The Ryken Clan

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Virginia part 1

This post is coming to you from the lovely state of Virginia. Our family is here on a work trip/vacation. Daniel is attending a class for work, while the rest of the family is out seeing the sights.

We arrived in Virginia Sunday evening after leaving home around 4:45 am. 14 hours later and 5 stops, we arrived at our hotel. The ride was pretty uneventful and everyone traveled very well. We weren't sure how Sara was going to do, but she did wonderfully!

Monday morning we were supposed to drop Daniel at class and head into Washington DC via the Metro. We were a bit tired so we decided to go to the Air and Space Museum Annex at Dulles Airport. The hanger was full of planes from world War 1 & 2, Korea, and Vietnam, commercial and acrobatic planes, Ultralites, and the Space Shuttle Enterprise. It was fun to walk around and see how planes have evolved through the wars.

Peashooter

Acrobatic plane

A Concord

Space shuttle Enterprise

We also had opportunity to go up in the Observation Tower and watch planes land and take off from Dulles Airport while listening to the Control Tower. Watching the planes on radar and listening to air traffic control gave us all a bit more respect for the hard job they have.

Observation tower

Dulles Airport

Can you see our van?

Tuesday morning we brought Daniel to class and drive to Vienna/Fairfax to catch the Metro. The lots were full, so we had to wait until 10 am to park. That is the time when reserved spots go public. These spots were snatched up so quickly! The Metro ride was fun, especially for those who don't remember riding it before. The Metro let us off right in front the American History Museum, where we spent the day. Here are some pictures of the exhibits we saw.

This exhibit really saddened me. The pill...is it really better than nature? or God?

Quilting Demonstration. She and I talked awhile about quilting projects.

Julia Child's kitchen

Mary Lincoln's inaugural gown

The future President Ryken

Thomas Jefferson's desk where he wrote the Declaration of Independence

Today (Wednesday), on advice from someone in Daniel's class, we drove down to Manassas and visited the sight of the two battles at Bull Run. It was really interesting as we watched a 45 minute movie and then took a tour of the battle grounds. The park ranger described the battles so thoroughly that you could almost picture it happening before your eyes.

Henry Hill Monument

"There stood Jackson like a stone wall"

The Stone Bridge over the Bull Run

Finally, here are some pictures of some very tired children and my handsome husband. Until part 2......

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Reformation Day Faire

This past weekend was our Reformation Day Faire. This year was a lot of work for several families of our church, but it was all worth it! The preparations made everything flow smoothly and we were able to overcome the small challenges.

The Faire started on Friday with the men of the church putting up the castle wall. I didn't get a picutre but hopefully some of the other links will have a good picture. The men spent a couple Saturday building and painting the wall and it came out wonderfully!

On the schedule for Friday was Pastor Severn, Doug Bond and a concert in the evening by Charlie Zahm.

Saturday morning brought talks by Pastor McDonald and Doug Bond. The lunch was provided by Alwans, a meat market in Peoria. They out did themselves again with the wonderful food. After lunch a bagpiper came through the church and led the attendees out to the Town Square. The Square had different interactive booths: candle making, printing, sewing, leather stamping, sewing, chess, checkers, wheat weaving, rope making, and boffer making. After the town square most families walked over to the park for some highland games and the boffer war.

Enjoy the pictures!