Aroooo (Jack Howls and Pants)

This is hilarious!!! He howls like a dog and when we ask him what a dog does, he pants.

The Hopper Exhibit

We went into DC Saturday evening to see the Hopper Exhibit at the National Gallery of Art, but they closed just as we got there. So we went back the next day earlier so I could see the exhibit and also catch the Redskins game that started at 1pm.

The exhibit was great, I just wanted to see two of his works, "Night Hawks" and "Lighthouse Hill". The colors were unbelievable when you see these in person. No pictures or reasonable facsimile can do it justice. Must be that great lighting that they use in jewelry stores to make diamonds look extra bright and brilliant.

Great exhibit, go see it if you get a chance.

I missed the first half of the game and they ended up losing anyway, to the Eagles, no less. What a disaster -the exhibit was definitely the highlight of the day.

The Dinner

After the funeral, there was a dinner at the Embassy Suites where family and friends were invited to say things and talk about Charlie and their memories.

I didn't get very many pictures that night, most of my time I was chasing Jack around with Ellie in the foyer of the Hotel. The kids got a little rambunctious, so we took them out of the room as family and friends spoke of Charlie and their memories.

It was a very nice affair and dinner. It was also good to see a large part of the family together, even if the circumstances weren't the best.

Charlie's Funeral

The funeral was on Friday the 9th at Arlington Cemetery. There was a special room for families to wait in that had a wide-screen live feed of the soldier that guards the tomb of the unknown soldier. I was very impressed at the accommodations.

The weather was cloudy and turned rainy as we went to the grave site. The service was short and precise. There was a 21 gun salute, a flag folding and presentation to the widow, which was very touching.

Charlie touched a lot of people in his lifetime and made many impressions upon those lives.

Arlington Cemetery is an unbelievably solemn place, it is overwhelming to think about all those graves/people and the price they paid for our freedoms we enjoy. It is fitting that the burial was so close to Veterans Day since he served his country for so long and with distinction.

Charlie's Funeral (the Dinner the Night Before)

We went up to Karen and Tims friday night for dinner, since everyone was coming in from out of town (St Louis, Hawaii, Alabama and North Carolina). Tim and Karen were great hosts, there was shrimp, croissant sandwiches, Karens famous meatballs and other assorted food. The house looked great.

Abbie and Jason arrived late after an incident with a flat tire, but made it and brought little Ellie. Christopher came all the way from Hawaii. Skip, Rikki and the girls (Taren and Chelle) and their spouses came from Alabama and St. Louis. Rikkis sister made it, too, along with her partner, I forgot their names, but they were great fun to hang around and loooved Jack. Rikki took a special liking to him , too. He knows how to turn on that charm with the ladies.

He was saying "Hi, Baby" to Ellie all night.

How To Tell Halloween Is Over...

The Skins Game

The best part of the Skins game on Sunday was taking this picture of Grandma and Jack sitting at the bar enjoying some snacks. He looks good in his "uniform", but it didn't help the team any, they lost by a landslide.

I don't think Jack cared one way or another.