We had a lovely trip to Pittsburgh & Washington DC. I was so happy that we went. We drove to my parents on Friday night and spent Saturday with my family. My sister, BIL, Mei, Jeff & I all went to this great bookstore (found by Jim, my BIL) "1/2 price books". For a family of avid readers (Mei included), it's Paradise! The next time we go, I've got to remember to take a list of what books I have and what books I need by some authors. It was great. I could spend all day there - LOL!

We drove to DC on Sunday. We went to a really nice French restaurant around the corner from the hotel on Sunday. We had a great meal & I had some wonderful home made chocolate mousse for dessert. On Monday, it was nice out, so we did all the outdoor things. We took the Metro to Arlington National Cemetary. We then walked across the bridge and walked the Tidel Basin. My favorite thing on Monday was the FDR Memorial. I loved the interplay between the water and granite. On Tuesday, it was drizzly and we did the indoor things - meaning the various Smithsonian museums. My favorite was the National Gallery of Art. On Wednesday, we went to the rest of the National Gallery, saw the Capitol, The Library of Congress and the National Cathedral. My favorites were the Library of Congress and the National Cathedral. Having never been to Europe - I was totally blown away by the Cathedral - plus, it's used everyday. The stained glass was amazing. We bought a book on the Cathedral and one just on the stained glass. We drove back to my parents on Thursday.

We went to Mei's recital on Saturday. She is so good - she played really well. She improves each time I hear her. She's getting so big now - my sister called tonight to say that Mei has her first loose tooth. I can't believe she has a loose tooth already!

We had a nice visit with our friends Kathy, David & Lauren on Saturday. Lauren is 2 1/2. She said the cutest thing - she won't say "three" when she counts. David asked her what comes after "two" and she thought about it and said "two and a half". I laughed & laughed.

That's all for now.
Stephanie