The Adventures of Jadon and Kalina: DC, Illinois and ...

Our next adventure took us across the country (really, across the country) to Washington DC. We went there to attend the Little People of America National Conference. We left on Saturday, June 29 (the day after Day Camp ended).

Our journey there was pretty uneventful. Jadon and Kalina really are good travelers. Grandpa Sladek met us at the airport and delivered us to our hotel. My parents and sister and family met us there for the week.

On Sunday morning we officially signed-in for the conference and got our name badges and banquet tickets. Then we went to lunch with a group of DDs (people with the same diagnosis as Jadon and Kalina). I love seeing other DDs in action. They are not all the same but I love seeing the similarities and how they all adapt. We took Grandma and Grandpa Sladek with us to lunch. After lunch Andy and Grandpa Sladek took Jadon and Kalina to the National Zoo. They didn’t last too very long because it was so hot and humid. They did report that they were able to see the panda’s read end. J Later in the afternoon Grandpa Sladek got us and we went to their hotel. Jadon and Kalina got to play with their cousins Theodore and Grant. That evening we went to dinner at one of my family’s favorite DC restaurants (my sister lived there for ~10 years) – Old Ebbitt Grill. We met one of my sister’s best friends there, Linda. My sister has known Linda since freshman year at GW and they remain close friends. Linda gets along well with our family and we had a very nice dinner.

On Monday morning we stayed at our hotel and attended a parent meeting. Then we went to the LPA general assembly meeting. There were some great presentations from Little People of Uganda and the Mexican little people. We met my family for dinner and then headed out to see the monuments – in style. My sister had the great idea of renting a limo to take us to see the sights. It was perfect for us. The driver would deliver us close to our destination. We would get out the limo and take as much time as we wanted and then get driven to the next one. All the kids loved the “party bus”. J We got to see all the major monuments and the White House. Jadon and Kalina also got to see fire flies, or lightning bugs. They learn about them at school but don’t see them because they don’t live out here. It was pretty exciting.

On Tuesday we went for an adventure with Grandpa Sladek. Let me explain – our goal is to get Jadon and Kalina to all of the 50 states. Quite an ambitious goal. So, on Tuesday, we rented a car and crossed some more states off our list. We left Virginia, drove through Maryland and got breakfast. Then we drove through Delaware on our way to see the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our last stop was in New Jersey for lunch. It was a fun drive. Grandpa sat in the back with Jadon and Kalina and read books and played chess with Jadon on his iPad. We made in back to our hotel in time to go to the DD meet and greet. This, along with the DD lunch, was my favorite part of the convention. It never seems to be long enough. We got to see some people we had met at previous conventions and we met several new people. We ended the day with dinner at our hotel. Grandpa and Grandma Sladek joined us for the meet and greet and dinner. We took Jadon and Kalian to Bingo that night and to the LPA dance. Kalina dances – Jadon watches.

On Wednesday we did some more DC sightseeing. We went on a tour at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. It was fun seeing where and how they make money. They we went to the Air and Space Museum. It was very crowed since it was so hot outside and close to the 4th. That evening we went to the LPA banquet. All of my family joined us (Grandma, Grandpa, Chava, Steve, Theodore and Grant). The speaker was Andrew Solomon, the author of Far From the Tree. We all enjoyed the evening. Kalina loved the dancing. Aunt Chava and her cousins joined her on the dance floor.

Thursday was July 4. We had a lunch cruise on the Potomac River. Kalina really enjoyed it because… there was dancing. We don’t know where she gets her love of dancing. J It was a very enjoyable lunch and cruise. That evening we met my family for dinner and then went on a search for a good place to see the fireworks. I’ll spare you the details but will let you know we found a great spot, thanks to my Dad. It was about a mile from our hotel in Arlington. We ended up not finding a parking spot closer than our hotel so Chava and Steve parked the car and left the rest of us to find a viewing location (Grandma and Grant stayed at the hotel). The kids loved it, and Grandpa, too. There is something special about being in our nation’s capital on the fourth of July.

The next morning we said goodbye to my family (including a pillow fight to get Theodore out of bed) and started the next part of our adventure. Grandma and Grandpa Fry met us at the airport. We had Portillo’s for lunch on the way to their house. That evening Andy’s sister, Erin, and family arrived in Naperville. Jadon and Kalina were excited to see their other two cousins, Kian and Addison.

We spent Saturday playing at Grandma and Grandpa Fry’s house. The cousins all play well with each other – Wii games, Barbie’s, whatever.

Sunday morning we went to a small zoo not too far from Naperville, the Phillips Park Zoo. We had a nice walk around the zoo and all went to lunch on our way home. That afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa kept an eye on all the kids and Andy and I were able to go out with Erin and Ed for a walk along the Naperville Riverwalk.

Erin and family left Monday morning after breakfast. We decided to continue our quest to see more states. We took Grandma Fry for a ride to Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, Wisconsin. Andy’s family used to go there for weekend trips when he was little. It was fun watching Andy and his Mom talk about when they used to go there and reminisce. With that new state, Jadon has now been to 22 states and Kalina has been to 18. Not bad at age 10 and 5 respectively.

We spent Tuesday morning playing with Grandma Fry before heading to the airport. Again, we had an uneventful trip home. We walked in our door around midnight. Venus was very excited to see us. She meowed so much she was hoarse the next morning.

We had a wonderful trip. It was great to see our families and so many new places. The only bad part of the trip was that I was diagnosed with strep throat the morning we left for DC. I felt pretty bad the first few days. I could hardly talk or swallow anything. Luckily, we had family to help us until I was feeling better.