One Last Run

To finish off my time in DC I made sure to do one last run of the monuments. The national mall is where I spent most of my time when training for my half-marathon and it became one of my favorite parts of DC. But before we get to that there were a few things that made my last week so great.
There was a Redskins game and even though they lost it was a blast! My first NFL game! Ice skating, seeing Christmas trees, and eating at all the restaurants I hadn't been to yet!

My office threw me a great going away party with customized Sprinkles cupcakes and a beautiful picture of the Capitol signed by everyone!

After staying up late all week and checking things off our list I woke up early Friday morning and went running. It was nice to run the mall on a Friday morning when everyone is at work because it was pretty much deserted. It was a beautiful morning and a great run!

After running I checked out of my room and went for one last meal in Georgetown with Sean, Trevor, and Jason before catching our shuttle to the airport. I was sad to leave DC but it has been so great being home! It is definitely an adjustment but a good one. And it's not like I won't be going back to visit right?

Skating in the City

We had one last FHE activity this past Monday and after our epic fail of not skating on Monday we thought it would be the perfect activity! There were definitely some skaters in our group. Let's just say I was one of the people attempting to get their balance on the ice for the entire hour and a half. Lucky for us one of the girls came a little late so she decided to become the photographer for the night!

There hasn't been many times this semester where a large group of us have been together so it was a lot of fun for everyone to hang out. I got to spend some time with people that I haven't spent much time with which I loved!

Our final week in DC continues with us checking off our last minute things one by one!

The spreading of Christmas cheer continues...

Oh Christmas Tree

Last weekend after the tree lighting we decided to go back and get a closer look! Of course we had to have ourselves a little adventure first. We walked or more like roamed around the city looking for a place to eat. You wouldn't think that would be difficult in a place like DC but when you have 5 people all wanting different things it can create some problems. We finally settled on Chipotle. Real original right? The best part is we walked a good half hour to eat there when we have one 5 minutes away from our house. Good times!

After dinner we were going to go ice skating but they were sold out for the night so instead we made our way to the White House. I never tire of the view in DC. The National Mall all lit up is one of my favorite things especially when it is Christmas themed!

Our Utah Tree

We wanted to go say hi to the Obama's but this is as close as we could get!

The Christmas music has been playing on my computer for the past couple weeks! We are trying to see all the that DC Christmas has to offer before we leave! Let the Christmas cheer begin! 

Merry Christmas from the Obama's

Usually I am not a very lucky person. I don't really win contests and I never catch any of the prizes at Jazz games but this luck all changed last week. I entered a lottery in November to see the National Christmas Tree Lighting at the White House and I won 5 tickets!! We were really far away from the stage and the tree but it was still pretty cool.

Big Time Rush (the group from the Nickelodeon show) performed for Sasha and Malia. I personally had hoped they would ask for the Biebs but I guess they have seen enough of him. Then the President himself delivered a Christmas message and brought up the entire Obama clan to turn on the tree. It is a much smaller tree this year because the one that had been there for 30 years was destroyed in a storm.

Ella Goulding performed and if you don't know who she is look her up. She is great. Enough so that she sang at the Royal wedding. Michelle Obama read Twas the Night Before Christmas with Kermit the Frog. Santa made an appearance. Rodney Atkins, the country singer, also performed. The night ended with One Republic singing their one and only original Christmas song. They were awesome!

It hasn't felt like Christmas around here with the weather so warm and not being home so this was the perfect way to set the mood and kick off the holiday season!