Weekend Wrap-Up

Though it was not the most exciting weekend that doesn't mean we didn't make it a blast. Friday we had class from 9:30-4:00 (miserable right?) this made for a very very long day. That night a couple from our professor's ward that had attended Washington Seminar invited us over for swimming and BBQ. They had a beautiful house in the woods, gave us delicious food, and provided us with much entertainment. It was nice to spend that night in a home and not at our stake center house. On our way there our professor locked her keys in her house so we had to all cram into two cars. This led to Sean and I being stuck in the trunk of a mini van. We felt like we were in a scary movie where they stuff you in a trunk and drive you around till you end up in the woods.

Saturday morning was great because I actually got to sleep in a little which has become a rarity for me lately. We are required to do a service project for our class. Two of the kids in our group arranged for us to help out at an elementary school book fair. It wasn't quite the service we were expecting. We went in shifts and my group went from 11-2. Well, they didn't have many costumers and there were way more of us then there were of them so we ended up sitting in chairs talking and playing games for a good 3 hours.

Disclaimer: We did not actually sleep 

When it was finally time for us to leave we grabbed some lunch and watched a little football. Then I set off for a 10 mile run to train for my half marathon. Luckily, it was a beautiful day and it wasn't as hard as the first 10 miler so that was great news!

Saturday night we headed to the national mall to take a look at the monuments. There is not a prettier sight then seeing these monuments at night. It is one of my favorite things about living here in DC. We had a great time walking around and taking pictures. By the end I was absolutely freezing! Fall is here and winter is definitely coming!

The weekend ended with a nice home cooked dinner by our institute missionary couple. Every week they invite people over for dinner and this week I was one of the lucky ones!

Every Vice-President has a bust statue in the Capitol, most reside in the Senate chamber.

Words for the Weekend

Aren't Parents the Best?

I had a very special treat this weekend. My parents came into town for a visit. My mom arrived Wednesday night, we went to the Cheesecake Factory and I spent the night at the hotel with her. (such a good nights sleep). I had to go to work on Thursday so she spent the day touring the Smithsonian and Supreme Court but met up with me for lunch. My dad came from business meeting in Philadelphia on Thursday. We went to a delicious dinner Thursday night at a great restaurant called The Founding Famers. We would definitely recommend it.

Friday morning we were up early for a tour of the Capital. I was giving the tour which made it a little different than most tours I take around and of my parents wanted to make sure I had all my facts straight. After the Capital we went to Good Stuff Eatery for lunch and then headed to the Library of Congress for a tour. This was by far my favorite thing. I was amazed at the building and of course all the things they have inside. From books to music to video games they have just about everything ever published.

It was a rainy day and we wanted to stay dry. It was a good thing we had run into my friend Nefi the night before and he told us he would give us a tour of CNN, where he works. I hurried and called him up, luckily he was free. We headed over and got a behind the scenes tour and actually got to see a live show happening. After our CNN tour we headed to a movie in Georgetown. We saw Footloose and absolutely loved it and then went for a Japanese dinner.

On Saturday we headed for the Smithsonian Space and Air museum where we learned about the Apollo missions to the moon and then saw a movie narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio about the Hubble space telescope. It was finally a beautiful day so we headed towards the National Mall to take a look at the monuments. After seeing the Washington, World War II, Korean, and Lincoln memorials we headed back to Georgetown for some shopping.

We had heard about an I Love Lucy concert happening that night at the Library of Congress. If you know my mom at all, you know that she LOVES Lucy. A lady told us a way to get tickets and get tickets we did. 3 tickets on the front row! It was a concert honoring Desi Arnaz and his music. It was one of the most fun concerts I have ever been too.

Sunday was another big day. We headed to the White House garden tours first thing in the morning. It was pretty cool to see the White House from the backyard. Then we headed towards Arlington Cemetery where we were able to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was another perfect fall day so we enjoyed being outside. We headed to Georgetown for a little more last minute shopping and then sent them off to the airport!

We were going, going, going, all weekend and I am definitely tired but I wouldn't change a second of their trip. I loved having my parents here and being able to show them around. Thanks for coming Mom and Dad!

The Library of Congress has the first ever map that labels America.

Virginia is for Lovers

Sunday morning 6 of us woke up early and hit the road. We rented a car and headed to Charlottesville, Virginia for the long weekend. A girl in our group, Anne, has friends in Charlottesville that kindly opened their house to us for the night. It took us about 3 hours to get there in our rockin mini van. We headed to church first where they had a fabulous munch and mingle complete with a full spaghetti meal. After church we went to the University of Virginia campus. This campus was designed, built, employed, and founded by Thomas Jefferson. It was gorgeous.

Thomas Jefferson at University of Virginia

Family for a weekend

Campus

After campus we headed to Anne's friends for dinner. The girls stayed at a neighbor's house so we went up there and met the sweet Waite family that opened their home to us. The boys went to watch football while the girls watched 27 Dresses. It was probably one of the best nights sleep I have had since being in DC.

Monticello

Couple's Vacay...JK

We woke up bright and early the next morning and headed to Monticello. This is Thomas Jefferson's home. Many times through his presidency he said he would rather be in Monticello and I can understand why. It is a secluded home in the middle of the country surrounded by mountains and trees everywhere. He designed the house full of 21 rooms and 3 levels plus his own vegetable garden. I quickly fell in love with this beautiful home.

Thomas Jefferson's Grave

After Monticello we headed to lunch at Panera Bread a restaurant that they seem to have everywhere but Utah. It was quite delicious it was like Paradise Bakery. The boys and Anne had met up with some people in the ward about attending a class at the Law school. This was definitely not how the rest of us wanted to spend the afternoon so we headed to downtown Charlottesville for shopping. It is such a great town. If I marry someone that wants to attend Law school I would move to Charlottesville in a second.

The boys went to class and the girls did this...

We jumped back in our van and headed for the city. The drive was great with all the countryside and fall leaves. I am so happy I saw so much scenery this weekend. I finally know what everyone is talking about when they say back east is the best in the fall. I am in love.

Thomas Jefferson died July 4th 1826, 2 hours later John Adams died.

The Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago...Our group headed to Gettysburg for the day on Saturday. I have wanted to go to Gettysburg ever since that scene in Remember the Titans when they wake up at like 5:00 am and run to the cemetery. Unfortunately I found out that the scene was filmed in Georgia, I know I was crushed too. It is just starting to become Fall back east so the leaves were changing and the scenery was beautiful. Gettysburg is much bigger than I was expecting. It took us about 2 hours to go on our bus tour but as always we made it as fun as possible.

We received a good history lesson about the Civil War while we were there. I was told again and again that the civil war was not fought for slavery but for state rights. It is interesting how perceptions of events change over time. I have never seen so many monuments in one place. Our guide said he has yet to see all the monuments and he had been there for years.

After Gettysburg we ventured over to Harper's Ferry. It is a tiny town where a big slave movement happened two years before the war began. There is a view up on a rock overlooking the water that Thomas Jefferson said was worth crossing the Atlantic for. So of course we had to check it out.

It was a long day, full of lots of sights and history. By the time we got home we were exhausted but before I could relax I had to go for a run. And go for a run I did. I am training for a half marathon coming up in about a month so running long distances is a must. I ran 10 miles Saturday night! I never thought I would be able to do it but I did and am now paying for it dearly with very sore muscles!

There were critics of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address with many of them calling his words silly.

22 Fabulous Years

My sister and best friend turned 22 years old today! Hip Hip Hooray for her birthday! Kacey is the greatest in so many ways. She is an amazing dancer, a loyal friend, great listener, gives the best advice, always knows what books to read and shows to watch, and loves unconditionally. Kacey has been my example of who I want be for as long as I can remember. How lucky am I to have her as a sister?

Happy Birthday Kacey! I am sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you but I know that you will have many great celebrations this week! I can't wait to see you for Thanksgiving! I miss you every day!

I Love you!

Girl's Just Want to Have Fun

Some things went as planned this weekend and other things didn't. But by Sunday night none of it mattered because it had been a great and needed weekend. On Friday we had class and then went to the American Art Museum for a lecture and since it is right next to China town we thought we would stop for lunch.

Friday night we went out to celebrate one of the girl's birthday's. Well this definitely did not go as planned the restaurant could not fit us in so we ended up walking about 15 blocks before eating a $2 slice of pizza. This was not how I was going to finish my night so me and another girl Morgan met up with some girls from her work and went country dancing! Unfortunately we did not get any pictures but let me tell you it was a sight to see. I had the best time. It is something I will be doing much more of in Utah!

Then it was time for general conference. Saturday was a nice relaxing day spent watching general conference, grocery shopping, and cleaning. The weather dropped about 20 degrees over night so staying curled up inside was a must. But I am also training to do a half marathon in about a month so before I could do any of this I had to run 7 miles in the cold rain. It was a blast!

As long as I have my Diet Coke I am a happy girl!

Luckily that night was Priesthood Session so the girls got to go out for a night without the boys. We celebrated by going out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. The best place to have a girls night. We did a little shopping before hand and then spent the night laughing and eating. It was nice to get out of the Barlow and have a little girl time!

What a great weekend we had listening to the leaders of our church, relaxing, and bonding!

Gerald R. Ford was the most recent president to be laid in state in the United States Captiol.