Washington DC Retreat

Here's a guest post about our DC Retreat from my friend JaNae (a dynamic Power of Moms Trainer and Board Member). I added a few of my thoughts at the end). JaNae somehow pulled off this Retreat in the midst of a completely crazy time in her life (read on for details) and she did a simply fabulous job. What a privilege it was to present with her and with Margaret Archibald, our hostess who's raised eight outstanding children (so fun to have her daughter with us at the Retreat).

From JaNae (original is found here):

We did it! We hosted our first Power of Moms Retreat in the DC area! This is definitely a dream come true for me. I've had a lot of Power of Moms posts on my blog in the past year. I've gone from being an avid fan to a board member and now I'm so excited to be one of their trainers as they try to keep up with the demand for more events all over the country and world. It's something I believe in and it's been a fun journey for me personally. I'm so grateful for the excitement and purpose it adds to my already wonderful life.

Our mini-retreat was held at the beautiful home of Margaret Archibald in Maryland (she offered a wonderful keynote address as well as offering her home). Saren Loosli (Co-founder of Power of Moms) was there to present and I had the privilege of being mentored by her as I helped to co-presented for the first time. It was so much fun!

What a wonderful experience it is to gather with other moms that are trying their
darnedest to be deliberate and intentional about their parenting experience!
My only regret was that it was so short--3 hours!

We covered some awesome topics: Peace, Purpose, Order and Joy.

It's really hard to only spend 30 minutes or so on each topic! I wanted to soak up

all that each mother had to say as she processed new ideas and shared wisdom

that she had gained through hard experiences. Instead, I enjoyed watching the light,

laughter and sometime tears in their eyes as we covered the things we thought would 

make the biggest impact on their journey into being more deliberate!

 
One thing we talked about was how important it is to find purpose and joy as
we mother.

We discussed how we find ways to merge some of our passions and pursuits
with raising kids and other times how we lose the guilt and step away to have
goals that we follow outside of mommy-hours. It seems that most of the time
when you ask another mother what they like to do--they giggle nervously--then
say something like, "Well, I haven't really thought about that for a while...I take
care of kids." Sometimes those moms are already doing exactly what they love
and enjoy WITH their kids, (hiking, biking, reading, swimming, cooking, teaching, etc.)
but if we don't recognize it and allowourselves to feel the joy of it, then it doesn't
enhance our lives. It's fun to be in these discussions and watch those moms dig into
the deeper recesses of their memory to think of things that truly bring them joy.
There's something so empowering about having dreams and working towards them
little by little. It keeps a spark of life, excitement and joy amidst the more mundane
parts of the day!

Somewhere in the middle we took a break and enjoyed delicious fruit, muffins
and granola bars. A big thanks to our sponsors!

We try to give as many ideas and tools as we can in our time together. But my
favorite part is when we get a chance to split into small groups. That's when the
real learning happens as we all process the ideas and apply them to our current
situations and problems.

As I sat at this retreat I was exhausted and overwhelmed. (Sound familiar?!)
We just finished a hectic move. By finished, I mean we are in the new house--
with a lot of work waiting for my attention every day! My kids were 2 days away
from summer vacation and I was feeling less than prepared. My 5 year old and I
can't seem to figure out how to get along very well right now and that weighs
heavy on my heart. I just took on an assignment at our church to head up the
program that is provided for the teenage girls--and their summer camp was starting
in 4 days. And, although it sounds unimportant, my 2 year old is teething molars and
having a rough time with it. She also averages about 22 minutes to get into her car
seat (by herself!) which is testing my patience many times a day!

That was my story that day as I sat there. I know each person had their paragraph
of "things" going on. There's something so reassuring to just sit next to others that
understand where you're at...even without sharing any details. I think that's one of the
beautiful things about motherhood. It can be a lonely career until you open your heart
to the support and understanding all around you. It takes a special group of moms to
be able to offer silent empathyand support without judgement. Women that
understand that each mother is doing her best no matter what you see on the outside!

My (Saren's) favorite messages from Margaret's keynote speech:

* Make sure your eyes light up when your children walk into the room 

(from the great author, Toni Morrison)

* Raise your kids so that each one feels like they're your favorite child.

* Think about what you want your children to be able to say about you one day - 

then work every day to be that person more and more.

* Technology distractions are huge, hard issues for mothers today - we need to

figure out how to keep our phones, Facebook, blogs and Pinterest from taking 

center stage so much in our lives so we can really be present for the joy motherhood

offers and avoid the "compare snare."

What a great day...such a joy and so much fun!

Day 17: Nauvoo (by Eliza)

After New York City, DC, and big highways, Nauvoo was quite a change. Once we got off of the  highway,(there was detour) we went on a small one-lane road, which then turned into a rough dirt road through lots of farmland for a while. It was the kind of place where you would think that you were lost. Then (finally) we got onto a paved road that led to Nauvoo.

We were greeted by a band drawn by horses as we got into the town.

When you first get to Nauvoo there is a cute little main street with little shops, and stores. Then, BOOM!  You see the Nauvoo temple. We decided to go to the beautiful Nauvoo temple after the rest of the cool stuff at Nauvoo, because everything at Nauvoo closes at 6:00, except the Nauvoo temple.

All of the stops at Nauvoo had missionaries to teach us about each place. The missionaries were really fun, 

and I learned a lot from them.

Here we are in the center of the restored Nauvoo historic town:

First we went to the boot shop. It was pretty cool. They showed you how they used to make boots, and shoes. They used to not have a right shoe and a left shoe, both of the shoes were the same width and length. This way, by alternating the shoes that you wear, they don't wear out as easily.

Next, we went to the blacksmith shop. We all got prairie diamonds. A prairie diamond is a ring made out of a bent nail. The top of the nail is shaped like a diamond, so it looks like a diamond ring. He also showed us how a wagon wheel is like a family. The center is the parents, the spokes are like the kids, and outside part called the tyre is like the traditions and the love and memories that hold the family together .The last step to a wagon wheel is to seal it with special oil, so the wood does not. crack.  In our church, we get sealed in temples, so that we can live together, and so that our families will not crack.

We also went to the Brigham Young home. In this house, Brigham Young planned how the Mormons would leave to Utah because of the persecution. It's so sad that they kept getting kicked out of all the nice homes they built and the good towns they set up.

Here we are at the old Seventies Building where they trained to be missionaries before going out all over the world to teach people.

We also went to a old fashioned schoolhouse. At Nauvoo, even the grown ups had to go to school because they needed to learn English too, because they had come from many countries to Nauvoo. The kids also had to write on slates. they were just like chalkboards, but heavier!

Another one of my favorite activities was going to the bakery. They used to have to cook their food in brick ovens. They did not have exact temperatures, like preheat at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. You would just guess, by feeling around, how hot or cold it was, and then guess the number of minutes that you would need to cook it for. I think that that would be pretty hard. Anyway, after that, he lady gave us free gingerbread cookies.Yum!

We also went to the family living center. At the family living center, there are 7 stations where you can learn about things, like rope making, or how the pioneers made rugs out of old clothes, but it was going to close in 10 minutes, so we could only pick one thing  to do. The boys made ropes, and my mom and I (and Ashton) learned about how they make bread in a brick oven. Then we got a piece of bread. It was good.

We also made hats, and got to be in a parade before the showing of Sunset on the Mississippi.

The parade:

Sunset on the Mississippi was a great play. It was really, really funny. My favorite part was when 3 missionaries did a funny song about how many bugs there were in Nauvoo: “Grab a can of Off, and spray with me.” There were lots and lots of funny dances, and songs.

After that there was an a cappella concert, but we could not stay for that, because we wanted to go to see the temple. The temple was so beautiful. Especially because there was a beautiful sunset.

Here's us with a view of the Mississippi plus a statue of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum as they said goodbye to their families and the beautiful city of Nauvoo that they worked so hard to build and set off to go to trial for charges that weren't fair. They both ended up being killed by a mob at the jail. So sad.


You could really feel the spirit at the temple.  I thought that the temple was so cool. I liked how they rebuilt the temple to be just like it was before.

On our way to the hotel, we went to Joseph Smith's homes. He first had a log home, and then a nice home called the Mansion House. His family only lived in 3 rooms of the Mansion House, and the rest of it was a hotel. We also got to see the brick store where people could buy stuff and Joseph could earn some money. Above the store was where he had all the meetings for the church.

Overall, Nauvoo, was SO fun. I want to go there again and learn even more.

Days 13-16: Washington, D.C., as told by Ashton

Hey guys (and girls)! It’s me, Ashton, and I’m back to tell you what we did in D.C.

First of all, we got to stay at our friend Margaret’s house and it was AWESOME. JUST AWESOME. My room had a couple soft, comfy beds that Silas and I shared. SO inviting after days (and days and days and days and days) of sleeping on the floor. Also, it was the first place we stayed at that had more than one bathroom. The hotels, Tal and Anita’s apartment, and the Shumways' house all had one bathroom. It was CHAOTIC at times, especially at the Shumways' with 13 people in a small house with one bathroom. But it was worth it to be with our cousins and aunts and uncles.

Anyways, we all had a wonderful time at Margaret’s house. We stayed there for three nights, and then had a sleepover at Eli and Julie’s apartment for our last night in D.C. During the days we saw a lot of cool stuff in DC.  

During the Retreat on Saturday, Eli took me and Isaac (the younger kids were at our Aunt Michelle’s - Dad's sister) to the second National Air and Space museum (the one in a big hangar). We saw the Discovery space shuttle (the real, 100% legit one) and tons of other cool planes/spaceships/satellites/missiles. We saw the SR-71 Blackbird (the fastest manned jet in existence). The hangar is where they filmed a scene in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. There was a missile called the Poseidon C-3 that went 6,000 MPH. Here it is:

The museum was awesome! We got back to Margaret’s house and just chilled out, watched TV, jumped on the trampoline, and had fun outside in the awesome backyard while mom got the whole someone-else-accidentally-taking-her-keys-thinking-they-were-theirs incident fixed up.

We hit the road and saw some other memorials and stuff, then went to an AMAZING place for dinner called We, the Pizza (awesome name IMO). We went to Eli’s condo and had a “sleep” over. I didn't get much sleep. I slept on three couch cushions and they kept slipping apart because the wood floor was slippery (I could have slept on the air mattress but I don’t sleep in the same bed as other people. That’s weird). Somehow, at 2 am, I woke up in the kitchen. Another time, the cushions were strewn across the floor. It wasn't fun. But it was worth it to stay in Eli's super cool apartment. I loved the modern art and photographs all around the apartment that Eli and Julie did themselves and they had really awesome light fixtures and big windows with great views. I would love to live in that exact apartment someday. Their neighborhood (Capitol Hill) was really amazing - there was a huge old ship nearby and all these old beat-up warehouses had been turned into cool shops and restaurants plus there were great parks.

Here's us with Eli on the roof of Eli's condo building:

So in the morning (of the day I’m writing this), we had a wonderful breakfast of German pancakes for Eli's first Father's Day and said our goodbyes to Eli, Julie, and their cute, adorable, lovable, tiny, friendly, smiley, wonderful, awesome, beautiful, curious, smart, young, amazing baby Zara. I will miss her (and Eli and Julie) soooooo much!

Here's when we first met our new cousin Zara - our first morning in DC.

We went to the White House and saw the place right down the street where my mom used to work (The Points of Light Foundation). She had actually been in the White House for lots of different things. 

Here's where my mom worked for a few years - she helped give awards to people who were doing great service to their communities and helped run "Make a Difference Day" - this national day when everyone's supposed to do service projects.

We also got to check out the Metro - this is the stop my mom got off at every day for work. Sort of looks like something from Star Wars. The twins LOVED it.

Here we are at the White House. It was interesting to see security guys walking around on the roof with guns.

The White House was smaller than I thought it would be; I was thinking more Capitol-sized.

Speaking of which, a few days earlier, I had my second tour of the Capitol (the first was a couple years ago when I went to visit my Aunt Michelle). 

The capitol tour was really cool; we watched a movie about how the government works and went up to the crypt and the rotunda. We learned about how they needed three guys to finish the painting that went all the way around the dome; one almost fell and developed a fear of heights, one died, and finally the last one finished it. 

We then went to the Library of Congress (not my favorite).

  

Then we were heading down to the Mall to go to more museums and we got caught in a crazy, sudden rain/wind storm that lasted for about 5 minutes then left as fast as it came. 

Here's the storm rolling in behind us:

Here's a picture taken right as the storm hit (by a guy who was trying to figure out our camera as the wind got worse and worse):

We huddled on a porch of the Capitol with a bunch of people in purple shirts – lots of tour groups in D.C. - while the wind and rain went crazy for a while.

When the rain let up a bit, we headed down the mall and found this - a tour bus with our name on it!

Then we saw the first Air and Space museum. We got to go on these cool simulators where one person gets to be the pilot and one gets to be the gunner and you get to tilt back and forth and even do spins while you try to shoot down airplanes. I also liked the space station you could walk through and learning about different space missions and seeing the old airplanes.

The day after that, we went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (Eli got us tickets). They took us on a tour and showed us how many layers of security are put on the bills so they can’t be counterfeited. You could buy legit strips of bills that weren't cut into individual pieces yet. We also saw a bunch of other bills, going from $500 to $100,000. They were discontinued in the 20th century.

The next day, we were surprised and excited that Julie and Zara could join us to see the American and Natural History Museums. (too bad the Washington Monument is under construction)

I thought that the Hope Diamond was really cool and Isaac and Eliza loved all the cool rocks - they're really into rocks. 

The exhibit in the ANHM about transportation had a cool movie with clips from lots of car chases and scenes involving different kinds of cars. The twins loved the trains. Plus, we saw the first car that went on a road trip across the US in 1904. It was a lot harder for them than it is for us.



We saw the lunch counter from Woolworths where some brave black teenagers sat for days even though everyone kept mocking them and trying to make them leave.

We touched a rock from Mars (and one from the Moon at the Air and Space Museum)

Back to the present.

On our final evening in DC, we went to the Vietnam, Korean War, Lincoln and MLK Jr. Memorials. I really liked the MLK one. It had tons of MLK Jr. quotes, and the build was based off of one of his quotes: “In the mountains of despair, a stone of hope.” They’re getting rid of that quote as well as another one, because it makes him sound arrogant. There was a big statue of him carved out of a rock. Silas posed by it and tried to copy what he was doing. He did a pretty good job IMO.

Oh, and we also visited the first house my mom lived in in McLean, VA - she lived here when she was 1,2 and 3 and then again in 5th and 6th grade. Now there are condos crowding up the place and the big trees my mom used to have a swing in are cut down but the house is still there.

We also got to see the woods where she used to play:

And her old school (right near the house):


Overall, D.C. was an amazing experience. It was really awesome to see where our government is run and how everything works. It was great to be able to see our new cousin Zara and see Eli and Julie plus get to know Margaret and her family. It was so green and pretty everywhere and there was SO much to see. We have a lot more to see when we got back some day!