday, we went to Jacksonville for a wonderful day at Onslow Beach. It was beautiful and sunny and we played a lot! There were two major highlights of our trip:

First, believe it or not, we buried Lillie in the sand! It was so funny! We got her to lay down in the hole and rubbed her til she was super relaxed. Then we slowly covered her up with the warm sand. She loved it! She was so relaxed, she actually fell asleep while we made her into a teddy bear (or something).

Then I buried Ben too...

After Ben and Lillie rinsed the sand off in the ocean, we took a walk down the beach and found this:

Biggest shark tooth ever!

It was a great day at the beach!