Too much of a good thing?

Can you, our faithful readers (and mothers), get enough of our blog?  Obviously, the answer is no because you are back.  Unfortunately, blogger got enough of us and we ran out of room to paste the pictures of our dogs that you have come to love.  Because we want to keep our old posts and keep bringing you updates and pictures, we started a new and improved blog for 2012!  If you are reading this and want to know what we are up to, check out http://kellyandben2012.blogspot.com/

Elvis Has Left The Building

With the weekend approaching we had to make a decision about what we should do.  We found ourselves asking, "What would Elvis do?"  Apparently, the answer was head to Annapolis for the 30th annual croquet match between St. John's College and the U.S. Naval Academy.

(Elvis was all shook up about the croquet match)

Elvis was not the only one in attendance as many members of the Annapolis community and St. John's alumni came out to enjoy the match and the pageantry that accompanies it.

With anticipation mounting for the start of the match, the Naval Academy team walked over from their neighboring campus.

Meanwhile the crowd listened to the smooth sounds of the Trident Brass Band.

After the teams were introduced and the St. John's freshman choir sang The Star-Spangled Banner written by St. John's own Francis Scott Key (class of 1796), the match got under way.

One of the main points of excitement is the annual unveiling of the St. John's uniforms.  The Navy team always wears their traditional whites.  St. John's, however, mixes it up.  In the past, they have come out dressed as vikings, in kilts, and this year as campus security guards.

Speaking of costumes, the crowd had some pretty spectacular outfits and was described as "Gatsbyesque"  in one publication.

(Not sure if the hip pack is Gatsby, but it is Great.)

Sadly, croquet is not much of a spectator sport.  We knew when it was time to wave goodbye to the characters at St. John's and tour around Annapolis a little more.   

Eventually, we made it back to DC for dinner at Sticky Rice. It was a fun little place on H street with above average sushi, and as a bonus it is near our apartment.

Sunday was unexpectedly busy. After our Saturday plans to go to Baltimore were bumped by the croquet match in Annapolis, we thought we would go on Sunday. Laziness, Ben's knee and a craving for Chevy's Fresh Mex swayed us toward sticking around the district. We went to Virginia to run a few errand and of course, eat at Chevy's. Ben was so excited he joined the mariachi band.

With Kelly's birthday just around the corner, Ben got the wait staff to sing happy birthday and bring dessert.

After lunch, we headed by the National Archives to see a Ben Franklin exhibit that has been advertised.

  

While the promotional material were impressive, the exhibit left a little something to be desired.  We have been burned by the Archives before, but we decided to give them another chance.  I guess this time it was a fool us twice, shame on us. 

And a return to the license plate of the week feature....

Our highly anticipated weekend got started on Friday. One of our favorite shows, Jeopardy, was taping episodes in DC and we had tickets to two tapings.  It was fun to see the behind the scenes action and listen to Alex Trebek answer questions from the audience during commercial breaks.

Saturday we woke up early and headed to the White House. Twice a year the White House offers tours of the grounds. We were able to walk right up to the White House and stand just a few feet from the Diplomatic Reception Room.

We also saw the Rose Garden, Jackie Kennedy Garden, outside of the Oval Office, pool, putting green, the White House kitchen garden and the entire south lawn.

(Rose Garden)

 

(Oval Office)

(Oval Office again)

They identified many of the trees on the grounds that were planted by former Presidents. Next to the trees were photos of the tree ceremony. In addition to trees planted by Presidents Obama, Bush I, Bush II and Clinton, there were trees planted by Eisenhower, Truman and even Andrew Jackson.

 

It was a great tour, however our day was just beginning.  Even though Ben was on crutches and rain was in the forecast, we decided to head up to Pittsburgh, PA. The combination of the Pirates playing the Cardinals, an interest in seeing a game at PNC Park and "free umbrella night" provided the motivation we needed for the four hour drive.

(There were a few moments when we weren't sure if it was a good idea to make the trip to Pittsburgh.)

Before heading to the game, we decided to hit up an what was described as a Pittsburgh culinary institution.  Primanti Brothers sandwiches are "almost famous" because they feature fries and coleslaw on the sandwich itself rather than as a side.  

The concept seemed pretty fabulous, but the product left something to be desired.  In the end, the sandwich was improved with a little addition of another Pittsburgh institution... Heinz ketchup.

After dinner, we headed for the stadium area.  To get to PNC park, you have to cross one of Pittsburgh's many bridges.

Before heading into the stadium, we walked around to check it out from all sides.

Once inside, the rains returned.  Luckily, it was free umbrella night.

(Even the parrot mascot had a rain slicker)

With the rains, we relocated under the covered seats and enjoyed the start of the game.  Unfortunately, the Cardinals did not capitalize on a 1st inning bases loaded opportunity.

The stadium was very impressive, particularly its use of the city skyline.  PNC park is certainly in the running for the best stadium we have been to.  Speaking of running, despite the Cardinals inability to score we stuck around to see "The Great Pittsburgh Pierogy Race."     

While mildly entertaining and probably delicious, the pierogis lacked a certain something that we have grown accustomed to in Washington with the Racing Presidents. 


With the game winding down, the Cardinals unable to put together a rally, and a four hour drive home ahead of us, we decided to head out.

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised by Pittsburgh.  Hopefully we will make it back during football season.

We got home in the early hours of Sunday morning and were happy to be home.  Sunday was spent running errands and catching up on some chores before it was time for another work week.

A Few Small Steps...

Since Ben hurt his knee, he has had to put in some quality couch time.  On Sunday, we watched a few movies. 

(The dogs have been helping take care of Ben)

Ben's knee was still pretty bad on Monday, so in order to stay off it, he worked from home for a couple of days.  Mo was less than impressed about this because she considers the couch to be hers during the week.

On Tuesday, there was a special treat for Washingtonians, especially those who are passionate about the space program.  The space shuttle Discovery was flown in on the back of 747 to be housed at the Air & Space Museum Annex by Dulles Airport.  On the way in, the shuttle circled around the National Mall and downtown DC a few times.  Kelly went down and watched in fly over.  Ben heard it above the apartment and watched in on the news.

On Wednesday, Ben had acquired crutches and headed back to the office.  It was the first time we has been on the bus in a while.  From the glass half full perspective, crutches significantly help one get a seat on the bus.

.

(Mo's glass was totally full as she got the couch back for the rest of the week.)

While Ben was able to make it to work the rest of the week, it left Kelly to take the dogs for walks.

Egg Rolls: More Than Just An Appetizer

Monday Abbey and Steve took Jaxon and Layla to the White House Easter Egg Roll. While they didn't roll any eggs, they enjoyed all of the other activities, including posing with the Washington National Presidents.

After an early morning, the fam went back and rested up while Kelly and Ben went to work. We met up later at Pi for dinner. Pi is a St. Louis based pizza restaurant with many menu items named after the Gateway to the West. Since it was the last time the fam will be together before our birthdays, we headed back to the apartment for birthday cake. Katie had stayed up late the night before baking a cake, inspired by the White House, that was delicious.

Everyone except Kelly's mom and dad headed back on Tuesday. Kelly took the day off from work and took her parents to Annapolis, MD. On the way, we stopped at the National Arboretum to see the Azaleas in full bloom.

Our first stop in Annapolis was the state capitol. For our loyal readers, you may remember how much Ben and Kelly love this city, especially the capitol complex.

Next up was the Naval Academy. It was a school day so the campus was full of cadets walking to and from class in full uniform. We went into Memorial Hall, the Dry Dock and the Cathedral before heading  for lunch. We walked around Annapolis's great downtown business district before grabbing a sandwich from a local pub.

We headed back to the district and had a relaxing evening at home. They headed out early the next day and made it home by late evening. It was a great visit and we are glad they came.

The week was spent recovering from an exciting weekend. We decided to celebrate our 6 month wedding anniversary by playing paintball. A few months back we bought Groupon deals for a day of paintball in Virginia. 

At first it was a lot of fun. Rolling around in the dirt and shooting paintballs at folks was very entertaining. Kelly got off to a good start. Of the 10 minute game, she stayed "alive" for about 8 minutes before getting hit on the head. 

Ben didn't have such luck. He was eliminated so quickly he didn't get to shoot his gun. The second game didn't get much better. After a few minutes, Ben limped off the field after injuring his knee. 

Despite the battle wound, he continued to play three more games before calling it a day. Overall it was a fun experience, but its safe to say we have officially retired from the dangers of the paintball battlefield.

We spent all of Sunday and most of the week resting and recovering from our numerous paintball injuries.