Dutch Bike Dutch

Ok...ok...it has been quite a while since I went to DC,
but I just got these pictures...
...thanks Staci!
So for my last day in DC some of my friends and I rode bikes for 15 miles through Amish country in Pennsylvania. It was BEAUTIFUL! It was so cool to see Amish families working on their farms and riding around on their horse and buggies. Though...my favorite part was seeing all the covered bridges.

Me...Niki...Wendy...Kim
This was the group that I went with...except that Staci is taking the picture...and Seth was off somewhere talking on the phone trying to save our economy...
...(he works for the US Treasury...awesome!)






......................................................................................................................................
And we can't forget to mention that the town nearby was called Intercourse.
Not even kidding.
Kim served her mission in Germany and we thought this sign was photo-worthy (it's written in German, if you can't tell)...

.......................................................................................................
This gorgeous bike ride was a great way to end my trip to DC.
I already miss that place...and all those great people!

You too can see, hear, feel, experience...

Last night Kim, Tali, Ryan, and I went to the Natural History Museum to see U2 3D at the IMAX. It was a spiritual experience...to say the least. If it is, or will be, at an IMAX near you...GO SEE IT!

April visit to DC!

Oh how I LOVE the DC. Seriously, from the moment that my plane landed at Dulles airport (April 8th) I knew that this was a place that I could live for a while. I came in search of finding a job...or at least to get a head start. I've applied for some teaching jobs, but have been told that it's a long "process" and that I need to just sit back and wait to hear from them. Ugh! I hate waiting. I think I may have to resort myself to just temping until I can find a "real" job.

But it hasn't been all work. There has been a lot of play going on out here also! Here's a list (and some pics) of some of the past couple of weeks' events.

1. Went to Colonial 1st ward.
This is the ward that I was in last semester. It was so great to see old friends. I seriously LOOOOOVE that ward.

2. Interviewed for an AMAZING Nanny job...
...but turned it down cause they wanted me to commit for a year. I just couldn't do it. I actually want to be a teacher.

3. Hung out with Eileen Nielson.
She is the mother of Kim's roommate, Emily. She may be small...but she's a firecracker. We went to Archives to do some genealogy, went to the Portrait museum and walked through the US PRESIDENTS' portrait gallery, went to the National Gallery of Art (west wing), went to the Asian and African Art museums, and went shopping at Friendship Heights. Seriously love this lady.



At the National Gallery of Art Eileen bought Kim and I these plaques of our favorite paintings. The one on the left is by Monet, the one on the right is a Renoir. Bet you can't guess which one is mine. Thanks, Eileen!!!!

4. Walked around The NATIONAL Mall...
...I can't do this enough. I love it. I love seeing the monuments and memorials. And the weather couldn't have been more perfect.

Another beautiful picture of The Mall from atop the Lincoln Memorial

This was the first time I had been to the Korean War Memorial. I love this quote that they have on display there, "Our Nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met."

5. Took a tour of the US CAPITAL...
...again, can't do this enough. I think this was my 3rd tour of the Capital. This time my tour guide was my good friend Tali who was my roommate and student taught with me last semester.


6. Went on a DAYCATION to Montpelier (James Madison's home)
in Virginia...
Kim, her roommate Staci, and I decided to get away from the city for the day. We were going to go to Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home), but this was a half hour closer. What a beautiful place. Being able to visit places like this is what I LOOOOVE most about being in DC!

Me, Kim, and Staci

This is the gravesite for a horse named Battleship whose father was Man O War and mother was Quarantaine. We just love the wording of it. A little too graphic if you ask me.


Kim is a Greek goddess


Found this treasure on the grounds of Montpelier. It speaks for itself...



7. Went to a NATIONALS baseball game....
It was my birthday and this is what we did to celebrate! I love baseball. It was fun to go to their stadium. But alas, didn't catch a fly ball.


Back: Tali and Ian
Front: Ryan, Kim, Me, and Matt

8. Saw the Cherry Blossoms!
Ok...so there was only half a tree that had cherry blossoms left on it. Nikki, Kim's roommate hadn't seen them yet either, so we said that tree held out for the two of us. I wish I had gotten there a few days earlier when ALL the trees along the Tidal Basin looked like this!



9. Walked along the Potomac!
On the way to church you drive along the Potomac river. It is the most beautiful drive. It was AMAZING during the Fall. Kim, Tali, and I had always wanted to take a walk there. So we did. After church we were dropped off around 2 miles from the church and then walked back up to the church. What a beautiful path. And if you can't tell by my hair in the pictures...it was a pretty windy day.



10. Went to DUKE ELLINGTON!
Oh how I missed this place. My kids were SOOOOOO excited to see me. A group of girls that I used to teach had found out that I was in the building...so they ran up to Ms. Moore's classroom and were crying with excitement cause they thought that I was back for good. They then began to cry with sadness when I told them I was just there for the day. I'm sad that I only remembered to take pictures with 2 of my classes. I sure love these kids!

4th Period (Hmm...One of these things is not like the others...)


5th Period


I'm sorry...but as a teacher it's very difficult not to have favorites. I'll admit it now...these boys were two of my favorites!

11. Went on another Daycation with Kim and Staci...
...to the Air and Space Museum at the Dulles Airport...it was AWESOME!

Well...it's only April 22nd. I leave to go back to Mesa on Sunday (April 26th). Who knows what else lies in store for me. Maybe I'll actually be moving back here within the next few months!

What did you do at the age of 27?

...Cause this dude became a member of Congress!

Tali, who is an old roommate who now works on Capital Hill, just showed me this guy. His name is Aaron Schock and we've been ooooohing and aaaaawing for the past 5 minutes. Read about him HERE.

PS...Yes, I'm in DC. And yes, I will be blogging about my happenings here shortly! Maybe I'll bump into Aaron Schock while I'm here...

Saying Goodbye

It's just after midnight the night before I leave DC. Tears are flowing...excessively. Just said bye to people that I LOVE and will miss dearly...

Matt
Kim
Meg (ok I didn't actually get to say bye to you, but I'll see you in a few days )
Tali
Brit
Tami
Melanie
Becca B

Dang. I hate change. I especially hate distance. I hate that I get too attached to people. Maybe I'll turn myself into a hermit...then maybe I'll never have to feel this way again.

I am Thankful for...

my family


my friends


dance


democracy/freedom


my education


the gospel


i am also thankful for...

sunshine

daisies
diet coke

the scriptures

music
mexican food

blogs

ice cream
laughter

holidays

sleep
good books

Visitors in DC!

Ok...so I got a little picture happy with this post. My bad!! Pictures are worth a thousand words...so this way I didn't have to say so much!!

On October 18th my parents flew out to DC and surprised me by bringing my little sister Tannis along. That was way fun! My dad actually came for a convention and so my mom and sister decided to tag along to play with me. It was a lot of fun having them here with me so I could show them around DC and even get to see a few things for the first time.

The Pentagon Memorial-built in memory of those killed on September 11, 2001

We went on a tour of the House side of the Capitol. Probably one of the coolest things that I've done in DC, except maybe watching the Senate vote on the Bailout plan. Here are a few pics of said event.


Jeff Flake is our Representative in Arizona and one of his interns took us on a private tour of the Capitol. This is his office. Something interesting about Jeff is that when he's in town he sleeps in his office. Awesome!


These 2 pictures above are of the original Supreme Courtroom in the Capital.


Each state has 2 statues in the Capital. One of the Arizona statues was moved to another building and the other Arizona statue was of a dude that I have NEVER heard of. But then we saw Brigham Young representing Utah. Had to get a pic with Brigham!


Center stone of the Capital. Originally George Washington was going to be buried here, but he wanted to be buried by his wife at his home at Mt. Vernon...cute! So now it's just known as the place where GW was going to be buried...


On Sunday we went to church and then went to the National ZOO that is FREE!! Kim joined us for the day. We had a blast!


In front of the church!


After church as we were walking back to the METRO station we passed the Masonic Temple in Alexandria, VA.


Riding the METRO on our way to the zoo. Right now Tannis is thinking, "I sure hope they have pandas!!"


Welcome to the National Zoo!



There was this cute frog at the zoo, so of course we had to play a little Leap Frog!


All along the paths at the zoo they had skeleton's doing everyday things...using the potty, for example...kinda weird!!



We did get to see pandas at the zoo, but I can't find a picture of them. But here is a picture of a gorilla that was there that was eating its own throw up...sick...yet disgustingly entertaining!


Pausing to eat our sandwiches that we packed for lunch...Kim and I were tired...


For the first part of the week that my fam was here they stayed at the Sheraton across the street from my apartment. This is Tannis and my mother standing on our balcony and you can see the Sheraton right behind them. They couldn't have been any closer!

For the rest of the week my parents stayed at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, because it was where my dad's convention was being held. It is such an AWESOME place. It's located at National Harbor in Maryland. At the harbor they have this GIANT statue of a man coming out of the sand called The Awakening...Tannis and I had fun with it, as you can see.








My mom taking a picture of us trying to take a picture of the sunset with our phones...is that really what the back of my head looks like?...


One of the days that they were here Tannis and my mom came to visit me at my school. They didn't get a chance to see me teach, but I did give them a tour of my school, Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Stay tuned for a post about Duke!

In front of the school they have this GIANT GREEN CHAIR. Tannis and I had to get a pic with it.


There is a COSTCO right around the corner from my apartment complex...we stole a cart to carry ALL the food that my parents bought for me! THANKS MOM AND DAD! Don't worry...I'm sure the cart made it's way back to the COSCTO parking lot...


Saw this while touring the city one day. A cute little Asian lady was driving this car...awesome!

Ok...almost done...promise!

Then on November 5th Becca, along with her parents, came to visit me...awesometown! Too bad we didn't get many pictures of them here, but here are a few. I'm sad cause I don't have ANY with Becca's parents. It sure was fun having them here, though!


So the pic on the left is when Becca was here...the pic on the right is when my fam was here...I'm weird!!! Don't know what my problem is!!! What's funny is that when my mom posted the pic on the right on her blog she wrote under it, "Once a dancer, always a dancer!" Then Becca posted the picture on the left on her blog and underneath it she wrote, "Once a dancer, always a dancer!" Haha! I am so special...


Becca going into the FBI building...


Me in front of the Washington Monument. I think we just got out of the Holocaust Museum...go there if you ever get the chance to visit DC.



Becca and I in front of the White House...

Now, Manders and CO CO are coming to visit me for THANKSGIVING...I'm so excited!