D.C. Trip Day 5...10 Days Later

We've been home from our trip to D.C. and the surrounding area for over a week now and we never finished the postings of what we did. I blame Nicky! She took the camera with her to Branson, MO while she hung out with her mom and sisters for a few days and getting her to post anything has been like trying to get a monkey to stop throwing poo! (I've actually never seen a monkey throw poo but I want to see it before I die cause there can be no greater comedy than a happy primate insulting their more intelligent cousins with their own feces.)

The Metro

The Museum of Natural History (Nicky LOVES her Dinosaurs)

The White House

D.C. Trip Day 4

Day 4 has brought us back to D.C. to experience tours of some of the two most recognizable buildings in our nation. We started out day with a tour of the White House.  It wasn't as cool as we had hoped but it was nice to be able to say that we had been there. We also had a tour of the capital building which was way awesome. There is one room where President Lincoln and another man had their desks.  They were on opposite sides of the room, but there is a rumor that they could hear each other and would listen in on conversations.  Our guide stood on one side and whispered into the floor, we could hear him very clearly on the other side.  It was really cool. It was a great tour with a lot of cool information.The afternoon was filled with going to the Natural History Museum and eating at the Hard Rock Cafe. The Natural History Museum was way cool, we even planned on going back he next day.  We watched a 3D movie on the ocean, it is crazy what they can do in 3D and make it look so life like.

The one funny event of the day happened right when we got off the metro to start the day. We were greeted by a local hobo who offered free flowers to Nicky.  He then kindly asked if I could give him money for the flowers. I ended up giving him a dollar because I feel so bad for people like that. It was sad because he is a homeless man, but we had to laugh because of the flowers. They were very pretty, but he had to of just picked them from somewhere.  We weren't sure what to do with them, or him.

D.C. Trip Day 3

After a relaxing weekend with the Campos Family we set off very early on our journey to the nation's capital. We took the train from Baltimore to Union Station in downtown D.C. and from there, the blisters began.

Being so young and naive in the ways of the Washington area we decided to walk to the monuments first. There is so much now that I wish that I could tell that younger me to not do but it's too late and I'm reaping my rewards. From Union Station to the monuments we experienced the full 4 mile walk. By the time we reached Mr. Lincoln's residence we were more concerned with trying to decide if our feet were still attached. 

In all honesty, we actually got to see some great creations that give tribute to some of the greatest people and sacrifices in the history of our young country. It was moving to see the names of the thousands of soldiers who gave their names in Vietnam at the Vietnam Memorial and to see the message at the Korean Memorial that reads, "Freedom is not Free!" 

(I have to add here that my Grandpa fought in the Korean War and it brought back memories of his funeral 15 years ago with the 21 gun solute so this one meant a lot to me). I have to add that the Lincoln Memorial was intimidating in size and in the tribute to the former President. All this made the long walk worth it. 

(This is at the Korean Memorial)

We ended the day by visiting the American History Museum (where we saw some amazing things that included the uniform of George Washington, the original Star Spangled Banner, and Oscar the Grouch) and visiting the National Archives (the setup is nothing like National Treasure when viewing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution). 

D.C.Trip Day 2

So after experiencing a rough start to our trip we are off and running on all cylinders. Because Day 2 was Sunday our options were limited to anything that doesn't break the Sabbath. After a great sacrament meeting in downtown Baltimore we changed and went to a park that happened to contain  Fort McHenry. For those of you who don't know Fort McHenry let me tell you a tale. In the war of 1812 the British wanted to capture the port at Baltimore and they could only do that once they conquered Fort McHenry. One of the British ships that attacked Fort McHenry held a prisoner by the name of Francis Scott Key. This Mr. Key was so impressed by the attack and the fact that he could see the US flag all through the battle that he wrote the words to our National Anthem. 

Anyway, the fort was awesome and I got to go on a nice drive through Baltimore to see the original Washington Monument which is in downtown Baltimore! So cool! 

Our Trip: Day 1

Ever since Patrick and I got married we have really wanted to go on a big trip, but never seem to find the time or money to go.  We finally decided that if we didn't just go, we never would.  We have been thinking of different places we wanted to go, from a Caribbean cruise to San Francisco to Disney World.  We both decided that we have always wanted to go to Washington DC.  One of Patrick's really good friends growing up lives in Baltimore with his family.  They were kind enough to offer us a place to stay and come to visit.  We are so excited for our trip!

Day 1:

We left Logan bright and early...9:00 AM! (Our flight didn't actually leave until 1:55 PM, so we weren't in to big of a rush.)  On our way down to the airport, I had a uneasy feeling.  I hate it when that happens and you just don't know what is going to happen.  Our first flight left on time actually arriving early to Denver.  As we were on same plane waiting for more passengers to board, I looked out the window and saw our bags...leaving the plane.  We kindly notified the flight attendant, but our bags are green and you can't ever really be too sure which bags are yours.  She told us we would be fine and our bags would get to Baltimore with no problems.

After waiting until the last bag came out of the baggage claim, and the belt stopped, we knew what that uneasy feeling was all about.  Our bags were nowhere to be found!  

We found that this had happened to many others who had also come from Salt Lake.  Luckily they came a few hours later on the next flight. 

Easter Fun

We had a great Easter. I don't really have a lot to write, but here are some pictures. I always loved robin eggs and using them for lipstick. I had to do it, even if my lips were blue for quite a while afterwards:) Doesn't it look great!We spent Friday and Saturday at Patrick's families house. It was a lot of fun just hanging out and playing games. Thanks Easter Bunny for the great presents.On Sunday night the Staley's invited us for some egg dying. I think I am a kid at heart cause I love doing fun things that I did growing up...like dying Easter eggs. It is one of my favorite parts of Easter. You get to be really creative. This year I found a sports egg dye kit and just had to get it for Patrick:) It had some really cool shrink things that made the eggs look like basket/base/soccer/football's.Here's the result. Thanks Niki and Jason for a great night.

And the Winner is...

Meeeeeeeee!!! So I am sitting at work today at my desk, focusing hard at being a good employee, when the radio gets ready to announce the winners for the Fisher Home Furnishing anniversary give-away. When all of the sudden I heard MY name. I was so excited. Yeah!!! Patrick says I am acting like the guy from "A Christmas Story" when he gets the famous 'leg lamp.' Here's what I won. For anyone who is interested, they still have 10 items left to give away. You just stop my Fisher's and grab an entry. You can fill out one per day. Good Luck!!

Scientific Experiment

A while back Patrick and I were watching Myth Busters. If you haven't seen it, it's great. They try out things that people email them or that they find on the internet to see if it is really true. It is fun to watch and see what the outcome is. While watching an episode I told Patrick I really wanted to try it. For this myth buster, they used Diet Coke and Mentos. You drop four Mentos into a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke and watch what happens. Here is a little video so you can see how it worked for us.

It didn't last for as long as we would have liked, but it was fun to do. Here the link to the Myth Busters episode on Diet Coke and Mentos. They explain why the reaction happens. It is pretty interesting. http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-diet-coke-and-mentos.html

Spring is Coming....Soon?

The last couple of days have been so nice outside. Patrick and I even played a little frisbee. I have really been enjoying the weather and hope it continues to get warm. You never know what your going to get living in Logan:) A couple of nights ago we went on a walk because it was so nice outside. When we got back, we saw a whole lot of snow on the grass in front of our door. All of our neighbors were asleep, it was a late walk, so we decided we just had to play a small prank on the Staley's.(We knew you could handle it)This last weekend we went down to my parents house and my mom and I made some really cute Easter blocks. Just wanted to share them because they turned out really fun. It makes me excited for Spring.

Happy St Patrick's Day

A while back I saw some really cute cupcakes in a magazine, and saved the page because I really wanted to try to make them. Well....here is the result. They were lots of fun to make and turned out really cute.

Searching

I am looking for a pattern I found for a little girls dress that you make out of her dad's button up shirt. I saw it on someone's blog a long time ago, and had it saved in my favorites, but it got erased. Does anyone remember seeing something like this at all? If so, let me know.

WOW!!!

This is freakin' awesome!

Be Mine!

We had a wonderful Valentines Day. I was so great to just relax and spend some time together. Patrick got me a very cute shirt and made me the cutest card with a collage of pictures from things we have done since last Valentines day. It was so great, I had to show the whole card. He also wrote poem, which was really good and funny. He is such an amazing husband and I love him so much! I also got him a shirt and the movies Eagle Eye and Madagascar, Escape 2 Africa. We decided to stay home and not go out this year, so I made Stir Fry and then we watched the new movie. It was a lot of fun. On Friday night we went to the Stake Valentines dinner/dance. After dinner we found the room for card making. Here are our creations.

Patrick's card-he liked the wire that was a decoration on the table so much,

he used a little of it on his card:)My cardWe hope everyone had a great Valentines Day!

Just in Case You Haven't Seen These

Give-Away

I just wanted to let everyone know that you can enter to win a really cute hat at this website. http://nuxiemade.blogspot.com/