What a great time I had with my kids in Washington, DC over 4th of July weekend! I am so impressed with what good travelers they are, how curious they are about the world, how eager to see and try new things. We stayed at the George Hotel, which was fantastic. Right near Union Station, and with a great restaurant downstairs, Bistro Bis, where I ate two nights and had the exact same thing both times: beet salad followed by pork three ways. The first night had dinner with one David, the second with another David.

Annabelle and I went to the zoo and saw the pandas before I had to give my workshop at the Compassionate Friends National Conference. This is always a hard event, with over a
1500 bereaved parents attending. Yet I gain strength meeting new people, and seeing some of my now old friends every year. This year was no different. I marvel at what we endure and how we go on. Recently someone compared my losing Grace to a father being estranged from his daughter, and didn't realize how foolish such a comparison is, how estrangements can be mended but death is permanent. Here at this conference, everyone (sadly) gets it. I heard such heartbreaking stories, and gave and received so many hugs.

It was good too to have a couple of days with just Annabelle. She is great company, so funny and smart. She had room service for the first time and then wanted it every morning! I was so happy when Sam arrived late Friday night. And so proud when he went off by subway alone to the Air and Space Museum so that Annabelle and I could go on the DC Ducks. We met at the Museum of American History so she could see the ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz and Sam could see Lincoln's top hat. I left them both at the Smithsonian to go back to Arlington to do my book signing. Sam took Annabelle to the Museum of Natural History and the butterfly exhibit. I hated to miss that, but he took great pictures, including some of the butterfly that took up residence on her leg!

That night our friend Bob made fried dumplings and scallion pancakes for us at his house. He taught us how to make the dough and roll it out, and then to fill it and do the tricky folding. His looked a lot prettier than ours, but they all tasted yummy.

On Sunday we had breakfast with one of our old babysitters and her kids (yikes!) before hitting the Aquarium in Baltimore, which is really terrific. We went to the dolphin show there and still had time to hit my friend Laura's 4th of July birthday for a little while before our flight home.

I am always looking for ways to avoid the 4th of July, and this year was a good one. My dad was born on the 4th, and I woke up every year on that day to the sound of John Phillip Sousa music blaring full blast. He started drinking beer and barbecuing as soon as he got up on his birthday. And the party went late into the night, with fireworks and more food and beer than you can imagine. After he died, the 4th became one of my least favorite holidays. Makes me too sad. But to be with my kids out and about made the day really a nice one.

Of course we returned to this awful heat wave. I HATE being hot!!! Sam always teases me because I have the AC in the car on high all year long. But I am miserable when it's really hot. I can't even think straight! I drank two pitchers of Arnold Palmers in one afternoon. But then I had it. The heat didn't abate even at night.

So I went on Hotels.com and I got a hotel room right in downtown Providence, about a ten minute walk from my house. I loaded up the kids, who decided I'd lost my mind, and we stayed there for three days. I would have stayed longer but the weather was supposed to break, so I went back home. Ha! It didn't break and I spent two miserable hot nights unable to sleep, even with the fam blowing right in my face.

Enough complaining about how hot it was. I'm here in beautiful Portland, Oregon, where not only is it cooler, but my little dorm room has air conditioning! And wifi! Hooray!