Proper Aisle Scooting advice

Go here to get some advice on scooting down the aisle...

http://www.texasmonthly.com/2010-12-01/courtney.php

Christmas comes early!

Christmas came early to Virginia. Mom and Dad Cone gave Mary Beth a sewing machine for Christmas! It is a great machine that portable and easy to carry. Mom spent lots of her time helping Mary B learn how to use it. Since Mary B is a multiple time sewing school drop out, this was no small challenge. :)

First project was the ice cream "Cone" pillowcase! It was lots of fun to make.

Upon completion, Gracie quickly snatched it up and took it to her room. Mom and MB made one more beautiful pillowcase before the end of Mom's trip. Guess what you are getting for Christmas?

Thanks Mom and Dad!

Love,

4Vs

Happy Birthday Mr. Sousa

Mom came into town this weekend to visit the 4Vs and to celebrate John Philip Sousa's birthday. Mr. Sousa is buried at the Congressional Cemetery in Southeast DC. Each year on his birthday, November 6th, the Marine Corps Band comes to the cemetery to play his marches and celebrate his birth. Sousa grew up in the Marine Corps Band and was the leader of the band for 15 years. During this time, he wrote the great marches that we all know and love.

Much to our surprise, when we got to the cemetery, Mr. Sousa himself was there to talk about his life. (This guy must always be Sousa for Halloween!) He was well spoken and charming. We enjoyed his personal stories from Sousa's life.

While Mike and Mom and I were charmed by the Sousa impersonator, Brock and Grace were charmed by Sousa's birthday cake!

It was a little chilly, so we had to break out the winter gear for all. We enjoyed Mr. Sousa, listened to the band and toured the great old cemetery. What a fun and funky DC history day!

Love,

4Vs

Marine Corps Band

Here comes the band!

They form up around Sousa's grave and play some of his marches.

Great looking drum :)

We were slightly disappointed that the band only played two or three marches before they left. It was still great to hear them. Rumor has it that the band used to play all day on Sousa's birthday at the grave. It is much shorter now, but it was still fun.

Love,

4Vs

Mom meets Sousa

This is the grave of Sousa after the laying of the wreath. Happy Birthday March King!

Mom meets Sousa after the ceremony. She will tell you how great his kid gloves are if you ask her!

Love,

4Vs

Congressional Cemetery

We had a beautiful day to visit the cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1807. During that time, people were typically buried where they died rather than being sent back to their homes.

These markers are called cenotaphs. There are 165 of them in the cemetery meant to honor congressmen and senators who died in office. Only 80 of them are actually in use. By 1870, congress decided that they were ugly and they didn't want to be buried under them.

Here is a public vault. This was used as a holding place for bodies until they could be buried. They believe that the remains of over 6,000 people have been held in this vault. Included in the list are Presidents John Quincy Adams, William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor. Poor Dolley Madison had to stay for five years till her bankrupted son could afford to have her buried properly.

More beautiful headstones.

Love,

4Vs

Scenes from the Cemetery

This is a memorial built for the Pentagon in memory of the people who died in the building on 9/11. It came from Lummi Indians. While originally slated to be displayed at the Pentagon, it was moved to the Congressional Cemetery due to visitor and space restrictions.

This is just a general shot of the beautiful old cemetery. There are tons of graves and stories to be heard here!

Here is J. Edgar Hoover's grave. It is maintained to this day by the FBI.

Another beautiful headstone. It is a great place to visit!

Love,

4Vs

More scenes from the cemetery

These are just some of the interesting folks buried at the cemetery. Charles Forbes was Lincoln's driver and was stationed just outside Lincoln's box at Ford's Theater the night of the assassination.

These angels mark the graves of a successful brothel owner from DC and her family. Her business was located at the current site of the American Indian Smithsonian Museum. They say when they excavated for the museum they found lots of china, corset stays and corks from champagne bottles!

This is one of the family vaults on the grounds. Great looking isn't it?

Love,

4Vs

Naval Observatory

The Monday after Halloween we went for an evening tour of the Naval Observatory in downtown DC. The observatory is located at the top of Embassy Row and the home of the Vice President is on the compound. We didn't even catch a glimpse of Biden's house, but we did see a great old library, some very old time equipment and a wonderful, old, working telescope.

We all got a chance to peek at Mars at three different magnification levels. They still use this telescope for research.

While the tour was a little lackluster, we had a good time. We actually learned more about time and why it is important to know the exact time in relation to the stars and planets. Kind of heavy stuff, but interesting!

Love,

4Vs

Pumpkins and Candy

Brock made the vomitting pumpkin this year. Grace and Mike made a raccooon. Both were pretty cute.

Mike made a cowboys star. He is now in mourning for the Cowboys, but he still had a little optimism on Halloween :)

At the end of the night the kids met in the basement to check out their loot.

We had lots of kids over and were ready for a sleepover. A good time was had by all!

Love,

4Vs

Gracie the Penguin

When we visited Plano in August, Gracie went to the fabric store with Grandma Cone. She wanted to be Alice from Alice in Wonderland for Halloween. We got to the store and started looking at patterns. It didn't take long for G to change her mind. She fell in love with the penguin costume. So long Alice!

Grandma Cone was sweet to take the change in stride and sewed up the penguin and gave it to Mike to deliver when he passed thru Dallas at the end of October. We love the tail!

She was ready to go!

She canvassed the neighborhood with her friends who dressed as mimes. They were a really cute group!

Happy Halloween!

Love,

4Vs

Brock the Eye Doctor

Brock enjoyed Trick or Treating with his friends in the neighborhood. This is his first year to go with no adults at all. He loved it. That's great because let's face it- his trick or treat days are numbered!

Brock was a crazy opthalmologist. His lab coat said "Dr. Seymore Clearly". The glasses were his favorite part.

Happy Halloween!

Love,

4Vs